TUDJMAN KNEW ABOUT THE CRIMES

AIM ZAGREB, September 22, 1997

The state top leadership of Croatia knew about large-scale sufferings of the Serbs at the beginning of the war, and not only of those in Gospic and Pakracka Poljana. This is the conclusion of numerous testimonies which have appeared after Miro Bajramovic, a former member of the so called Mercep's unit, publicly testified three weeks ago about tortures and executions of politically and nationally undesirable persons. According to his testimony, four hundred Serbs were killed at the two mentioned locations alone.

Immediately after this shocking story appeared in the independent "Feral Tribune", together with Bajramovic, three other of his former brothers-in-arms were arrested as he had named them as perpetrators of the mentioned crimes. For the time being they are defending themselves with silence, while to the examining magistrate Bajramovic denied all that he had said in the papers - having killed some seventy men with his own hand. His story was also refuted by Tomislav Mercep, commander of the unit of volunteers, which was officially under the Ministry of the Interior, as well as his direct superior at that time, Ivan Vekic, Minister of the Police.

Bajramovic said that they were informed about all that was going on and that they had issued orders for executions. They tried to discredit him as an unreliable person, chronic alcoholic, notorious liar, VCR thief with whom they once had problems, a pathological personality with criminal record who will end up in an asylum. They refuted all his allegations and maintained that these were fabrications aimed at smearing all volunteers, defiling the Homeland War and generally attack Croatia. Mercep warned that "volunteers will not take anymore insults and humiliation in the state they had created" and that they will soon be the ones to set the rules of the game: "We shall reply in a way which might not necessarily be entirely legal", he said.

Despite that, more and more proof appeared in the media corroborating Bajramovic's claims. Thus, the Attorney General, Anto Nobilo, who was deputy District Public Prosecutor of Zagreb back in 1992, stated that there might be some faults in Bajramovic's testimony, but that the key facts were authentic. According to him, most of these allegations were no secret to the Public Prosecutor's Office for over five years, but as Nobilo said, perpetrators were covered up and a major crime concealed. The papers published police records from one-time interrogations of the members of Mercep's group, who were imprisoned in 1992 and although they confessed to their crime - were released and set free for procedural reasons.

Testimonies from various sources confirmed and even expanded Bajramovic's story. There was a report of the Serbian Democratic Forum on the hardships of the Serbs, and according to it 186 Serbian citizens were killed in Croatia between 1991 and 1995. A confidential letter of Marin Vidic

• Bili, Commissioner of Vukovar, was also published requesting the President of the state to stop Mercep's death squad. The papers also carried a confidential letter of Ante Karic, government's official in charge of Gospic. In autumn 1991 he informed Tudjman on the liquidation of the Serbs in Gospic which was carried out not only by Mercep's men, but also by Tihomir Oreskovic, at that time Secretary of the Crisis Headquarters, and today President of the Commune of Perusic.

Instead of a question whether these crimes have really happened, another dilemma is increasingly present as to who is responsible for these atrocities - only the executor or also those for ordered, tolerated and kept them secret, those who knew everything but did nothing. The police swears to its innocence. They say: although the perpetrators were members of the police - they have caught Mercep's men in 1992 and consequently, according to them, those who let them free are responsible. The responsibility of Vladimir Seks, present Vice-President of the Assembly, is frequently mentioned. Nobilo was the first to call him by name. He claims that Seks, who was Attorney General in 1992, is the person most responsible for letting Mercep's group out of prison.

Josip Manolic, who was Chief of Secret Services and, according to many man No.2 at the time the crimes in Pakracka Poljana were committed, also mentions Seks. Manolic claims that Seks was the one to cover up both the Pakracka Poljana and Gospic crimes, while all the others are innocent. "The execution grounds in Pakracka Poljana were not the result of the official Croatian policy" says he and maintains that the moment crimes were discovered the state leadership, and especially the Croatian President, insisted on the opening of an investigation and naming of the culprits. Manolic admits that "there were people in the top echelons who agreed that the Serbs should be killed just for the reason of their ethnic affiliation". He thinks that this could explain the fact that from mid 1991 till early this year Mercep was Adviser to the Minister of the Police, and his men were highly decorated. "Mercep had his patrons in the very top of the Croatian state", claims Manolic and specifies that it is Vladimir Seks who, "as the Attorney General initiated the release of Mercep's group and their liberation from prison".

Seks returned the blow. He maintains that the one-time deputies of the District Public Prosecutor - namely Nobilo and his successor Rubesa - were those most responsible for covering up of the Pakracka Poljana crimes. Denying any blame he argues that these two failed to warn of the circumstances on account of which the members of Mercep's group had to be released later on. He thinks that they did not do it out of ignorance, but on purpose - he mentions intentional obstruction - so as to discredit the Croatian judiciary. As for Manolic's accusations, Seks claims that by accusing other in his, as he calls it, incurable Udba-like manner, he is actually trying to cover up his own responsibility. He reminds him that he was more powerful than Seks, able to resolve things with one phone call and that he was the one to bring Mercep to the Ministry of the Police. He considers his defence of the State President a pretense, while in fact he is attempting to bring to the Hague Tribunal "a part of the Croatian top, with Tudjman at its helm, picturing them as authors of the idea, instigators and concealers of the crime".

Then who is responsible for grave crimes committed six years ago, mostly against the Serbs? Reliable sources claim that, after Bajramovic's testimony, Tudjman approved the initiation of an investigation against Mercep also. Although it is highly unnatural that the order from the highest level should be necessary for opening an investigation, this fact actually shows with whom the responsibility lies. Not only for the release of Mercep's men, but also for the incomprehensible benevolence vis-s-vis this crime. Had he wanted it, the Croatian President could have done this much earlier. Until now he always defended Mercep; he refuted all accusation against him with a counter-argument that Mercep deserves all the credit for the defence of Croatia.

Tudjman knew it all, just like Manolic and Seks knew, and all the other potentates and the most powerful officials. If nothing efficient had been launched - that means that that was the political decision. Same as the present decision to start an investigation - is also political. There is a number of reasons for which Tudjman's decisions on this problem differ from those five years ago. The crucial one was given by the Attorney Nobilo. He said that the Mercep's group will be tried by the Croatian courts. If not, the Hague Tribunal will demand their surrender. It will be much easier to keep things under control - and dose them according to the circumstance - if the process takes place in Croatia.

JELENA LOVRIC