In the November 15, 1997 issue of the Belgrade weekly 'Vreme', Dejan Anastasijevic and Dragan Todorovic explore the issue of the recent confessions to war crimes in Serbia.
On Wednsdy November 5, the local Vranje paper, 'Vranjske Novine', published a confession of Slobodan Misic, called Top, local loafer, who spent time as a volunteer in Eastern Slavonia and Bosnia during 1991 and 1992. As soon as the next day, almost all newspapers in the capital brought quotes from this story under big headlines, while two operatives of the State Security arrested Misic in the offices of 'Vranjske Novine', taking also away the tapes and notes connected with the case.
According to Misic's words, what made him talk was not that much unclear conscience, as much as the poverty in which he found himself after he returned from the war front and the disgust of the people around him.
After Misc's arrest, the prosecutor's office in Vranje stated that it undertook 'legal measures' against him, although it was unclear in the beginning whether he will be accused because of what he said he did, or because of spreading lies and disturbance of the public, as some regime media indicated. So, in few months the beginning of the trial should be expected, at what time the state will have the chance to prove at work the thesis that it is presenting for years now to the representatives of the Hague Tribunal: that the local jurisprudence is able to try local war criminals without the help from the outside.'
The Hague Wr Crimes Tribunal announced that the case is under investigation, as well as that a request will be sent to the authorities of FRY to submitt additional information on Misic's story.
Until the trial the regime has enough time to limit the damage which Misic created with his interviews. These interviews only cursorily indicated the details which could be very interesting for the Tribunal: for example, names of two active officers of the JNA who were his commanders are mentioned, so by the principle of command and control, they could also be named, because they did not prevent or punish appropriately Misic's crimes. Besides this, in his story to Belgrade daily 'Dnevni Telegraf', Misic mentions that his unit was lead in some actions by 'Red Berrets' - unit which during war time was part of the special unit of the Serbian police, under direct command of late general Stojicic - Badza. Having in mind the fact that the Security Service took out of the offices of 'Vranjske Novine' more than two hours of tapes of Misic's story (of which less than ten percent was printed), it is possible that there are more details like this.
Immediately after this, the press in the capital started a campaign with an obvious goal to present the story in 'Vranjske Novine' as simple blabering. Judging by all, Misic belongs to the category of 'free artists' and it will be easy to present him at the trial as a sociopath who committed the crimes following some of his, and only his (dark) motives.
The problem is that there are hundreds of people like Misic, and many of them are in a similar social situation. Those who prepared men like these six years ago, armed them and sent them to Croatia and Bosnia would like it best that everything remains under the carpet. At their misfortune, more and more of the executioners refuse to remain there.