|
Incoming Messages from ZTN
|
Updated Every 4 Hours
From OTVORENE-OCI_ST@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org Sun Oct 15 20:38:45 1995
Received: from bi-node.zerberus.de (194.77.23.10) by MediaFilter.org
with SMTP (MailShare 1.0b10); Sun, 15 Oct 1995 20:38:46 -0500
Received: from bionic.zerberus.de by bi-node.zerberus.de with zconnect
(Smail3.1.29.1 #6) id m0t4CnU-0002KqC; Sat, 14 Oct 95 21:03 MET
To: 71154.1605@compuserve.com, 74774.746@compuserve.com, act@web.apc.org, antenna@earn.cvut.cz, Barnett_Rubin_at_CFR1@email.cfr.org, bruno@bbeloff.demon.co.uk, eagro@igc.apc.org, exyugo@amnesty.gn.apc.org, G.R.Beckett@bradford.ac.uk, gshapirocrc@igc.apc.org, GSOA@gsoa.link-ch1.ch, idee@dgs.dgsys.com, ifor@gn.apc.org, igcnewsdesk@igc.org, maggie@gn.apc.org, newsdesk@igc.apc.org, nizichi@hrw.org, peacemedia@gn.apc.org, peacenews@gn.apc.org, pmiller@amnesty.gn.apc.org, pnbalkans@igc.org, pressnow@pressnow.hacktic.nl, radiopanik@gn.apc.org, sj@mediafilter.org, verforum@vub.ac.be, w04boj31@icineca.cineca.it, warreport@gn.apc.org, zukicn@wu1.wl.aecl.ca
CC: DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org, STINA_ST@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org, homo_pu@zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org, HHO_ZG@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de, GRADJ-ODB_ZG@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.zer.de, ECMM@ICVAZG.ztn.APC.ORG
Message-Id: <5vrQgF8x_7B@pz-balk.zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org>
From: OTVORENE-OCI_ST@ZAMIR-ZG.ztn.apc.org (Otvorene oci )
Path: bionic.zerberus.de!zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org
Organization: Otvorene Oci
Subject: Krajina killings
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 1995 12:52:00 +0100
X-Mailer: CrossPoint v3.02
X-Gateway: ZCONNECT bi-node.zerberus.de [UNIX/Connect v0.74a]
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-ZC-Post: Male Putine 2/V; 41000 Zagreb CROATIA
X-ZC-Telefon: +385-21-553-610 +385-1-156-349
X-ZC-DDA: 19951014134632W+0
Lines: 159
/////////////////////////////***\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
O T V O R E N E O C I
Croatian Branch of the Balkan Peace Team
Male Putine 2/V 41000 Zagreb CROATIA
Zagreb: tel/fax +385-01-156-349
Split : tel/fax +385-21-553-610
otvorene-oci_zg@zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org
otvorene-oci_st@zamir-zg.ztn.apc.org
/////////////////////////////***\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
*KRAJINA KILLINGS*
[Saturday 14 October, 1995 - Split]
The international media broadcasted the news and the pictures
of the massacre of 9 elderly Krajina Serbs on 28 September in
the village of Varivode, Croatia. The Varivode killings are
neither the first nor the last case of murders committed by
Croatian army soldiers in former sector South. The UN Human
Rights Action Teams (HRAT) had sofar submitted full
documentation of 60 cases of killings in former sector South
to the Zadar police for investigation. One day after the
Varivode murders, 29 September, two Krajina Serbs were killed
in the hamlets of Gudara and Milunovic near the village of
Zrmanje-Vrelo. Human rights activists are still finding bodies
and uncovering killings committed over the past two months.
Another visit by Croatian army soldiers
Milan Marcetic (1948) and Dusan Sujica (1927) were the next
victims. Representatives of the Croatian Helsinki Committee
and Otvorene Oci spoke to relatives and acquaintances in the
hamlets.
Villagers say that the neighbouring hamlets of Gudara and
Milunovic were regularly visited by soldiers threatening them
and stealing their money and cattle. On 29 September a group
of 10 soldiers arrived at the hamlet. Mrs. Smiljka Marcetic,
mother of Milan, tells her story. At 17.00 pm, 3 soldiers
entered the house in which mother and son lived together. She
was lying on a bed in the kitchen while her son was asleep in
the bedroom. The soldiers searched the house for money and
arms and asked her for her identity papers. At the same time 2
of the soldiers entered the bedroom and returned with Milan,
holding a gun against his head. The other soldier searched the
room and turned it into a chaos. Smiljka and Milan both showed
them their papers. The soldiers decided to take Milan out of
the house and into the woods. Gunshots were heard by the
villagers and after the soldiers had left, neighbour Janja
Krzelj went into the woods and found Milan's body, lying on
the back with 4 bullet wounds in the chest.
An old couple, Lazo and Sava Tribic, tell their part of the
story. Sava was in the village when the soldiers came, whereas
Lazo was in the fields with his sheep. The intruders asked
Sava for her identity papers and questioned her about the
tractor in their courtyard. The soldiers wanted to know who
drove the tractor and the age of the person. She referred to
her husband stating that he was momentarily out in the fields
with his sheep. As they were speaking she heard Smiljka
shouting, "they are killing my son". From afar Lazo saw the
soldiers roaming around in the village and decided to stay
where he was.
After Janja had found Milan's body, Smiljka asked Lazo to
bring the body to her house, but Lazo decided that it was
better to leave it there until the arrival of the police. The
body lay in the woods for two nights. Lazo and his neighbour
Simo guarded the body during the following two nights, to
prevent wild dogs from eating it. The police performed their
investigation two days after the murder. The results of the
investigation are not known to the villagers.
Dusan Sujica (1927) was the only inhabitant of the
neighbouring hamlet of Milunovic. According to the villagers 3
of the 10 soldiers went to the hamlet and killed Dusan the
same day. Dusan's body was found lying in the hay in a barn,
shot at short range.
Police and Civil Defence intended to take both bodies to the
Knin cemetery, but the villagers begged for permission to bury
them at the Zrmanje graveyard. Permission granted.
Krajina killings: allegations and confirmations
The first massacre that reached the international and some of
the local main stream media was the killing of 5 elderly Serbs
in Grubori on 26 August. Until then the UN Human Rights Action
Teams (HRAT) had found dead bodies of people killed after the
Croatian army action "Storm" on a regular basis, but never 5
at the same time in 1 village.
The daily reports of the UN HRAT show that the killings
continue. Excerpts of these reports, as well as excerpts of
reports of the European Community Monitoring Mission
concerning the killings, have been published in international
and in Croatian newspapers (Novi List, Feral Tribune and
Globus). The Croatian Helsinki Committee states in its public
announcement nr. 28, 6 October 1995 that it has officially
documented several hundreds of killings.
The Croatian government still describes the murder cases as
mere isolated incidents committed by 'individuals wearing
Croatian army uniforms'. The Croatian authorities have
undertaken action; according to official statistics announced
by president Tudjman during his press conference on 6 October,
7 cases of murder are pending at the courts and 36 cases of
murder are being investigated to determine whether the cases
are criminal cases or war-related cases.
Meanwhile domestic human rights activists travel through
former sector South, visit the villages and hamlets, talk to
the villagers and listen to their stories about alleged
killings. This week two stories have been confirmed.
A Dalmatian Solidarity Committee (DSC) mission to Kakanj lead
to the discovery of the body of V.S. (1911). V.S. lived on his
own in the village. The last time the man had been seen was on
14 September and when his son A.S. returned to the village on
24 September for a visit, the father had disappeared. Attempts
to find him were without results. Together with a DSC member
the son returned to the village on 11 October where the body
was found floating in an underground well. See forthcoming DSC
report.
A joint Croatian Helsinki Committee (CHC) and Otvorene Oci
mission lead to the village of Oton Brdo following allegations
of villagers from Kusac. Jovo Vujnovic lead the
representatives to his own, partly burnt down house and showed
them the place where he buried his mother Marta Vujnovic
(1910) who was killed on 17 August. This case had already been
reported to the UN. Subsequently he lead the representatives
to a house in which allegedly the body of Marija Vujnovic
(1910), killed on 21 August, could be found. The initial
search was without any result, but a closer look revealed the
decomposed body hidden under a sleeping bag on the floor
besides a bed. The UN HRAT has been informed.
Another massacre?
A joint DSC, CHC and Otvorene Oci mission investigated the
allegations of the murder of 7 elderly Serbs on 27 August in
the remote hamlet of Gosic. 7 elderly Serbs, all bearing the
name of Borak, lie on the Knin cemetery in recently dug
graves. These people were not killed during the Croatian army
operation. In this now completely deserted hamlet every house
has been looted and several houses have been burned down. The
representatives found documents of 5 out of 7 of the Borak's.
See forthcoming CHC announcement on this case.
Momentarily human rights work in former sector South, Croatia
is taking on a macabre form. This will be the case as long as
old cases remain uncovered and the killing of elderly Serbs
continues.
## CrossPoint v3.02 ##