Posted on 11/15/2005 1:03:10 PM PST by mark502inf
A former Serb soldier admitted at a trial Tuesday that he and other paramilitaries had executed about 200 Croat prisoners of war at a pig farm in 1991.
Ivan Atanasijevic's testimony was the first open admission of the slaughter by one of the 16 defendants at the landmark war crimes trial in a special court in Belgrade.
Since the trial started in December 2003, only a protected Serb witness has admitted taking part in one of the worst massacres of POWs during the brutal Balkan wars in the 1990s.
During the fighting in late 1991, the Serb-controlled Yugoslav army advanced against the forces of then newly independent Croatia and seized control of a disputed territory in eastern Croatia, capturing several hundred Croatian soldiers and civilians. About 200 were executed at the pig farm and their bodies dumped into a freshly dug pit, according to the indictment.
The trial in Belgrade is seen as a key test of the ability of Serbia's judiciary system to deal with war crimes cases committed by the Serb side during the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Such trials in Serbia became possible only after pro-democracy leaders toppled former President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 and sent him to The Hague, where he is on trial at the war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia, answering for his role in the Croatian, Bosnian and Kosovo wars.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Let's hope so too but I'm just waiting for the Serb apologists to come out of the woodwork and deny the whole thing happened.
Sort of pathetic that FR actually has a Slobo fan club.
At least for this one they can't trot out the "they were just a bunch of Muslims" line.
FR doesn't, actually. It only exists in the minds of the Serb-hating bigots that divide their time between giving quiet support to the Muhammedans and fluffing Mr. Soros.
FROM THE NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.Z
Dejan Dusan Popovic
born March 1, 1897
Dejan was one of nine children born to well-to-do Serbian Orthodox parents in a town in the Croatian part of Yugoslavia. In 1916 he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army, but he deserted and joined the Serbian army. Dejan graduated from medical school in 1923 and opened a practice in Belgrade. In 1926 he married a wealthy Serb woman from Jasenovac. The couple had no children.
1933-39: Dejan had a successful obstetrics-gynecology practice in Belgrade. He and his wife were prosperous and had an active social life. Dejan traveled frequently, often to Paris and Switzerland. He loved trout fishing and his favorite streams were in the rugged highlands of Bosnia. When war broke out in Europe in September 1939, Yugoslavia declared itself neutral.
1940-42: Ten days after Yugoslavia's pro-German leaders were overthrown by Serbian army officers, German planes bombed Belgrade. On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia. Dejan fled to the remote Bosnian region of Govza, familiar to him from his fishing trips. He sought safety with the Muslim inhabitants, but was turned over to a unit of the thirteenth Waffen SS "Handschar" Division composed predominantly of Muslim Yugoslavs. Dejan's legs and hands were broken, his eyes gouged, and he was skinned alive.
On August 2, 1943, Dejan, barely alive, was hanged in Govza by Muslim soldiers from the SS "Handschar" division. Dejan was 46 years old.
Cedomir Milan Sorak
Born Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
July 20, 1920
Cedomir was the oldest of five children born to Serbian Orthodox parents. The Soraks lived in the multi-ethnic city of Sarajevo, the capital of the region of Bosnia. Cedomir's father, Milan, was an engineer employed by the Yugoslav state railways, and his Hungarian-born mother, Andjelija, was a housewife.
1933-39: The Sorak family moved to Zagreb after Cedomir's father was promoted to the position of assistant director of the rail system in the region of Croatia. He graduated from secondary school in 1938 and enrolled in the University of Zagreb's veterinary school. Cedomir liked the big city and had a Croatian girlfriend.
1940-41: On April 6, 1941, when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, Cedomir volunteered for the Yugoslav army. Four days later the Germans entered Zagreb. Croatian fascists came to power and began a campaign against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. On April 27, as Cedomir was returning home from his girlfriend's house, he was rounded up by the Croatian police and incarcerated in the Petrinjska Street prison. He was sent to Koprivnica, Gospic and Jadovno, Croatian-run concentration camps in the south.
In Jadovno, Cedomir was in a large group of prisoners who were chained together, brought to a deep pit outside the camp, bashed with sledge hammers, and then pushed into the pit.
Of course, we can all read the cross-examination of this witness?
Born Vrbovsko, Yugoslavia
September 16, 1886
The oldest of five children, Nikola was born in a small village in the Croatian part of Yugoslavia. Like his parents, Nikola was baptized in the Serbian Orthodox faith. After receiving his medical degree from Prague University, he married, and in 1912 moved with his wife to Serbia. During World War I he served in the Serbian army, and then settled in Novi Sad where he co-owned a medical clinic.
1933-39: Nikola and his wife raised three children in Novi Sad. Then difficult times brought on by the 1930s economic depression forced Nikola to close his medical clinic. The Mrvos family moved to the Croatian city of Zagreb, where Nikola found employment as the director of medical services for Yugoslavia's newly established health insurance administration.
1940-41: The Germans invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. Four days later, they entered Zagreb and Croatian fascists came to power. Because of anti-Serb discrimination, Nikola was arrested by Croatian fascists on April 12 and imprisoned in Kerestinec Castle outside Zagreb. During the night of July 13, some communist prisoners escaped. As a result, the police closed the prison down and transferred the prisoners to a Croatian concentration camp in the south in Gospic. Shortly after, they were transferred to a camp at Jadovno.
In August 1941 in Jadovno, Croatian fascists killed Nikola and threw his body into a limestone cave along with those of hundreds of murdered Serbs, Jews and communists.
I am back only for awhile.... this place is too full of the neo kind of_____________
Born Mostar, Yugoslavia
1905
Smiljka was one of three daughters born to Serbian Orthodox parents in the town of Mostar in the central Yugoslav region of Herzegovina. Smiljka's mother died when Smiljka was 3, and the three girls were raised by their father. A tomboy in her youth, at 17 Smiljka won the Miss Makarska Riviera beauty pageant and left for Germany to become a fashion model.
1933-39: Smiljka had a successful modeling career in Berlin. With her tall, slim figure, high cheekbones, and almond-shaped, grey-blue eyes, she was noted for her resemblance to Greta Garbo. Smiljka was anti-fascist and left Germany after Hitler came to power. When war broke out in Europe in September 1939, Smiljka was living in the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade with her husband, Tihomir Visnjevac, and their young son.
1940-41: Like many in Belgrade, Smiljka was openly anti-fascist. On March 27, 1941, a new anti-fascist government took power in Yugoslavia. In reaction, Germany launched a surprise bombing attack on Belgrade on Palm Sunday, April 6, 1941. Six days later, German troops occupied the city.
Together with her husband, Smiljka, who was known to the Germans for her anti-fascist views during her days in Weimar Germany, was rounded up by the Gestapo. For more than two weeks, Smiljka and her husband were beaten and tortured.
Smiljka was shot by a German firing squad in the Banjica concentration camp in early May 1941. She was 35 years old.
Date of Birth: July 1901
Place of Birth: Foča
Mara was one of six children born to Serbian parents. The family lived in the small town of Foča in the region of Bosnia. Like her parents, Mara was baptized in the Serbian Orthodox faith. She grew up in Foča and in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, where she completed secondary school. In 1930 she married Rajko Popović, a circuit court judge. The couple had no children.
1933–39: In 1934 Rajko completed a judicial tour of duty in Foča, and the couple moved to Sarajevo. Mara and Rajko were Serbian nationalists. At that time, the Serbs controlled Bosnia and the Yugoslav central government.
1940–44: The Germans invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941. In May Bosnia was placed under the rule of the fascist Croatian puppet-state. Mara’s husband feared capture by the Croatian police, and he fled to Serbia. Mara remained in Sarajevo, where she lived in the same building as her niece, Mirjana, and older sister, Jovanka.
In 1944 Croatian police arrested Mara, Mirjana, and Jovanka because they were prominent Serbian nationalists. After refusing to convert to Roman Catholicism, Mara was deported to Jasenovac, a Croatian-run concentration camp.
Mara perished in Jasenovac in late 1944. She was 43 years old.
I am still looking for the bodies of the false "ethnic cleansing" which was the reason for the American bombing of the people of Yugoslavia.
Thanks for new information on this person. I for one, still pay attention.
1933-39: Stevo had saved some money in the United States, and became one of the wealthiest farmers in his village. He acquired livestock and enlarged his farm. In addition to supporting his large family, he also supported his deaf-mute older brother. When war broke out in September 1939, Yugoslavia declared itself neutral.
1940-42: The Germans invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941. Croatian fascists [Ustase] came to power soon after in Croatia and Bosnia, and carried out pogroms against the Serbs. In July 1942 the Germans and Croatians launched a joint offensive against the partisans, who were based on Mount Kozara near Pucari. During the offensive, Stevo's family was imprisoned in a Croatian concentration camp at Cerovljani. Stevo was among the many men who were then deported to the German-run Sajmiste camp in Zemun.
Stevo, two of his brothers and a son were among 47,000 who perished in the Sajmiste extermination camp.
BTTT!!!
Jovanka Jovicic Babunovic
Born Foca, Yugoslavia
October 12, 1894
Jovanka was one of six children born to Serbian Orthodox parents in a small town in the Bosnian part of Yugoslavia. Her parents were prominent Serbian nationalists. After Jovanka completed middle school in Foca, she moved with her parents in 1912 to the multi-ethnic city of Sarajevo. There she met and married Marko Babunovic in 1916. The couple raised three children.
1933-39: Jovanka was an active member of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Her husband was a prosperous businessman, and she was active in supporting various charities. Her favorite causes were helping needy families in Sarajevo and in her hometown of Foca, and supporting the construction of bell towers for Serbian Orthodox churches in the poor communities of rural Bosnia.
1940-44: The Germans invaded Yugoslavia in 1941. That spring, Jovanka's son, Momir, who was studying in Germany, was arrested as an "enemy alien" and sent to Dachau. After Sarajevo was taken over by Croatian fascists that year, Jovanka's husband was arrested because he was a Serb leader and her other son fled to Serbia. Jovanka remained in Sarajevo with her sister and daughter; they were arrested by Croatian police in 1944. Upon refusing to convert to Roman Catholicism, Jovanka was deported to a Croatian-run concentration camp.
Jovanka died in the Jasenovac concentration camp in late 1944. She was 50 years old.
Born Podum, Yugoslavia
1892
Kosta was the oldest of five children born to Serbian Orthodox parents in a poor farming village. Podum was on the slopes of Mount Um in the Croatian part of Yugoslavia. After finishing secondary school, Kosta emigrated to the United States. But when World War I broke out in 1914, he returned to Podum. In 1920 he married Anka, a Serb woman from his village, and they raised eight children.
1933-39: Kosta would read the newspaper to his friends and neighbors who could not read. He supported his family by raising food crops on his rocky farm and by doing odd jobs. His children all attended school. Podum's Serbs attended Orthodox church services every Sunday. They had good relations with their Catholic Croat neighbors in the larger village of Otocac, two miles away.
1940-44: On April 6, 1941, the Germans invaded Yugoslavia. Four days later, Croatian fascists came to power, aided by the Germans. The Croatians began pogroms against Serbs. Many Serbs fled their villages; some joined Serbian or Communist resistance groups. Kosta remained in Podum with his family.
One evening in March 1944, a German officer was found dead on Podum's outskirts. The next day, Croatian fascists and German soldiers burned the village and killed all the Serbian men in the village they could find.
That same day, as the Naprtas stood in the snow watching their house burn, a German officer fired six bullets into Kosta, killing him in front of his family.
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