Posted on 07/25/2008 9:45:05 AM PDT by Bokababe
Busic - unintentional murderer.
Damn it, Dio. The SOB killed a NY policeman on American soil when the guy had nothing to do with Croatian politics.
Don't give me the "no intent to kill" BS, Busic planted a live bomb in a locker that killed a NY policeman and maimed another when it went off.
Busic had phony bomb on him which he told the passengers and pilot were real -- they had no way of knowing the difference until he and his girlfriend were captured and disarmed.
The only thing that the phony bombs proved is that he didn't intend to kill HIMSELF in the process of hijacking the plane. That doesn't make him innocent -- it just showed him to be a coward. No brownie points for that!
Even the judge said this during sentencing.
They carried leaflets aboard the plane that they planned to drop.
The man committed a terrorist act, did his time, and now is home. The death of the police officer is a great tragedy, but was unintentional.
Busic’s hijacking was only one of a string of Croat terrorist acts in the US, Europe & Australia in the 1970’s & 80s:
Two Croatian terrorists released six hostages in Chicago Aug. 17 and surrendered to authorities 10 hours after seizing the West German Consulate in the city. [See 1977, p. 642A2]
The two Croatians had demanded the release of Stefan Bilandzic from a West German prison. Bilandzic, a leading Croatian nationalist, was serving a life sentence in West Germany for attempting to assassinate the Yugoslavian consul general in Dusseldorf.
(Croatian nationalists were fighting Yugoslavia to gain independence for their region. Croatia was currently one of the six republices that formed Yugoslavia.)
The siege in Chicago began in the morning of Aug. 17 when the two terrorists, described as Croatians from the Chicago area, entered the building on South Michigan Ave. where the consulate was located. They demanded to talk to the consul general, who was not in the building, and then pulled out pistols. One of the men also claimed to have a bomb in his briefcase. Eight persons in the office were taken hostage.
The building was surrounded by police, who started negotiations with the Croatians. One of the terrorists’ first demands was to speak to Bilandzic in West Germany. They said they wanted to block his possible extradition to Yugoslavia because they feared he would be killed by Yugoslavian authorities. They threatened to explode the bomb they carried if their demands were not met.
Two of the hostages were released early in the siege, including the daughter of the consul general.
A court ruling in West Germany earlier in the week, opening the way for Bilandzic’s extradition to Yugoslavia, apparently provoked the Coatian’s seizure of the Chicago consulate. The Yugoslavs had demanded Bilandzic’s extradition and that of seven other Croatians held in West Germany in return for the extradition of four West German terrorists held in Yugoslavia. [See p. 438E3]
Police in Chicago and West Germany credited Ivan Bilandzic, brother of the imprisoned nationalist, for bringing about the surrender of the two Croatians. Bilandzic entered the consulate and spoke with the two men for 90 minutes before their surrender.
In other events connected with Croatian nationalism:
* More than 200 Croatian exiles demonstrated in Cologne Aug. 13 to protest a West German high court ruling that permitted the extradition of Stefan Bilandzic.
* Croatian terrorists planted two bombs in New York City Aug. 14 and demanded the release of Stefan Bilandzic from West German custody. Neither of the two bombs exploded. One was found on a window ledge in a United Nations building and the other in a locker at Grand Central Station.
Notes found with the bombs denounced “the terroristic ways of Yugoslavia dictatorship and its genocide of Croatians.” Police said the bombs were large and well-made.
* An armed group of 19 Croatians was arrested by Australian police in a remote camp about 250 miles south of Sydney, it was reported Sept. 5. The Croatians had weapons, maps of their homeland and instructions on planting land mines.
The West German government announced Sept. 13 that it would refuse a Yugoslavian request for the extradition of three Croatians wanted in Yugoslaiva for terrorism. The three were among the eight Croatians sought by the Yugoslavian government in exchange for the four West German terrorists captured in Yugoslavia.
The West Germany decision was expected to make the Yugoslavs less likely to return the West German terrorists.
A West German court decided that there was insufficient evidence to justify the extradition of two of the wanted Croatians. The third Croatian, Stefan Bilandzic, was still under investigation by West German police, and therefore could not be returned.
Okay.
From 30,000 feet? From a pressurized airliner? If they opened the friggin door, it would have downed the damn plane with all the passengers on it!
And you'd proabably still be here, saying, "Duh, but they didn't intend to kill anyone"
Hey, I didn’t say that their plan was a good one. But as the judge said, there was no intention to harm anyone. Unfortunately one officer was killed, and that’s a tragedy.
In most acts of extortion from hijacking to armed robbery, the story is the same -- they don't "intend to kill anyone". But when you have a bomb, a gun or some other lethal weapon that you are using as a threat to get what you want, often people die as a result. That's not just "a tragedy", it's a murder. Intent may influence what degree of of murder it is -- 1st degree, 2nd degree or manslaughter. But it's not "self-defense" or "accidental death". It's murder, and in this case, it was the murder of a police officer.
Take it up with the judge then.
You mean the judge that gave him a life sentence? I don't have to.
What a county... Croatia!
Highlights of the article:
ZAGREB, CROATIA – After 32 years he spent in prison in the United States, Zvonko Busic finally stepped foot on Croatian soil. Busic was greeted at the Zagreb airport which was packed by his friends and family who applauded his arrival.
His friends handed him flowers with tears in their eyes and everybody wanted to touch him.....
...Also amongst the many people who came to greet him was Frane Pesut who arrived in Croatia last year. Together with Busic, he hijacked an American airplane on September 10, 1976 on a flight from New York to Chicago.
Pesut told Javno everything that happened that day, but said he had nothing to do with organising the hijacking.
Taik (Zvonko Busic’s nickname) knew all the details. He invited me along as his friend and it was a great honour. I never had any doubts we should do it (hijack the plane) – he told us.
...Busic quickly described the behaviour of the members of the American security services that accompanied him on his path to freedom.
They did not even let me freshen my face, no bathe in the last 60 hours, you can only imagine how that is. I am tired as a dog and dirty as a pig. Otherwise, they treated me very well. They wanted to have me arrive like a criminal, under the table, but I am not ashamed of coming to Croatia – said Busic.....
There were a couple of brief mentions of the slain NY cop, but it was talked about more like an "sorry, oops" than any real remorse. They held a moment of silence for "slain Croat freedom fighters" but none for NY Officer Brian Murray.
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