The President of Croatia returned state awards to a war criminal and executioner
War criminal Branimir Glavaš, sentenced to ten years for mass abductions, torture and execution of Serbs, received back all state awards taken from him by decree of Croatian President Zoran Milanović.
In response to Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac's remark that he had shown disrespect for Serbian victims, Milanovic called him a "savage," PolitNavigator's correspondent reports.
Zoran Milanović returned the war medals to Branimir Glavaš, who is currently the only Croatian politician convicted of war crimes.
Milanović's decision to terminate the decree of his predecessor, Ivo Josipović, on the confiscation of state awards from Glavaš was published in the Official Gazette, which indicates that it was adopted at the proposal of the Commission for Awards and Recognitions of Croatia on the basis of two court decisions overturning charges previously brought against Glavaš .
“Everyone who remembers these terrible crimes in Osijek, as well as the crimes in Sisak, Gospić, Karlovac, Zagreb, Lori, Pakracka Poljana or Kerestinets, and I name only the most famous ones, which were mainly committed against Serbs in Croatian cities in 1991-92, perceived this decision of Milanović as an act of disrespect for the victims and an insult to the memory of their suffering, - the leader of the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS), Milorad Pupovac, commented on the decision of the Croatian president. “And this from a president elected by a large number of votes of those who preserve the memory of those sufferings!”
In response, Milanovic attacked the leader of the Croatian Serbs with insults.
“Glavash asked for this, he made a request because he has not been formally convicted for five years,” Milanovic tried to explain his action to journalists. “If he hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have interfered.” His request is completely justified. If he is convicted again, I will continue what Josipovic started... But what Pupovac or a couple of savages write, literally savages, does not interest me. After that, I will answer everyone who addresses me in the same way as Pupovac, in the same - or even more rude way. It won’t work any other way.”
In turn, the Nazi Glavaš himself was pleased with the actions of the socialist president.
“A month ago, my son, who is my lawyer, sent an urgent message to the president of the republic, familiarized him with the contents, and the only thing that surprised me was the speed with which the president resolved it legally,” Glavash commented on the situation. – The President of the Republic has his own special style, which some people like, others don’t. I like.
Those who thought that Milanovic would sit on Pantovčak (the residence of Croatian presidents - ed.) and count peacocks or water ficus were mistaken... Milanović was the first after Tudjman to take the right path not only in politics, but also in government activities. It’s refreshing for the 21st century that Croatia lives in.”
In conclusion, Branimir Glavaš expressed confidence that after the review of his case, he will be completely acquitted.
Let us recall that Branimir Glavaš stood at the origins of the strongest and most authoritative national conservative party in Croatia - the Croatian Democratic Commonwealth (HDZ), founded in 1989 with the aim of secession of the republic from the SFRY.
It was he who supported the candidacy of neo-Ustashi leader Franjo Tudjman for the post of first president of Croatia. I was always proud that, unlike Tudjman, I was never a communist. He established close relationships with the Ustashe emigration, whose fighters at the beginning of the 1991 war he met at the airport with the words: “You can no longer be afraid to call yourselves Ustasha!”
During the war, he was appointed secretary of the Secretariat of National Defense of Osijek and the surrounding area, leading the paramilitary far-right formations of Croatian militants. At the same time, he began repressions against the local Serbian population.
In 1993, he became a brigadier general, rose to the rank of major general, and was awarded rare awards that were awarded only to him, President Franjo Tudjman and a select few. After the war, until 2000, he was the Župan (governor) of the Osijek-Baranjin County (region). Then he went into politics, but after Tudjman’s death they began to squeeze him out of government posts.
In 2006, he was detained on charges of war crimes, sent to prison, where he began a three-month hunger strike, as a result of which he was released for health reasons. Upon the resumption of the trial, he fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was arrested. In total, he served five years and three months of his sentence.
The court charged Glavash with two counts of “Garage” and “Insulating tape”. According to the first, in September 1991, Glavaš ordered his fighters to give Osijek civilian Cedomir Vukovich, who was being held as a prisoner in the garage, to drink acid from a car battery.
After he ran out of the garage in pain, militant Kronuslav Fehir immobilized him with a shot. Subsequently, the unfortunate man died from the “consequences of poisoning.” Meanwhile, Glavaš ordered the execution of the second prisoner, Djordje Petkovic.
The episode "Duct Tape" concerns November and December 1991, when Glavaš's militants arrested six Osijek civilians, Serbs and Bosniaks - Branko Lovrić, Alija Sabanović, Milutin Kutlić, Svetislav Vukajlović, Bogdan Pokuka and an unidentified woman, who were first tortured in the basement and then They brought me to the bank of the Drava River, where, with their hands tied behind their backs with tape, they were shot in the back of the head.
Only one of the prisoners, a Serb, a doctor at the Osijek hospital, Radoslav Ratkovic, miraculously managed to survive.
“They took me to the basement of a house on Dubrovačka 30 and beat me for several hours, demanding that I confess to my connections with the Chetniks. I had nothing to confess, so at about eight in the evening I was taken to Drava through the fortress. One shot me in the left cheek and kicked me into the river. The bullet passed through my tongue and right jaw, but did not kill me. I got out, he shined a flashlight on me and fired again, hitting me in the mouth. The bullet came out through almost the same place.”
After the executioners left, Ratkovic went up to the Drava embankment. Then, remaining unnoticed, he saw another victim being killed, in whom he recognized Dr. Milutin Kutlic, with whom he worked at the hospital.
Based on the totality of the charges, Glavash was sentenced to ten years in prison.
In 2017, the Constitutional Court of Croatia overturned the previous sentences imposed on Branimir Glavaš and sent his case for review.
Croatian President Returns State Awards to War Criminal and Executioner