“Tuzla Column attack organized by authorities”

The former commander of the JNA’s barracks in Tuzla says that the attack on a JNA column in 1992 was organized with the support of the authorities. Mile Dubajic, testifying at the trial of Ilija Jurisic at the Belgrade District Court, said the barracks in Tuzla were due to be vacated by May 19, and that on May 15 at a meeting with members of Tuzla Crisis HQ, it had been agreed that the withdrawal would be conducted peacefully, though the exact time and route was not specified. “Tuzla Column attack organized by authorities” He said that there had been no heavy arms in the barracks, and that he had not issued his soldiers battle commands as he had not expected any clashes to take place. “Shooting from the surrounding hills started before the column had even set off. I asked the chief of Tuzla Crisis Headquarters Mesa Bajric to cancel the departure, but he told me there was nothing he could do,” Dubajic stated. A column of about 100 vehicles, some 400 to 500 meters long, departed at around 19.00 CET, the witness said, stating that he had ordered his men to keep their weapons between their legs with the barrels pointed up. The attack began as the vehicle he was in together with Enver Begovic from the Crisis Headquarters was approaching the so-called Brcanska Malta crossroads. “We were two or three kilometers away from the crossroads when the shooting started. We saved who we could, we sent the wounded to hospital, and we formed a unit that took up a position at Simin Han, from where we attacked certain targets in Tuzla. We held Begovic hostage,” Dubajic described. The witness said that he had spoken with Bajric the next day, who told him that the soldiers had started shooting first and that they had only returned fire. According to Dubajic, the attack on the column “was very carefully prepared and organized in complete secrecy, with experienced and well-trained troops.” “If I had anticipated an attack, I’d have withdrawn the troops during the night,” he said. Jurisic accused the witness of bearing part of the responsibility for what happened in Tuzla, when 92 soldiers were killed, 33 wounded and a large number of medical vehicles destroyed. “Because of some people’s lack of principals, I was forced to become a Belgrade resident,” said Jurisic, addressing Dubajic. According to the prosecution, Jurisic, as the senior officer at the Tuzla Public Security Center’s operative headquarters, gave orders to members of the Tuzla territorial defense to open fire on the column after receiving an order via radio from his superior Mehmed Bajric. Meanwhile, a memorial service was held yesterday at the Pucile graveyard in Bijelina for 200 members of the JNA who died during the withdrawal from Tuzla 16 years ago. Republika of Srpska President Rajko Kuzmanovic said that the time had come to confirm the truth about what happened during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and stated that that was a prerequisite for reconciliation between peoples, and the creation of a prosperous society. “We don’t want revenge, we want the truth and justice, for everyone who planned or carried out these crimes to be brought to justice, and to get the punishment they deserve,” Kuzmanovic stressed. He said that that was the only way to get out of “the spiral of ethnic and other conflicts that have taken place in this region throughout history, accompanied by outbursts of mass violence.”

“Tuzla Column attack organized by authorities”

He said that there had been no heavy arms in the barracks, and that he had not issued his soldiers battle commands as he had not expected any clashes to take place.

“Shooting from the surrounding hills started before the column had even set off. I asked the chief of Tuzla Crisis Headquarters Meša Bajrić to cancel the departure, but he told me there was nothing he could do,” Dubajić stated.

A column of about 100 vehicles, some 400 to 500 meters long, departed at around 19.00 CET, the witness said, stating that he had ordered his men to keep their weapons between their legs with the barrels pointed up.

The attack began as the vehicle he was in together with Enver Begović from the Crisis Headquarters was approaching the so-called Brčanska Malta crossroads.

“We were two or three kilometers away from the crossroads when the shooting started. We saved who we could, we sent the wounded to hospital, and we formed a unit that took up a position at Simin Han, from where we attacked certain targets in Tuzla. We held Begović hostage,” Dubajić described.

The witness said that he had spoken with Bajrić the next day, who told him that the soldiers had started shooting first and that they had only returned fire.

According to Dubajić, the attack on the column “was very carefully prepared and organized in complete secrecy, with experienced and well-trained troops.”

“If I had anticipated an attack, I’d have withdrawn the troops during the night,” he said.

Jurišić accused the witness of bearing part of the responsibility for what happened in Tuzla, when 92 soldiers were killed, 33 wounded and a large number of medical vehicles destroyed.

“Because of some people’s lack of principals, I was forced to become a Belgrade resident,” said Jurišić, addressing Dubajić.

According to the prosecution, Jurišić, as the senior officer at the Tuzla Public Security Center’s operative headquarters, gave orders to members of the Tuzla territorial defense to open fire on the column after receiving an order via radio from his superior Mehmed Bajrić.

Meanwhile, a memorial service was held yesterday at the Pučile graveyard in Bijelina for 200 members of the JNA who died during the withdrawal from Tuzla 16 years ago.

Republika of Srpska President Rajko Kuzmanović said that the time had come to confirm the truth about what happened during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and stated that that was a prerequisite for reconciliation between peoples, and the creation of a prosperous society.

“We don’t want revenge, we want the truth and justice, for everyone who planned or carried out these crimes to be brought to justice, and to get the punishment they deserve,” Kuzmanović stressed.

He said that that was the only way to get out of “the spiral of ethnic and other conflicts that have taken place in this region throughout history, accompanied by outbursts of mass violence.”