Vekic fires "blankshots"

Mocking justice and victims of war crime atrocities is what Ivan Vekic does the best throughout his political career. His political comeback is based on the extreme right wing policies expressed in a future party that plays alongside on the emotional card of those who stood up against the aggression.

Cannot do! I have said earlier on and I will reiterate my point, we shone in a true light. Our enemies saw our strength, we were armed and need it be our political enemies and those sitting in the Croatian parliament could see it again. These words were uttered by Vekic during Croatian National channel news proggramme when he commented the decision taken by Osijek Public Prosecutors Office to call in 

this ex-minister for Internal Affairs from summer 1991 until spring 1992 for formal questioning.

In any democratic society his words would be taken seriously in the form of a threat especially when he talks about “strength of our force” that his political and parliamentary enemies would be able to witness. Someone in the police or Public Prosecutor-s office ought to be interested in Vekic-s words of menace.

Hidden behind “we”

In 2001 the police force from Osijek called Vekic in for an informative chat in their efforts to solve atrocities committed on Serb civilians. In his professional capacity as a lawyer Vekic defended himself as a citizen who was only defending constitutional values of the republic of Croatia. Then as a president of Slavonia-s committee for the protection of the dignity of Croatia-s uprising he called for citizens rebellion against the political leadership at all cost and by all means. Vekic sheltered himself and his ideas behind the collective pronoun “we” and refused to appear in front of local police force in Osijek for questioning.

Ivan Vekic is a clever, educated man, what is more he is an excellent speaker. Although this is not surprising bearing inn mind the company with whom he was creating Croatian Democratic Union and the country at the end of 80-s and at the beginning of the 90-s. He reiterated that at the time the country was founded all that was required was courage, not intelligence.

Vekic never evaded the question of war crime atrocities. He talked about them often always praising himself in their solving. He liked to think of himself as an intellectual among politicians. At the beginning of 90-s journalists would ask him why did he allow criminals to join the police and gain privileges. He would answer that this was imminent hence a few priests and nuns join as volunteers.

However, when a war criminal from Mercep-s unit, Miro Bajramovic gave an interview to Feral, stating that Vekic not only knew about atrocities but he also personally ordered a couple of executions, Vekic dismissed Bajramovic as a person with a criminal past with mental health problems. Croatian media has called Vekic as a potential Hague detainee and he said that he would gladly go there if asked.

In his interviews he was often asked about role of Tomislav Mecep and his unit whose activities are subject of a court inquiry. Vekic praised Mercep as a honest Croatian patriot stress being on honest. He never heard of his unit committing a single war crime. In his interview to Dalmacija on Sunday in 1994 he commented war atrocities on Pakrac Meadow by saying: “ What does it mean if someone was killed n Pakrac Meadow if this happened at the time when Serbs were shelling a Serb village 24/7 taken by Croats. Croats should not be responsible for this, We all know that a shell does not choose between a child, a woman, an old person or a civilian”. He goes on to state that Serbs had a practice of shelling their own folk for disobedience and asks if Croats should be held responsible for these acts.

Victim mocking.

The words uttered by so called intellectual Vekic these days would be heard with contempt but then they were the norm. It was normal that he comments arrest of the first line commander of Vukovar defence, Mile Dedakovic Jastreb with words: “ One has to allow the use of force and this happens and I should not see this as something of a public interest.”

In an interview given to “Nedjeljni Vjesnik” on February 2 1992, a journalist Mladen Plese asked then minister Vekic about all those houses trapped in mine fields according to ethnic division. Vekic admitted to their existence but quickly added that this was inevitable as these houses were on the first line of front. He pointed out that emotions run high and that controlled behaviour of the troops is difficult to get grip of. Furthermore, he reminded that Croatia was the country at war and that many things happen in the war.

Mocking justice and victims of war crime atrocities is what Ivan Vekic does the best throughout his political career. His political comeback is based on the extreme right wing policies expressed in a future party that plays alongside on the emotional card of those who stood up against the aggression. Throwing “blank shot “ menaces at the current political leadership in Zagreb is playing safe with the emotional highs of ex-warriors and it is behind their backs that Vekic likes to hide as he likes to manipulate with them with a single selfish aim – saving private Ivan.

Saša Kosanović

Vekićeva prazna puška

Ruganje pravdi i žrtvama ratnih zločina kontinuitet je u političkoj karijeri Ivana Vekića, koji se danas pokušava vratiti na političku scenu osnivanjem marginalnih stranaka ekstremno nacionalističkog predznaka, igrajući pritom na sigurnu kartu emocija branitelja

To neće ići! Ja sam maloprije rekao i ponovit ću, mi smo se pokazali u punoj snazi. Našu snagu su do sada vidjeli naši pravi neprijatelji, naoružani, mogli bi je vidjeti i ovi politički i saborski i ostali - ovako je za Dnevnik HRT-a svoj nedavni poziv na informativni razgovor u osječki DORH prokomentirao odvjetnik i političar Ivan Vekić, koji je od ljeta 1991. do proljeća 1992. bio ministar unutarnjih poslova Republike Hrvatske.

U normalnoj državi ta bi izjava bila protumačena minimalno kao prijetnja i Vekić bi negdje morao odgovoriti na pitanje kakvu će to "snagu" vidjeti njegovi "politički i saborski neprijatelji". Nekoga bi u policiji ili DORH-u ipak trebalo interesirati kome to zapravo bivši ministar unutarnjih poslova zapravo prijeti.

Iza zamjenice "mi"
Još 2001. Vekića su osječki policajci pozvali na razgovor pokušavajući rasplesti zločine nad srpskim civilima u Osijeku. I tada se pravnik Vekić obrušio na osnove poretka, koji je kao ministar navodno štitio, zatraživši kao čelnik osječko-baranjskog Stožera za obranu digniteta Domovinskog rata da Nacionalni stožer "prekine razgovore s aktualnom vlasti i odredi vrijeme mjesto i metode otpora, počevši od građanskog neposluha do drugih metoda, koje smatra da treba primijeniti". I tada se hrabri Vekić zaklonio u udobnu zavjetrinu zamjenice "mi", umjesto da se kao građanin koji poštuje institucije države, čije je temelje sam gradio, odazove na rutinski informativni razgovor. Amerikance na Tribunal

Ivan Vekić se rado hvalio kako je MUP s njim na čelu djelovao profesionalno, kako su ubojice obitelji Zec odmah privedeni, ali u intervjuu "Nedjeljnoj Dalmaciji" 1994. ipak naglašava kako se tu nije radilo ni o kakvom ratnom zločinu, jer on "ne zna ni za jedan slučaj etničkog čišćenja i ratnog zločina". Slučaj Zec, tvrdi Vekić 1994, "pravosudno je dovršen... Ne želim govoriti o slučaju Zec, ali kako bismo to mogli dignuti na razinu ratnog zločina? To je isto kao da Amerikanci zbog Kju-kluks-klana idu na međunarodni tribunal. Ako je obitelj Zec i usmrćena zato jer su Srbi, zbog toga ne bi trebalo ići na sud za ratne zločine, jer to nije ratni zločin nego višestruko ubojstvo, koje je pravosudno dovršeno".

Ivan Vekić je pametan čovjek. I obrazovan. I elokventan. Doduše, u društvu onih s kojima se krajem osamdesetih i početkom devedesetih družio i "stvarao HDZ i državu", to nije bilo preteško biti. Naime, sam je više puta ponovio da je za te stvari bila potrebna hrabrost, ali da ona ne ide nužno uz inteligenciju i druge vrline.

Vekić nikada nije izbjegavao temu ratnih zločina. O njima je govorio često, uvijek ističući svoje navodno velike zasluge u njihovom rasvjetljavanju. Volio je pričati s novinarima pokušavajući se predstaviti kao intelektualac među političarima. Početkom devedesetih, novinari su ga znali pitati zašto je dopustio da kriminalci raznih profila dobiju policijsku uniformu i ovlasti, na što bi im Vekić odgovarao da se to nije moglo izbjeći, jer se "u pričuvni sastav policije javilo premalo dragovoljaca iz redova časnih sestara i svećenika". Međutim, kada je u intervjuu "Feralu" ratni zločinac iz Merčepove jedinice, Miro Bajramović, izjavio kako Vekić ne samo da je znao za sve zločine, nego je neke likvidacije i sam naredio, prozvani je odgovorio kako je Bajramović "osoba kriminalne prošlosti" koja je "psihički bolesna". Hrvatski mediji godinama su Vekića spominjali kao mogućeg haškog osumnjičenika, na što je odgovarao da će se odazvati haškom pozivu, jer nema što skrivati.

U svim intervjuima Vekića su pratila pitanja vezana uz ulogu Tomislava Merčepa i njegove jedinice, jer ga je upravo on zaposlio na mjesto pomoćnika u MUP-u i dao mu ovlasti zapovijedanja posebnom jedinicom, čije će djelovanje, kako sada stvari stoje, ipak dobiti sudski epilog. Za Vekića je Merčep bio i ostao "čestiti hrvatski rodoljub s naglaskom na ovom čestiti". Nikada nije čuo da bi merčepovci počinili ratni zločin, a u intervjuu "Nedjeljnoj Dalmaciji" 1994. o ubojstvima u Pakračkoj Poljani kazao je: "Što znači ako je netko ubijen u Pakračkoj Poljani, ako se to dogodilo u trenutku kada Srbi tuku jedno srpsko selo dan i noć, jer su ga Hrvati zauzeli? Trebaju li Hrvati odgovarati zbog djelovanja srpskog topništva po Srbima. Granata, znamo, ne bira radi li se o djetetu, ženi, starcu ili civilu." Nešto kasnije u istom intervjuu kaže kako je poznat običaj Srba "da ubijaju svoje sunarodnjake, koji nisu išli s njima u rat ili povlačenje. Zar i za to mi moramo odgovarati?"

Ruganje žrtvama

Danas ove nebuloze intelektualca Vekića kod nekoga mogu izazvati mučninu, ali tada su ovakve gluposti bile uobičajene. Isto tako, potpuno je normalno bilo da ministar unutarnjih poslova hapšenje, fizičko i psihičko zlostavljanje prvog zapovjednika obrane Vukovara, Mile Dedakovića Jastreba, prokomentira riječima: "Dopustit ćete da postoje situacije kad se sila primjenjuje. Ne želim da se upuštam u procjenu je li to takva situacija. Moram vam reći da se to u praksi događa. I što? Ne vidim da bi baš to zahtijevalo posebnu pažnju javnosti."

U intervjuu "Nedjeljnom Vjesniku" 2. veljače 1992. novinar Mladen Pleše pitao je ministra Vekića o miniranjima po etničkom principu. Vekić priznaje kako je takvih slučajeva mnogo, ali odmah nalazi opravdanje, jer se radi o teritoriji koja je u blizini fronte, a "u takvim dijelovima Republike, ljudske su strasti u mnogo većoj mjeri zapaljive i kontrola ponašanja nije ni laka ni jednostavna, ne može se reći da se mogući počinitelji ne nalaze u stanju kada nije ni sa čim vanjskim izazvan... Hrvatska je zemlja u ratu, a u ratu se događa ono što se događa od pamtivijeka do danas".

Ruganje pravdi i žrtvama ratnih zločina kontinuitet je u političkoj karijeri bivšeg ministra unutarnjih poslova, koji se danas pokušava vratiti na političku scenu osnivanjem marginalnih političkih stranaka ekstremno nacionalističkog predznaka. Prijeteći praznom puškom vlastima u Zagrebu, ma koliko se činio bespomoćan zapravo igra na sigurnu kartu. To su emocije bivših ratnika, iza čijih se leđa voli sakriti i njima manipulirati samo s jednim ciljem – spašavanja vojnika Ivana.

Saša Kosanović

Vukovar, summer of 1991

24.01.2011. Mašenjka Bačić Ljudska prava Komentiraj Print

Vukovar, Summer 1991

One questions if the justice will ever reach those who have conducted a reign of terror, looted, imprisoned and killed the citizens of Vukovar in the summer of 1991 just because they were of different ethnicity, in this town famous for the largest number of mixed marriages in Croatia. These atrocities put a new spotlight on the makers of Vukovar myth, whose political careers have been created on the foundation of so called “official truth” platform.

“That day our neighbours put on uniforms and they put up barricades at the end of our street” My father asked them: “ Well lads, what is going on in our street” They answered: “You will hear” That was his only contact with them. During the course of the afternoon they set up a machine gunfire point in the house across ours. In the evening they asked our father to come out onto the street. My brother, mother and I listened to that conversation on the landing. My father refused to come outdoors and told them to come back during the daytime. They insisted. A light came on in the corridor and the next thing we heard was the fired shot. We came downstairs and found our father dead. There was an air of silence in the courtyard. We called the police and the very next day we burried him in his home village, never to return to Vukovar” This is the story of Slobodan Jakovljevic, the son of Jovan Jakovljevic,who was killed on June 29, 1991 in Vukovar.

“My father was a distinguished citizen of Vukovar, whose family has lived in this area for over 400 years. I strongly believe that the time has come for justice to be satisfied and I have faith in the political leaders to see this thing through. Slobodan continues in his testimony stating that his father death was a warning to local Serbs that they were no longer welcomed in that area.”

Jovan Jakovljevic was the first Serb victim in Vukovar. He was in charge of the sports department

at the import,export trade company “Velepromet”. He was a devoted husband and father of two. His son Slobodan

His son Slobodan Jakovljevic was 23 years old at the time of his father-s death, today he lives in Vukovar and hopes that the justice will be served to those who have committed and ordered the killings or have done nothing to stop them. Several times he has testified in Public Prosecutors office but this has all been in vain. “ I know people who killed my father, they are walking freely on the streets of Vukovar. Despite my personal tragedy I returned to my home town where I belong. I sincerely believe that the time has come for justice to be served and that there is strong will among the country s political leaders to see this process through.” says Slobodan Jakovljevic in his interview for H Alter.

Jakovljevic-s tragedy is not a one off case, the Vukovar killings are coming out of the wardrobe this month, thanks to the NGO Young People-s Initiative for human rights who has taken his testimony with five other testimonies and has sent them to Public Prosecutor-s Office. This NGO is demanding that these testimonies ought to be used in putting together the case against Tomislav Mercep and that questioning the responsibility of the Minister for internal affairs Ivan Vekic and that of the chief of the civil matters for the region of Slavonia, Vladimir Seks.

Over the course of the couple of past weeks, Amnesty International demanded that Seks potential links with the war crimes, committed by the Croatian forces in the year 1991, ought to be examined. Seks and Vekic mocked Young People-s Initiative for human rights in their Croatian television news programme as pack of young prats. They were also shifting the blame from one to another and they question the AI credibility on this matter. Zoran Pusic from the Citizens Committee for human rights thinks that if Seks believes that he is innocent that he can easily prove this in the court of law.

Needless to say that these so to speak unpleasant happenings of the spring and summer 19991 are not totally unknown. The fact that 30 Serbs were killed was reported in Danas and Feral newspapers throughout 90/s and some marginalised media in Croatia followed up these cases.

The first information regarding the Vukovar killings came from Marin Vidic-Bili, government-s chief in charge of Vukovar, who wrote a letter to president Franjo Tudjman and premier Franjo Greguric as well as opposition leaders about the fact that Tomislav Mecep, surrounded by the people of dubious, criminal past has taken the control of the town and that he is conducting a violent aggressive campaign of violating human rights by the citizens of Vukovar by looting and taking away their property, taking them away from questioning and in some cases killing them.

Mercep was recalled to Zagreb and given a post of an advisor to then Minister for Internal Affairs Ivan Vekic.

Zoran Pusic points to the fact that magazine Danas reported on the whole case about the happenings in Vukovar but the key witnesses memory was “ erased”about these events. Six years after Danas reports Vidic-Bili quoted letter written by Mario Mazic stating that even if the crimes are processed the Croatian courts judgements will be rendered too lean. At that time even Mercep spoke about corpses in river Drava stating that in the heat of the moment the killings were possible and that his troopers made sure they were kept to a minimum.

County Court Prosecutor-s office opened a dossier KR-DO 624/02 in 2002 acting on the writ brought by the Croatian Office of Helsinki Committee for human rights after it had collected information on the death of 19 Serbs from Vukovar which had been killed whilst Mercep was in charge of the local military cabinet and during which time he was known as the local master of life and death. These are the words of Drago Hedl, human rights activist writing for Justice in Transition. He adds that Croatian ruling coalition has received a letter from “Concerned Citizens of Vukovar” in year 200 after the Croatian Democratic Union had lost the elections which talked about the executions of local Serbs who were thrown in river Dunav. Stipe Pole and Zvonimir Rados, chief of the police in Vukovar and his deputy were brought in for questioning. It has been concluded that all the documentation was lost with the fall of Vukovar and it has not been resurfaced with the re-integration of this area in January 1998.

Up to this date nothing has been done on the matter. “ I am afraid that an answer to the question of Croatian ruling party willingness to deal with these crimes would be double negative. On one hand these war crimes are politically sensitive. One side of the public opinion would think that by admitting the guilt in this matter will admit to thesis that the war was started by Croats. It is clear why the political leadership is afraid but this subject is not the one which matters. We from Young People-s Initiative for human rights have extensively worked on the subject of Vukovar 1991 killings and it is true that certain members of the Serbs ethnic group were subjected to torture and killings.

The travelling corpses of Dunav are well known. However, the war in Vukovar started much later. What came with JNA was an armed conflict. The killings of Vukovar are a serious crime and the responsible for this conflict need to be brought to justice. But I am afraid that courts are inefficient and inexperienced in dealing with these matters says Zoran Pusic. He adds that Vukovar was the place when later on terrible crimes against humanity occurred and the town was used into promotion of political support for different political platforms. In the current case of Tihomir Purda we are witnesses of manipulations. Pusic believes that president Josipovic can play a crucial role in finding justice for Vukovar killings. It remains to be seen if the justice will be met in Vukovar which today is economically neglected, the town renown for the largest number of mixed marriages and the town which in that summer of 1991 witness murders of Jovan Jakovljevic just because they were different nationality.