1991 killings of Serbs in Novska

Last updated
1991 killings of Serbs in Novska
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
Location Novska, Croatia
Date21 November 1991 &
18 December 1991
Target Croatian Serbs
Attack type
torture, mass murder
Deaths7
PerpetratorsCroatian forces

The 1991 killings of Serbs in Novska were two occurrences of mass murder of Croatian Serb civilians in the town of Novska, Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence.

Contents

Background

In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia by the Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian : Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, HDZ), ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs worsened. [1] The self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK) declared its intention to secede from Croatia and join the Republic of Serbia while the Government of the Republic of Croatia declared it a rebellion. [2] In June 1991 Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Tensions eventually broke out into full-scale war, which lasted until 1995. [3]

Novska is a town situated in western Slavonia, between Kutina and Nova Gradiška. According to the 1991 census, the municipality of Novska registered 24,696 citizens of whom 21.7% were ethnic Serbs. [4] By September 1991, the town was in the front lines of the war and the Croatian Army had been stationed there. [5] By October, the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia had lost its momentum in western Slavonia. [6]

Crimes

In the late evening on 21 November 1991, Croatian forces broke into the house of Mihajlo Šeatović and took him to a neighboring house where three other Serb civilians were being detained: Mišo and Sajka Rašković and Ljuban Vujić. [7] The four were then tortured and killed. The victims were stabbed with knives, their body parts mutilated, joints and bones crushed and they were then sprayed with bullets from automatic rifles. [4] [5] [8] According to documentation compiled the following day, the bodies of Mihajlo Šeatović, Mišo Rašković and Ljuban Vujić were found in the living room in the lower part of the house with overturned chairs next to the tables. Sajka Rašković's body was found naked on the bed on the first floor with indications that she had been possibly raped. [5] [9]

On 18 December 1991, Croatian forces entered the house of Petar Mileusnić and shot him along with his wife Vera, daughter Goranka as well Blaženka Slabak. [4] [10] The three women died while Petar was wounded but managed to survive. [10]

Trials

Šeatović case

In 1992, an indictment was filed by the Croatian military prosecutor against two Croatian army soldiers, Dubravko Leskovar and Damir Vida Raguž, for the massacre in the Šeatović house. [7] [4] Though the charges were for murder and not for war crime against the civilian population. [4] In November 1992, the Zagreb military court released them under an amnesty law which excused Croat perpetrators of crimes. [7] In 2006, Marica Šeatović, the widow of the deceased Mihajlo who had only two years prior learned of the fate of her husband her neighbors, unsuccessfully sought compensation from a municipal court. [7] The families of those killed contacted NGOs and international organizations which helped bring about a trial for the accused. [5] On 16 April 2010, Raguž was found guilty of war crimes in a first-instance verdict and sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the other accused, Željko Škledar was acquitted. The verdict was overturned upon appeal and a re-trial ordered; both were acquitted in March 2013. [8]

Mileusnić case

In 2010, proceedings were instituted against Željko Belina, Dejan Milić, Ivan Grgić and Zdravko Plesec, former members of the Croatian Army's First Guard Brigade nicknamed the ‘Tigers’ for the crime in the house of Petar Mileusnić. The suspects were soon released under the explanation of the Sisak County Court that this was an adjudicated matter. However, the Supreme Court overturned the decision on Belina and Milić, who in 2013 were sentenced by the Zagreb County Court to 10 and 9 years in prison, respectively. [4]

Related Research Articles

Franjo Tuđman 1st President of Croatia (1990-99)

Franjo Tuđman, also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first President of Croatia and served as president from 1990 until his death in 1999. He was the ninth and last President of the Presidency of SR Croatia from May to July 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Storm</span> Military offensive and the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence

Operation Storm was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a 630-kilometre (390 mi) front against the self-declared proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK), and a strategic victory for the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). The HV was supported by the Croatian special police advancing from the Velebit Mountain, and the ARBiH located in the Bihać pocket, in the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina's (ARSK) rear. The battle, launched to restore Croatian control of 10,400 square kilometres of territory, representing 18.4% of the territory it claimed, and Bosniak control of Western Bosnia, was the largest European land battle since the Second World War. Operation Storm commenced at dawn on 4 August 1995 and was declared complete on the evening of 7 August, despite significant mopping-up operations against pockets of resistance lasting until 14 August.

Novska Town in Sisak-Moslavina, Croatia

Novska is a town in the Sisak-Moslavina County of Croatia. It is located in western part of the historic region of Slavonia, between Kutina and Nova Gradiška, 94 km (58 mi) linear distance southeast of the capital, Zagreb.

The Battle of Borovo Selo of 2 May 1991, known in Croatia as the Borovo Selo massacre and in Serbia as the Borovo Selo incident, was one of the first armed clashes in the conflict which became known as the Croatian War of Independence. The clash was precipitated by months of rising ethnic tensions, violence, and armed combat in Pakrac and at the Plitvice Lakes in March. The immediate cause for the confrontation in the heavily ethnic Serb village of Borovo Selo, just north of Vukovar, was a failed attempt to replace the Yugoslav flag in the village with the flag of Croatia. The unauthorised effort by four Croatian policemen resulted in the capture of two by a Croatian Serb militia in the village. To retrieve the captives, the Croatian authorities deployed additional police, who drove into an ambush. Twelve Croatian policemen and one Serb paramilitary were killed before the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) intervened and put an end to the clashes.

The Vukovar massacre, also known as the Vukovar hospital massacre or the Ovčara massacre, was the killing of Croatian prisoners of war and civilians by Serb paramilitaries, to whom they had been turned over by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), at the Ovčara farm southeast of Vukovar on 20 November 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The massacre occurred shortly after Vukovar's capture by the JNA, Territorial Defence (TO), and paramilitaries from neighbouring Serbia. It was the largest massacre of the Croatian War of Independence.

Operation Swath-10 was a military offensive undertaken by the Croatian Army against the SAO Western Slavonia Territorial Defense Forces on Bilogora Mountain in western Slavonia. Occurring from 31 October to 4 November 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, the operation was a Croatian victory and its success set the stage for follow-up advances by Croatian forces on Papuk Mountain in Operation Papuk-91 in late November and December. By the end of the year the HV gained control of Papuk, securing transport routes between eastern Slavonia and the rest of Croatia.

Operation Hurricane-91 was a military offensive undertaken by the Croatian Army against the Yugoslav People's Army and SAO Western Slavonia Territorial Defense Forces in the Sava River valley, in the region of Western Slavonia during the Croatian War of Independence. The operation began on 29 October 1991 and ended on 3 January 1992 when a nationwide ceasefire was signed to implement the Vance plan. The offensive was aimed at recapturing the region, in conjunction with two other HV offensives launched against SAO Western Slavonia in the north of the region within days.

The Lovas killings involved the killing of 70 Croat civilian residents of the village of Lovas between 10 and 18 October 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The killings took place during and in the immediate aftermath of the occupation of the village by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) supported by Croatian Serb forces and Dušan Silni paramilitaries on 10 October, two days after Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. The occupation occurred during the Battle of Vukovar, as the JNA sought to consolidate its control over the area surrounding the city of Vukovar. The killings and abuse of the civilian population continued until 18 October, when troops guarding a group of civilians forced them to walk into a minefield at gunpoint and then opened fire upon them.

The Baćin massacre was the killing of 83 civilians just outside the village of Baćin, near Hrvatska Dubica, committed by Croatian Serb paramilitaries. The killings took place on 21 October 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Most of the civilians were Croats, but they also included two ethnic Serbs, taken from Hrvatska Dubica, Baćin and the nearby village of Cerovljani. The civilians were killed in the area of Krečane, at the very bank of the Una River, and their bodies were left unburied for two weeks. Most of them were subsequently bulldozed into a shallow mass grave, while a number of the bodies were thrown into the river.

The Voćin massacre was the killing of 43 civilians in Voćin, Croatia, by the Serbian White Eagles paramilitary unit on 13 December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The massacre was carried out after the unit was ordered to abandon the village before the Croatian Army recaptured the area in Operation Papuk-91. All the victims were local Croats, save one Serb, who had tried to protect his neighbours. Gunfire was the leading cause of death, though some of the victims were killed with axes or chainsaws, or were burned to death. The victims exhibited signs of torture and were left unburied. On the night of 13–14 December, the White Eagles dynamited a 550-year-old church in the village.

The 1992 Yugoslav People's Army column incident in Tuzla was an attack on the 92nd Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in the Bosnian city of Tuzla on 15 May 1992. The incident occurred at the road junction of Brčanska Malta. At least 92 soldiers of the JNA were killed and 33 wounded during the attacks, with estimates reaching 200 killed. What started off as a peaceful retreat by agreement with local authorities but ended in an ambush when Patriotic League, Green Berets and Bosniaks from local police attacked the column. It was a repeat of a similar incident that occurred in Sarajevo a week prior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gospić</span> Battle of the Croatian War of Independence

The Battle of Gospić was fought in the environs of Gospić, Croatia, from 29 August until 22 September 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. The battle pitted the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), stationed in five barracks in the town, and paramilitary elements of the Serbian Guard against the Croatian National Guard (ZNG), police forces based in Gospić and police reinforcements from elsewhere in Croatia. Fighting in the eastern districts of Gospić, controlled by JNA forces with supporting artillery, was largely static but the balance shifted in favor of the Croatian forces following the capture of several JNA depots and barracks on 14 September. The remaining barracks were captured by 20 September leading to the expulsion of the JNA and Serbian Guard forces from the town.

Kerestinec camp

Kerestinec camp was a prison that served as a concentration camp in Kerestinec, Croatia. It was located in the castle overlooking the village.

The Trial of Gotovina et al. was a war crimes trial held from March 2008 until November 2012 before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), set up in 1993. The ICTY indicted Croatian Army (HV) generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač for war crimes, specifically for their roles in Operation Storm, citing their participation in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) aimed at the permanent removal of Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) held part of Croatia.

Operation Stinger was an offensive undertaken by the forces of the SAO Krajina, an unrecognized Croatian Serb region opposing the Republic of Croatia, against positions held by the Croatian police in the region of Banovina on 26–27 July 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. It was primarily aimed at police stations in Glina and Kozibrod, as well as police-held positions in a string of villages between the town of Dvor and Kozibrod. In addition to Glina and Kozibrod, heavy fighting took place in the village of Struga, north of Dvor, where Croatian Serb forces employed a human shield consisting of Croat civilians taken from their homes in Struga and the nearby village of Zamlača.

The Grubori massacre was the mass murder of six Serb civilians from the village of Grubori, near Knin, on 25 August 1995 by members of the Croatian Army (HV) in the aftermath of Operation Storm. The massacre was listed in the ICTY's indictment of Croatian wartime generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač.

The Sisak killings refers to the illegal detainment, torture and murder of at least 24 Croatian Serb civilians from the city of Sisak by members of the Croatian Army and police from July 1991 to June 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence.

The Marino Selo camp was a makeshift prison camp located on the premises of the fishing hut in the village of Marino Selo where Croatian Serb civilians were detained, tortured and killed by members of the 76th Independent Battalion Croatian National Guard (ZNG).

Thirteen Yugoslav People's Army prisoners of war were extrajudicially killed at the Korana bridge in Karlovac, Croatia on 21 September 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. Four others survived the massacre, two of whom sustained injuries.

The Berak killings was the mass murder of Croat civilians by Serb rebels and paramilitaries from September until December 1991, in the village of Berak, near Vukovar, during the Croatian War of Independence.

References

  1. Lobell, Steven; Mauceri, Philip (2004). Ethnic Conflict and International Politics: Explaining Diffusion and Escalation. Springer. pp. 79–81. ISBN   978-1-40398-141-7.
  2. Sudetic, Chuck (2 April 1991). "Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity". The New York Times.
  3. Psaltis, Charis; Carretero, Mario; Čehajić-Clancy, Sabina (2017). History Education and Conflict Transformation: Social Psychological Theories, History Teaching and Reconciliation. Springer. p. 106. ISBN   978-3-31954-681-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Novska". snv.hr. Serb National Council.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Slowness of the judiciary and additional victimization of the casualties – 20 years from war crime in Novska". documenta.hr. Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past. 3 July 2012.
  6. Marijan 2012a , p. 110
  7. 1 2 3 4 Pavelic, Boris (12 March 2012). "War Victims in Croatia Punished by Courts". Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
  8. 1 2 Pavelic, Boris (8 March 2013). "Croatian Soldiers Acquitted of Murdering Serbs". Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
  9. "30 godina od ubojstva Mihajla Šeatovića, supružnika Rašković i Ljubana Vujića". documenta.hr (in Croatian). Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past. 21 November 2021.
  10. 1 2 Pavelic, Boris (11 March 2013). "Croatian Soldiers Jailed for Killing Serb Women". Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

Sources