The attack on Dubrovnik in 1991 left behind numerous victims and crimes for which the Montenegrin judiciary has no judicial epilogues, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) announced today.
"The Information and Documentation Center reminds that on October 1, 31 years will pass since the beginning of the JNA (Yugoslav National Army) attack on Dubrovnik, which was remembered as a shameful and unacceptable act in Montenegrin history. An attack that left behind numerous victims and crimes, but for which our judiciary has no judicial epilogues. The issue of individual responsibility must be raised in order to punish those who are responsible for the suffering of numerous victims," the YIHR press release points out.
They said that on this occasion they are inviting all those interested to visit their Information and Documentation Center in Podgorica on October 3 at 10 a.m. and watch the documentary film "War for Peace".
YIHR provided the chronology of the attack on Dubrovnik:
The situation in the country before the start of the attack
During 1988 and 1989, in addition to the political crisis in Yugoslavia, dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country grew stronger, and discussions about the reorganization of the state became more frequent. At the beginning of the summer of 1991, a strong propaganda campaign under the slogan "War for Peace" began in certain Montenegrin media, which very clearly advocated goals that took Croatia and Croats as their target and called them butchers, genocidal people, Ustashas. An important element of the Serbian and Montenegrin campaign at the time was the claim that the Croats wanted to "return" parts of the Montenegrin territory, specifically the Bay of Kotorska, and that with this goal they had amassed around 30,000 soldiers on the border with Montenegro, who would attack at any moment. It was this claim about a large Croatian army waiting at the borders that motivated a large number of Montenegrin volunteers to join the war. On the other hand, Dubrovnik at that time had neither military facilities nor an army and it was impossible for everyone to imagine that someone could attack a city that is under the protection of UNESCO. During the summer of 1991, the JNA army gathered around Trebinje. Journalist Veseljko Koprivica writes in his diary that the commanders did not tell them where they were going, they just put them all on trucks and drove them away. The leadership of the defense of Dubrovnik at the time points out that at the beginning there were about 300 volunteers and basic police. Later, that figure rose to some 670 soldiers, as stated in the indictment against General Strugar.
Start of the attack
On September 30, a directive was signed for an attack on Dubrovnik by sea, land and air. The goals were to capture Prevlaka, cut the Adriatic highway and block the airport in Ćilipi. The attack began on October 01 at around 6.30:XNUMX am. It was the first attack on the city itself and its immediate surroundings. The JNA fired large-caliber weapons at Dubrovnik from ships, but also from land from positions on Prevlaka, Luštica and Mojdež.
Media writing and public reaction
Throughout the war, the propaganda of the Montenegrin media continued. Thus, the daily newspaper Pobjeda reports on the second day that 01.10. and during the night "they killed in Konavle between 500 and 700 members of the "colorful army" of Franjo Tuđman, that Kupari was razed to the ground and that the repeater on Srđ was demolished". Of that, the only accurate information was the demolition of the repeater on Srđ.
During the attack on Dubrovnik, many intellectuals from the area of the former Yugoslavia were engaged in expressing dissatisfaction with the war. Thus, Montenegrin intellectuals from Belgrade sign an appeal for peace that they send to the Montenegrin government and military command, and call for an end to the war and the return of young men from the army. Then the Bokelians and Montenegrins from Dubrovnik write to the Government of Montenegro, calling on the Government to immediately stop that war and the disaster that accompanies it.
Consequences of shelling, human casualties
The consequences of the shelling of Dubrovnik could only be seen after the withdrawal of the JNA from its territory. The old town, regardless of the fact that it was "protected" by UNESCO flags, also suffered numerous damages. The most difficult day was December 06.12.1991, 10, when he was bombarded with incendiary missiles from all sides. It was estimated that on that day alone, about 30% of the buildings in the city were completely burned or destroyed, while about 563% were severely damaged. Nine palaces burned completely, and another four partially. During the entire war period, 643 buildings in the Old Town were damaged. The damage was estimated at 2000 million German marks, and the reconstruction lasted until XNUMX.
In addition, there were many human victims. On the Montenegrin side, 167 soldiers died on the Southern Front, while on the Croatian side, 430 Croatian defenders died, 184 of them from the Dubrovnik area. 92 civilians were also killed, of which 15 were children under 15 years of age.
Processing
According to the indictment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević was the mastermind of the attack on Dubrovnik. He was accused of attacks on the city, looting and destruction of historical and cultural monuments. However, he did not wait for the verdict and died in The Hague in 2006.
On 01.03.2001. a collective indictment was filed for the crimes of the JNA in Dubrovnik, which was then handed over to Montenegro. General Pavle Strugar, vice admirals Miodrag Jokić and Milan Zec, and first class captain Vladimir Kovačević, nicknamed Rambo, were accused of it. They are charged with six counts of collective and individual responsibility, namely serious violations of the Geneva Convention, violation of laws and customs of war, murder, attacks on civilians, attacks on objects that are not military targets, looting and destruction of historical and cultural monuments. Strugar spent five years in prison, Jokić was sentenced to seven years, of which he served 2/3 in prison in Denmark. Milan Zec was acquitted of all charges, while Vladimir Kovačen was declared a mentally ill person and thus avoided trial.
Montenegro has not initiated any criminal proceedings for the attack on Dubrovnik, although it is widely known what war crimes took place during the period of the siege. Also, none of the Montenegrin officials who held important positions at the time were prosecuted. We only have an apology from the President of Montenegro to the citizens of Croatia for the participation of Montenegrins in the attack on Dubrovnik.
For an adequate process of dealing with the past, it is necessary to prosecute those who are responsible for the war events during the nineties, in this particular case, for the attack on Dubrovnik. Unsolved crimes in themselves represent a burden both for society and for those injured in those proceedings. Moreover, the urgency of initiating these proceedings is also reflected in the fact that as time passes, there are fewer and fewer living witnesses who can contribute to the elucidation of war crimes. War crimes do not expire, and therefore we must not allow important evidence and witnesses to be lost due to the passive attitude of the competent authorities.
"War for Peace" and the Book of Memories
YIHR said that on this occasion they are inviting all those interested to visit their Information and Documentation Center, where the documentation related to the attack on Dubrovnik will be presented to visitors and the Book of Remembrance will be shared.
"Visitors will also have the opportunity to watch the documentary film "War for Peace", which shows in detail the aggression against Dubrovnik during 1991 and 1992. The film will be broadcast on October 3 at 10 a.m. IDC is located at Studentska 37/a, lamela 8, Podgorica," concludes the YIHR press release.
Bonus video:
