WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS SERB IN BELGRADE WHO WILL LEAD THE COUP D'ETAT AGAINST MILOSEVIC?

Ekstra Magazin, Bijeljina, Republic of Srpska, B-H, July 29 1999

By Velibor Ilic

Milosevic's greatest adversaries in the Army are not Pavkovic and Ojdanic, but the uncorrupted middle- to upper- rank officers, the members of the elite units who fought in the battles and the elite branches, such as the air force, which were practically sacrificed during the NATO air campaign because of their lack of political correctness toward the regime.

Since all the available analyses indicate that the opposition does not enjoy either the strength or the public confidence to remove Slobodan Milosevic from power, it is entirely possible that, during the first half of the month of August, Bill Clinton will approve one of several existing plans of the Central Intelligence Agency for the violent overthrow of the regime in Serbia. As Ekstra Magazin learned from a Western diplomat in Sarajevo, an action plan for Milosevic's removal has already been prepared and its applicability is currently being debated within the State Department.

"A characteristic of all similar CIA plans is that they never directly participate in them. Without doubt the mission will be amply supported analytically, logistically and politicallyy but our people are not going to be there physically," said the diplomat, who chose to remain anonymous. He claims that Milosevic will be deposed with the aid of the Yugoslav Army plus a number of politicians from both the ranks of the current government and the opposition, and even some journalists.

"In the next several days we are expecting the arrival of an important man, a Serb, to Yugoslavia. He may be able to bring together all these presently irreconcilable groups and place himself at the head of the mission," said Ekstra Magazin's source on Monday [July 26], refusing to name the person.

According to the plan, the task of the opposition will be to cause initial unrest in the country, which will begin in the second half of August and last at least until the middle of September. In September and October, protests organized by the opposition will be joined by a general social revolt and by expected student demonstrations.

"Although we have already, with great discretion, established contacts with key military and civilian people in Serbia, we believe that mass demonstrations will decisively influence these people to side against Milosevic," said the source and added:

"Please understand our situation. I cannot share any of their names. The frequent statements regarding the loyalty of the Army to the regime by the head of Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff, Dragoljub Ojdanic, and the commander of the Third Army, General Nebojsa Pavkovic are believed by our source to stem from Milosevic's ability to discover where the greatest danger to him lies. Milosevic's greatest adversaries in the Army are not Pavkovic and Ojdanic, but the uncorrupted middle- to upper- rank officers, the members of the elite units who fought in the battles and the elite branches, such as the air force, which were practically sacrificed during the NATO air campaign because of their lack of political correctness toward the regime, says this diplomat, indicating that the deadline for the coup d'etat is December 1999.

He reminded us that the Army, in collaboration with Western intelligence agencies, had already once prepared a coup d'etat in Serbia and that this was now discussed in the Serbian media for the first time.

This was the mission in 1993 when a conspiracy against Milosevic was formed by members of an air force unit stationed at the [military] airport Batajnica [near Belgrade]. Our source says that the mission collapsed because the Western agencies ceased to provide intelligence and logistics support to the conspirators.

"When they were left without support, the insurgents, instead of discontinuing the mission as would normally be the case, went ahead with it on their own. They were too exposed and became easy prey for Milosevic's secret police, which crushed the group," said our Western diplomatic source and concluded: "It is interesting that Milosevic did not seek revenge against the conspirators. None of them were tried and all of them were released after several days of hearings, although they were not permitted to continue their military service."

Assassination attempt against Slobo

Although officially there have been no assassination attempts against Slobo, one event in his life indicates that in fact there were such attempts. Two years ago the London media claimed that British intelligence services had prepared an assassination plan against Milosevic in 1992. The assassination was to have been carried out in Geneva at one of the peace conferences on Bosnia-Hercegovina, which were attended by the then-president of Serbia. The assassination, wrote the media, was to have been carried out while Milosevic was in his car. Using special technology, his driver was supposed to be blinded from another vehicle so that the result would look like an automobile accident.

One of Milosevic's traffic accidents suggests that such an assassination attempt using the British technology may have indeed taken place. The accident happened on March 7, 1992 at 11:45 p.m. in Vojvode Putnika Street in Belgrade. While driving Milosevic home from an official meeting in a Toyota Karina II, Senta Milenkovic, his driver and long-time bodyguard, noticed an approaching car with its high beams on. In swerving to avoid the oncoming car, he drove off the road and hit a concrete wall. At exactly 12:20 a.m. Milosevic was admitted to the Military Medical Hospital [in Belgrade], where he was diagnosed with bruising of the soft parts of the head, whiplash and a mild brain concussion due to which he could not travel to Brussels for negotiations regarding the situation in Yugoslavia. The driver of the oncoming vehicle was never identified.

Translated Snezana Lazovic, August 1999.