Three and a half years have passed for the relatives and friends of the abducted passengers of Muslim nationality who were taken from the train 671 at the station in Strpci: "...Years of sorrow, searching, hope, and promises. In the end, years of shame for many in this country."
How come three and half years were not enough to establish the most basic facts?
With that in mind, the recent appearance of an alleged crown witness for the prosecution, which has shaken local public used to the ineffectiveness of the investigation, was quite surprising. The witness, Dusko Petrovic, was a volunteer in the Republic of Srpska. He claims that Milan Lukic invited him to take part in the abduction, which Petrovic refused. He is adamant that the abduction was "organized by Milan Lukic, leader of the Chetnik movement in Visegrad". Petrovic also claims that the passengers were murdered somewhere near Visegrad.
Petrovic talked with Dnevni Telegraf: "we climbed the hill next to the dam. I saw seven men lined up next to each other, standing with their heads bowed down... I stopped in front of them, about a meter away. Suddenly Crni [Black] approached from my right and shot them. Their bodies were pushed into the Drina. Later, I found out that Lukic's men killed the remaining passengers"...
How come the witness finally spoke, three years later?
He claims that Lukic's men threatened him constantly after the tragedy. He was beaten several times and his family was also threatened. He emphasizes, that by chance he heard on Studio-B [radio station] about the Commission of the Montenegrin Parliament and its president Dr. Dragisa Burzan, to whom he phoned in February of this year. The Commission didn't have a right to investigate, an hence its president informed the police about the new witness.
The police reacted after a while, on June 25, when Petrovic was summoned to a police station in Podgorica. He gave a statement in the offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after which he was kept in hotel "Ljubovic". He spent a month there. He claimed that the police treated him well until a week ago, when they started with interrogations and threats. Petrovic ascribes this change in behavior to the visit of two inspectors to Belgrade. Disappointed after the whole affair, Petrovic decided to try his luck in an escape. It is not clear how he managed to avoid his guards but he managed to reach the headquarters of the Social Democratic party of Montenegro where he stated: " I feel unsafe in the hands of the police and demand the protection from this political party." Powerless, the representatives of the party appealed to the police to protect the witness and returned him to the hotel "Ljubovic".
"He was indicted for failing to report the abduction which he witnessed," stated investigative magistrate Goran Velimirovic. There are several versions of what happened next. Dusan Petrovic claims that he escaped from the courthouse and, on foot and by hitchhiking, managed to reach Belgrade. More precisely, the offices of the daily Dnevni Telegraf. The journalists claimed that he was "pale, tired and in slippers".
Many find this story rather unconvincing. After the article in Dnevni Telegraf, many expressed doubts about the credibility of the "crown witness".
Petrovic's story was immediately denied by investigating magistrate Goran Velimirovic. According to Mr. Velimirovic: "Dusko Petrovic did not run away from the courthouse. I released him after I recorded his statement"...
Whatever the case, the witness disappeared again, after his arrival to Belgrade. In the meantime, state prosecutor of Montenegro, Vladimir Sasovic, discussed with his collaborators what to do next in the investigation, without any results.
The opposition parties condemned the way in which Petrovic was treated in Montenegro. Dragisa Burzan said: "Arrest of the main witness and bringing of an indictment against him are a clear message to all those who have information about the abductions but had failed to give them to the police because of fear: they should keep that information to themselves".
Visibly outraged, Mr. Burzan reminded that, three years ago, the Parliamentarian Commission for collection of information about the crime in Strpci had passed the names of two kidnappers to the police. Those two individuals are still freely moving around Serbia. Unfortunately, Burzan cannot reveal their names.
Burzan explains why the commission hasn't produced any results. "Pressure of the opposition parties in the public was so strong that the ruling party had no other choice. They had to appoint a non-partisan commission, but they refused to give the commission the right to investigate. That was a clever political move: although reluctantly, they won political points both in Montenegro and abroad, while the members of the commission had their hands tied. To our questions and demands they responded with empty phrases. Everyone (here I mostly have in mind the authorities, police and military) apart from the relatives of the abducted and several witnesses. Political leaderships of Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska tried to make sure we found as little as possible about the crime".
Jovan Koprivica, one of the attorneys who defended Milan Lukic, claims that a serious investigation was never conducted. First and basic question is why the investigation was run from Belgrade as it would have made more sense if the investigation was conducted by the district attorney in the district where the abduction took place, as is prescribed by the law. Besides, the whole investigation boiled down to the questioning of the witnesses (among whom were the station master in Strpci and the train driver) and the conclusion that Milan Lukic wasn't the leader of the kidnapers. The strangest of all are the statements of the above mentioned witnesses who, according to the relatives of the abducted, afraid for their own lives, silently obeyed the orders of the kidnapers. Relatives of the abducted claim that the competent authorities didn't show any interest in them, although some of them witnessed the abduction. As far as Lukic is concerned, the duties of investigative magistrate Dragoslav Rakic were limited to the questioning of the already mentioned five witnesses, as he allegedly had limited authority.
"The investigation was stopped after the verdict of the Supreme court, because of the lack of evidence. The prosecutor appealed, but the Supreme Court rejected the appeal," was Rakic's response to our question about the slowness with which the judicial authorities acted, having in mind that the case involved the abduction of nineteen persons. Rakic replied: "So what if they disappeared? So many people disappeared in Bosnia and nobody gives a damn. Besides, I finished my part of the investigation in 22 days. That's not slow."
Regardless, Lukic's family, his father and brothers, hired two more lawyers, Milomir Salic and Zoran Jevric, just in case. For someone who claims to have nothing to do with the abduction, the hiring of three lawyers is a bit excessive, isn't it?
The arrest of Lukic, the long duration of the trial and finally Lukic's extradition to the republic of Srpska are also rather strange. Taking into account extremely slow and negligent investigation it wouldn't be strange if the evidence of his involvement in the abduction was lacking. In case that there was evidence of his involvement (some reliable sources claim that the place and the way in which the victims were murdered could have been easily established) Lukic's release leads to the conclusion that the whole affair was deliberately hushed down. On the other hand, the recruitment of a team of lawyers for Lukic's defense, in a non-existent case, can mean only one thing: Lukic didn't know how the authorities would treat him, which indirectly indicates that the warrior from Visegrad was involved in the whole story. Another proof is that Lukic felt very insecure in Serbia and was looking forward to his extradition to the Republic of Srpska.
In Jovan Koprivica's words, his client's case could mean only two things: either Lukic was used to draw attention from the real kidnapers, or he himself kidnapped the passengers, but there was no interest to prosecute him, since the person who issued orders was too powerful. In any case, the conclusion is the same: the motives for Lukic's action can be far reaching, not excluding the possibility of a simple revenge.(...)
Nevertheless, the question about who was the instigator remains unanswered. There were speculations about several possibilities, according to which several political centers had motives to get involved in this case. "All of them had their interest in instigating disturbances in this area, Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pale," says Jovan Koprivica. Sarajevo could have tried to open another front in Sandzak. The abduction of ordinary passengers could have initiated disturbances among the Muslims in Sandzak and thus pulled them into the war. However, the same plan can be viewed from a totally opposite point of view: the abduction of civilians would have increased the feeling of insecurity among the Muslim citizens and would have been the reason for their slow and "spontaneous" emigration, or quiet ethnic cleansing. This version is supported by the fact that Lukic was later extradited to the Republic of Srpska, allegedly because of some crime he had committed there. It is not necessary to mention that the investigation against Lukic had never been initiated in Srpska. The Serbian authorities hit the ball into the Srpska court, where a case against Lukic never existed. That's how things were while Belgrade and Pale were still in love.
According to several opinions, the abduction in Strpci cannot be analysed in isolation from the abduction in the village of Sjeverin, in 1992, and several small scale abductions in Montenegro. According to Vladimir Matovic, president of the Commission for the investigation of the abduction of Muslims from Sjeverin, "after our investigation it became obvious that similar crimes may be repeated in the future. Although we recommended that more attention be given to the protection of the border towards Bosnia, our warnings were not taken seriously. I don't want to go too far and suggest that this was done deliberately."
Besides Milan Lukic, the links between two abductions, in Sjeverin and Strpci, are the inefficiency with which Federal and republican authorities conducted their investigations and the lack of effort to inform the public about the results of those investigations. In both cases, investigative Commissions were established, but neither one had any significant results because of very limited authority. Also, in both cases, members of the Commissions had no access to the authorities. Both Commissions were established after a significant delay. Too many coincidences.
The third theory, according to which the abduction was planned in Pale, was first mentioned by the president of Yugoslav federation, Zoran Lilic. It will gain in popularity much later. In September 1994, Zoran Lilic stated to Politika: "It has become clear that certain Lukic is behind the abduction... The investigation has been opened, but no one, and literally no one even tried to find any material evidence. Finally, they told us from the republic of Srpska that their courts would deal with the case since the crime had been committed in their territory after all... However, Lukic was released immediately after extradition, and even rewarded by the leadership of Srpska. After that, it became clear who was truly behind the abduction and that Lukic was simply following orders." One should keep in mind that this statement was given at the time of split between the leaderships in Serbia and Srpska.
Milan Lukic from Ruiste near Visegrad (born in 1967 in Foca) has been mentioned since 1992 in all statements of witnesses in connection with the war crimes and crimes against humanity. The data were collected by the authorities and non-governmental organizations. Lukic is accused of killing with his men: 70 people in Bikavac (suburb of Visegrad), 60 in a burned house (all victims Muslims, one witness survived), more than 30 in Visegradska Banja, 17 near hidro-power plant "Visegrad". Besides Lukic, the witnesses recognized Sekulovic, Dragicevic, Planojevic, Momir and Oliver, Srpko Popovic, and others.
International organizations for human rights accuse Lukic, Jovan Planojevic and certain Momir of killing 22 Muslim civilians on the bridge in Visegrad. The victims were brutally tortured. Men were tied to cars and dragged through the streets of Visegrad. Several children were thrown from the bridge and used for target practice.
For the local Serbs, Lukic is a national hero. In the center of Visegrad, there is a sign which reads: "Comrade Lukic, we vow to follow you". Today Lukic and his family live in Srbinje (until recently Foca). He has a son. Lukic owns the café and restaurant "Atina" in the center of Visegrad. He is still eminence grise in the town.(...)