Fikret Abdic
Encyclopedia
Fikret Abdić is a politician and businessman from Bosnia and Herzegovina
, convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks
in the region of Velika Kladuša
.
In the 1980s, he became known mainly for his role in building up the farming conglomerate Agrokomerc
. During the Bosnian War
, Abdić declared his opposition to the Bosnian
government, and founded the small, short-lived and unrecognized Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in the northwest of Bosnia, composed of the town of Velika Kladuša
and a few nearby villages. The mini state existed between 1993 and 1995 and it was allied with Army of Republika Srpska
.
In 2002 he was convicted on charges of war crime
s against Bosniaks loyal to the Bosnian government by a court in Croatia
.
, a company from Velika Kladuša
that he raised from an agricultural cooperative into a modern food combine, which employed over 13,000 workers, and which boosted the well-being of the entire area. Agrokomerc changed the Velika Kladuša from a poverty stricken region to regional powerhouse. Local residents of Velika Kladuša called him Babo (Dad)." He ruled the company in an "imperial" style, with strong political backing from influential politician Hamdija Pozderac
and his brother Hakija.
In the late 1987, just before Hamdija Pozderac was about to take over annual Presidency
of Yugoslavia, a scandal arose, and Abdić found himself imprisoned for the alleged financial malversations, and Hamdija Pozderac resigned. The scandal shook not only the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, but the whole of Yugoslavia as well. Another of his controversial moves was erecting a monument to a Bosnian başbölükbaşı from the Ottoman Army Mujo Hrnjica on a hill above Velika Kladuša.
After his release from prison, he joined the Party of Democratic Action
just 24 hours before the 1990 elections were scheduled and ran for the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Under the erstwhile constitution, voters elected seven members to the presidency; two Bosniaks
, two Serbs
, two Croats
and one Yugoslav
. Abdić and his future rival Alija Izetbegović
ran for the two Bosniak positions, and were both elected. Once the positions were filled, the members of the presidency elected a President of the Presidency who acted as its head. Although Abdić won more popular votes than Izetbegović, Abdić did not assume office for reasons which remain unclear.
, when the Bosnian War
broke out, Abdić briefly appeared in Sarajevo hoping to assume presidency after Izetbegović had been arrested by the Yugoslav People's Army
. However, he was preempted as Izetbegović had already named Ejup Ganić
for that position.
A few months later, Abdić decided to return to Bihać
and lead the people there. Popular locally, having ties to both Beograd and Zagreb, Abdić was concerned with business interests in his fiefdom, and opposed Izetbegović's government He formed the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, a move which the government characterized as treason. He made peace deals with Croat (14 September 1993) and Serb leaders (October 22, 1993) who were satisfied to weaken Bosnian government in the light of Karađorđevo
and Graz
agreements which aimed to redistribute Bosnia and Herzegovina
between Croatia and the FR Yugoslavia. The FRY (consisting of the Republic of Serbia (including Kosovo
) and the Republic of Montenegro) wanted all lands where Serbs had a majority, eastern and western Bosnia. The Croats and their leader Franjo Tuđman also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. Fikret Abdić established concentration camps for Bosniak population loyal to the government such as Drmeljevo and Miljkovići. Detainees at the camps were subjected to killings, torture, sexual assaults, beatings and otherwise cruel and inhuman treatment. In addition to the Fikret Abdić forces, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions
participated in the war crimes on Bosniaks.
When the government 5th Corps
of Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based in the south part of the Bihać
pocket in Western Bosnia
tried to end the existence of APWB, Abdić raised an army which was supplied, trained, financed by (and fought alongside) the Army of Republika Srpska
and Serbia
n counter-intelligence
against the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(ARBiH) and Bosniaks loyal to Izetbegović. The Serbs took advantage of the situation and strengthened their and Abdić's positions. In August 1995, an ARBiH offensive ended the Republic of Western Bosnia forcing him to flee to Croatia.
Lord Owen
, a British
diplomat and co-author of the Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans described Abdić as "forthright, confident and different from the Sarajevan Muslims. He was in favor of negotiating and compromising with Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement, and scathing about those Muslims who wanted to block any such settlement."
Franjo Tuđman and lived near the coastal city of Rijeka
. The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina charged him with the deaths of 121 civilians, three POWs and the wounding of 400 civilians in the Bihać
region. Croatia
would not extradite Abdić. Following the death of Tuđman in 1999, and the change in government
in Croatia the following year, Croatian authorities arrested him and put him on trial. In 2002 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in the area of the "Bihać pocket”. In 2005 the Croatian Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 15 years.
Abdić ran for the position of Bosniak member of the Bosnian presidency in 2002 on the Democratic People's Community
party ticket in 2002 and won 4.1% of the vote. Bosnian law does not bar him from running for office since his conviction is in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
in the region of Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša is a city and municipality in the far northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located near the border with Croatia. The closest city is Cazin, and a bit farther, the cities of Bihać and Bosanski Novi. Across the border, it is not far from Cetingrad...
.
In the 1980s, he became known mainly for his role in building up the farming conglomerate Agrokomerc
Agrokomerc
Agrokomerc was a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption scandal known as the Agrokomerc Affair...
. During the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, Abdić declared his opposition to the Bosnian
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
government, and founded the small, short-lived and unrecognized Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in the northwest of Bosnia, composed of the town of Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša is a city and municipality in the far northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located near the border with Croatia. The closest city is Cazin, and a bit farther, the cities of Bihać and Bosanski Novi. Across the border, it is not far from Cetingrad...
and a few nearby villages. The mini state existed between 1993 and 1995 and it was allied with Army of Republika Srpska
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
.
In 2002 he was convicted on charges of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s against Bosniaks loyal to the Bosnian government by a court in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Biography
Before the war, Abdić was the director of AgrokomercAgrokomerc
Agrokomerc was a food company headquartered in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina with operations extending across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. The company became internationally known in the late 1980s due to a corruption scandal known as the Agrokomerc Affair...
, a company from Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša
Velika Kladuša is a city and municipality in the far northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located near the border with Croatia. The closest city is Cazin, and a bit farther, the cities of Bihać and Bosanski Novi. Across the border, it is not far from Cetingrad...
that he raised from an agricultural cooperative into a modern food combine, which employed over 13,000 workers, and which boosted the well-being of the entire area. Agrokomerc changed the Velika Kladuša from a poverty stricken region to regional powerhouse. Local residents of Velika Kladuša called him Babo (Dad)." He ruled the company in an "imperial" style, with strong political backing from influential politician Hamdija Pozderac
Hamdija Pozderac
Hamdija Pozderac was a Bosniak communist politician and the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1971- 74. He was a vice president of the former Yugoslavia in late 1980s, and was in line to become the president of Yugoslavia just before he was forced to resign from politics in 1987...
and his brother Hakija.
In the late 1987, just before Hamdija Pozderac was about to take over annual Presidency
Presidency
The word presidency is often used to describe the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation...
of Yugoslavia, a scandal arose, and Abdić found himself imprisoned for the alleged financial malversations, and Hamdija Pozderac resigned. The scandal shook not only the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , known until 1963 under the name of People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, but the whole of Yugoslavia as well. Another of his controversial moves was erecting a monument to a Bosnian başbölükbaşı from the Ottoman Army Mujo Hrnjica on a hill above Velika Kladuša.
After his release from prison, he joined the Party of Democratic Action
Party of Democratic Action
The Party of Democratic Action is a Bosniak national political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:The Party of Democratic Action was founded in May 1990 by Alija Izetbegović, representing the Bosnian Muslim population...
just 24 hours before the 1990 elections were scheduled and ran for the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the head of state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Overview:...
. Under the erstwhile constitution, voters elected seven members to the presidency; two Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
, two Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, two Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and one Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
. Abdić and his future rival Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
ran for the two Bosniak positions, and were both elected. Once the positions were filled, the members of the presidency elected a President of the Presidency who acted as its head. Although Abdić won more popular votes than Izetbegović, Abdić did not assume office for reasons which remain unclear.
Bosnian War
According to NINNIN (magazine)
NIN is a weekly newsmagazine published in Belgrade, Serbia. Its name is an acronym for Nedeljne informativne novine which roughly translates into Weekly Informational Newspaper....
, when the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
broke out, Abdić briefly appeared in Sarajevo hoping to assume presidency after Izetbegović had been arrested by the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
. However, he was preempted as Izetbegović had already named Ejup Ganić
Ejup Ganic
Ejup Ganić, PhD was President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001.-Biography:Ganić was born in Sebečevo village near Novi Pazar, Serbia...
for that position.
A few months later, Abdić decided to return to Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
and lead the people there. Popular locally, having ties to both Beograd and Zagreb, Abdić was concerned with business interests in his fiefdom, and opposed Izetbegović's government He formed the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, a move which the government characterized as treason. He made peace deals with Croat (14 September 1993) and Serb leaders (October 22, 1993) who were satisfied to weaken Bosnian government in the light of Karađorđevo
Karađorđevo agreement
In 1991, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević had a series of discussions which became known as the Karađorđevo agreement or, less commonly, the Karađorđevo meeting. These discussions commenced as early as March, 1991...
and Graz
Graz agreement
The Graz agreement was a partition agreement signed between Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban on 6 May 1992 in the town of Graz, Austria. The agreement was meant to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina between Republika Srpska and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
agreements which aimed to redistribute Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
between Croatia and the FR Yugoslavia. The FRY (consisting of the Republic of Serbia (including Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
) and the Republic of Montenegro) wanted all lands where Serbs had a majority, eastern and western Bosnia. The Croats and their leader Franjo Tuđman also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. Fikret Abdić established concentration camps for Bosniak population loyal to the government such as Drmeljevo and Miljkovići. Detainees at the camps were subjected to killings, torture, sexual assaults, beatings and otherwise cruel and inhuman treatment. In addition to the Fikret Abdić forces, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions
Scorpions (paramilitary)
The Scorpions were a Serbian paramilitary group which actively sought out the extermination of other ethnicities in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The unit was formed in 1991 in what was then the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina...
participated in the war crimes on Bosniaks.
When the government 5th Corps
V Corps (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The Fifth Corps was one of seven corps in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The formation was around the Bihać pocket to protect it against the surrounding Serb forces. The Fifth Corps also fought a secessional Muslim forces loyal to Fikret "Babo" Abdić, who was cooperating with...
of Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based in the south part of the Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
pocket in Western Bosnia
Western Bosnia
The Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia was a small unrecognized entity in the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
tried to end the existence of APWB, Abdić raised an army which was supplied, trained, financed by (and fought alongside) the Army of Republika Srpska
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
against the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina established by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 following the outbreak of the Bosnian War...
(ARBiH) and Bosniaks loyal to Izetbegović. The Serbs took advantage of the situation and strengthened their and Abdić's positions. In August 1995, an ARBiH offensive ended the Republic of Western Bosnia forcing him to flee to Croatia.
Lord Owen
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
diplomat and co-author of the Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans described Abdić as "forthright, confident and different from the Sarajevan Muslims. He was in favor of negotiating and compromising with Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement, and scathing about those Muslims who wanted to block any such settlement."
After the war
After the war he was granted political asylum and citizenship by the Croatian PresidentPresident of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
Franjo Tuđman and lived near the coastal city of Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
. The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina charged him with the deaths of 121 civilians, three POWs and the wounding of 400 civilians in the Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
region. Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
would not extradite Abdić. Following the death of Tuđman in 1999, and the change in government
Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
Elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on January 3, 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full term of the previous Chamber....
in Croatia the following year, Croatian authorities arrested him and put him on trial. In 2002 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in the area of the "Bihać pocket”. In 2005 the Croatian Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 15 years.
Abdić ran for the position of Bosniak member of the Bosnian presidency in 2002 on the Democratic People's Community
Democratic People's Community
The Democratic People's Community is a Bosniak political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.At the last legislative elections, 5 October 2002, the party - led by Fikret Abdić - won 1.4% of the popular vote and 1 out of 42 seats in the House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 3 out of...
party ticket in 2002 and won 4.1% of the vote. Bosnian law does not bar him from running for office since his conviction is in Croatia.