Opera orientalis
Encyclopedia
Operation Opera Orientalis (also known as Operation Opera and Operation Labrador) was a false flag
operation carried out during the Yugoslav Wars
. In August 1991, the Jewish cemetery
and Jewish community center in Zagreb
, Croatia
were bombed. The individuals responsible for the bombing were later found to be members of the Serb-controlled Yugoslav Air Force intelligence service.
Operation Opera was an attempt to discredit Croatia in the West
, and ostensibly to detract from the validity of Croatia's demands for independence. The action was coordinated with a flood of false accusations launched by Serbian media and pro-Serb worldwide lobbies, such as the Belgrade-based Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society
, in which independent Croatia was associated with World War II
, Nazism
and anti-Judaism
. During Slobodan Milošević
's trial at the ICTY, former KOS agent Mustafa Čandić testified that KOS agents infiltrated HDZ circles, launched terrorist attacks at Jewish graves in Mirogoj and then fled to Belgrade
. According to the testimony, the officer in charge for Operation Labrador was the head of the security department, Slobodan Rakočević, in Zemun
, while the operative staff of the second detachment of the counter-intelligence group in Zagreb were Colonel Ivan Sabolović and Major Čedo Knežević. With respect to Operation Opera, Radenko Radojčić was in charge.
Within several days of the bombing, however, tens of thousands of people, among them government and religious officials, poured into the streets of Zagreb to express their support for the Jewish community. Damages from the bombing were quickly repaired with the help of the Croatian government.
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
operation carried out during the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
. In August 1991, the Jewish cemetery
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
and Jewish community center in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, 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 ...
were bombed. The individuals responsible for the bombing were later found to be members of the Serb-controlled Yugoslav Air Force intelligence service.
Operation Opera was an attempt to discredit Croatia in the West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
, and ostensibly to detract from the validity of Croatia's demands for independence. The action was coordinated with a flood of false accusations launched by Serbian media and pro-Serb worldwide lobbies, such as the Belgrade-based Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society
Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society
The Serbian-Jewish Friendship Society was founded in Belgrade, Serbia in 1987 by Klara Mandić, who was also the society's spokesperson. The society was formed with the professed primary goal to promote establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Yugoslavia, an act which had...
, in which independent Croatia was associated with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and anti-Judaism
Anti-Judaism
Religious antisemitism is a form of antisemitism, which is the prejudice against, or hostility toward, the Jewish people based on hostility to Judaism and to Jews as a religious group...
. During Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's trial at the ICTY, former KOS agent Mustafa Čandić testified that KOS agents infiltrated HDZ circles, launched terrorist attacks at Jewish graves in Mirogoj and then fled to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. According to the testimony, the officer in charge for Operation Labrador was the head of the security department, Slobodan Rakočević, in Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
, while the operative staff of the second detachment of the counter-intelligence group in Zagreb were Colonel Ivan Sabolović and Major Čedo Knežević. With respect to Operation Opera, Radenko Radojčić was in charge.
Within several days of the bombing, however, tens of thousands of people, among them government and religious officials, poured into the streets of Zagreb to express their support for the Jewish community. Damages from the bombing were quickly repaired with the help of the Croatian government.
External links
- Anatomy of a Balkan Frame-Up", Jerusalem Post, 3 February 1993 (Abstract)
- Operations Labrador and Opera
- Statement of Radenko Radojčić, former JNA intelligence
- Čandić: KOS po Hrvatskoj minirao grobove, montirao snimke
- Afera "opera"
- Haški procesi