Totic kidnapping
Encyclopedia
Totić kidnapping was an April 1993 kidnapping of Živko Totić, the head of the Croatian Defence Council
(HVO) Military Police in Zenica
and a few other persons. It is alleged that the kidnapping was performed by Muslim forces. The claim is presented by the Defence case during Kupreškić trial in the ICTY against Croat soldiers accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Bosniaks
during Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
. It is said the kidnapping sparked the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
. However, the ICTY found that the evidence revealed a tendency on the Croat side to spread alarm among the Croat population. A videotape of a news programme reporting the kidnapping of Živko Totić, is also instructive. The broadcaster recites all the alleged crimes committed by the Bosniaks against the Croats in an apparent attempt to incite hatred against the Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Army. This vitiates Zvonimir Cilic's assertion that the Croat leadership was trying to achieve conciliation among ethnic groups, but to prepare their own population for an attack on the Bosnian Muslims creating misinformation and propaganda
.
Bosnian Army quickly ordered all units to help find the kidnapped men. During the ICTY
it was claimed that the kidnappings were in response to HVO forces arresting and detaining 13 Bosnian Mujahideen
. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the Bosnian Army or the Bosniaks in general did plan to launch an attack on the Croats on 15-16 April 1993. Countrary, the ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time concluded that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse
Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić
, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and instigator of this plan.
Croatian Defence Council
The Croatian Defence Council was a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War.-History:...
(HVO) Military Police in Zenica
Zenica
Zenica is an industrial city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the capital of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
and a few other persons. It is alleged that the kidnapping was performed by Muslim forces. The claim is presented by the Defence case during Kupreškić trial in the ICTY against Croat soldiers accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity on 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...
during Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, also known as the Lašva Valley case, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the Lašva Valley region of Bosnia-Herzegovina...
. It is said the kidnapping sparked the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, also known as the Lašva Valley case, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the Lašva Valley region of Bosnia-Herzegovina...
. However, the ICTY found that the evidence revealed a tendency on the Croat side to spread alarm among the Croat population. A videotape of a news programme reporting the kidnapping of Živko Totić, is also instructive. The broadcaster recites all the alleged crimes committed by the Bosniaks against the Croats in an apparent attempt to incite hatred against the Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Army. This vitiates Zvonimir Cilic's assertion that the Croat leadership was trying to achieve conciliation among ethnic groups, but to prepare their own population for an attack on the Bosnian Muslims creating misinformation and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
.
The Kidnapping
- According to unverified claims on April 13, 1993 four members of the Stjepan Tomašević Brigade were seized outside Novi Travnik. The four kidnapped personnel included Vlado Sliskovic, deputy commander of the Tomasevic Brigade; Ivica Kambic, the brigade SIS officer; Zdravko Kovac, the brigade intelligence officer; and their driver, Mire Jurkevic. The kidnapped HVO soldiers were allegedly bound, gagged, and blindfolded and remained so for most of their captivity.
- At 7:50 on the morning of April 15, 1993 Živko Totić was kidnapped while en route to his headquarters. Živko Totić in testimony at the ICTYInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
stated that on April 15, 1993 masked attackers wearing Bosnian ArmyArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe 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...
insignias blocked his car in a ZenicaZenicaZenica is an industrial city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the capital of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
suburb and killed his driver, two bodyguards and his brother-in-law, all with him in the car-as well as a passer-by. Having killed his escort, the kidnappers tied Totic up, placed a transparent black bag over his head, threw him into a van and drove him away, yelling "Allahu ekber."
Bosnian Army quickly ordered all units to help find the kidnapped men. During the ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
it was claimed that the kidnappings were in response to HVO forces arresting and detaining 13 Bosnian Mujahideen
Bosnian mujahideen
Bosnian mujahideen were foreign Muslim volunteers who fought on the side of Bosnian Muslims during the 1992–1995 Bosnian war. They arrived in Bosnia with the aim of fighting for Islam and on behalf of Muslims who were at the time brutally attacked by Serbs and Croats in different parts of the...
. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the Bosnian Army or the Bosniaks in general did plan to launch an attack on the Croats on 15-16 April 1993. Countrary, the ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time concluded that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić
Dario Kordic
Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician, military commander of the HVO forces between 1992 and 1994, and vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and instigator of this plan.