Martin Špegelj
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Martin Špegelj | |
---|---|
Minister of Defence of Croatia | |
In office 24 August 1990 – 2 July 1991 | |
President | Franjo Tuđman |
Prime Minister | Stjepan Mesić Josip Manolić |
Preceded by | Petar Kriste |
Succeeded by | Šime Đodan |
Personal details | |
Born | HV | 11 November 1927
Battles/wars | World War II Croatian War of Independence |
Martin Špegelj (11 November 1927 – 11 May 2014) was a Croatian
Early life
Martin Spegelj was born 11 November 1927 in Stari Gradac,
After the first free elections in Croatia, he was second Defence Minister. Špegelj was one of the few in the top leadership of Croatia who saw the impending war as unavoidable. Together with the Slovenian command, Špegelj formulated a joint defence plan in case either country was attacked by the JNA. At the same time he was smuggling weapons into Yugoslavia, arming paramilitary troops and organizing them for attacks on legitimate JNA forces.
Špegelj Tapes
At the onset of the war in Croatia in mid 1990, the
He was caught on tape in October 1990 talking to an assistant who was actually an undercover
The Croatian leadership, including the main "actors" themselves, initially quickly dismissed the tapes as fake, claiming that the presumably innocuous videotaped conversations were subsequently
The JNA leadership in Belgrade wanted Špegelj to face trial for treason for this. As a result of the affair, and to calm tensions, Tuđman dismissed him from his post. Fearing for his life, Špegelj fled to Austria, where he remained for several months.
Return to Croatia
Considering the rising tensions and the fall of first deaths of the impending war, Špegelj was persuaded to return to Croatia to become the chief of staff of the new army that was in the process of forming.
When the
Špegelj was then made
Only several months later, full-scale war broke out, and Špegelj's plan for attacking JNA's army barracks in Croatia was implemented and resulted in the Battle of the Barracks, bringing much-needed heavy weapons to Croatia.
The war in Croatia entered a phase of lower intensity after the signing of a UN-brokered ceasefire at the start of 1992. Špegelj then officially retired.
Post-war and criticism
Following the war, Špegelj became a fierce critic of Tuđman's politics, accusing him and his followers of
.Špegelj was in turn criticized by pro-Tuđman elements of the Croatian military, notably Davor Domazet-Lošo, who considers that the June 1991 Slovenian War was just an excuse to draw Croatia into the conflict.[6]
References
- ^ "Former Croatian defence minister Spegelj dies at age of 87 - Current Events - Croatia". Dalje.com. 1927-11-11. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
- International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. 25 January 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
Page 47621 onwards
- International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
Whether or not it was true, the video, broadcast twice the same evening, created the desired effect, that is, an electric shock in Serbian public opinion which thus saw the confirmation of the intrinsically evil nature of the authorities in Zagreb...
- ^ "Умро хрватски генерал Мартин Шпегељ". RTS. RTS. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Umro je Martin Špegelj". Metro-portal.hr. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ISBN 953-96313-0-0.
- Špegelj, Martin: Sjećanje Vojnika (Memories of a Soldier), 2001