Special Operations Unit (Serbia)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Unit for Special Operations
Јединица за специјалне операције
Jedinica za specijalne operacije
FR Yugoslavia
Operational structure
HeadquartersKula
Agency executives
Parent agencyState Security Directorate (1996–2001)

Unit for Special Operations (Serbian: Јединица за специјалне операције, romanized: Jedinica za specijalne operacije; abbr. ЈСО or JSO) or Special Operations Unit, also known as Red Berets (by berets; Serbian: Црвене беретке, romanized: Crvene beretke) or Frankies (by Franko Simatović; Serbian: Френкијевци, romanized: Frenkijevci), was an elite special forces police unit of Serbian State Security Directorate (RDB).

The JSO was created in 1996 by merging paramilitary units under the command of

Željko Ražnatović "Arkan" and Franko Simatović and incorporating them into the security system of the Serbia under the auspice of Jovica Stanišić, head of the State Security Directorate. From 1996 to November 2001, it was formally under the competence of the RDB. The unit was finally disbanded in March 2003, after the Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Đinđić was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy in which some members of the unit were involved.[1]

Patrons and numerous members of the unit and its predecessors have been implicated and some sentenced, for

gray eminence Jovica Stanišić (head of RDB during the first half of Slobodan Milošević's rule) were acquitted at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for various war crimes. Various other members are convicted or being tried for the Ibar Highway assassination attempt and for the murders of Ivan Stambolić and Slavko Ćuruvija. The JSO was also reportedly involved in instances of war crimes in the Kosovo War.[2]

History

The origins of the JSO can be traced back to April 1991, on the eve of

Serbian Ministry of the Interior. In Knin, Simatović and Vasiljković contacted Milan Martić, minister of the interior of Republic of Serbian Krajina, who subordinated a group of fighters under Vasiljković's command, who gave them thorough training and imposed the discipline;[3] the unit would later become known under the name Knindže (a portmanteau of "Knin" and "ninja"), and Vasiljković under the war name "Kapetan Dragan".[4] The name "Red Berets" came after the battle for Glina, when Vasiljković distributed the berets to his men.[3]

The other wing of the unit was apparently formed in May 1991, in

Army of Serb Krajina and the Army of Republika Srpska. The goal was to assist the fledgling Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, a Serb-allied Muslim entity fighting against the central Bosnian government. During "Operation Spider", members of the Serbian Volunteer Guard fought under the ad hoc name 3rd Tactical Group.[9] In September 1995, at Sana river, the unit assisted the Army of Republika Srpska in re-establishing the defense lines against the joint Croatian-Bosniak offensive codenamed "Operation Mistral 2"/"Operation Sana
".

These two paramilitary units were allegedly the core of future JSO. The joint unit was officially formed in 1994, under the name of Unit for anti-terrorist action ("Jedinica za antiteroristička dejstva", JATD), one year before the wars in Bosnia and Croatia came to an end.[10][11] The JATD first consisted of light mobile artillery and infantry. The unit operated as a part of the State Security Directorate (Resor Državne bezbednosti), which was then a part of Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The members of the unit first came into the public spotlight during a 1995 hostage crisis when UN personnel were being held captive by the Army of Republika Srpska. The unit members provided protection for Jovica Stanišić, head of the Serbian State Security (RDB) who, acting as a mediator, arranged for the safe release of the hostages.[10][12]

In 1996, one year after the Dayton Agreement and the end of conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia, JATD was re-structured and renamed to Jedinica za specijalne operacije, or JSO. A former Yugoslav People's Army barracks in Kula was chosen for its base camp. The JSO also obtained two Ukrainian Mi-24V combat helicopters on the black market, most likely through RDB intermediaries.

At the very beginning of the

NATO airstrikes, the unit's Mi-24 helicopters had to be grounded. The unit operated a wide variety of armored vehicles, including American-made Hummers procured via Cyprus, which all proved to be effective for quick operations under constant NATO aerial bombardment. After the Kumanovo Agreement
and the subsequent end of the war, the JSO, alongside the police and armed forces, left Kosovo.

On 3 October 1999, a vehicle column of Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), one of Serbia's largest opposition parties at the time, was attacked while moving down Ibar Highway. A tipper truck rammed into the moving vehicles. SPO officials Veselin Bošković, Zvonko Osmajlić, Vučko Rakočević, and Dragan Vušurović were killed in the staged accident and SPO president Drašković was injured. In a ruling by the Belgrade District Court on February 16, 2007, former State Security officer and unit's commander Milorad Ulemek, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and former State Security chief Radomir Marković received eight years. Members of the Special Operations Unit, JSO, Duško Maričić, Branko Berček, Nenad Bujošević, and Leonid Milivojević were sentenced to 14 years in prison.[16]

On 25 August 2000, former president of Serbia and once a rival of Milošević's, Ivan Stambolić was detained by the police.[17] Soon after, he was gone missing during his every-day jogging routine. His remains were uncovered on 28 March 2003, in Fruška Gora.[18] After a yearlong trial in Serbia's special court in Belgrade, a judge found Radomir Marković and Milorad Ulemek, guilty of planning and carrying out the assassination of Ivan Stambolić.[19]

The unit's role in the 2000 overthrow of Slobodan Milošević remained, to this day, somewhat controversial. On 4 October, opposition leader Zoran Đinđić met with Milorad Ulemek. Ulemek struck a bargain with Đinđić that he and his unit would stand down as long as the police were not attacked.[20] The unit was most likely given the order to storm the protesters, who rallied in downtown Belgrade on 5 October. But soon after the unit's characteristic armored Hummers appeared in front of the protesters, the vehicles simply returned to base. Later, in his book titled "Peti oktobar" ("October 5"), former State Security chief Radomir Marković claimed he was the one who ordered the unit to be deployed in Belgrade.[21]

The policy of the new government, especially regarding the indictment of the former Serbian war leaders by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was met with explicit disagreement from the unit's commanding officers. In 2001, JSO engaged in a mutiny, blocking the Belgrade-Niš highway.[22] The official reason for the mutiny, was an order given to the unit to arrest the Banović brothers, wanted by the ICTY. After several days of negotiations, the JSO's mutiny ended.

During this period, disillusioned Ulemek got involved in criminal activities of the so-called Zemun Clan, by providing both intelligence information and muscle for them. During 2001, the clan kidnapped several influential businessmen and demanded millions as ransom money. Among those men were Milija Babović and Miroslav Mišković, widely considered to be the most powerful business people in Serbia at the time. In both cases, Ulemek offered his help to the police, in his official capacity. He abused that position and provided insider information to the clan: for example, when he found out that Babović's family quickly and easily collected the ransom money, he advised the clan members to demand more. Eventually, all the hostages were released, however, some were severely beaten and tortured in the process.[23]

Disbandment

The JSO was disbanded by decision of the Government of Serbia on 25 March 2003, 13 days after the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.[11][24][25] Its remaining members were sacked or transferred to other police units.

Trivia

  • Members of the unit have rose tattoo on their neck, which is noted by the press during the trial of Legija.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Zvezdan Jovanović, an officer of the JSO and Milorad Ulemek, former commander of the unit, were convicted on 23 May 2007, for their parts in the assassination.
  2. ^ Serbian Police units that participated in the Cuska massacre
  3. ^ a b c d Filip Švarm (2006-09-07). "Feljton: Jedinica, Deo I" (in Serbian). Vreme. Archived from the original on 2006-09-15. Alt URL
  4. ^ "Dragan Vasiljkovic". Trial Watch. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
  5. ^ Milan Milosevic and Uros Komlenovic (19 April 1997). "The State And The Mafia". Vreme.
  6. ^ Mirko Klarin (13 October 2001). "ANALYSIS: Milosevic Indicted Over Croatian Crimes". IWPR.
  7. ^ "Pad Laslova na današnji dan, 1991!". 24 November 2016.
  8. ^ "BITKA ZA LASLOVO (2/2) | Domoljubni portal CM | U vihoru rata".
  9. ^ Filip Švarm and Jovan Dulović (3 April 2003). "Od Arkana do Gumara".
  10. ^ a b "О Јединици". 28 June 2007.
  11. ^ a b Partos, Gabriel (26 March 2003). "Serbia's 'elite' enemy within". BBC News.
  12. ^ "HOW JOVICA FREED UN HOSTAGES | SENSE Agency | News". Archived from the original on 2013-11-13.
  13. ^ "Mi-24s still serving in Eastern Europe". 20 August 2020.
  14. ^ ""Nasa Borba" - Policija preuzela kontrolu nad Kijevom i okolinom".
  15. ^ "**Tigar** zvani Ulemek".
  16. ^ http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes.php?yyyy=2008&mm=03&dd=03&nav_id=48134 B92 article on the trial for the Ibar Highway killings
  17. ^ "Detention and Disappearance of Ivan Stambolic". Archived from the original on 2001-12-23.
  18. ^ "Ex-Serb president's body found". CNN. 28 March 2003.
  19. ^ Wood, Nicholas (19 July 2005). "Milosevic Aides Found Guilty of Yugoslav Political Assassination". The New York Times.
  20. ISBN 978-1-4214-0813-2
    .
  21. ^ "Legija izdao vođu".
  22. ^ http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/trial-for-munity-of-serbian-special-forces-said Balkan Insight, article on the mutiny charges
  23. ^ ""BILI SU BRUTALNI, ŽELEO SAM DA ME UBIJU" Sve jezive otmice poznatih biznismena surovog ZEMUNSKOG KLANA". Blic. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  24. ^ "Serbia Disbands Police Unit of Suspect in Prime Minister's Death". The New York Times. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Milosevic's paramilitary commander and 11 other men convicted of Zoran Djindjic assassinating". 23 May 2007.
  26. ^ "Stanišić and Simatović" (PDF). ICTY.
  27. ^ "Oslobođeni Stanišić i Simatović" (in Serbian). B92. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  28. ^ "Officials: Serbs took part in Sweden chopper heist". Associated Press. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  29. ^ Švarm, Filip (22 April 2004). "Suđenje za ubistvo Zorana Đinđića: Srce tame". No. 694. Vreme. Retrieved 2 September 2016.

External links

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