Janko Bobetko
Encyclopedia
Janko Bobetko was a Croatian Army general and Chief of the General Staff during the Croatian War of Independence
from 1992 until his retirement in 1995. Bobetko had been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
but died before he could be tried. He was one of the founding members of 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, armed anti-fascist military unit in Yugoslavia
.
in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He studied at the veterinary faculty in the University of Zagreb
, but Croatian pro-Nazi authorities expelled him from university at the start of World War II
for his anti-fascist views. During the war, the Ustaše
killed his father and three brothers, and he joined an antifascist unit, the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment
in the Brezovica forest near Sisak. Bobetko fought for the Yugoslav Partisans from 1941 to 1945.
He was heavily wounded at Dravograd
in Slovenia
, but survived to become a Yugoslav People's Army
(YPA) officer. In the post-war period, he graduated from the Military Academy of the Yugoslav People's Army and rose to the rank of lieutenant-general. During the 1970s Croatian Spring
, he supported a greater autonomy for Croatia in Yugoslavia
, and was demoted and expelled from the YPA after Josip Broz Tito
's crackdown on Croatian leadership.
After the 1990 Croatian parliamentary elections
, Bobetko refused to accept the position of defense minister. His involvement in the Croatian War of Independence
began in Banovina
and continued on the Southern Front, where he took command on 10 April 1992.
On November 20, 1992, Bobetko was named the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.
In 1993, during Operation Medak pocket
against Serb Krajina
strongholds that controlled the town of Gospić
, the Croatian soldiers were accused of committing crimes against humanity and violating the laws or customs of war.
Bobetko had the status of a fully disabled person, caused both by his leg injury he sustained during World War II, and later by an onset of cardiac decompensation
in 1994. Because of this he was hospitalized in 1995 during Operation Flash
. The extent of his disability was at one point disputed by the Ministry of Defense, but it was later fully reinstated by a court order.
On July 15, 1995 President Franjo Tuđman formally replaced Bobetko as the Chief of General Staff with Zvonimir Červenko. Later that year, he was elected in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1995
on the electoral list of the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ).
In 1996, Bobetko wrote a book titled All My Battles, containing many military maps and commands, on which he said, "My face is clean, and that permits me to leave a written mark on anything I did in more than fifty years of my military and political life."
In 2000, Bobetko was the most prominent signatory to the Twelve Generals' Letter
.
In September 2002, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
indicted Bobetko as the supreme commanding officer. Bobetko refused to accept the indictment and refused to surrender to the court, indignantly claiming that such an indictment questions the legitimacy of the whole military operation. The crisis stretched out as popular opinion agreed with Bobetko, and the Croatian Government wouldn't assert an unambiguous position over his extradition. At that time, Bobetko was already gravely ill.
In 2002, the United Kingdom
had halted its ratification process for the Treaty of Stabilization and Accession of Croatia to the European Union
because of the Croatian government's handling of the Bobetko case.
Janko Bobetko died in 2003, aged 84, before any final decision was reached regarding his extradition. The treaty ratification problem was subsequently rectified in 2004.
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
from 1992 until his retirement in 1995. Bobetko had been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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...
but died before he could be tried. He was one of the founding members of 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, armed anti-fascist military unit in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Biography
Bobetko was born in the village of Crnac, SisakSisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He studied at the veterinary faculty in the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
, but Croatian pro-Nazi authorities expelled him from university at the start of 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...
for his anti-fascist views. During the war, the Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
killed his father and three brothers, and he joined an antifascist unit, the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment
1st Sisak Partisan Detachment
The Sisak People's Liberation Partisan Detachment, also known as the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment was the first military unit formed by a resistance movement in World War II occupied Europe. This first unit of the Yugoslav Partisans was established in occupied Yugoslavia, in the Brezovica forest...
in the Brezovica forest near Sisak. Bobetko fought for the Yugoslav Partisans from 1941 to 1945.
He was heavily wounded at Dravograd
Dravograd
Dravograd is a small town and a municipality in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It is part of the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia)....
in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, but survived to become a 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...
(YPA) officer. In the post-war period, he graduated from the Military Academy of the Yugoslav People's Army and rose to the rank of lieutenant-general. During the 1970s Croatian Spring
Croatian Spring
The Croatian Spring was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia as well as democratic and economic reforms.-History:...
, he supported a greater autonomy for Croatia in Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, and was demoted and expelled from the YPA after Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's crackdown on Croatian leadership.
After the 1990 Croatian parliamentary elections
Croatian parliamentary election, 1990
Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 22 April 1990, with a second round of voting on 6 May. The first free elections since multi-party politics were introduced, they resulted in a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 55 of the 80 seats...
, Bobetko refused to accept the position of defense minister. His involvement in the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
began in Banovina
Banovina
Banovina may refer to:* One of the subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941* Any territory ruled by a ban * Banovina in central Croatia, also known as Banija...
and continued on the Southern Front, where he took command on 10 April 1992.
On November 20, 1992, Bobetko was named the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.
In 1993, during Operation Medak pocket
Operation Medak Pocket
Operation Medak Pocket: Mid-September 1993 United Nations Protection Force and the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry advanced into the Medak Pocket, named after the village of Medak, in Southern Croatia, with orders to implement a ceasefire between the Croatian Army Troops...
against Serb Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
strongholds that controlled the town of Gospić
Gospic
Gospić is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj county. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field....
, the Croatian soldiers were accused of committing crimes against humanity and violating the laws or customs of war.
Bobetko had the status of a fully disabled person, caused both by his leg injury he sustained during World War II, and later by an onset of cardiac decompensation
Decompensation
In medicine, decompensation is the functional deterioration of a previously working structure or system. Decompensation may occur due to fatigue, stress, illness, or old age. When a system is "compensated," it is able to function despite stressors or defects. Decompensation describes an inability...
in 1994. Because of this he was hospitalized in 1995 during Operation Flash
Operation Flash
The Serbs in western Slavonia took part in the organized rebellion against the government of the Republic of Croatia that had just proclaimed independence in June 1991, by proclaiming the Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia in August 1991...
. The extent of his disability was at one point disputed by the Ministry of Defense, but it was later fully reinstated by a court order.
On July 15, 1995 President Franjo Tuđman formally replaced Bobetko as the Chief of General Staff with Zvonimir Červenko. Later that year, he was elected in the Croatian parliamentary election, 1995
Croatian parliamentary election, 1995
-Subsequent changes:The following changes happened after elections:*The Croatian Pure Party of Rights gained one member of parliament*The Croatian Christian Democratic Union gained one more member of parliament*The Serb People's Party lost one member of parliament...
on the electoral list of the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ).
In 1996, Bobetko wrote a book titled All My Battles, containing many military maps and commands, on which he said, "My face is clean, and that permits me to leave a written mark on anything I did in more than fifty years of my military and political life."
In 2000, Bobetko was the most prominent signatory to the Twelve Generals' Letter
Twelve Generals' Letter
The Twelve Generals' Letter was an open letter, signed by twelve generals of the Croatian Armed Forces, that criticized the government, politicians and media for perceived criminalization of the Croatian War of Independence and asserted that war veterans had suffered undignified treatment...
.
In September 2002, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
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...
indicted Bobetko as the supreme commanding officer. Bobetko refused to accept the indictment and refused to surrender to the court, indignantly claiming that such an indictment questions the legitimacy of the whole military operation. The crisis stretched out as popular opinion agreed with Bobetko, and the Croatian Government wouldn't assert an unambiguous position over his extradition. At that time, Bobetko was already gravely ill.
In 2002, the United Kingdom
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...
had halted its ratification process for the Treaty of Stabilization and Accession of Croatia to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
because of the Croatian government's handling of the Bobetko case.
Janko Bobetko died in 2003, aged 84, before any final decision was reached regarding his extradition. The treaty ratification problem was subsequently rectified in 2004.