War Crimes Trial of Croatian General Revives Dispute about "Operation Storm"

The trial of a leading Croatian general before the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal in The Hague has revived a dispute about the controversial military operation that drove Serb forces out of Croatia at the end of the Balkan wars in 1995.  Ante Gotovina, who led "Operation Storm" and who is regarded by many Croatians as a national hero not a war criminal, went on trial on March 11.

The military operation led by Gotovina in the summer of 1995 led to the restoration of Croatian control over the Krajina, a predominantly Serb-populated region of Croatia that had declared itself an independent republic in 1991.  The rebel Serbs who had seized the Krajina were driven out during Operation Storm and at the same time around 200,000 Serb civilians were also displaced from the region.  It remains disputed whether these civilians fled ahead of advancing Croatian forces or were forcibly driven out--a debate that will be one of the points at issue in the trial.

Gotovina is charged along with two other generals, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, with having committed atrocities against civilians during the course of a campaign of ethnic cleansing.  In particular, he is charged with responsibility for the killing of over 150 Serb civilians, the destruction of villages, and the forced deportation of 150-200,000 people.

 In his opening statement, prosecutor Alan Tieger suggested that the Croatian army deliberately committed war crimes in order to drive Serb residents out of the Krajina.  He said that the attack left the Serb community as "a scarred wasteland of destroyed villages and homes" and said that "by the end of the first day of the operation Serbs were in panic-stricken flight, not by accident but by design."

However, in their opening statement, Gotovina's defense team said that most Serb civilians fled on orders from Serb political and military leaders, and that any atrocities were committed spontaneously by Croatian forces, not as part of a predetermined plan.  They said that Gotovina was 150 miles away when these atrocities happened, and that he had taken steps to ensure his troops complied with the law.  They also said that Operation Storm had brought about "the end of the war in the former Yugoslavia."

Gotovina's indictment details a series of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.  Since the fighting pitted the Croatian army against rebels within Croatia, the war crimes are charged as violations of the laws applicable in internal conflict (Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary law).  Specifically, Gotovina is charged with persecutions, murder, plunder, wanton destruction and deportation or forced displacement.

The indictment charges alternately that Gotovina either planned and instigated these crimes, or that he was legally responsible for them under the principle of command responsibility, as he had "the power, authority and responsibility to prevent or punish serious violations of international humanitarian law" and "failed to take necessary and reasonable measures" to prevent or punish them.

Related Chapters from Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know:

The Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal

Related Links:

Gotovina Indictment

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Croat General Goes on Trial for War Crimes

Financial Times

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