WHO IS FIKRET ABDIC?
Cazinska
Krajina, centered in the town of Velika Kladusa, in the far
northwest corner of Bosnia, was once the most prosperous and
peaceful region in Bosnia, in spite of the constant warfare
that has bedeviled the region since the breakup of Yugoslavia.
For this was the home base of Fikret Abdic, the remarkable
and well-loved local entrepreneur who rose from nothing to
become the country's biggest industrialist: it was Abdic who
transformed a poor area into a highly profitable center of
industry through his company, Agrokomerc. It was Abdic who
provided the highest wages in the region, and this economic
powerhouse gave the locals the highest standard of living
in Bosnia. Persecuted by the Yugoslav Communists, who naturally
resented a successful entrepreneur, he was jailed for two
years without being charged with a crime, and released in
1989. He restarted his business, was more successful than
ever, and ran for the Bosnian presidency on a moderate platform
of economic revival as the key to reconciliation between the
religious and ethnic factions. Abdic beat
out Muslim fundamentalist Alija Izetbegovic – although
the latter was mysteriously declared the "winner."
'THE
BEST ECONOMIST'
Abdic
retired from the national political scene, and decided to
go back to Cazinska Krajina with the tacit understanding that
he would be left alone by the central government to do his
own thing – which was making money not only for himself
but for his people. Abdic opposed the
radical Islamic fundamentalism of Izetbegovic and proclaimed
himself a follower of Western-style capitalism. In Balkan
Odyssey, Lord Owen, the British diplomat, described
him as "forthright, confident and different from the Sarajevan
Muslims. He was in favor of negotiating and compromising with
Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement, and scathing about
those Muslims who wanted to block any such settlement." As
one Abdic supporter succinctly put it: "Alija Izetbegovic
is the biggest Muslim fundamentalist. Fikret Abdic is the
best economist and smartest man."
NO
IMMUNITY
The
socialist-minded government in Sarajevo did not look kindly
on Abdic's economic liberalism, and furthermore was horrified
by Abdic's open dealing with Croats and Serbs. Abdic believed
that he could achieve a kind of informal autonomy, and that
his mini-state could stay above the fray: this may have been
the crux of a deal with Izetbegovic that led Abdic to walk
away from his 1990 election victory, with the understanding
that he would henceforth enjoy a kind of immunity. But it
was not to be.
A
SEPARATE PEACE
The
three-sided civil war that tore apart the fragile Bosnian
confederation did not allow for such a disinterested pragmatism:
he soon found himself and his prosperous isle of Balkan capitalism
under siege, from the Bosnian government – which resented
his moderate stance and was jealous of his popularity –
and also from the Croatians, who were realigned with the central
authorities in Sarajevo. Abdic did his best to straddle the
fence, and play one side off against the other, but eventually
this became impossible. In spite of Abdic's adroit maneuverings,
by the spring of 1992, his peaceful and prosperous enclave
was surrounded by hostile parties on four sides – and
the Bosnian Muslim army afforded him no protection. Always
critical of the uncompromising position of Izetbegovic and
his pro-Iranian fundamentalist party, the SDA, Abdic declared
the Cazinska Krajina enclave an autonomous republic, and signed
a separate peace with both the Serbs and the Croats.
THE
RAPE OF WEST BOSNIA
The
Bosnian Army launched a deadly offensive against Abdic on
June 10, 1994, and they were joined by their newfound allies,
the Croats. The Bosnian 5th Corps attacked Velika Kladusa
in a campaign of murder, terror, and rapine that equals any
of the more widely-touted atrocities, such as the "rape"
of Srebenica, in which the Muslims are always the victims.
Well, here it was Muslims victimizing other Muslims:
but since that didn't fit into the neat victimological categories
established by the Western media, it was studiously ignored.
TWO
KANGAROO COURTS
Abdic
and tens of thousands of his followers fled into neighboring
Croatia, where many were crowded into refugee camps, as the
Bosnian army reclaimed the enclave. Thousands were killed
in the fighting, and, after the battle, Abdic's remaining
supporters – those who did not flee – were subjected
to systematic and cruel repression. (Abdic was himself
the target
of an Iranian-trained assassination squad organized by
the Bosnian intelligence agency.) Now Croatia is accusing
him of involvement in the deaths of civilians and prisoners
of war during his enclave's battle with the Bosnian Muslim
central government.
DJEDOVIC'S
ORDEAL
Fikret's
political associate, Ibrahim Djedovic,
a former official of the Autonomous Republic of Western Bosnia,
has already been acquitted of the same phony "war crimes"
charges of which Abdic is now accused. Djedovic was arrested
during a session of the House of Representatives of the Bosnian
Assembly, of which he is an elected member, representing Abdic's
party, the Democratic People's Community (DNZ). The police
surrounded the building, seized Djedovic, and spirited him
off to a hotel room in Sarajevo. He was jailed, and initially
convicted by a Bosnian court, but the decision was overturned
by an appeals court for lack of evidence. Djedovic's victory
is widely seen as a confirmation of Abdic's contention that
the autonomists never wanted war with Sarajevo. It is also
a stinging refutation of the phony charge that Abdic and his
government set up "concentrations camps," in which civilians
were locked up for political reasons. Besides holding Djedovic
personally responsible for every violation of human rights
that had occurred during the rebellion, the governing Party
of Democratic Action (SDA) prosecutors threw in the charge
of rape. All the favorite horror stories of the Bosnians and
their Western supporters were thrown into this "war crimes"
stew: not only tall tales of "genocide," but also "concentration
camps" where rape was the overseers' favorite pastime.
SCAPEGOATS
The
Croatian government has given in to the ICTFY's pressure,
and is sending some of their military leaders, who
are widely viewed as heroes in their own country, to the
Hague. According
to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting: "The
authorities in Croatia are arresting innocent Serbs to diffuse
nationalist anger over the detention of Croat war crimes suspects."
A few months ago, after Croatia arrested several of their
own military personnel on "war crimes" charges,
they also arrested eighteen Croatian Serbs. The men declared
their innocence, and began a hunger strike, at which time
Yugoslav President Kostunica accused Croatia of violating
their human rights. But who will defend a Muslim hated by
the Bosnian Muslim government?
A
WAR CRIME
General
Charles Boyd, deputy chief of the US European Command at the
height of the Bosnian war, wrote
in Foreign Affairs magazine [9/95] that Abdic created
"one of the few examples of successful multiethnic cooperation
in the Balkans." Gabriel Partos, writing in today's [July
20] BBC News, speculates that had Abdic actually taken over
as president of Bosnia, history "might have taken a completely
different course as he was always willing to strike a bargain
with Serb and Croat separatists." This willingness to
negotiate contradicted the policy of the fanatical Muslim
separatists and the US government. The US armed
and trained
the Croatian military, whose leaders are now being judged
and punished by America's allies. Meanwhile, Croatia is punishing
a Muslim peacemaker and innocent Serbs – such is justice
after NATO's Balkan victory.
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