POLITICS-YUGOSLAVIA: The Death Of A Journalist

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Apr 12 2000 (IPS) - A black plaque adorns the entrance to the apartment block where, exactly one year ago, unknown assailants brutally gunned down journalist, Slavko Curuvija, 50, in broad daylight.

On the plaque are the words; “Slavko Curuvija, journalist, editor in chief and owner of Dnevni Telegraf daily and Evropljanin magazine, was killed here because of his sharp and critical words”.

Curuvija was highly critical of the regime and the politics that led to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) air raids against Serbia in March last year.

Six days before he was gunned down in front of his home, Curuvija was ominously described as a “traitor of national interest” by the state controlled Radio Television of Serbia, RTS.

The radio station carried a comment accusing Curuvija of ‘inviting NATO to bomb the country’ saying ‘this treason will never be forgotten’.

The next day, the comment was published in state controlled Politika Ekspres daily.

Despite warnings from colleagues and independent journalists, who described the comment as “a call for a lynching”, Curuvija stayed in Belgrade and continued to take regular walks in his downtown neighbourhood.

Earlier this week several thousand Belgradians, including hundreds of journalists, lit candles and stood in total silence in Svetogorska Street to pay homage to Curuvija.

But the question raging in everyone’s minds is why was he killed? “Slavko always said ‘If they (the regime) want to stop me, they’ll have to kill me’. That is exactly what they did” Branka Prpa, Curuvija’s wife and the only witness to the slaying, told IPS.

Both the publications owned by Curuvija were highly critical of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. They were both particularly vocal in their criticism of what they described as the ‘non- cooperative politics’ of Milosevic which, they said, further isolated the country and led to the NATO air strikes against Serbia.

“I thought that a wind was starting up and that Slavko had stumbled,” said Branka Prpa recalling the fateful day . “But I realised that the dust came from ricocheting bullets and fell to the ground with him, as he was holding my hand, already hit in the back.

“Somebody knocked me on the head, presumably with the gun. The last thing I remember, as we were down on the ground, was a barrel pointed at Slavko’s head and the last shot being fired into his head. The two assailants then slowly walked away,” she said.

So far, official investigations of the killing have come up with nothing. Branka Prpa was interrogated as a witness only once, the day her husband was killed. Police also took away Slavko’s computer and several notebooks.

“The case file we saw recently at the Public Attorney’s chambers is empty,” says Gradimir Nalic, a lawyer for the family and a human rights activist.

“We learned, unofficially, that at least 100 people were interrogated, but there are no written traces of those hearings. This was a clear political murder of the different minded man. The aim of the killing was to spread fear among independent media, opposition parties and ordinary people,” Nalic said.

“They (the government) are responsible for the death of my brother and I will spare no effort to prove it. I’m not afraid to go to the very end,” Jovo Curuvija said.

“This was a clear political killing and we all knew that after Curuvija was murdered a line had been drawn in this society” Nikola Barovic, Belgrade lawyer and human rights activist told IPS. “We did not have to wait too long after for other political killings to start”.

Last October, four officials of the Serbian Renewal Party (SPO), the largest opposition party in Serbia, were killed in a car crash with a truck south of Belgrade.

SPO leader, Vuk Draskovic, miraculously survived the accident. The investigation is at a standstill. The driver of the truck has disappeared.

Last January, notorious war leader Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan, known to be close to the regime, was gunned down in the lobby of a Belgrade hotel.

Although his alleged assassin was subsequently arrested, there are no results of the investigation. Raznatovic was believed to have tried to establish contacts with The Hague based Tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia.

Last February, Yugoslav Minister of Defence Pavle Bulatovic was gunned down in a Belgrade restaurant. So far nothing has come of the official investigation.