ANNIVERSARY OF THE KORANA CRIME: Croatian forces brutally executed unarmed Serbs, only one killer sentenced to 4 years (!), now celebrated as a hero!

The 35th anniversary of the crime against members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) at the Korana Bridge in Karlovac is being marked, where 13 reservists were killed on September 21, 1991, the Veritas Documentation and Information Center announced.

That day, members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Croatian National Guard stopped two military trucks in front of the bridge over the Korana River, transporting active-duty and reserve members of the JNA from the “Mekušje” barracks to the “Logorište” barracks.

According to Veritas, following negotiations and assurances from the Croatian side that they would be released, the soldiers laid down their weapons. One group of active-duty JNA members was then taken to police premises in Karlovac, while another group of 17 reservists from Kordun was escorted on foot across the Korana Bridge.

According to the statement, when they reached the bridge, they were attacked by uniformed men wearing balaclavas. Thirteen reservists were killed: Jovan Sipić (25), Božo Kozlina (27), Nebojša Popović (24), Milić Savić (41), Milenko Lukač (32), Nikola Babić (43), Slobodan Milovanović (25), Svetozar Gojković (32), Miloš Srdić (43), Zoran Komadina (27), Mile Babić (42), Vaso Bižić (36) and Mile Peurača (27). Mile Babić was an active-duty JNA non-commissioned officer who voluntarily remained with the reservists.

Three reservists — Nebojša Jasnić, Duško Mrkić and Branko Mađarac — survived by jumping from the bridge, while Svetozar Šarac, who was seriously wounded, managed to escape from beneath the bodies of his fallen comrades.

Criminal proceedings against Karlovac special forces officer Mihajlo Mišo Hrastov began in May 1992 and lasted for more than two decades. After several court rulings, Hrastov was finally sentenced to four years in prison for the unlawful killing and wounding of enemy personnel.

Veritas states that the evidence presented indicates the involvement of several people in the crime, but that, apart from Hrastov, the Croatian judiciary has to this day not prosecuted other possible perpetrators.

The statement also notes that Hrastov was later honored in Croatia with a mural depicting him, while the Korana Bridge was named after the “Grom” special police unit, of which he was a member. Veritas describes such moves as glorification of the convicted Hrastov and a further humiliation of the victims and their families.

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