A three-person journalistic crew from the British public broadcaster BBC, reporting on Croatian military operations on Wednesday, August 9, 1995, traveled through Kordun from Karlovac towards Vrginmost. At the intersection of the Sjeničak – Vrginmost – Ostrožin roads, the crew stopped and filmed Croatian soldiers setting fire to Serbian houses and properties in Kordun.
From a hill on Jurina Brda, they recorded the flames and smoke spreading from Pješćanica, Biljeg, Crevaska Strana, and Slavsko Polje all the way to Brnjavac, Vrginmost, and Blatuša. In an attempt to stop them, the Croats opened fire on them without warning, even though the vehicle and the journalists had clearly visible “PRESS” markings. According to a report by the International Committee to Protect Journalists, Croatian soldiers, shooting from close range, killed war reporter John Schofield (29) and lightly wounded two other members of the journalistic crew, after which they stole their camera and the recorded material.
Although three decades have passed since the murder and the perpetrators are mostly known, no legal proceedings have been initiated for this crime in Croatia, and, unfortunately, the same applies in Great Britain itself. Everything ended with a protest from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, addressed directly to the then-Croatian president, Franjo Tuđman.
Unfortunately, the Croatian Journalists’ Association has not yet laid flowers at the site of John Schofield’s death, nor has it demanded accountability and punishment for the perpetrators from the Croatian authorities. This journalistic association and its members have not held a single commemorative event dedicated to their murdered colleague, whose newsroom was stationed in Zagreb.
The parents of the deceased journalist erected a memorial with a plaque dedicated to John Schofield on Jurina Brda, at the site of the tragedy near Vrginmost. However, the monument, although barely visible due to weeds, has been damaged several times, and even broken. The family tried to restore it until recently but, by all accounts, eventually gave up.
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Source: Banija.rs, Foto: S. Dančuo / Privatna arhiva