Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Monday, 28 Dec 1992 11:27:08 CST
From: <U15231@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna,soc.culture.croatia
Subject: An Off-Tune "Opera"

From: BOSNET@math.lsa.umich.edu (Bosnian Electronic Network)
Organization: BOSNET (Bosnian Electronic Network)

Contribution by: SII





    The Secret Of The Zemun Cell
    ----------------------------


                              AN OFF-TUNE "OPERA"


    General-Major Vojislav  Radovic was retired  this fall, together  with a
    large group of his colleagues. His last duty was assistant commander for
    moral  education and  legal affairs  of the  Airforce and  Anti-aircraft
    Defence,  and at  the same  time  deputy  president of  the Council  for
    Intelligence-Propaganda activities. The general spoke to VREME about the
    struggle in the security service, the coup in the army, vanity, lust for
    revenge and the silence of competent bodies and figures.

    "It is necessary to clear up what 'Opera' is," Radovic said. "It was not
    formed  by the  Security Department  of the  Airforce. It  is a unit for
    intelligence-propaganda  and psychological-propaganda  activities of the
    Airforce  command. We  developed a   make-up which  is envisaged  in war
    situations, but  in a specific  way, since a  state of war  had not been
    declared. Precisely because of that, we  could not get people of quality
    from  the media.  'Opera' was  created on  the basis  of orders from the
    Federal Secretariat for National Defence (SSNO)  and on the basis of our
    plans for  war. Our task was  to counter the propaganda  activity of the
    adversary: Slovenian and Croatian  separatism, assisted by organizations
    from abroad, especially Germany. The SSNO issued a number of orders, and
    several times we ourselves launched initiatives for improvements in this
    field of  activity. An additional  difficulty was presented  by the fact
    that we  were counting on the  help of the media  while getting prepared
    for  external  enemy.  But,  this  was  not  the  case  in Slovenia, and
    especially not in  Croatia. To put it simply, the  carpet was pulled out
    from under our feet."

    * When did the unit begin to operate?

    In August and September 1991 activity  was well under way. It began with
    the forming  of press centers at  airports, followed by TV  crews in our
    academies and  schools with the  necessary technology and  personnel. In
    order to reduce our inferiority  in comparison with Croatian propaganda,
    the  Political  Department  initiated  the  installing  of  a  number of
    broadcasting stations, so  that the territory of Croatia  was covered by
    radio signal.  This provoked great  dissatisfaction among the  political
    leadership there. TV Belgrade played a major role by renting a satellite
    channel in October 1991, which  enabled us to install satellite antennas
    at airports and in garrisons. People could thus get information from our
    side as well. We proposed that a  TV center from Serbia be mobilized, so
    that,  reinforced  by  our  people,  it  could  broadcast programs using
    transmitters  on Pljesevica,  Celavec, Kozara,  Petrova Gora  and so on,
    which meant  we could cover the  entire territory of Croatia  and a good
    part of  Hungary. This was not  possible because a state  of war had not
    been declared. We  were also considering forming a  radio station in the
    central  part of  the country,  which could  enable us  to take over the
    programs  of Radio  Belgrade  and  other clearly  patriotically oriented
    stations, but  also to produce our  own programs. This is  where "Opera"
    was born, a body whose task was management and command, a substitute for
    the unit which would be formed in times of war.

    * What results were achieved?

    From October 1991, when the unit was finally formed, until January 1992,
    when the cease-fire in Croatia came into effect, we issued more than two
    hundred various statements, denials,  notices, articles, partly ours and
    partly ordered  by TV Belgrade,  Belgrade radio, newspapers,  as well as
    the  media from  Podgorica, Sarajevo,  Skopje, for  as long  as that was
    possible.  We worked  hard on  exposing the  real goals  of the Croatian
    side. We got precious assistance  from two volunteers - Radenko Radojcic
    and  Slavko Malobabic,  who are  now, unfortunately,  on trial.  Besides
    this, we sent around  30 TV programs to the world and  some of them were
    broadcast by more than 40 TV  stations. Thanks to our press centers, the
    Airforce was  open to the  domestic and foreign  media. In any  case, it
    should be  emphasized that the work  of "Opera" in 98%  of the cases was
    public.

    * What was secret?

    The psychological-propaganda  activities which were  focused on Croatia.
    Their goal was to weaken the morale of troops, provoke confusion, create
    the  impression  of  the  general  presence  of the Counter-Intelligence
    Service (KOS),  oppose the political  forces there... We  also worked on
    the territory of B-H, where we told  the Moslems what awaited them in an
    alliance with the  Croats. The only activity on  the territory of Serbia
    and  Montenegro  was  the  distribution  of  leaflets  in support of the
    creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. That was done in secret.
    You can  succeed only if the  adversary does not know  who stands behind
    it. I  would like to stress  that "Opera" has no  connection either with
    sabotage or smuggling...

    * Were  the  Federal  Secretary,  Chief  of  General  Staff and the army
      leadership in general informed of the activities of "Opera"?

    I believe that  not a single organ  within the SSNO knew  anything about
    the  word "Opera."  That is  the name  of the  unit. We  did not  submit
    reports about the content of  each individual leaflet. We reported about
    the essence of the work and received  consent, but it did not even occur
    to me to speak about the details  before forty or fifty people. I myself
    found out  about certain things after  the war ended. To  repeat, people
    from security  were also involved in  "Opera," and it is  good we had it
    that way. They represented only a part of the team.

    * What provoked the "Opera Affair"?

    It should be viewed in the  context of everything that happened with the
    Yugoslav  People's Army  (JNA). The  affair represents  a trampoline for
    various jumpers  - for political  or egoistic reasons.  It served, above
    all,  General   Stevanovic,  current  Commander  of   the  Airforce  and
    Anti-aircraft  Defence,  and  his  superiors  to  settle  accounts  with
    Airforce generals.

    * What is your opinion of the inquiry in connection with "Opera" and the
      methods used?

    The affair has been going on for  nine months now. People are being held
    in  prison,  even  though  the  constitution  and  the  law  provide for
    detention to be  as short as possible. The press  accused us of betrayal
    and espionage, and so it writes  about the trial of "Opera," even though
    among the  accused, only Radojcic  and Malobabic belonged  to this unit.
    Colonel Rakocevic  was a member of  the Council. "Opera" is  today still
    serving  for political  goals (how  some conceive  the army  and how  it
    should  be  "purged"),  for  gaining   general's  stars,  but  also  for
    "laundering"  own blame  in this  war through  retired generals  and the
    "scapegoat" - "Opera."

    * Who is, in your view, to blame for the affair?

    The biggest culprit is the  Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic
    of Yugoslavia  (SFRY), headed by  vice-president Branko Kostic,  and the
    former  and new  chiefs of   General Staff,  Generals Blagoje  Adzic and
    Zivota  Panic.  General  Mircetic  and  I  addressed  a  letter  to  the
    Presidency pointing  out all the irregularities.  We sent a copy  to the
    Chief  of  General  Staff  but,  although  we  know  that the letter was
    received, none  of them had  the decency  to  at least return  it to us.
    Despite the constitution and the laws,  both those who are in prison and
    those  of us  who were  not  of  that "fortune"  have been  sentenced in
    advance. One  of the important elements  of the affair is  probably also
    the rivalry in the security service. There are indications of an attempt
    to subordinate the  army security service to state  security, as was the
    case immediately after  World War Two. In any event,  a coup was carried
    out in the army with the assistance of the rump SFRY presidency.

    The  press  frequently  referred  to  the  "Opera  Orientis" enterprise,
    founded by a member of "Opera."

    There was  hostility towards official  information, so Radenko  Radojcic
    founded  a  private  enterprise  which  was  to  serve as an independent
    company with  contacts abroad. Besides  this, our survival  in Zadar and
    Krajina was in question, so that  initiatives for the forming of an "air
    bridge"  existed on  both sides.   Contacts were  made by  the "Plitvice
    Orientis"  enterprise,  one  of  whose  co-owners  was Radojcic. A legal
    contract was concluded with the Airforce  Command for the use of "Opera"
    premises.  Profit was  not of  foremost importance,  but our presence in
    Krajina. We were interested also  in helping the economic development of
    Krajina. Borisav  Jovic, the then  president of the  Federal Presidency,
    was informed about some initiatives. With the adoption of the Vance plan
    it  became  important  for  us  to  be  present  there  through  various
    activities which  would also be  supported by the  army. The reason  for
    forming the private  enterprise was to enable our  military and economic
    presence in a  region of demarcation. Besides, we  wanted to introduce a
    little order. Now everything is being interpreted quite differently.

                                                Filip Svarm, Uros Komlenovic



    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
     "Vreme" News Digest Agency                   No. 66, Decembar 28, 1992
    ========================================================================


Newsgroups: soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna,soc.culture.croatia,soc.culture.yugoslavia