Posted on 12/13/2006 3:12:33 PM PST by joan
Accused of lying on immigration forms, they are asked about the '90s war.
By LANE DEGREGORY
Published December 13, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - The immigration officers came before 5 a.m. Monday, pounding on the doors of 15 St. Petersburg homes.
Slavko Krsmanovic, 17, woke to flashlights on his porch, eight agents pointing guns at his house. They wanted his dad. He told them his dad was driving his mom to work. So the agents waited until Strahinja Krsmanovic came home.
"As soon as he got out of the car, they handcuffed him behind his back and arrested him," Slavko said. "They kept calling him 'the suspect.' What did he do?"
* * *
All of the immigrants arrested are men between age 40 and 60. Most are husbands and fathers who work two jobs to pay mortgages. They all belong to St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church. They were part of a wave of about 3,000 Serbs who came to St. Petersburg as refugees in the early 1990s, during the war that dissected Yugoslavia.
The 15 men are suspected of lying on their immigration applications, of falsifying their permanent resident papers. Officials say they also could be connected to, or know something about, war crimes that happened 11 years ago.
Agents took the men's passports and green cards. Then they took them to jail.
Customs agents asked the men whether they had served in the Serbian army.
And where they were stationed in July 1995.
* * *
The arrests were the most recent in a series of Serbian roundups across the country. In August 2004, immigration officials in Boston jailed a Serb they said had committed war crimes. In March 2006, immigration officials in Phoenix arrested 24 Serbs suspected of atrocities.
Those men allegedly took part in a July 1995 massacre at a farm outside Srebrenica, where a reported 1,200 Muslims were gunned down.
The St. Petersburg men might have information about the massacre, said prosecutor Donald Hansen from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"Through work at the Hague, we're still finding out who was in the units that did the massacres," Hansen said.
The 15 men were charged with denying that they had been in the military. They said relief workers told them if they admitted to being soldiers, they wouldn't be allowed to emigrate to the United States.
During that war, every man age 17 or older had to serve, said Father Stephan Zaremba, priest at the Serbian church. "Those who refused were sent to concentration camps or shot," he said. "What would you do?"
By Tuesday morning, 10 of the St. Petersburg Serbs had been questioned and released. The remaining five were scheduled to appear in federal court at 2 p.m. Only four were there when Judge Thomas McCoun III called the court to order.
They shuffled in slowly, heavy chains dragging between their ankles, orange jumpsuits sagging across their slumped shoulders.
The bailiff gave each man headphones, and a translator stood by a microphone. The bailiff explained that the fifth man, Ostoja Saric, wasn't there because "he wasn't on the list."
The judge asked each man's wife to take the stand. None of them spoke English. Sekula Bilic's case was called first.
He's 37, a construction worker, the youngest of the four men. When his wife walked toward the judge shaking, he smashed his fist into his dark eyes.
They had been married 15 years and lived in Florida for six. They had a $69,500 mortgage on a little house on Seventh Street in St. Petersburg. And they had three children, ages 13, 10 and 3.
The charge of falsifying immigration papers carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, the prosecutor said. If the men also were charged with war crimes, they could be sent to jail or back to Bosnia.
The judge told each man to hire an attorney. In two weeks, he said, they would have to come back to court for their hearings. Until then, the men would have to stay in jail, unless their wives were willing to put up $50,000 bonds.
One by one, the women all signed over their homes: Strahinja Krsmanicvoc, whose husband is a computer tech, whose two youngest sons were home when the agents came. Ljila Kordic, whose husband works in manufacturing, who has a son and daughter. Jadranko DGastic is divorced, but his live-in girlfriend took legal responsibility for making sure he didn't skip town.
* * *
By late Tuesday, the four men were out of jail. Their families didn't ask them about the war, or what had happened so long ago. Most of them never had.
They didn't want to know. They had lost everything in the war: family, homes, friends. They had wallowed in refugee camps, fought for permits to get out, come to Florida with just their clothes and determination. For more than a decade, they had worked to buy homes and businesses, send their kids to college. Now everything was crashing down. The past they thought they had escaped still haunted them.
"In the old Yugoslavia, 90 percent of us were in the war, and 90 percent of us didn't want to be," said Sladjana Bilic, her eyes red and swollen. "Just because they had to be in the army doesn't mean they were part of a massacre."
Scott Raspopovich, who is president of St. Sava Serbian church, doesn't understand why only Serbs are being hauled in for questioning, when Croatians and Muslims also killed people in the war. "If you define war crimes as shooting the enemy, yes, these men probably all did. But what choice did they have?" he said.
"Were they involved in those massacres? Not that I know of. If they were, they sure never told anyone."
Times news researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
ping
Haven't we f#$ked the Serbs badly enough already? Leave them the hell alone.
These men should probably receive medals for fighting on the front line of WWIII
That doesn't appear to be in the agenda and on the horizon. Unfortunately it is a pitbull policy enacted on the Serbs and won't let go.
What is it with our government?
They backed the wrong side in that war and in the bombing of Serbia later, and keep compounding the mistake now.
bump.
Ha ha.
Shut up sadist!
No, wait - you've already had that going on for years here.
My bad.
When will we read similar stories of arrests of Clinton's Albanian Mafia and drug dealers who were let into this country en mass? This stinks to high heaven.
So where are the ones that say they deserve what they're getting like they do on other "immigration" threads?
They were framed BEFORE they entered U.S.
It seems that the myth of "8000 Muslim men and boys" murdered in Srebrenica will soon go to the trash heap along with mass rape of Belgian nuns and other pornographic fabrications.
"What is it with our government? "
Maybe it's not our govt. It happens all the time in other countries.
Too me, the Serbs were amongst the first on the front line in the war against terror. America, though still not fully awake, sorta rolled over and yawned after 911. My fear is that it will take a nuke to fully awake America to realize who the enemy is.
It isn't.
It's you, and those like you who've fallen for Serbian efforts to recast their aggressive ethnicity driven war of conquest into part of our war on terror.
Seriously. Get a clue.
This, in my opinion is keeping the independence support alive for Kosovo. I believe it was timed just for this purpose. Notice they still make the "claim", nonchantly about the "7,000", massacred Muslims. 3,000 maybe, but we are talking combatants. The rest went to Croatia, Kosovo, and other war zones for Allah under our guidance with ISI. The officers making the arrests may actually believe that these are war criminals and are doing the right thing. They are just being lied to by their higher authority......
they are being used as pawns in a big lie............
you are the one without the clue....this is just more of our efforts to advance the Independence issue and justfify our efforts in the Balkans when we HAVE NO BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS!!!!!!!!!!!
The general American public has no idea what the truth is, except for the BS presented by our lying media. The manipulation by the Washington Post, ABC, CNN, CBS, NBC/RCA, AP, Christian Science Monitor, etc...are cleverly orchestrated to present better said as BS....
it is definitely our government along with the English parliament....we have a serious problem in our own backyard.
They were framed, tracked and put on ice (so to speak) until the right time. Now was the right time. It's BS!!! and criminal to continue the myth of 8,000 this that and the other..........
So do yourself a favor and bother someone else with your inane rants - you jumped the shark with your Pearl Harbor conspiracy garbage.
Wrong.....again. If I'm a bore to you, this is your problem. I suggest get a good psychologist to deal with it or maybe meds. I am doing myself a favor, as you suggest but its not bothering anyone else. As long as you post inaccurate and useless postings to distract from the truth, I will be there. Also, you need to produce specific Shark jumping data before you jump the gun with your denial about the Pearl Harbor truth. Describe in more detail about what "garbage" you are speaking of. The three or four retorts you presented were quickly and simply put away.....
Amazing timing....the laws of synchronicity is amazing. We are still missing, about 4-5,000 from the 8,000.
Remains of 277 war crimes victims found in Brcko mass grave
13/12/2006
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2006/12/13/nb-07
BRCKO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- The remains of 277 people were found in a mass grave in the northern district of Brcko, according to an announcement Tuesday (December 12th) by the Federation of BiH Commission for Missing Persons. The victims appear to have been Bosniaks and Croat prisoners of war from Brcko, killed at the very beginning of the BiH conflict. Forensic experts found parts of documents belonging to Bosniaks, who disappeared in the spring of 1992.
In other news, the Bosnian press reported on Wednesday that authorities arrested 19 Bosnian Serbs in several US towns earlier this week. According to the US magazine Newsday, the detainees allegedly were members of the Republika Srpska Army, and might have been involved in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. (Dnevni avaz, Nezavisne novine, Pincom.info - 13/12/06; NTV Hayat - 12/12/06)
"Too me, the Serbs were amongst the first on the front line in the war against terror. America, though still not fully awake, sorta rolled over and yawned after 911. My fear is that it will take a nuke to fully awake America to realize who the enemy is."
So so true.
And don't forget that, in Bosnia, he SECULAR muslim Abdic sided with the Bosnian Serbs and in Kosovo other ( largely secular ) muslims sided with the Serbs again, notably Caucassians, Roma, ethnic Turks, etc.
The way I like to think about the Balkans with regards to the WTC is this. Imagine had the FIRST terror attempt on the WTC had've been successful, in 1993, right in the midst of the Bosnian civil war.
How differently would the Balkans had've turned out.
Remember that the ringleader's links to not only Bosnia but also to Izetbegovic, through TWRA, were even closer that Bin Laden's links to Bosnia.
It seems the tance like nature of the majority of western civs is such that, short of a nice nuke in a neighbourhood, we'll be sleep walking our way to Dhimmi status by the end of this century.
"Those men allegedly took part in a July 1995 massacre at a farm outside Srebrenica, where a reported 1,200 Muslims were gunned down"
Of course, and it's all rather vague too. WHICH FARM? If it's Branjevo farm then they can't even make up the same numbers with the other liars out there. I thought it was 2,000 muslims POWs who'd been executed.
Pathetic crap, the Serbophobes can't even get their lies in line with each other.
And if it is BRANJEVO farm , then the numbers are in the 200 figure AND more importantly were executed by
a) a MERC unit
b) and under orders of persons unknown but who were definitely NOT VRS officers.
So, it's your typical crap-o-fest by the MSM, blah blah blah...
Still fawning over Dr Ball's research in the ICTY trial against Milosevic? Yep. solid witness. Great testimony. You really pick'em don't you.
The Midas touch should be renamed "The Hoppy touch".
The Serbs, so long as they think like you, are condemned to be treated like a nation of retarded children.
Sure, I know. The scoundrels. Fighting Bin Laden whilst the rest of the world was getting a hard on with "Rambo3".
Fighting the heroin cum sex slave dealers of the KLA when they should have been more.....what's the word?...."understanding" with regards to other's choice of employment. I mean, what's wrong with selling semtex and shoulder launched AA missiles to the REAL IRA?
Respecting the rights of minorities in Kosovo ( remember that EVERY minority supported the SERBS. NONE supported the KLA ), having SECULAR muslims like Abdic ally themselves with the Bosnian Serbs, the list of SERB crimes goes on. And to top it all, those Bosnian Serbs dared stand up to an SS recruiter who got into bed with the Iranians and TWRA. Have they NO shame?
Yes. Them there Serbs surely are bunch o' scoundrels.
Retarded children.
Find someone to explain it to you.
My. What an answer. Brilliant, even by your own heady standards. Have a lie down.
Do we question Muslims on crimes against Christians, Jews and other "infidels" when they want to slither into our country?
"I suggest get a good psychologist to deal with it or maybe meds"
Hoplie needs Psycho-gynecologist...
Islam is up, koran is down, and the 3,000 Muzlies killed in Srebrenica were primarily combatants, and the Muzzies, so long as they think like you, are to be treated like a nation of murderers and instigators, and in this case, protected by us for self serving reasons.
You call them "Retarded Children"?? they were the only ones that sided with us in the Balkans, during WWII, and the "retarded Children"...lolol..made fools of Weasly Clark and the bombers....so, I guess that from your description of them being retarded children, what does that make clarks campaign look like...lolol...:))
Persecuting the Florida Serbs like this, as well as other dhimmi/Dhimmwit actions of our government, is paving the way for our conquest by militant islam, and the establishment of an American islamic emirate!!!!
Let me give it to you straight, Hoppy. As an atheist, if the muslims conquered us, you would be given two choices: conversion to islam, or death!!!! Most of the rest of us, Christians and Jews, would at least be given the choice of being dhimmis.
no, he wouldn't be given a choice, he would be reporting on the rest that didn't and members of the "resistance"....
The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.
---Adolf Hitler
Any questions?
Your support of the Jihadist never even wavered during 9/11, and ...oh wait, I see you have your mouth full. Go ahead and finish your Dhimmi duties first.
Wow, yet another poetic gem from our reigning village idiot, you really outdid yourself on this one Sparky.
wraith my boy, this summer you should join Tom and I for a few drinks when I return from Iraq. We can get on a wireless at the bar and post "I love you's" to NotRight. :)
And why is that?
Dude you're making me thirsty....
its just not fair that they are only questioning the serbs whaen muslims and croatians were in the war also...why dont they question them also...why only the serbs....answer me that question>>>>>>>>>>>>> WHY ONLY THE SERBS?????????????
simple....this will help sway public opinion and continue the BS about Srebrenica and the upcoming trials, swaying the support of the Independence of Kosovo....very clever and orchestrated. It's no accident.
The Serbs were targeted back in the early 90's by the US administration starting the war in the Balkans. We supported the Muslims since Bin Laden in Afghanistan driving out the Soviets, then on to Croatia and Bosnia using the same Muslims. Long, long story very very short.
me too; for sure.
So, I'm still wondering why Ceku, Ramush, Xhavit H. and Thaqi is still walking around? $$$$$$$$$ Puppet...., Greater Albania.....
One sided is only a term loosely describing this boondoggle.
US arrest 26 Bosnian Serbs over massacre
December 16, 2006 06:21pm
http://www.news.com.au/sundayheraldsun/story/0,,20938787-5005961,00.html
Article from: Reuters
US authorities have arrested 26 Bosnian Serbs in the past week and accused a number of them of taking part in the 1995 massacre of 8000 Muslims in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, The Washington Post reported today.
The suspects had allegedly concealed their service in the Bosnian Serb military when they applied for refugee status. They were arrested in at least eight cities, including Denver and Orlando, Florida, and were charged with visa fraud, perjury or making false statements, the newspaper said.
It said the arrests were part of an intensified effort by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to root out unacknowledged members of the Bosnian Serb military using data supplied by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, located in The Hague.
"Only a few of those arrested here are accused by the Justice Department of directly taking part in the Srebrenica killings, but all allegedly were in units that did," the Post said.
The Srebrenica massacre, in the final stages of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, is considered Europe's worst war crime since World War Two.
Previous immigration roundups led to the arrests of 24 Bosnian Serbs in Phoenix and Salt Lake City, Utah, in September 2005 and June 2006.
Julie Myers, assistant secretary of homeland security for ICE, told the Post in a statement that her office "will not allow the United States to be a safe haven for those who failed to disclose their service in military forces that were known to commit atrocities."
I think we shall not have psycho people run in the USA just like that, you never know what they did who they killed and are those things coming back to them our children are in danger around such peers. Think about our children safety first. Congrats to US GOV children safety first.
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