Memorial to be built for Muslim defenders (Croatia war)

hrt ^ | May 28, 2006

[joan]

Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic and Mufti Sevko Omerbasic laid foundations for the building of a memorial outside the Zagreb Mosque in tribute to the fallen defenders of Muslim ethnicity. On the occasion the two officials recalled all Bosniaks who took Croatia’s side in 1991. There were almost 25,000 Bosniaks under arms, most of them citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many of them still have not been granted Croatian citizenship, 1,100 were killed and as many were wounded, including 150 disabled.

[joan]

There were almost 25,000 Bosniaks under arms, most of them citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Quite a large number of Bosniaks fighting for Croatia in 1991.

[Diocletian]

Even more fought for Serbia. The whole Muslim population of the Kozara (Prijedor, Laktasi, Bosanska Gradiska) was mobilized and sent to Western Slavonija. Let’s not forget that the whole future General Staff of the ABiH fought for Serbia as well. The most notorious being Sandzak Muslim Sefer Halilovic who served under Ratko Mladic in the siege of Mostar, as well as Rasim Delic and Arif Pasalic.

[joan]

This only proves that they had quite a lot of war and combat experience before the Bosnian war broke out. Which proves wrong the assertion that they were unprepared and only armed civilians defending their homes.

You say greater than 25,000 fought in Croatia on the Serbs' side which would be over 50,000 fighting in Croatia at one time.

Given the Bosniak army numbered around 200,000 at its peak, around 1/4 were battle-hardened veterans.

[Diocletian]

For anyone familiar with the Bosnian and Bosnian Serb diaspora from this latest war, it is agreed by the Bosnian Serbs that the Muslims didn’t see the war coming at all...particularly those from the most Yugoslav in orientation part of Bosnia, the northeast around Tuzla, Brcko, Bijelinja, Zvornik as well as Sarajevo. The Muslims were completely and totally unprepared for war, as evidenced by the fact that it was their local criminal gangs that led the defense outside of areas where the HVO and HOS operated.

[bravo whiskey]

and the united states will probably offer to pay for it.

[joan]

Izetbegovic stated he would sacrifice peace for "independence", and many of the most radical Muslims from the Sandzak had already taken over much of Sarajevo's government.

Still, I'm saying they had battle-hardened Bosnian Muslims before the war even started.

And those gangs were particularly used to do a lot of dirty work - clearing up Serb civilians - before the Serbs left were solidified or better protected by their own forces.

Bosnian Muslims military records released in 1997 said that their paramilitary forces killed scores of Sarajevo Serb civilians in the first several days of the war.

Once the Serb civilians - in areas fully controlled by the Muslims - were killed, terrorized out, locked up in camps and jails, they arrested or assassinated the gang leaders - Jusuf Prazina, Caco (sp), etc. and focused on a more professional army.