The bloody series of murders of people from the close circle of the Milosevic-Markovic couple in the second half of the 1990s began with the liquidation of Radovan Stojicic Badza in March 1997. It was followed by the murders of Vladimir Kovacevic Tref, Zoran Todorovic Kundak , Zivorad Zika Petrovic …
In both the Kundak case and many other cases, which are still believed to be politically motivated crimes, the perpetrators and those who ordered them have not been discovered even after more than two decades.
Although Dusan Mihajlovic, as Minister of Police in Zoran Djindjic’s government, once offered a reward of 300,000 DM for information to help solve the crimes, most of them were left without an epilogue.
Foreign services
– In such murders, for which even after 20 years or more, even the motive is unknown and cannot be reached, it is clear that there is a service behind them. The principle is the same, with Badža there is a thesis on cigarette smuggling, with the director of “Jat” some suitcases and taking money to Cyprus, with Kundak the works in which he participated, and in fact everything indicates that whoever prepared the murders thought in advance in which wrong direction to direct the investigation – believes the former agent of DB Božidar Spasić.
According to him, the same model that was applied in almost all settlements indicates that “some foreign service” is behind them.
– Each of these murders destabilized the state from the roots. That was exactly the goal of whoever organized them – adds Spasić.
He claims that the murder of Zoran Todorović Kundak, in relation to others no less important, was noted for being one of Mirjana Marković’s closest collaborators.
The message has been sent
– The wave of murders in which not only politicians but also police officers, but also businessmen died in Serbia, may not be remembered not only in the Balkans but in Europe – says Spasic and believes that perhaps the liquidation of Kundak was actually a message for Slobodan Milosevic’s wife.
– I would not rule out the possibility that there was a special affection between her and the murdered, because he was the source of funding for her party, and above all he was a good friend of hers, and that was a lesson for her. Someone may have wanted to tell him: “No matter how much power you thought you had, we can always get close to you” – concludes the former DB operative.
Radovan Stojicic Badza: Seven Drinks in a Full Restaurant
A police general, head of the Public Security Service, former deputy minister of the Serbian police and allegedly a confidant of Slobodan Milosevic, was killed on the night of April 10-11, 1997, while sitting with a friend in the restaurant Mamma Mia in Belgrade. Badža’s son, Vojislav Stojičić, was sitting at the table next to him. An unknown assailant entered a nearly full restaurant. He covered his face with a woolen cap, ordered all the guests to lie down on the floor, and then climbed the three steps that led to the smaller hall. He fired seven shots at Baja from close range, then passed the guests again and left.
He was never identified.
For years there has been speculation about the motives for Badža’s murder. After the liquidation, numerous witnesses reportedly circulated various stories, from his involvement in cigarette smuggling to the fact that it was revenge for the murder of Vojislav Raicevic, called Voja the American, but none of them were proven.
– Because they killed him? That message was clearly sent to Milosevic because Badza was his faithful associate, said the former head of the Criminal Police Directorate of the Serbian Interior Ministry, Dragan Ilic.
photo: EPA
Živorad Žika Petrović: A close friend of Milošević was killed in front of the house
The Director General of “Yugoslav Air Transport” (JAT), Živorad Žika Petrović, was assassinated on April 25, 2000, at around 9.30 pm, in a waiting room on Jaša Prodanovića street in Belgrade. For the first time, the State described the murder of officials as “an act of terrorism against a high-ranking official.”
– On the fateful night, around 9.30 pm, Petrović arrived at his parents’ house on Jaša Prodanovića street. When he parked his metallic gray “Audi” and got out of it, two attackers fired four bullets into his back and head.
It is presumed that the attackers used a weapon with a silencer, since none of the passers-by and neighbors heard the shots. The CEO of JAT fell dead next to his car. There were no eyewitnesses to the crime, and police unsuccessfully searched for the gray “Audi” with records from Novi Sad, which allegedly killed the killers, the media wrote at the time.
He was said to be a close friend of Slobodan Milosevic, although he did not stand out in any way in political controversies. Apparently he was discreet and had no bodyguards or drivers. However, the media speculated that there were three directions of the investigation. The first referred to his knowledge about the export of money from state officials on JAT planes to Cyprus, the second to machinations during the purchase and sale of planes, and the third to the alleged plans for the privatization of JAT. None of them have been tested.
Pavle Bulatović Rafal to the Minister of Defense
The Defense Minister of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was assassinated on February 7, 2000, and his killers have not been identified to this day. Pavle Bulatović was shot by a “Kalashnikov” while sitting in the restaurant of the Rad football club in Banjica with friends. According to the media, the killer sneaked through the restaurant window on the other side of the main football field and fired three bursts through the glass.
– I really don’t know who could have bothered him. We have no knowledge or assumptions about who the murderer could be. For the full two decades, none of the Montenegrin and Serbian officials have issued an official statement, nor addressed that occasion, his son Balša Bulatović told the media. After the crime, the Federal Assembly formed an Investigation Commission to identify the murderers of the Defense Minister, and the case was entrusted to Judge Nebojsa Simeunovic, who did not complete it because he was found dead on the Danube in October of the same year.
Momir Gavrilovic: Killed after meeting near Kostunica
The former deputy head of the Belgrade State Security Center, Momir Gavrilovic, was assassinated on August 3, 2001, in front of his apartment in New Belgrade. An unknown assailant with a cap on his head shot him. The media have stated for years that there is a well-founded assumption that Gavrilović was killed for giving details about the connection between the crime and the people in power, but this has not been proven to this day. According to the second version, it was speculated that he was assassinated after he brought certain documentation to the advisor to the then president of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica.
On the other hand, according to some reports, his family received information that Gavrilović was killed by mistake.
According to media reports, “David’s” cigarette butts and the DNA of two members of the JSO were found at the crime scene, but even these allegations were not proven.
photo: Print screen
Miladin Suvajdžić “Zemunci” killed Petrović and Kundak
Miladin Suvajdzic, better known as Djura Mutavi, who was granted associate witness status in various trials against members of the infamous Zemun clan, including the trial for the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, testified in a trial before the Special Court of Belgrade:
– In the apartment where we were hiding after Djindjic’s murder, Mile Lukovic said that members of the Zemun clan killed Zika Petrovic and Zoran Todorovic Kundak – he said at the time, speaking of other killings of “citizens of Zemun”.
