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At the end of September 1998, anyone who needed to know knew that the NATO pact was preparing a war against Serbia. Jovan Milanović went to Brussels as a colonel, and during his stay he was promoted to a higher rank due to the penetration of multiple intelligence operations into NATO structures. Although formally a major general, to all diplomats in Brussels he remained a ministerial adviser on political matters.
It had 90 percent of the data on the bombing, and based on that information, the Yugoslav army began to deploy equipment and weapons and evacuate warehouses. Milanovic estimated that NATO would begin aggression against the FRY in the first half or second decade of October 1998.
“At the end of September, the 29th to be precise, I went to NATO, at the end of the workday, to a very high ranking diplomat and I told him openly why I had come. Of course, it was very risky for him, he started to shake his head, looking. He wanted to let me know that it was dangerous, I told him openly that I knew it was dangerous, but that I shouldn’t leave NATO without information, and then he said, “Well, let’s say in 10 days. Then we freaked out. “, So we started counting on our fingers day by day. I was moving around him all the time, I wasn’t sitting, I was circling his desk all the time. I was under the influence of alcohol, he got the post of ambassador in a great country, so “We take the opportunity to honor. We arrived around October 10th and he said NO. Why not, I ask him. And he says there is a period of ultimatums, “Milanovic said.
Despite the wealth of information, key evidence was needed and General Milanovic, as an operative, set out on a search.
“Parallel attempts were to come up with an original and key plan on paper. Not to mention who I was with, it’s a lot of people. They all gave me information orally, but no one dared to give it to me in writing. That is how I invited the French officer Pierre Henri Binel and asked him to come for lunch, and that’s how the definition of all the details began later with the aggression, recalls Milanović.
Lunch at “Destiny”
Jovan Milanović invited Pierre Henri Binel to lunch at a Greek restaurant called “Destiny” on October 1, 1998. Milanovic recalls that there were a surprisingly large number of waiters and that it was a strange table choice, plus everyone wanted to see them to both.
“I told him what I know. I knew everything, but I did not have the paper. And I told him that when someone has this type of information and sends it to his country, he will be exposed to attacks at that moment and later and in what way, later in case of deception it means wrong information, what else is left for him but a trial and a long prison term, or he is being hanged, “Milanović told Binel, citing the example of hanging himself in Terazije during World War II.
“He was startled, he started to wipe his sweat. He asked me if I knew how dangerous it was, I immediately told him I knew. Then he said I didn’t know, and I reminded him that I knew who knew. He thought of one who said at the time:” Well, you will, “Milanović remembers that lunch in” Destiny. “
Meanwhile, NATO aviation carried out the last preparations for the aggression against Yugoslavia. On October 2, Binel arrived at Milanović’s home. With documents, that is, detailed plans for the bombing of Yugoslavia. They both suspected they were under surveillance.
“The next night, I received an invitation from him to come to my apartment. He came and brought the papers. One was the sublimation of everything, the key. Everything was written in it exhaustively, and then he explained it to me,” he says. Milanovic.
“Binel told me that he did what he had to do. Which means that he was stronger than him, because he was terribly opposed to NATO aggression. He said it a hundred times later and said he has no regrets.” Milanovic points out.
Documents sent to Belgrade
Milanovic went immediately to the embassy, not in the usual way in case they tried to arrest him. According to the established procedure, he sent documents to Belgrade with cryptographic protection.
On the morning of October 3, the General Staff had a detailed plan for NATO and immediately began relocating facilities and moving equipment. On October 3, NATO verified the targets from the air and determined that there was a symbolic movement of forces.
The next verification was carried out on October 8 and NATO determined that all the targets that were supposed to be bombed were moved. The NATO Council met, a delegation from the United States and NATO arrived in Belgrade and, after several talks, the bombing was postponed.
But General Milanovic, as well as the Yugoslav army, were not naive and assumed that the pressure would continue. An OSCE verification mission reached Kosovo and Metohija. Milanovic sent the latest report to Belgrade on October 27.
Binel was arrested on October 17, and that information was published in the media on November 1. Milanovic went to work that day. He was first blocked by the police, so they let him in and escorted him to the embassy.
“I also went into the inner courtyard, where a security guard concluded that I was in disgrace and closed the large door behind me. It was around 8 a.m. I was up around 10:30 when the phones started ringing, the media communication and journalists They were looking for me, reporter cars, television cameras on the street that was blocked, even on the street where I lived, the wife called me and told me to turn on the television and watch the news. Euronews. There was a symbol of NATO and the shocking news that a Serbian mole had been discovered in NATO, “recalls Milanovic.
The media were excited about the matter
The media in the West, especially Belgium, and most impressively in France, wrote about one of the biggest spy scandals of the 20th century. There was talk of the need for a fundamental reform of the French security services.
The newspaper was full of photos of Pierre Henri Binel, who gave secret documents to a certain Yugoslav diplomat. However, no one had a photo of a certain Yugoslav diplomat.
On November 19, the Belgian Senate discussed the issue of espionage and declared Jovan Milanović persona non grata.
On the day of his departure from Belgium, he was declared persona non grata and prohibited from entering the NATO and European Union countries.
Brussels evacuation
“I received information that sometime in January (1999), if I did not leave Belgium, I would be in danger in terms of security, that something worse would happen to me. First, my diplomatic documents would be revoked, then my diplomatic status and then probably me They would leave. I immediately informed Belgrade and they told me to prepare for the so-called evacuation, “Milanovic said.
“I went to the airport accompanied by the ambassador and two diplomats who had the opportunity to get to the plane itself. My wife and I got two tickets that were filled out on the spot. At that time, due to the sanctions, JAT was called MAT, Macedonian Air Transport. There were our planes, our crew, our offices. There was a commotion at the airport and after an hour and a half we left. It was the afternoon of December 18. The plane flew directly to Skopje. When we arrived in Skopje, the airport was full. My first service, when I was a young lieutenant, was in Skopje, then I thought, “Where you started, that’s where you’ll end. I had a dose of fear and a feeling of ill because they said that there was a thick fog over Belgrade and that the plane could not take off. After a while, the plane took off, but to Nis. Then we arrived by bus to Belgrade. At around 3 a.m. on December 19, I returned to my homeland, recalls Milanovic.
What you think of Binel today
Twenty-two years later, retired General Jovan Milanovic is proud of his exploits. That is why he stood in front of the cameras of the “Dozvolite” program. He is proud, but also thinks about the details of his service in Brussels and especially the fate of Pierre Henri Binel.
“He showed great courage. I wasn’t sure if he was aware of the sacrifice he was making. I carry him and his family in my soul. Because he did an action, I don’t know who else would do it and if I would dare. Maybe yes. Maybe not. I have a dilemma that still haunts me today. You’ve heard of the Vietnam syndrome. American officers who are still alive today are being treated for it. I had the syndrome a few years ago, not in the sense that I’m afraid of something, “but a consciousness that I was not aware of before. All that mattered to me was that I did that that night, and after that I didn’t care about the rest, “says Milanovic.
Upon his return to Belgrade, Major General Jovan Milanović was appointed Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the Yugoslav Army General Staff in January, and Branko Krga became Chief. NATO suffered an intelligence and first strategic defeat. Aggression was avoided, but the danger did not pass. It was only a matter of time and occasion.
