[ad_1]
At first, the military services dealt not only with military but also civil matters, because all the capacities of the state were focused on waging wars to win or defend freedom.
Thus, in a conversation with “Novosti”, he explains how the security services of General Svetko Kovac, former director of the Military Security Agency (VBA), were born. The series “Serbian Secret Service”, the script of which was written by Kovac, began airing on RTS.
– The series covers the period from the beginning of the security services, sometime in 1876, when the beginnings of the armed forces were created, that is, in 1899, when the civil services were created, and ends in the decade of 1990, just before the start of the civil war in Yugoslavia. We are also dealing with the period when there were no specialized bodies, but security matters developed, during the time of Karadjordj and Prince Milos.
What is characteristic of that period?
– At the time of the creation of the modern Serbian state, espionage was one of the main problems. The insurgent government passed several decrees, one of which regulated the expulsion from Serbian cities of all people “empty-handed” suspected of engaging in espionage for the benefit of the enemy. All letters sent abroad had to be written in Serbian and reviewed by the insurgent authorities. Immediately after the Đakovo revolt, Prince Miloš created an extensive network of informants, so that the dissatisfaction of the people would not surprise him again. At the time, the letters were written in secret, with lemon juice and melted gunpowder. In 1837, the prince issued an order to open letters going to Austria-Hungary. The military law of 1839 prescribes penalties for treason, espionage, rebellion, and the death penalty follows those who “go against the Constitution.”
Photo Archive
Since when can we speak of a modern security service?
– The Principality of Serbia sent young people to European capitals for education, who returned with new ideas. One of his areas of interest was security services. The modern security service began to be created immediately after the Berlin Congress and the recognition of Serbia as a sovereign state. In terms of organization, the French experience was mainly used, as well as the unification of intelligence and counterintelligence functions, but also the experience of countries that were enemies of Serbia.
What impact did domestic services have on key events in the country and what was the role of foreigners?
– Domestic services have had an impact at turning points in history, yet that role is often downplayed or given too much importance. In general, when domestic services are weak, parties have more influence and vice versa. A good example is the period between 1934, after the assassination of King Alexander, and 1941, before the attack by Nazi and Fascist forces. At that time, the German and British services clashed on the territory of the Kingdom with the intention of dragging Yugoslavia into the Triple Pact, that is, the anti-fascist alliance. The Yugoslav service was rendered powerless due to internal political conflicts and the disunity of the authorities.
PARTISAN AND CHETNIK SERVICE
o Were there services in both the partisan movement and the Chetnik?
– Draža Mihailović attached great importance to the intelligence services, which functioned relatively well in his movement until 1943. His radio station 506 is well known, which sent reports from Belgrade not only to the Draža headquarters, but also to the intelligence service British. That is why the German Abwehr service had special units in its composition that dealt with the Chetnik, that is, the partisan movement. When, after 1943, the Allies denied support for the Chetniks and directed it towards the partisans, the partisan intelligence service was strengthened.
What was your role during the assassination attempt on King Alexander in Zagreb in 1933?
– At the end of 1931, the head of the Intelligence Center in Subotica, Captain Konstantin Plavšić, received a report from a credible source that terrorists were being trained in Hungary, at the Janko Pusta farm, rented by Gustav Perčec with a name false, and that Ante Pavelić occasionally stayed there. and representatives of the Hungarian and Italian intelligence services. Perčec’s mistress, Jelka Podgorelec, was always on the farm. After a conflict with Percec, Jelka fled to Vienna, about which Plavsic reported to Vladeta Milicevic, one of the best informants. Milicevic found Jelka and convinced him to return to the farm and report back to him. Thus the murder was avoided.
HISTORY Scene from the series “Serbian secret services”, Promo photo
So why wasn’t the 1934 assassination prevented?
– There is still uncertainty about the assassination of the king in Marseille, which will remain until France opens the archives. The fact is that the Yugoslav security services successfully followed the preparations and plans for the assassination. They had information about the terrorist movement and informed the French services and the police about it, but did not take even the most basic protective measures.
What was the role of the security guards at the time of the conflict with the IB?
– During the Inform Bureau, the Yugoslav security services achieved significant results in opposing the subversive and intelligence activities of the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. At the national level, however, a great stain remained on the work of the military and civil services. Naked swelling and unfounded accusations, imprisonment and persecution of large numbers of people, inhuman and heartless methods cannot be justified by anything. Some members of Udba and Kosa, some of whom were accused without foundation, also ended up on the “island of hell”. Characteristic is the case of Boško Čolić, Tito’s companion from the beginning of the war until 1948. Tito had great confidence in him. Colic saved his life several times during the war. Accused of working for the Soviet service, he passed through Golgotha.
How did the services deal with emigration?
– One of the greatest successes in this field is the “Guardian” operation, carried out in 1947 and 1948, in which 19 Ustash groups were arrested and 96 inserted terrorists, detained or killed. Since Ante Vrban and Ljubo Miloš, Ustasha criminals from the Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška camps, were captured in the first group, introduced into Croatia, the conditions were created for Udba to insert his people into the transfer channels and hiding places in the ground. When Ljubo Milos accepted the cooperation with Udb, a classic intelligence game was played with the leadership of the Ustasha organization in Villach. Due to the deterioration of the security situation after Resolution IB, the action was ordered to cease. However, on July 4, 1948, the main organizer and criminal, Božidar Kavran, was arrested. The next target was supposed to be Ante Pavelić.
Why is the Brioni Plenary important?
– The Brioni plenary session is one of the most significant events in the history of the security services. One dimension is the measures aimed at eliminating Aleksandar Ranković and the other is the role of the services in that event. Abuses in the services have accumulated that have not been resolved, and Ivan Stevo Krajačić and Edo Brajnih used them to initiate a matter of wiretapping and dismantling of the federal service. In addition to weakening the federal Udba, as the backbone of the federal concept, and losing its leading role and becoming the coordinator of republican services, the Serbian Udba should have been weakened, which was seen as the main support for Ranković as representative of the federal, as opposed to the confederal concept. for the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The plenary of Brioni also had some positive changes: the theses for the reorganization of Udba were approved, a new Law of Internal Affairs was adopted and the Control Commission of the SDBs was formed. Since the Brioni Plenary, the Yugoslav services have been constantly broken and closed on the republican borders, from where they acted as an instrument of the republican leadership.
Who actually manages the services and is there any control over them?
– The functioning of the security services in practice depends mainly on the current government and its determination of whether they want to work in a democratic and legally regulated environment or in an indefinite state, when there is greater potential for abuse. Of course, the control exercised by parliament, the judiciary and the public is of great importance.
Follow us through iOS and Android apps
[ad_2]
