By Erna Mackic in Sarajevo
The brother of the Dragan Dabic’s tells Justice Report of his despair that top war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic used the same name and surname, while Serbian authorities try to detect those who helped Karadzic live a double life.
Dragan Dabic was born in Tuzla in 1954 but was shot dead in a sniper attack in Sarajevo in 1993. His then young daughters and wife left the
besieged city during the war and moved to Canada.
Dragan's only brother, Mladen, still lives in
Sarajevo. He was in disbelief when he heard that Radovan Karadzic used the same name and surname as his
brother.
"He was 38 when he was killed. I cannot believe
that Karadzic could use his name and surname," Mladen Dabic told Justice Report.
Serbian media have announced that an
investigation of Radovan Karadzic's false identity is underway. At the moment
of the arrest, he had an identification card, issued in the name of Dragan Dabic, with him.
Some reports suggest that there are some indications that this might actually be
the Dragan Dabic, who was killed in Sarajevo.
Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for the Serbian
Prosecution, says that the local authorities are trying to find out who helped
Karadzic to obtain the false identity, adding that an investigation of potential
helpers was ongoing. Vekaric told the Serbian media that "very few people" knew
his real identity.
| Mladen Dabic |
Mladen Dabic, Dragan's brother, resents the fact that Radovan Karadzic used the name of his late sibling, who was killed while he was queuing for humanitarian aid.
"When I heard the news that war criminal Radovan
Karadzic is using my brother's name, I could not believe it. It was horrible. This
was an act of dishonor to a person, who was killed by the army commanded by
Karadzic," Mladen Dabic told Justice Report.
Dabic says that, over the past two days, his
family has been under "an unbearable amount of stress", adding that they could not
believe that some people do not let his brother "lie in peace" 15 years after his
death.
Mladen claims that he still has not managed to
get in touch with his sister-in-law Gordana and their daughters, who live in
Canada. They all left Sarajevo in a convoy six months after Dragan's death.
Mladen does not know for sure how his brother
died. He was told by other people that he was shot by a sniper, while others
said that the bullet, which killed him, was fired from an anti-aircraft machine
gun, which was also known as "death sower," usually used by the Bosnian Serb army
from their positions in the Vraca area.
"While I was on the frontline, my colleagues
told me that my brother was killed. I could not believe that this happened to my
Dragan. My mother had a heart attack when she heard the news," Mladen said,
adding that his brother was buried in the Lav cemetery in Sarajevo.
"I am trying, not to think about what is now
happening to my brother's name," Mladen says, adding that "there are so many
pieces of information floating around," which, for sure, will "leave a huge
scar."
"There is nothing I can do about it. What I can
do is to talk to media and lift this burden myself a little bit at least," Dabic told Justice Report.
According to official data, 16 identifications cards have
been issued in the name of Dragan Dabic in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the
war.
Meanwhile Serbian police say they have
indication suggesting that Karadzic had an identification card issued in Ruma, a northern Serbian town, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sremska Mitrovica police
department.
"We have no information abut the arrest of
Radovan Karadzic and we have nothing to say about the forged identification card issued in
Ruma," local police chief Zorav Smajic told the media, adding that the person named
Dragan Dabic really lives in Ruma.
"That means that Karadzic's identification card was forged,"
he said.
In his statement given to Belgrade's Vecernji list daily, the spokesman of the Prosecution said Karadzic got his new
identity from "certain structures," close to his Serbian Democratic Party in Bosnia which had connections with Serbian officials during the rule of
Slobodan Milosevic.
"It is
obvious that he started his parallel life a long time ago," Vladimir Vukicevic, the prosecutor said.
Available data suggests that Karadzic has been
using Dragan Dabic's identity since 1999.