General Slobodan Praljak – Croatian criminal intellectual (case study)
Abstract
The article describes the figure of a Croatian general, a criminal intellectual who had three degrees (he graduated in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electronics and Computer Science in Zagreb, philosophy and sociology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, and the Academy of Theatre, Film and Television (currently the Academy of Dramatic Arts) in Zagreb. In the 1970s and 1980s, S. Praljak was a theatre director in Zagreb, Osijek, and Mostar. The text consists of three main parts and includes an introduction and conclusion. The first part contains a description of the activities (modus operandi) of Slobodan Praljak. The second describes the figure and criminal activities of General S. Praljak – the leader of Bosnian Croats in the Republic of Herceg-Bosnia (Hrvatska Republika Herceg-Bosna) in the years 1991–1994. The third part of the article presents the reactions of Croatian society to the verdict of the Hague Tribunal against Slobodan Praljak. The intellectual general entered the history of Croatian, but also of European, international criminal law because in a very spectacular and truly theatrical way, he finished his life by drinking a vial of poison during the trial of his crimes at the Hague Tribunal. The purpose of this article is to expose the reader to the character and political-military activities of Croatian General Slobodan Praljak, the leader of the Bosnian Croats during the last civil war on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (specifically, Bosnia and Herzegovina), who committed leadership perpetration of war crimes in the described region. Based on the collected and verified research material, the following conclusions were drawn, S. Praljak practised a traditional leadership model based on the power of hard authority with a distinctly dictatorial tinge. At the same time, the general favoured a Croatian national ideology saturated with nationalism, xenophobia and a desire to dominate the other nations and ethnic groups living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. General J. Praljak, just as he ostentatiously showed devotion to Croatian national traditions at the same time clearly showed contempt and disrespect for any opponents. Moreover, like other war criminals, he represented a high level of selfishness and narcissism, as well as apparent charisma and absolute conviction to the professed ideology. At the same time, these kinds of views are held by a significant part of Croatian society reproducing the war narratives associated with recent armed conflicts. Croatian public opinion positively evaluates, sanctioned by law and confirmed by final conviction, authentic war criminals, because it is their mirror image. Moreover, the Croatian people have yet to confront the crimes of World War II Croatian Nazis. In conclusion, the image of Slobodan Praljak in Croatian society is extremely positive, his compatriots consider him a national hero, war patriot and defender of the Croatian raison d’état. On the other hand, the intellectual general has gone down in Croatian, but also European, history of international criminal law, because in a very spectacular and truly theatrical way, he ended his life by drinking a vial of poison during a court hearing to try his crimes at The Hague Tribunal (ICTY).
Keywords:
international criminal law, case study, war crimes, national hero, ICTY, Croatia, Herceg-Bosnia, Bosniak, Slobodan Praljak, politicsReferences
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