HLC Demands Allegations on Bombing of RTS Building be Investigated

The Humanitarian Law Center addressed a letter to the Republic of Serbia Minister of Interior, Dragan Joić, on 19 January 2006 demanding Aleksandar Petkanić’s allegations be investigated. He said that the highest state authorities and some other persons, including Marko Milošević knew that the RTS building was going to be bombed.

The letter written by the Humanitarian Law Center Attorney Dragoljub Todorović addressed to Minister Dragan Jočić states the following:

“Ms. Žanka Stojanović, the mother of one RTS employee who was killed in the bombing of the TV station building in April 1999 approached the Humanitarian Law Center asking for support. The families of the victims obtained information in October 2005 that certain Aleksandar Petkanić possesses information on highly relevant circumstances related to the bombing of the RTS building. At that time, media covered this news and the Ministry of Interior authorities were also informed of it. However, the Ministry of Interior authorities did not investigate Petkanić’s allegations nor did they in any way inform the families of the dead employees that such information existed.

Aleksandar Petkanić is currently serving sentence in the Klisa District Prison in Novi Sad. On 2 January 2006, he wrote a statement on 11 pages describing in detail his information related to the bombing of the RTS building. We believe that the allegations from his written statement should be investigated because there is reasonable doubt that the crimes, which should be prosecuted ex officio, were committed. Petkanić described a meeting in Požarevac, which he attended along with some other people, whose names or initials he provided, in which Major General Aleksandar Bakočević presented Marko Milošević with some papers based on which he stated, in front of the people present, that the RTS building would be bombed and there would be victims; but that the propaganda, which would occur after the TV station is bombed and people killed, would be useful for the state.

Since Ministry of Interior authorities have not taken any measures yet to investigate the allegations, we must address you personally and forward to you Aleksandar Petkanić’s statement dating from 2 January 2006 asking you to investigate these allegations through the respective Serbian Ministry of Interior authorities. First of all, it is necessary to interrogate Aleksandar Petkanić and obtain from him the real names of the people whose initials he provided, and then interrogate Aleksandar Bakočević, Attorney Borivoje Borović, Dušan Rakočević, Požarevac Secretariat of Interior Chief Colonel Radiša Jović, and all other people mentioned in Aleksandar Petkanić’s statement.

We believe that this statement must not be neglected since, in his written statement, Aleksandar Petkanić accused Marko Milošević, Aleksandar Bakočević, and the then highest state authorities of grave crimes. Attorney Borivoje Borović, the then Požarevac Secretariat of Interior Chief Radiša Jović, and many other people possess information pertaining to this statement. All of them should be interrogated in order for you to determine the reliability of Aleksandar Petkanić’s allegations”.