Name Ivica Mlivoncic Role Author | Died 2013 Books Pape i Hrvati | |
Ivica Mlivončić (1931-2013) was a controversial Croatian author and columnist in Slobodna Dalmacija from Split. He became unpopular among liberal and left wing circles while working for BH Danas, a weekly newspaper based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to the fact he publicly attacked his colleagues who were investigating large scope war crimes and ethnic cleansing committed by the Croats on Bosniaks in the light of Karađorđevo meeting during the Bosnian war. On the other hand his popularity grew among Croatian nationalists. In his books he defends Croatia and instead attacks Bosniaks, British intelligence structures, KOS - the counter-intelligence service of the Yugoslav People's Army, Iran, Al Qaeda and sometimes other Western nations for alleged initiation and/or stimulation of the Croat-Bosniak war.
During the ICTY trials against Croat war leaders, many Croatian journalists participated as the defence witnesses trying to relativise war crimes committed by Croatian troops. During the trial against general Tihomir Blaškić (later convicted of war crimes on Bosnian Muslims), Ivica Mlivončić, tried to defend general Blaškić presenting number of false claims about alleged "genocide against Croats committed by Bosnian Muslims" in the book "Zločin s pečatom" he wrote, which Trial Chambers described as irrelevant for the case. One of the most obvious examples of war propaganda presented in the book was justification and explanation of the Stupni Do massacre committed by the Croats on Bosnian Muslim civilians. Ivica Mlivončić described the village of Stupni Do as a stronghold used by elite Bosnian Army troops with significant amount of artillery against Croatian Defence Council. However, in the verdict against Dario Kordić, ICTY found that Stupni Do was a loosely organised village; with no sign of a military build up, fortification or any sign of artillery. It was loosely protected by six Bosnian soldiers.
After Blaškić's conviction, Ivica Mlivončić continued to write in Slobodna Dalmacija against the ICTY presenting it "as the court against Croats", with claims that the ICTY cannot be unbiased because "it is financed by Saudi Arabia (Muslims)".
In 2007 he published a book about alleged Al Qaeda role during the Bosnian war, a favorite subject by Serbian and Croatian propaganda against Bosniaks.
Croatia Libertas, an organization which supports Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia restoration and separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed lawsuits against several Bosniak politicians and military leaders solely based on Ivica Mlivončić's book "Muslim Concentration Camps for Croats 1991-1995 in BiH". The lawsuits allege that Bosniak officials committed war crimes against 375 Croats held in detention camps. The listed officials include Bosnian Presidency member Haris Silajdžić, who served as prime minister when the alleged war crimes took place, and current Defence Minister Selmo Cikotić.