The Persecution of Ante Gotovina (part 7)

"If Ante Gotovina isn't guilty of any War Crimes, why didn't he just turn himself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia?"

I keep hearing this over and over again from the mouths of Croatians, and to that I always counter,

"If you didn't commit any War Crimes, why didn't you turn yourself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia?"

The argument reaches a stalemate, at which point the Croatian states,

"Ante Gotovina's decision to run cost Croatia the opportunity to join the EU in 2004"

To that I always counter,

"A dysfunctional Kleptocracy masquerading itself as a market driven Democracy where the rule of law prevailed cost Croatia the opportunity to join the EU in 2004. Please do not make Ante Gotovina a scapegoat?"

I have an inherent pro Ante Gotovina bias. There is a small cemetery on a windswept desert hilltop in a small village in Zadar County named TINJ that is my favourite place on the planet Earth. I don't know what it is about the place, but when I stand in a spot that is equidistant from the remains of my Grandfather and the remains of my favorite cousin, my body, mind and spirit come alive and I achieve a state of singularity. This spot was occupied by the Serbian forces that were trying to create a Greater Serbia. This spot was liberated by the forces that were commanded by General Gotovina. This spot is where the bulk of my ancestors rest in peace. This is the spot where I intend to spend the rest of eternity in good company.

I set out on the morning of December 7, 2009 the fourth anniversary of Ante Gotovina's capture to try to answer for myself the question, why did he run? I had several hypothesis as to why he made the decision to flee from the ICTY. I couldn't ask him, as he was under trial by a Tribunal. Eight meters and a wall of bullet & sound proof glass stood separating us. My only chance would come from observing the General closely for subtle clues about his nature, and from these clues infer support or contradictions to my hypothesis. I was going to play Jane Goodall, and Ante Gotovina was my test subject.

General Watching 101

8:55 AM: Ante Gotovina walks into the Tribunal Chamber along with his two co accusssed and two ICTY guards. As a show of mine and my clans respect I rise, make eye contact with the General, and say silently so he could lip read "Hvala", the Croatian word for thank you. He smiles back.

Two things struck me immediately.

1> He is not a large man in physical stature. He was standing on a elevated accused platform that was about 20 centimeters higher than the floor that his co-lead defense council stood on, and my best guess was it made him 15 centimeters shorter (6 inches) than his defense Attorney. That put him at 172-175 centimeters tall, about 5'8" roughly the 25th percentile for height for men from his age group, from his geographic region. A small man that could run 10 kilometers cross country wearing combat boots with 30 kilograms of rocks on his back at age 17 in under an hour. Swim from Tkon to Biograd na Moru and back. Go 96 hours without sleep or food. Kilo for Kilo here was the baddest ass 54 year old man I have ever seen in my life.

2> He had a presence about him of an individual who lives according to an ideal. His posture was perfect, his grooming and mannerisms impeccable. He was standing in a courtroom on the fourth anniversary of his capture, and there wasn't the slightest visible sign that captivity had broken him. He appeared to have the respect of those around him, especially his guards.

9:00AM: All rise as the three Judges walk into the Tribunal Chamber. The prosecution continues with the cross examination of one of the co defendants defense witnesses. I observe that on the half hour the ICTY guards that sit next to the accused in the tribunal chamber are rotated. The old guard is replaced with a new guard. I would assume as a security precaution because an individual guard on 30 minute rotations would be able to maintain a higher alert level, and the guards that sat next to the accused did not appear to have guns.

I have a situation where there is a predicable change in the General's immediate vicinity that occurs every 30 minutes, and it is a change that the General has no control over. I broke down the courtroom guards that sat next to him into two groups;

Group A> Guards that given the element of surprise could possibly beat up Ante Gotovina with their riot baton.

Group B> Guards that given the element of surprise would not be capable of beating up Ante Gotovina with their riot baton.

I was aware that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has a state of the art weights and fitness room available for the guards to work out in. It is assumed that if the guards get stronger, they have a higher capacity to do their jobs well. I placed the guards into either Group A or Group B by examining their bodies closely. The guards that appeared to be compound body exercise types (pull ups, push ups, chin ups, etc) were placed in Group A. The guards that appeared to be either isolation exercise body types (weightlifters), or no exercise body types were placed in Group B.

For the next three days I used the guards as my test variable and closely observed the general for any subtle changes that would occur whenever a changeover occurred from a Group A guard to a Group B guard and vice versa.

The job of the guards at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is to guard the people who are alleged to have done some very bad things. Part and parcel with conducting oneself well at the job would be to maintain ones person in such a manner that shows pride in the task they are assigned with. Whenever one of the Group A guards was seated next to General Gotovina he appeared happier. His eyes would brighten, and he would sit straighter.

Lines four and five respectively of the Legionnaires Code of Honour:

• Proud of your status as Legionnaire, you display this in your uniform, which is always impeccable, your behavior always dignified but modest, your living quarters always clean.
• An elite soldier, you will train rigorously, you will maintain your weapon as your most precious possession, you are constantly concerned with your physical form.

To the extent that it was possible to discern through the glass. I had come to the conclusion that General Ante Gotovina is hardwired. Once a Legionnaire, always a Legionnaire.

To be continued.