UN Statement about AvdoPalic

This statement was made by Alex Ivanko of the UN International Police Task Force (IPTF) at a press conference on 25 July 1997, at the Coalition Press Information Centre in Sarajevo.

Two years ago today, the UN-designated "safe area" of Zepa fell to a Bosnian Serb Army onslaught. Thousands of Bosniaks, after being besieged for three years, fled in terror their centuries-old homes.

However, a Srebrenica-style massacre did not take place, not the least because of the courage and honor shown by Colonel Avdo Palic, the Commander of Bosnian Army forces in the enclave.

After a message from Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic stating that his army had taken the town, the women, children and elderly men of Zepa were evacuated with the assistance of French and Ukrainian elements of UNPROFOR and of two UNPROFOR Civil Affairs officers, Edward Joseph and Victor Bezrouchenko.

The Bosnian Serb Army refused to allow the evacuation of the men of Zepa who then fled for their lives. But one man did not flee - Colonel Avdo Palic, who stayed in Zepa throughout the entire ordeal.

Avdo Palic's personal safety was guaranteed by General Mladic. We do not know if he actually believed him but he put the lives of his people before his own. Colonel Palic dealt directly with General Mladic, who was actually indicted on 25 July by the ICTY for genocide, and with another Bosnian Serb General, Zdravko Tolimir, to ensure that those who he defended for three years would not perish in another bloody massacre.

He succeeded in saving Zepa's civilian population, but paid a price. Colonel Palic was seized by armed Bosnian Serb Army soldiers from the UN compound in Zepa in front of eyewitnesses. General Mladic himself acknowledged that Palic was seized. Colonel Palic has never been seen again by representatives of the international community. He became part of another tragic statistic of this war, adding his name to the thousands of people missing.

Now Colonel Palic's wife, Esma Palic, has to live not knowing the fate of her husband.

The United Nations Mission urges the authorities in Republika Srpska to provide all relevant information on the fate of Avdo Palic and the thousands of others who went missing during the war. Indeed, all sides should provide such information. Their families have already suffered enough. All they want to know is what happened to their loved ones.