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CASE STUDY
THE MEDAK POCKET
Miroslav Međimorec

Methodology

The initial research objective

My initial objective was to research the documents and witness reports and by doing so try and prove that no battle was waged between the Croatian and the Canadian soldiers. My efforts to get access to sources that became public and those that are still classified has proven the complexity of the political, diplomatic, military, humanitarian and legal aspects of it. The entire case should be thoroughly studied in order to reach the truth. Therefore the initial research objective was changed to:

The wider research objective: the Medak Pocket Case Study

The attempt to research the wider context of what happened before, during and after the Medak Pocket Operation, to come as close to the truth as possible, avoiding black and white terminology, the cover-up of crimes, one-sided patriotic or emotional taking of sides – is what I was able to do.

The facts that make up the truth found in declassified source documents create a complete picture about the Medak Pocket and are the only interest of this study.

The facts that have already been proven and are available should replace “the perceived truth” about the crime and therefore unmask a hidden agenda: to harm the Croatian Army, its political leadership at the time of the events, and influence the future of Croatia. The Serbian side already heralds Savo Štrbac and “Veritas” whose documents and interpretations furnish the ICTY. These documents set a precedent for the renewal of the Republika Srpska (RSK) and ask for recent Croatian history to change, as well as the condemnation and even the dissolution of the Croatian state. One should always remember the sensitivity of the case’s investigation especially in the course of the Hague Tribunal investigator’s interests on the same subject (the indictment of Generals Bobetko and Ademi, the calling of witnesses: Generals Stipetić, Markač, Norac and Admiral Domazet – the comprehensive investigation running parallel with the ICTY and undertaken by the Croatian police). Those individuals that are in various way included in the Medak Pocket case are extra sensitive to giving their side of the story, because of the impending indictments. Therefore data gathering, witness reports and research as a whole, should be conducted with extra care.