PART II->What It’s Like to Chill Out With Whom the World Considers the Most Ruthless Men : Ratko Mladic, Goran Hadzic and Radovan Karadzic Confessions of a Female War Crimes Investigator

He told me it was the utmost importance to publicize the alleged fact
that the head ambassador of the Bosnian mission was in his estimation
involved with Al-Qaeda.

Darko had a seemingly ton of secret documentary evidence emanating from
the ministry of internal affairs in Belgrade and Bosnia seeming true
bolstering his allegations in my eyes then.

Asking me to fervently work on editing a book on which topic was meant
for exposing the head ambassador of the Bosnian mission at that time; I
acceded. The publication was later published by the Repubika Srpska
information agency in Bosnia. The Serbian government in the Republika
Srpska in Bosnia then was seriously pressing Darko for a fast
publication so we stayed up many nights over his apartment in Forest
Hills, New York working to do so. The book was entitled, ”The Bosnia
Model of Al-Qaeda Terrorism. It can probably still be found and read
online. Last time I checked it was posted on the website:
http://www.analyst-network.com/profile.php?user_id=240.

Darko always told me I possessed full rights to this and other
publications we worked on together. Although I edited and co-authoring
the Al-Qaeda work, a few years back I noticed Darko removed my name on
the inner front cover page as editor replacing it with the name of a
Serbian editor. When questioned about it Darko told me he kept my name
from being published because of the death threats and dangers to my
life that he himself encountered because of its publication. I do
vividly remember Darko receiving a great many death threats and threats
towards his wife at the time, Bojana, so it is possible he was telling
me the truth.

Even prior completing our work on the Al-Qaeda book together Darko was obsessed with manifesting the Bosnian
Chief ambassador at the time as a terrorist. At the time I had no
reason to doubt Darko’s word and assisted him in rabidly writing an
open letter to all the United Nations member state missions exposing
him as such. I surmise this is when Darko’s job at the United Nations
as First Secretary of the Bosnian mission became jeopardized.

Today I surmise Darko’s employment at the United Nations genuinely
became compromised owing not only to the inter-ethnic conflicts
existing between him and the head ambassador then, a proud Muslim man,
but also owing to the fact he forged birth certificates to acquire his
position in the first place later becoming a social fact from the
interior ministry in Bosnia. It was an emotional shock when Darko
informed me a by summer 2001 that he lost his job and he and Bojana had
to immediately return to Belgrade to work out the matter in court.
This was also a great emotional blow to me also owing to the fact that
I always possessed a crush on Darko and he knew it. This was a social
fact I never publicly admitted previously to writing this book. I once
even asked Darko if he wanted to have an affair with me but he declined
stating he would never be unfaithful to his beautiful wife, Bojana.
This left me in an extreme morally uncomfortable position because
Bojana was my best friend. I continually told myself being attracted
to her husband Darko was a non-option. Working so closely with him on
an almost daily basis however made my attraction to him difficult to
overcome.

I was also engaged to Professor Arnold Stark at the time and wore the ten thousand diamond ring he bought me on my
finger. Arnold became increasingly jealous of Darko in time and
eventually forbid me to work with him altogether. Notwithstanding, I
continued working with Darko against Arnold’s wishes. This coupled
with my trip to Serbia and Montenegro in 2002 eventually led to my
breakup with Professor Stark and after almost an entire decade, my
relationship with Arnold never fully recovered.

Darko tried keeping his job in diplomatic capacity at he UN as long as possible but
the bipolar friction and hate existing between himself and the chief
ambassador at the mission proved too much. The chief ambassador in
contact with the Bosnian government at the time in Sarajevo eventually
had Darko dismissed as first secretary of the mission. To the best of
my recollection Darko was no longer receiving a monthly salary from
Sarajevo by spring or summer 2002 (approximately).

I often came visiting Darko and Bojana’s apartment in Manhattan then
situated on a side street within walking distance from the UN to help
them out financially by buying them inexpensive dinners and such in
Manhattan and chauffeuring them around (they did not own a car for the
majority of their stay in the States).

In July 2002 as I remember the three of us spent many memorable moments going to the
beaches outside the city and just spending time talking etc.. At the
time and owing to my being in graduate school at FDU, I had plenty of
extra money to burn owing my taking the maximum GSL student loans
totaling about twenty thousand dollars a semester. Then one day that
summer Darko informed me he and Bojana were only awaiting the Bosnian
government to wire them a sum of five thousand dollars to pay off their
American bills, last month rent and they would make a hasty exit back
to Belgrade permanently. I was emotionally crushed.

Desperate not to lose contact with Darko because of my personal
feelings towards him, I told him my summer classes at FDU were about to
end August 2002 and although the fall semester was about to begin, I
wanted to visit him in Serbia as soon as possible. Soon for me meant
as soon as I received a check from the United States government for the
total of that semesters’ student loan money in the amount of about ten
thousand dollars.

Darko, hesitant at first soon gave in to my constant petitions to visit him. The day I brought them both to JFK
to return to Serbia permanently, Bojana whispered something in Darko’s
ear as we hugged saying our goodbyes all three of trying to hold back
tears of parting and Darko looking me in the eye said something to the
effect, “Jill, don’t worry as soon as you can afford it call me and
we’ll arrange your visit.” Darko never could stand to see me cry which
on many occasion I did owing to the loss of my two children and other
personal challenges in my life. They turned and boarded their plane to
Belgrade as I drove back to New Jersey.

Driving home I felt an odd combination of extreme sadness at the loss of my two best
friends mixed with the cheerful prospect I would shortly be boarding a
plane myself destined for Serbia and Montenegro by mid August 2002 when
my student loan check arrived. Upon arriving home I immediately began
making all necessary arrangements for my forthcoming trip.

The day following Darko ‘s departure, I bought a great many prepaid
phone cards for the purpose of calling him owing to both my missing him
and also my primarily wanting to began making all necessary
arrangements facilitating my forthcoming visit from JFK to Beograd. I
had countless questions such as: how much money will I need, how will I
obtain a VISA being an American citizen with all the US State
Department warnings against US citizenry traveling to the region, etc.,
etc., etc.. I had already obtained a valid United States passport many
years ago which I always carried with me. I’ve always held the strong
opinion that having a valid passport with you at all times is just a
good idea. It enables one the necessary freedom to go to the airport
and catch a plane going anywhere at anytime.

Darko told me that I need not worry about all the complicated VISA
requirements listed on Serbian government website required of other
Americans that he would handle everything. I was told merely to bring
with me about five thousand United States dollars in cash spending
money and it was a done deal. I went to buy some new suitcases and
clothes for my trip in Wayne, New Jersey during the first two weeks in
August 2002 in preparation. Packing was always a problem for me as
Darko can attest to owing to my medically diagnosed attention deficit
disorder. I had a difficult time deciding what to bring, so I tried to
bring everything I thought I needed. The day of my departure my
suitcases weighed way over the weight limit restrictions indicated by
the airline.

Getting to JFK for departure in mid August 2002 proved to be an almost insurmountable task in and of itself owing to my
heavy luggage and everyone I asked to drop me at the airport that day
had strongly held views against my going.

Arnold Stark declined to bring me owing to his personal jealousies insofar as Darko
and everyone else had one or another excuse rooted in the anti-American
sentiment in Serbia at that time and danger involved.

Undeterred, I finally convinced Archbishop John LoBue, my priest and
confessor at the Holy Name Orthodox Christian Church in West Milford,
New Jersey to take me as far as the Port Authority in Manhattan; from
there I took a bus to JFK managing myself.

Post 9/11, JFK was supposedly safe beyond reproach insofar as security;
this proved untrue. I had not traveled outside America in many years
so I was unfamiliar with the new travel restrictions on such items as
nail scissors etc., being illegal to bring onboard flights and carried
several very sharp ones right passed JFK security inspection inside my
purse on board out of my own ignorance of new flight rules. It was not
until I arrived on my stopover in Paris, France that I was boarding
onto a JAT (Yugoslav Air Travel) flight for Belgrade that the security
officer of JAT told me that he had to confiscate the aforementioned
items owing to new security precautions implemented post 9/11.

I informed him upon boarding my initial flight at JFK in New York, the
security guards at the gate allowed me to board my flight to Paris
carrying them in my purse. The JAT security employee merely shook his
head in amazement mentioning something insofar as his seriously
questioning American security in general stating that Jugosalv Air
Travel obviously took airline and passenger security much more
seriously.

I loved flying JAT! Not only was I completely satisfied the flight from Paris to Belgrade was many times more secure
since JAT searched boarding passengers more thoroughly than JFK, the
hospitality, food and drink was excellent. I say this owing to my
being a well seasoned traveler having previously visited places such as
Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, etc.. It was extremely laid back on
the flight. People moved around switching seats and chatting with good
friends and the food was the best!
My favorite Serbian food and drink were served and all airline employees shoed me the highest
level of hospitality. I was extremely pleased with the professionalism
and service on JAT I later began an online blog about it on Yahoo360.

Upon my flight arriving in Beograd, all passengers left the plane in
the usual manner except Serbian citizens were shuffled through customs
quickly merely showing their passport. All others including myself
were asked to relinquish their passports and told to wait an
unspecified amount of time in a holding area at the airport. An
airport security officer went around confiscating our passports
afterward leaving us merely standing there not knowing what to expect
next. No other announcements were made; I did the only thing possible
I relinquished my passport to the Serbian custom official along with
the other western Europeans and/or Americans (if there were any) which
I surmised like myself were attempting to enter Serbia from countries
that were NATO allies in the Kosovo war against Slobodan Milosevic in
1999. There must have been about twenty persons with me just waiting.

All types of nagging thoughts plagued me such as “perhaps my friends
were correct that I ought not have taken this trip…was it really too
dangerous to travel to Serbia with all the anti-American sentiment and
what would happen if Serbian customs decided I was an American spy,
kept my passport and I ended in some unknown jail and/or murdered….who
would find me…what could I do about it etc., etc., etc..”

It seemed nearly an hour passed; me and the others were still standing
there waiting. I didn’t want to seem scared or overly curious by
asking either Serbian custom officials or anyone else waiting with me
anything as to not cause unnecessary attention to myself. I also kept
checking my watch wondering if Darko knew I was here waiting. I had
hoped with his government connections he would at least inquire about
my arrival since he told me he would pick me up. I drew comfort from
the fact Darko was always very punctual picking up and bringing himself
and others to airports.

On numerous occasions I gave him and others rides to and from them. These and other thoughts
plagued me when suddenly I heard a voice on the loud speaker call my
name, Jill Starr, asking me to go to a customs area to claim my
passport.

I was the first person called so I don’t know what happened to the others standing there still waiting. I hurriedly
went to obtain my passport and was told that I cleared; the guard
pointed the direction for me to go claim my luggage. You have no idea
what a relief that was!

I took in my new surroundings pleased that I made it into the country successfully. As a young child
my father took me with him traveling the world when he was an active
nuclear engineering consultant for Chas T Main, USAID and the IMF. I
had been in Indonesia during the turmoil in East Timor so I was used to
being in war zones surrounded by soldiers with guns. I was presently
older, but still I found such travel extremely exciting more than
dangerous and looked forward to enjoying the rest of my vacation with
Darko and Bojana.

Making it to the baggage claim area successfully I was relieved seeing Darko standing their waiting
for me. I was not fluent in Serbian and didn‘t want to publicize it by
asking people questions in English manifesting I was American. I
hurried towards him, giving him a large hug.

I was so glad to see Darko. I noticed upon my arrival at the Belgrade airport that
there were many female police officers equipped with guns wearing short
mini skirts and extremely high heels. I asked Darko how they
apprehended criminals in such high heels and he replied smirking that
they don’t have to run, they merely shot those not halting in the back
and that stopped them.

Like a dream come true, there I was in Beograd Serbia against all odds and complaints from my friends.
Darko helped me get my luggage to his friend’s vehicle telling me we
could talk about everything I had to say later because we had to
hurry.

Darko‘s friend, a German man living in Serbia for years and an important military employee of the Serbian government in a
grayish older large SUV vehicle with what seemed a special license
plate was impatiently waiting at the front gate of the airport for us.

Darko’s friend did not speak fluent English but he did speak fluent
German and Serbian. Upon writing the first edition of my book I still
wondered who this man really was because Darko pointed out to me
proudly, while placing my luggage in the vehicle of his car, this car
“specifically bore special Serbian military license plates;“ Darko
pointed this out to me at the airport and I was greatly impressed to be
in a Serb military vehicle.

The man picking me up at the Serbia, Beograd airport with Darko also referred to himself merely by
a nickname. If my memory serves me correct he said to call him, “Babic
or Babo” or something like that. “Babic” is not probably not 100%
correct because my memory is kind of fuzzy on this. However, in coming
across a BBC website with a photograph of Dragan Dabic, the male
construction worker whom apparently Dr. Radovan Karadzic was assuming
the identity of before he was arrested and transferred to the Hague in
2008; it does look about 90% correct in my memory that it was Mr.
Dragan Dabic who picked me up at the Beograd Serbia airport that day.
Even his glasses look the same and he told me he used to work as a
military mercenary for the Serbs during war time and he was originally
from Germany. Whoever it was, he was a relatively short man in height
with salt and pepper hair.

He said he worked in the military during “ the war/s” but (I forget
which war he meant now), did say currently since all “the military
business ended, he now worked construction and was building a second
house himself outside of Beograd because his girlfriend was having a
child. He told me he had several children but was not married. I saw
him also my first night in Beograd at Bojana’s parents residence
visiting as well as a day or so before I departed Beograd Serbia.

Tags: criminality, icty, jill, karadzic, mladic, radovan, ratko, serbia, starr