The Krajina Hero Killed by Injustice

-Alagić did not die of a heart attack but of injustice, said the late Alija Izetbegović, the first president of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes the Patria News Agency.  

General Mehmed Alagić died 12 years ago, on this day, March 7.

The legendary commander of the Third and Seventh Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina endured and led the biggest battles in the defense of our one and only homeland. But he could not fight the injustice inflicted upon him. His heart simply broke.

General Alagić died just a few days before the pre-trial conference in The Hague was to be held regarding his case, which was fabricated by the then prosecutor Carla del Ponte. Her goal was to see all Bosniak generals and prominent members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even Alija Izetbegović himself, in the courtroom, even if they were later acquitted.

He joined the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a lieutenant colonel from the former JNA. During the war, he was the commander of the Third and Seventh Corps, and after the war, he was the mayor of Sanski Most. Even then, individuals launched an unjust, unfounded campaign against him... then came The Hague....

Alagić was arrested thanks to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zlatko Lagumdžija, who held the Hague indictments. He took the general out for lunch at a Sarajevo restaurant but said nothing to him.

Instead of inviting him to surrender voluntarily, which he certainly would have done to honorably defend the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina there in The Hague, Lagumdžija decided to have federal special forces storm the general's house, put masks on their faces, and handcuff him. The legendary Krajina commander was taken to The Hague as the greatest criminal.

What kind of human greatness he was might be best illustrated by a story from the war year of 1995.

-I call on my Krajina people and other Bosniaks to come to Bosnia, to the Seventh Corps, take up a rifle, and join the fight. Because, as I often say: The train to Bosanska Krajina has departed. Hurry while there are still seats, it won't be good if the tickets run out!, were the messages his fighters remember to this day.

In the summer of 1994, Alija Izetbegović, looking at the Opaljenik peak on Vlašić, asked General Alagić:

“Mehmed, can we liberate this?”

“We will either take it or we will cease to exist” - replied the general to President Izetbegović. 

“How, Mehmed?” - asked the president?

“For what lies before us, I am already making preparations, digging dugouts, cutting logs, and to overcome it all, we must wait for the snow” - the general said confidently.

Some from the Travnik leadership accused him of cutting down forests indiscriminately.

Fighters of the Seventh Corps, in coordination with units of the Third and First Corps, and the Guard Brigade of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the magnificent operation “Domet 1”, liberated the highest peak of Vlašić, the radio-relay hub at Opaljenik, 1,933 meters high, on March 23, 1995, which generals of European armies had said was unconquerable.

It was one of the most famous and significant victories of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is still studied at military academies around the world.

The Vlašić operation restored the winning mentality to the Bosnian people.

General Alagić also commanded units of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that reached the outskirts of Banja Luka in the summer of 1995. Later, he learned that the advance was halted by diplomatic intervention from the United States of America.

Mehmed Alagić was born on July 8, 1947, and passed away on March 7, 2003, in his native Fajtovci, Sanski Most.