Priest Vojislav Čarkić admitted to Al Jazeera journalist: I killed during the war in BiH, and I would do it again

If I could, I would participate in the war again and fight against the so-called state of Ukraine today - says Vojislav Čarkić, former commander of the Chetnik division from 1992 to 1995, who was stationed in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Grbavica, in an interview with Al Jazeera English.

This 79-year-old Orthodox priest, now retired, not only fought but also baptized other soldiers and led their funerals.

Grbavica was separated from the rest of Sarajevo until the peace agreement was signed in November 1995. During the war, Grbavica was controlled by Serb forces and was the front line in the besieged city.

As a priest in the army, Čarkić was also responsible for blessing weapons to be used in combat - often against civilians in Sarajevo. 

- I blessed the weapons of my people to defend them from the 'balijas' - said Čarkić.

According to witnesses who wished to remain anonymous, after the war ended, Čarkić led the funeral of the mother and brother of General Ratko Mladić, who is currently on trial at the Hague Tribunal on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Witnesses state that Mladić attended the funeral despite being a fugitive at the time. When asked about it, Čarkić refuses to talk, says the Al Jazeera English journalist. 

While smoking a cigar, Čarkić describes his role in the war and his life. 

- In war and in uniform, I have always been a soldier of Christ, a warrior of the Serbian people, and an authentic Chetnik.

During the 1980s, Serbian ultranationalist leaders found in the Chetniks a model for warfare. The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Šešelj, used them as paramilitary forces. 

They terrorized the non-Serb population and promoted the idea of ethnic cleansing for a "Greater Serbia" that would include all of Bosnia and parts of Croatia. 

Members of the movement were fanatically devoted to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which actively promoted their activities, Al Jazeera English writes. 

Čarkić carries the history of the Chetniks as a badge of honor:

- There is no difference between Chetniks today and before. We are loyal to the monarchy, and we want our king back - he says.

Without any remorse, he adds:

- I am retired now, but I am still in the mood to kill people.

During the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted more than three and a half years and was one of the longest in modern history, the city was surrounded by Serbian nationalists who shelled civilians from the hills. 

Conditions in the city were very difficult - for both civilians and fighters-

- We drank day and night to endure that terrible time - explains Čarkić.

- Whatever I have done so far, I would do it again. But if you ask me if I have a soul, I would say I don't have one anymore - says Čarkić.

In June 2014, the Veterans Organization of Istočno Novo Sarajevo erected a plaque in Vraca, a settlement at the entrance to Sarajevo, on the very border between the two BiH entities, in honor of Ratko Mladić, accused of the most serious war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, commemorating a review of two military battalions carried out by him in 1992.

Čarkić blessed that plaque and stated on that occasion that on May 19, 1992, the defenders of the so-called Serbian New Sarajevo gathered, and the review was carried out by General Mladić, who, Čarkić added, will "enter the pantheon of Serbian leaders with the rank of voivode."