The Murder of Slaviša Krunić: Terrorism by Definition

By Armin Aljović

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In an attack carried out on Monday evening in Glamočani near Banja Luka, Banja Luka businessman Slaviša Krunić, his escort, and one of the attackers, Banja Luka criminal Željko Kovačević, were killed. Official police reports state that the motive for the attack and murder of Krunić is currently unknown, while the police are apprehending several individuals who can be linked to the murder.

Although the media speaks of a "classic ambush" in which Krunić and his escort were killed, according to literature, the murder of the Banja Luka businessman fulfills all elements of a terrorist act; the method of execution, the motive (?), the choice of target, the message sent to other citizens...

Krunić was one of the few businessmen in Republika Srpska who resisted Milorad Dodik's regime for years. In the end, he met a fate no one would wish for.

So, let's see how expert literature defines terrorism and why the brutal liquidation of Krunić should be considered an act of terrorism?

"The goals of terrorist activity can be varied, such as imaginary and socio-real goals. Imaginary goals are in terms of achieving a place in paradise, forgiveness of sins, eternal glory... Socio-real goals relate to achieving certain recognizable goals and can be realistically and easily determined."

Didn't Krunić warn before his death that the authorities in Republika Srpska were pressuring him? In his cable to the State Department, published by WikiLeaks, the then US Ambassador to BiH, Charles English, states that Krunić informed the US Embassy about the relationship between him and Dodik. "We have heard accusations that Dodik is pressuring opponents in the private sector. Slaviša Krunić, owner of the successful company Sektor Sekjuriti based in Republika Srpska, informed us on July 16 that Dodik's bodyguard Miloš Čubrilović and his best man Velibor Šotra are pressuring him to sell his company to their security company Alfa." Was Krunić killed for resisting handing over his business to people who are close to and in power?

What else does literature state about the elements of terrorist activity: "The choice of the victim of a terrorist target – victims of terrorism always have symbolic value." In the midst of Milorad Dodik's campaign that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an artificial creation, and that the term Bosnian was invented back in the time of Benjamin Kallay, Slaviša Krunić emphasized that he is a Bosnian. "I am a Serb, but also a Bosnian. My father was born here, my grandfather, and my child too. I live in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, and my whole family. I do not plan to leave here. I want to have a normal life in this country. What is the name of the Republic where I was born? Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was born in BiH and I am a Bosnian," Krunić told Face TV. Because of this, Banja Luka columnist and writer Dragan Bursać observes after Krunić's murder: "Being a person in Banja Luka who sincerely loves his homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is today, as it was 30 years ago, a death sentence from the same, criminal regime."

What are the other elements of terrorist activity: "To cause fear and send a message": Isn't Banja Luka in fear after the murder of a man who had personal security? How can ordinary citizens who move alone on the street end up if a man whose company for the protection of people and facilities employs 300 armed men is killed? Banja Luka journalist and editor of the independent portal Buka, Aleksandar Trifunović, wrote: "Tonight, one of the most protected and richest men in Banja Luka, Slaviša Krunić, was murdered. Who can feel safe in the city if the owner of a security company couldn't, in the middle of his own company? Terrible, terrible." BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektić wrote: "A murder signed by the authorities."

"Therefore, if terrorism is a social phenomenon, it must manifest itself in society as a social reality and as such must be recognizable, different, 'something else' from all other social phenomena, no matter how similar they may be." For example, in the context of murders in BiH that have political backing, the instigators of these terrorist attacks are never discovered, unlike murders caused by other motives or factors.

Head of the United Srpska parliamentary group and member of the security committee of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Kostadin Vasić, sharply condemned, as he said, the abuse of the murders in Laktaši for political purposes. "Minister of Security of BiH Dragan Mektić's statement that the murder of businessman Slaviša Krunić is a murder signed by the authorities is shameful. The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested the perpetrators within 15 hours," said Vasić. "They discovered them because the perpetrator was killed at the scene. They came to collect only the casings... Why didn't they discover the murders of Vukelić, Ostojić, Dragičević, Čubrilović, Imširević, Pajić, etc. Be quiet, you gang of thieves," Mektić replied.