Jovan Divjak

Infobox Military Person
name=Jovan Divjak
lived=March 11 1937
placeofbirth=Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
placeofdeath=


caption=
allegiance=ARBiH
serviceyears=1992 – 1997
rank=Brigadier General
commands=Commander in Sarajevo
unit=
battles=Bosnian War
Siege of Sarajevo
awards=
laterwork=

Jovan Divjak (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Дивјак) (Born March 11, 1937 in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was a general in the Bosnian army during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. He was the highest ranking ethnic Serb in the army and one of its most educated and experienced officers.

Early life and military career

He was born in Belgrade to Serbian parents. His father was stationed in the Yugoslav army in Serbia. Originally his family comes from Bosnia and he currently resides in Sarajevo. He moved to Sarajevo in 1966.

From 1956 to 1959 he attended the Military Academy in Belgrade. In 1964 and 1965 the l'Ecole d'Etat Major in Paris. From 1969 to 1971 the Cadets Academy in Belgrade and from 1979 to 1981 the War and Defense Planning School in Belgrade.

After several posts in the JNA, Divjak was Territorial Defense Chief in command of the sector Mostar from 1984 to 1989 and same for the sector Sarajevo from 1989 to 1991. In 1991/2 Jovan Divjak was court-marshalled by the JNA for issuing 120 pieces of light armour and 20,000 bullets to the Kiseljak Territorial Defense, and sentenced to 9 months imprisonment.

On April 8, 1992, Divjak became Deputy Commander of BiH's Territorial Defense forces and a month later oversaw the defence of Sarajevo from a major JNA attack. Between 1993-1997 General Divjak was Deputy Commander of the BiH Army's Headquarters, charged with the cooperation with civilian institutions and organisations (administration, economy, health, education).

His life today

Today, Divjak is the executive director of the association OGBH, "OBRAZOVANJE GRADI BIH" (Education builds Bosnia and Herzegovina). He was one of the founder of OGBH in 1994. The association’s goals are to help children who’s family were victims from the war, by providing them money, for instance; but also to help the increase of education in Bosnia, even in the poorest parts of the country, by providing them financial and material support. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Steering Board of the NGO Reference Group, Sarajevo.

Since 1998, he has been a member of the Association of Independent Intellectuals "Krug 99", Sarajevo

Before 1998, he has been an active member of others associations, such as sports associations, or Faculty of physical education in Sarajevo, and has been a very active member of various NGO in Bosnia. He tries to help his country as much as he can, and hopes that the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is clearer than its past.

He has also written two books:
* In French "Sarajevo, mon amour". Entretiens avec Florence La Bruyere; published by Buchet-Chastel in 2004 with a foreword by Bernard-Henri Lévy.
* In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, "Ratovi u Hrvatskoj i Bosni i Hercegovini 1991-1995", an offprint on the aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Dani" and Jesenski and Tura in 1999.

He appeared in the BBC documentary "The Death of Yugoslavia" in 1995.

In 2006 he has been nominated for the title of Universal Peace Ambassador by the The Worldwide Council of the Universal Ambassador Peace Circle in Geneva, and awarded.

He is a self-declared Bosnian [SENSE Tribunal: ICTY - JOVAN DIVJAK: I AM A BOSNIAN [http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=10225&kat=3] ]

External links

* [http://www.ogbh.com.ba/ The OGBH association]
* [http://www.theworldwithoutus.com/ "The World Without US - A Documentary"] -- General Divjak is interviewed regarding the US involvement in Bosnia. Film to be released, January 2, 2008

References