Article 5HC86 General Jovan Divjak

General Jovan Divjak

by
Marko Attila Hoare
from on (#5HC86)
Serbian commander in the Bosnian army during the war of 1992-95 who rejected sectarian nationalism

Though an ethnic Serb, the military commander Jovan Divjak, who has died aged 84, was a popular figure in his homeland of Bosnia-Herzegovina - particularly among the Bosniak (Muslim) half of the population. When war came in 1992, he opted to fight for a civic, multi-ethnic Bosnia. Consequently for many Bosnians he personified the patriotic rejection of sectarian nationalism, a rejection on which they prided themselves.

When Bosnia's independence was internationally recognised in April 1992, the country was being engulfed by war, and its leadership needed to establish an army. The leadership of this fledging force reflected the country's ethnic composition: its commander was a Muslim, its chief of staff a Croat and its deputy commander a Serb - Divjak.

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