On July 14th, 2011, Goran Hadzic started his eight year of running from The Hague Tribunal and state and secret services which have been looking for him.
According to unconfirmed claims, he has been hiding in Russia, but Belorussia and, of course, Serbia have been said to be his temporary hiding places.
The Serbian officials claim that Hadzic will soon be at The Hague, and insiders that he himself will strengthen the accusation against the then chief of The State Security Service Jovica Stanisic and his first operative Franko Simatovic, who are already on trial in The Hague.
According to available information, Stanisic was head chief to Hadzic, but there are indications that , except with the State Service, Hadzic cooperated also with the military intelligence KOS, and the Croatian secret services. The closeness to them, allegedly, enabled him to successfully hide for seven years.
Goran Hadzic disappeared in July 13th, 2004, not long after the International Criminal Court for ex-Yugoslavia indicted him for war crimes committed in Slavonia, Baranja and western Srem.
In 14 counts Hadzic is charged for crimes against humanity and the violation of laws and customs of war, individually and collectively.
In spite of doubts in his personal strength, capabilities and leader’s charisma, thanks to the patronage from Belgrade, Goran Hadzic was the formal ruler of this part of Croatia during the wars in the 90’s.
A lot about his favors says the fact that in the hierarchy he progressed to the position of the president of self-proclaimed Republic of Srpska and stayed at that spot the longest of his comrades, all from February 1992 to December 1993.
According to reports of his contemporaries, the time he spent at the head of RSK, he used, besides for his political break through, also for an enormous war profiteering.
Besides the robbery that is even in the Hague indictment, Hadzic’s name is also connected to the lumbering of the famous oak from Slavonia that was later sold as building material in Serbia and other countries.
The president of Serbia Boris Tadic recently said: “Goran Hadzic will be arrested as soon as he becomes available to the security authorities. I am certain that we will catch him before the end of term of this Government”, publicly promised Tadic after the arrest of Ratko Mladic.
District attorney for war crimes Bruno Vekaric confirmed for Novi magazin the search for Hadzicem is intensive.