National heroes, especially those who have been baptized by war, will be remembered by countless people even if they die on the battlefield. If they are living national heroes, they will be hailed as moving "monuments" . But why did the Bosnian Croat national hero not receive the treatment he deserved when he was alive, but ended up with an unhappy ending?
In the year after the end of World War II, a baby boy was born in a gathering place of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If the war had not happened, this baby boy would most likely have been an ordinary member of the Croat people. , maybe he will continue to engage in the business activities he insists on when he becomes an adult, or he may follow his own hobbies and become a famous director in the industry. History Without what-ifs, war would inevitably sweep through this gathering place of the Croats.
After the outbreak of the Yugoslav Civil War, Praljak was already middle-aged, but he still joined the Croatian army like other passionate young people because he had some influence. Gram was assigned to run a unit that was not fully equipped to fight.
Praljak, who became a monk halfway, obviously did not receive a systematic military education, but he gave everyone a big surprise. Praljak used a "motley army" to repulse the invading enemies and successfully protected Croatia from being invaded. It is through such an indelible record that Praljak became a national hero well known to the locals.
Croatia also gained recognition from the international community through its own efforts. After the Sarajevo Agreement, it finally ushered in independence. However, Praljak did not stop, but during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he arrived at the gathering place of Bosnian Croats to provide support.
What Praljak did not expect was that such support operations not only caused him to lose the aura of a national hero, but also continued to be saddled with "war criminals" and "anti-humanity" after 2000. "The infamy. What changed Praljak's life was an indictment from the International Court of Justice.
Praljak had been out of the military for nearly 10 years when he was charged by the International Court of Justice. After leaving the army, Praljak returned to his old business and started a business.
After being accused and wanted, the calm Praljak did not choose to escape, but chose to surrender and confront the court. He did not recognize the international court's approach of treating him as a "war criminal." But Praljak did not expect that the International Court of Justice would not listen to his rebuttal and just blindly pinned the charges on himself.
After nearly seven years of trial, despite Praljak’s constant protests, the International Court of Justice found him guilty and must serve 20 years in prison. A reluctant Praljak did not want to be burdened with such infamy and filed an appeal four years later.
However, in the end, the verdict was not overturned. Even though some of the charges of the International Court of Justice were overturned in court, the International Court of Justice still insisted on the original sentence of Praljak and had no intention of retrialing or reducing the sentence. Possibly having anticipated this at the time, Praljak swallowed the poison he had prepared in front of all the judges and firmly denied the charges in the indictment.
What exactly is written in this indictment? Let this old man, who has been baptized by war and has a strong bones, die calmly, and prove his innocence. The indictment stated that Praljak was deeply involved in the massacre of Muslims, and also labeled the war he participated in as an invasion. He was accused of ordering troops to burn, kill, and loot, which violated nine articles of the law of war and carried a heavy burden. 8 crimes against humanity. Obviously, Praljak would rather die than bear such infamy.