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Blagoje Jovović

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Blagoje Jovović
File:BlagojeJovovic.jpg
Blagoje Jovović
Born(1922-01-01)January 1, 1922
DiedJune 2, 1999(1999-06-02) (aged 77)
NationalitySerbian
Occupation(s)hotel owner, Serbian WW2 soldier, Nazi Ustaše hunter
Known formortally wounding Ante Pavelic

Blagoje Jovović (Template:Lang-sr, 1922 – June 2, 1999) a participant of the antifascist war in Yugoslavia in both partisan and chetniks' movements, though he spent most of the war with Bjepavlić's Chetnik brigade. Jovović is notorious for attempting the assassination of World War II criminal and Croatian Nazi leader, Ante Pavelić, on April 10, 1957.

Biography

Jovović was born in Kosić, in the vicinity of Danilovgrad.

In World War II he fought for the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, and he was a member of the Bjepavlić Chetnik brigade. At the time when the World War II started, Jovović was serving in Strumica, near the Yugoslav border with Greece. For his part in the April War he was honoured a medal. When the war was over, he came back to his birthplace, Kosić in Bjelopavlici.

As of July 1941 he took place in antifascist war against Italy. With Kosić’s partisan unit he participated in the battle of Pljevlja, and later he became the commander of that unit.

He denied to perform the order of his commander Ivan Milutinović to attack Baja Stanišić, who was planning to attack after he relised that communists were preparing an attack against their political opponents, because “he didn’t want to take part in the brothers’ killing war”.

From later on, he started to fight for the Chetnik movement,[1] with Baja Stanisic, who was his superior in military academy for noncommissioned.

As of September 1944, he was a member of commission that was sent in Italy to discuss terms with the English.

Jovović spent his time in Italy in many immigration camps. Some time he served in the intelligence service. On that occasion, he met Randolph Churchill.[2] For the time he served in the intelligence agency he met several Jewish people, who informed him that the Catholic Church was hiding Ante Pavelic in Italy under a false name. At that time, Jovović conceived the idea of finding and executing Pavelić.

Jovović was the founder and a philanthropist of church community “Saint Sava”, one of the founders of the Organisation of Fighters “Draža Mihailović” and a member of the Board of the “Njegos” association.

With the help of some former Italian general, some basic information about Ante Pavelić has been revealed. (It was known that he lived in Argentina.) Jakov Jovović has planned the assassination, and Blagoje Jovović voluntarily agreed to execute it. Afterwards they were joined by Milo Krivokapić. A decision has been made so the assassination takes its place on April 9, 1957, on the creation of the Independent State of Croatia’s anniversary. At that day Pavelić was accompanied with his wife and daughter, so it was decided that the assassination be delayed for the day after.[2] On April 10 at 9 o’clock PM, Pavelić, after he suspected that his first companion had been following him, he turned back and fired several shots towards Jovović. Jovović then started running after Pavelic and in his direction he fired five shots, out of which two hit him. He then staggered, bent and he was begging for mercy.[2]

The assassination is illustrated in the following excerpt from the book “Two shots for Pavelić” („Два метка за Павелића”):[2]

I go after him. Walking fast. Nearly running. I come seven-eight meters far-off. Pavelic sensed me, saw… He started shouting: “I fuck your Serbian-Jewish communist mother!” I hear the shot, dunno where it comes from. I’m not stopping. Running straight towards Pavelić. I come two-three meters far-off and then shot. Once. For the second time! I shot him in the back, as he was running away. Two times I shot him. He falls down. As he was carrying the purse, it falls aside in some garden. He fell down, doesn’t move, I can’t believe he’s pretending to be dead, if two bullets hit him. At that moment, I think – perhaps it’s better to have him alive, because he’s going to a hospital, people will find out who he really is, and then he's going to face the trail. Do I beat him? And then I looked at that purse. His documents? It’d be nice to get them… But, if the money is in the purse, and then they catch me and say I’m a thief? And that I killed him for the money! I leave both Pavelić and the purse. Somebody is shouting: “They run, they run!” And shots are fired in my direction. I turn back and shoot towards that place. I shoot three times. I start running around the buildings in a semicircular street. People come out. They ask – what happened? Such breathless I respond: “Look what that fools are doing there, drunk, and they shoot at everything!” “That guy is either drunk or crazy”, I yell so that the people on the windows could hear me. A gun was in my pocket. I left one bullet, just in case – picturesquely illustrates Jovović.

— Tihomir Tiho Burzanovic, Book About Blagoje Jovovic: Two Shots for Pavelic („Књига о Благоју Јововићу Два метка за Павелића”), Sveti Sava

Pavelić never recovered from the injuries, as he suffered from diabetes. From the consequences of the attack, he died on December 28, 1959.

He visited Yugoslavia for the first time after 55 years in 1999 when he visited Ostrog, on which occasion he met Metropolitan Amfilohije. He openly confessed to him that he was the person who shot Ante Pavelić.[2]

Jovović died on June 2, 1999 in Rosario, just few months after the visit to his birthplace.

References


Notes

  1. ^ Zlatar, Pero (March 9, 2009). "The Secret of the Assassination of Ante Pavelic". dalje.com. dalje.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e [1] Tihomir Tiho Burzanović, Knjiga o Blagoju Jovoviću - Dva metka za Pavelića.

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