Sonja Radman Livaja, a volunteer in the Croatian War of Independence, has provided the State Attorney's Office with rare photographs of a column of Serbian civilians run over near Žirovac, aiming to remove the stigma from Croatian soldiers.
Sonja Radman Livaja, an officer in the Croatian Army and a volunteer in the Croatian War of Independence, has provided the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) with her photographs taken during the military-police operation Storm. These rare images depict a column of Serbian civilians run over near Žirovac and are now the subject of an official investigation.
Sonja Radman Livaja, who spent 1,740 days in the combat sector, brought not only her weapon but also a camera to Operation Storm. It is these photographs-showing overturned cars, pushed-aside trailers and tractors, and scattered personal belongings-that have intrigued the Croatian public and prompted state authorities to react.
After the portal Dnevno.hr published her photographs, state authorities contacted Radman Livaja and proposed cooperation. She agreed and handed over all the material, expressing satisfaction with the seriousness of their approach.
"I provided them with all the photographs, and I truly feel they are ready to come clean about the story of the column of unfortunate Serbian civilians. I emphasize that, as a witness of that time and the author of these photographs, I was carefully listened to and taken very seriously. I am satisfied and pleasantly surprised by the readiness of certain authorities to finally remove the stigma from Croats as people who ran over Serbian civilians," Radman Livaja stated for Dnevno.hr.
Her testimony directly contradicts the claims of some individuals that the civilians were victims of Croatian soldiers. Radman Livaja asserts that the suffering of the column was the work of the departing Serbian army, which, in a panicked retreat, ran over everything in its path with tanks.
Recalling the event, Radman Livaja described dramatic scenes and her determination to protect unarmed people in an interview with Dnevno.hr.
"On one side, victory; on the other, suffering civilians who are walking-and have no idea where they are going. They were frantic, with bags in their hands, completely lost and terrified... Utter horror. Victory was important to us, but equally important was humanity and carrying out the operation without any stain. It was chaos in which it was hard to control every individual, so I immediately stood in front of the column and told our soldiers, 'Anyone who touches a civilian, I will have to kill.' I also said that if anyone even thought of it, they would have to kill me first. And I was very serious. It was known that we came to carry out a military mission and liberate occupied areas, not to take it out on the elderly, children, and women. And I succeeded in that. In that area, not a single civilian was harmed by our hand," she recounted.
This brave officer, who was the first to bring the Croatian flag into liberated Petrinja, is also known for other merits. She participated in the defense of Nuštar, and during the mining of the Peruća Dam, she financed weapons for defense from her own pocket. Her testimony about the events near Žirovac could now be crucial in finally resolving this controversial episode of the Croatian War of Independence.
