Milos Vojnovic, 50; Judge, Leader of Rebel Ethnic Serbs in Croatia
Milos Vojnovic, 50, a leader of ethnic Serbs in Croatia, died Friday at his home in Vukovar, Croatia, of an apparent heart attack.
Vojnovic, a Serb, had worked as a judge in the Serb para-state that rebels proclaimed in the Vukovar area and other Croatian territories seized in the 1991 war. The fighting erupted when Serbs rebelled against the area’s declaration of independence from the former Serb-dominated Yugoslavia.
Croatia, which reestablished its rule in the area in 1995, indicted Vojnovic for participating in the armed rebellion but dropped the charges a year later under an amnesty law.
Since 1995, Vojnovic had worked to restore ties between local Serbs and Croats.
Two weeks ago, he submitted an application for an appointment as judge in Vukovar’s district court.
Many Croats still view those who sided with rebels as enemies, and war veterans vigorously opposed Vojnovic’s appointment.
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