Monday, May 11th 2026
The Government of Serbia finances with money from the state budget the Association of Veterans of Red Berets – an organization that gathers former members of the disbanded special unit of the State Security of Serbia.
Some of the members of this unit have participated in war crimes and have been convicted for the liquidation of political opponents.
According to an analysis of the Balkan Service of Radio Free Europe, only through the competitions of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs of Serbia, 23,000 euros have been allocated to this association in the last two years.
The Red Beret Veterans Association has received funds in all competitions from the field of veterans’ protection, carried out by the Ministry of Labor since the moment when Millica Gjurjević was appointed as its head. Stamenkovski.
Gjurgjevic Stamenkovski is the leader of the far-right party “Zavetnici” and became part of the government in Serbia in 2024, even though her party did not pass the electoral threshold in the elections of that time.
The Ministry of Labor did not answer Radio Free Europe’s questions about what exactly the allocated funds were spent on and what is the public interest in financing the Association’s projects. of Red Beret Veterans with money from the budget.
The Association of Red Beret Veterans didn’t even give an answer.
“When you take over such a unit and produce heroes from it, while its ‘path of war’ is known, one has to ask yourself what values this government promotes”, says Filip Shvarm, editor-in-chief of the Serbian weekly “Vreme” for Radio Free Europe. and author of a documentary about the Special Operations Unit.
The Special Operations Unit, better known as the Red Berets, was founded by the State Security Service of Serbia, headed by Jovica Stanisic – one of the closest associates of the then president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic.
His right-hand man was Franko Simatović.
Stanishić and Simatović were sentenced in The Hague in 2023 to 15 years in prison each for supporting and assisting in war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992.
The Special Operations Unit, under this name, also participated in the war in Kosovo during 1998-1999.
At that time, Simatović appointed Milorad Ulemekun, known as Legija, its commander.
The unit was disbanded in 2003 during the police operation “Sablja”.
Some of its members have been convicted of political murder – including the murder of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, on March 12, 2003; the assassination of the former president of the Presidency of Serbia, Ivan Stambollić, in August 2000; the killing of four officials of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) in October 1999; as well as the attempted murder of SPO leader Vuk Drashkovic in Budva in 2000.
According to the data of the Agency for Business Registers in Serbia, the Red Beret Veterans Association was founded in 2019.
Public data on its activity show that it had its first income in 2021, when the total was reported 4,800 euros.
The association realized the largest amount of income in 2024, in the amount of 29,000 euros.
The data on the amount of donations collected for the year 2025 have not been published yet.
From the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, in the years 2024 and 2025, the association has benefited from 11,500 euros per year – a total of 23,000 euros – according to the ministry’s reports.
Public records do not show from which other sources its income originates.
The Minister of Labor, Millica Gjurgjevic Stamenkovski, approved funding for the Association of Red Beret Veterans, in order to organize the Comprehensive Tour of Veterans, as well as for the realization of the projects “The Position of Warriors in Today’s Society” and “The Oath of Freedom”.
The Comprehensive Veterans Tournament is a sports competition for veterans, which is organized by the Association once a year and, in addition to donations from the Ministry of Labor, has also been previously supported by the Government of Vojvodina.
Radio Free Europe contacted the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina regarding the allocation of funds for this association, but, until the publication of this article, no response was received.
Regarding the projects of the Association of Red Berets Veterans – “The Oath of Freedom” and “The Position of Warriors in Today’s Society” – which were financed with 10,000 euros from the budget, there is no public information available on what exactly they include, if they were realized and when they were implemented.
Reports on the realization of these projects are not available. were also published in the documentation of the respective Ministry’s competitions.
At the end of 2022, the association erected a memorial for the former member of the Red Berets, Nikola Simic, in the Busije district of Belgrade.
The legal representative of the Red Berets Association is Zhivorad Zhika Ivanovic, a former member of the Special Operations Unit, who, as can be seen in a video from May 1997, reporting to the then president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, at a ceremony marking the establishment of the Unit in Kulla, northwest Serbia.
Although his name was mentioned in the trial of the former heads of the Serbian State Security Service, Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, no legal proceedings were taken against Ivanovic even before international courts nor within Serbia.
Ivanović was last in the public spotlight in March 2025, when he led veterans of the Special Operations Unit to a camp in Belgrade’s Pioneer Park.
There, for more than a year, supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party gathered – among them several people with criminal records.
“The fact is particularly perverse. that they appeared there a few days before the anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic”, says Shvarm.
In addition to Žika Ivanovic, the veterans in the Pioneer Park in Belgrade were also led by the former commander of the Serbian Gendarmerie, Goran Radosavlević Guri, whom the United States links to the murder of the Bytyqi brothers, after the war in Kosovo, in 1999.
Party in power in Serbia at the time declared that he does not see any problem with their presence in support rallies for President Aleksandar Vučić and the current Government.
Veterans of the Special Operations Unit have also become regular participants in demonstrations organized by the ruling party – from marking the anniversaries of historical events to ceremonies on the occasion of the days of Belgrade’s municipalities.
In December 2025, they were guests of the Ministry of Labor and, as they announced on their Instagram profile, participated in a working meeting on the topic of “Further improvement of the position of veterans”.
The minister Gjurgjevic Stamenkovski was also photographed with them.
Gjurgjevic Stamenkovski, as the head of the far-right party “Zavetnici”, was in the opposition until 2024.
With the formation of the new Government of Serbia in In May 2024, she took the post of Minister for Family Care, while in the current Government she is in charge of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs.
In February 2024, the then Minister of Defense of Serbia and the chairman of the Serbian Progressive Party, Miloš Vučević, visited the stand of the Association of Red Berets Veterans at a fair in Novi. Sad.
The association, at that time, took part in the manifestation “Fair of the Homeland”, organized by the Fund for displaced persons and for cooperation with Serbs in the region, with the support of the Government of Vojvodina.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its foundation, some veterans of the Special Operations Unit organized a memorial ceremony on May 4, where, on behalf of the former members of this unit, Vasillije Mijović expressed his gratitude to the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, saying that with his coming to power, “glory has returned to unity”. Madh'”.
“This is a message directed towards the strongest nationalist part of the electorate of the Serbian Progressive Party”, Shvarm estimates.
Photos published on the Instagram profile of the Association of Red Beret Veterans, show that Mijović has been part of the delegation of this association in several events since the beginning of this year.
Mijović is a former official of the secret police of Montenegro. As a member of the paramilitary formations that operated in Bosnia and Croatia, he participated in the wars in the space of the former Yugoslavia.
His role in the conflicts of the 90s was also discussed at the Hague Tribunal, where witnesses described him as a participant in inhumane actions against civilians, as well as in criminal activities.
Mijović was not tried for his role in the war even before the courts. domestic and not before international ones.
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Source: prizrenpost
Etiketa: Brief
