A group of veterans in military uniforms and red berets gathered in Pionirski Park, Belgrade, to express support for those opposing the blockade of faculties. Among them were several individuals identified as former members of the “Red Berets” unit. The procession was led by Goran Radosavljević Guri, a retired police colonel, former commander of the Special Police Unit, and first commander of the Gendarmerie. His name is often associated with the Račak massacre of 1999 in Kosovo, as well as the case of the Bytyqi brothers, U.S. citizens and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Serbian Progressive Party.
The most attention-grabbing figure in the footage from the event was an older man with a cane, leading the column alongside Guri. This individual is Živojin Ivanović, known as Žika Crnogorac, who is believed by some to have been the first commander of the “Red Berets” after Captain Dragan.
Žika Crnogorac, a participant in the wars of the former Yugoslavia, retired with the rank of colonel. In 1997, he was present at a military ceremony in Kula, attended by then-President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević. His name is also mentioned in historical records related to the 1992 meeting of the Federal Defense Council, where he was identified as the commander of a special operations unit.
Throughout the 1990s, Žika Crnogorac was involved in the formation and leadership of the “Red Berets” unit, which was reportedly part of the Serbian State Security (DB). He is known to have operated in regions like Knin and Pljevlja, involved in various military actions during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. His role in these operations has been detailed in court proceedings against former heads of the State Security Service, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, who faced charges for war crimes including killings and forced displacements during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. Though Ivanović was not tried in these proceedings, his name appears in the indictment related to the “Red Berets” involvement in crimes in cities like Doboj.
After the fall of Slobodan Milošević’s regime, Žika Crnogorac is said to have moved to Canada.
Another individual identified at the event was Željko Benak, a member of the Serbian Progressive Party and owner of several companies, four of which are currently active, while the fifth is in bankruptcy. Benak’s companies face significant financial troubles, with total debts amounting to nearly three billion dinars. His controversial past includes active participation on social media, where he made statements supporting figures like Zvezdan Jovanović and Ratko Mladić, both connected to war crimes during the Yugoslav Wars.
The “Red Berets” veterans at the event also included individuals whose participation in the unit would be chronologically impossible based on their age, adding further intrigue to the gathering. Some social media users identified one such individual, Aleksa Paunović, who allegedly was photographed attacking journalists during the inauguration of President Aleksandar Vučić in 2017, though N1 could not confirm if it was the same person.
