Bratislav Dikić

Bratislav Dikić
Native name Братислав Дикић
Born (1970-05-19) 19 May 1970
Niš, Serbia, Yugoslavia
Allegiance Serbia
Years of service 1989-2015
Rank General
Commands held Žandarmerija (2009-2013)
Battles/wars Kosovo War (1998–1999)
Insurgency in the Preševo Valley (1999-2001)
Operation Sabre (2003)

Bratislav Dikić was a Serbian police general and the commander of the Serbian special police unit the Gendarmerie (Žandarmerija).

Early life

Bratislav Dikić was born in 1970 in Niš, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. He worked in the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs since 1989. He served in a police special unit combating terrorism (SAJ) where he successfully served for 10 years. Dikić holds a PhD in Crisss Management at the University of Novi Sad.[1]

Police career

Dikić spent his 20 years career in the Ministry of Interior of Serbia from which half of that he spent in the Special Anti Terrorist Unit (SAJ). During his career Dikić received a number of awards and decorations including a war cross.[2]

Commander and Deputy Police Commissioner

Dikić became commander of the specialized police force Gendarmerie of Serbia on 3 June 2009, before which he was commander of the Niš unit.[3] He was promoted to General of the Police by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić on 21 January 2011 on the occasion of the ministry's bicentennial.[4]

As commander of the Gendarmerie, Dikić was at the heart of a number of scandals. In March 2011 the Administration of the Criminal Police probed into his links to an alleged wiretapping scandal. A commission that checked the premises of the Gendarmerie was formed two days after they had already been alerted to the probe. Dikić, as well as Ivica Dačić, denied these allegations.[5][6] In late 2011 and early 2012, data leaked during a systematization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs generated a controversy as to whether Dikić was in the process of creating a Detachment for Special Actions modeled on the Special Operations Unit numbering 600 officers, and mostly made up of former members of the unit. Further leaks pointed to Dikić often being called "Little Legija" by members of the Gendarmerie. He denied such a nickname on the show "Između dve vatre" and claimed that the actual unit being formed was an improved command unit numbering 10 to 15 officers.[7][8]

On Vidovdan, 28 June 2012 the Gendarmerie presented a new oath authored by Dikić to honor the Gendarmerie's slava. It focused heavily on Kosovo, saying there was no Serbia and no Serbian people without it and was criticized by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić who said the oath should not be used seeing as it could be perceived as a threat.[9][10]

In March 2013 Administration of the Criminal Police chief Rodoljub Milović was chased by seven vehicles allegedly belonging to the Gendarmerie. The wiretapping investigation led the Sector for Internal Control to believe that the Gendarmerie was behind a money laundering and racketeering campaign headed by Dikić's brother Dragan Dikić. Dikić denied these claims and posted on his Facebook profile that he was a thorn in the side to all enemies of Serbia, saying "The thing that's bothering them is that I'm a Serb".[11][12] Vladimir Božović, the State Secretary in charge of internal control, ordered an investigation against members of the Gendarmerie and Dikić's brother regarding these claims. Dačić supported the investigation and stressed that it was not necessarily against Dikić himself, rather that the investigation was primarily against his associates.[13][14] In May 2013 allegations surfaced that members of the Gendarmerie had been illegally digging for gold near Gamzigrad under the pretext of holding practice marches.[15][16]

In June 2013 Dikić and members of the Gendarmerie were controversially featured prominently in a music video for the song "Moja zemlja" (My Land) by the band Amadeus Bend, with the slogan "God and the Gendarmerie keep Serbia safe". The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that no one had previously authorized this, and that he needed special permission from the media bureau.[17] On 27 June 2013 the Gendarmerie hosted an unauthorized public exercise as a show of force on Ada Ciganlija in front of tens of thousands of spectators. The show included a concert by Amadeus Bend and was advertised throughout Belgrade under the same slogan as the song. It was supposed to celebrate Vidovdan, and seeing as it was unauthorized both Dačić and the director of the police force Milorad Veljović refused to show up.[18]

He served until he was appointed as Deputy Police Commissioner in July 2013. Dikić was sacked from public service in December 2015 after reports of alleged involvement in organised crime.[19][20]

Political work

Upon retirement Dikić was invited by a number of war veterans to establish a non-for-profit community organization in order to raise awareness about issues related to status of war veterans in Serbia at the elections expected in 2016.[21]

References

  1. ↑ New Commander of Gendarmerie – B92 (article in Serbian) http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=06&dd=03&nav_id=364081
  2. ↑ Bratislavu Dikiću received award for flood emergency efforts - Blic (article in Serbian) http://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/bratislavu-dikicu-plaketa-za-odbranu-od-poplava/w9g8z3n
  3. ↑ http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/89737/Bratislav-Dikic-novi-komandant-Zandarmerije
  4. ↑ http://arhiva.mup.gov.rs/cms_lat/aktivnosti.nsf/210111-dikic.h
  5. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/istraga-o-tajnim-uredajima-generala-kasnila-zbog-svade/n872qzj
  6. ↑ http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2011&mm=04&dd=26&nav_category=11&nav_id=508570
  7. ↑ http://www.vesti.rs/Zabava/Jugoslav-Cosic-sa-islednikom.html
  8. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/dikic-ne-formiramo-novi-jso/m202es9
  9. ↑ http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2012&mm=06&dd=29&nav_id=81027
  10. ↑ http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2012&mm=07&dd=01&nav_id=81043
  11. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/komandant-zandarmerije-se-oglasio-na-fejsbuku/y1rmgsz
  12. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/dikicevi-zandarmi-dzipovima-jurili-generala-policije/9ffxzd9
  13. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/bozovic-naredio-istragu-protiv-komandanta-zandarmerije/gf88fqh
  14. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/hronika/bozovic-uskoro-rezultati-istrage-o-zandarmeriji/tw18hfb
  15. ↑ http://mondo.rs/a575883/Info/Drustvo/Dikic-naredio-zandarmima-da-kopaju-zlato.html
  16. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/tema-dana/bahati-zandarmi-kopali-zlato-a-tvrdili-da-vezbaju-marsiranje/4m5zdxr
  17. ↑ http://www.kurir.rs/dikic-spiskao-drzavne-pare-na-snimanje-spota-amadeus-benda-clanak-833045
  18. ↑ http://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/pokazna-vezba-zandarmerije-na-adi-izostali-zvanicnici/qfvpvcx
  19. ↑ Bratislav Dikić retired – N1 (article in Serbian) http://rs.n1info.com/a118465/Vesti/Bratislav-Dikic-ide-u-penziju.html
  20. ↑ "The Western Balkans: Russia appears to cause trouble in the Balkans". The Economist. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  21. ↑ Ratni vetrerani samostalno na izbore, Dikic nosilac liste – Blic (article in Serbian) http://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/ratni-veterani-samostalno-na-izbore-dikic-nosilac-liste/hsccz2p


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