Državna Tajna (English: ''State Secret'') is a book by Semir Halilović, son of Bosnian general

Sefer Halilović Sefer Halilović (born 6 January 1952 in Prijepolje) is a Bosnian former general and commanding officer of the Bosnian Army during the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2001, he was indicted for war crimes by the International Crimina ...

, published in 2005. The book has the tagline "STROGO POVJERLJIVO" (''STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL''.) He published a follow-up book, ''Državna Tajna 2: Vojska poražene ideje'' (English: ''State Secret 2: The Army of a Beaten Idea'') in 2007.

About the book

The book described some of the events which shaped wartime Bosnia. It focuses primarily on wartime

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in 1993 and what happened within the Bosnian government and

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. The book talks specifically about Operations "

Trebević Trebević ( sr-cyrl, Требевић) is a mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the territories of Republika Srpska, Sarajevo and Istočno Sarajevo, bordering Jahorina mountain. Trebević is tall, making it the second shortest ...

" I, II and III. Semir was in the Bosnian war in 1992–93 and he details the battle for the mountain

Igman Igman ( sr-cyrl, Игман, ) is a mountain plateau in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geologically, Igman is part of the Dinaric Alps and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock, mostly Limestone. It is located southwest of S ...

, the killing of Caco, the capture of Ćelo, the Fall of Srebrenica and

Žepa Žepa ( sr-cyr, Жепа) is a village located in the municipality of Rogatica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, it has a population of 133 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Rogatica itself on the banks of short river with a sa ...

, and the capture of

Naser Orić Naser Orić (born 3 March 1967) is a Bosnian former officer who commanded Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) forces in the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, during the Bosnian War. In 200 ...

Državna Tajna CD

The book comes with a CD on which there are a number of audio conversations taped, as mentioned above, and two videos. It also include all the Bosnian government state secret documents which is what the book is based on. There are also original war pictures from Semir's collection, and other pictures as well.

Death threat

In April 2006, Semir Halilović was accosted and threatened with death by one of the people whom the book cast in a bad light,

Ramiz Delalić Ramiz Delalić (15 February 196327 June 2007), widely known by his nickname Ćelo (The word means "baldy" - a common nickname in Sarajevo for criminals, because their heads were shaven during their time spent in prison), was a Bosnian organized ...

, who was also a prosecution witness during his father's trial.

Cover

The persons on the cover of the book from top to bottom, left to right are: *

Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, Islamic philosophy, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, president of the Presidency ...

(President of Bosnia and Commander-in-chief of the

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina i ...

) *

Mušan Topalović Mušan "Caco" Topalović (20 April 1957 – 26 October 1993) was a Bosnian gangster and warlord from Sarajevo, commander of the 10th Mountain Brigade in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Caco was also a smuggler, thief and gangst ...

"Caco" (Commander of the 10th Mountain Brigade of the 1st Corps) *

Rasim Delić Rasim Delić (4 February 1949 – 16 April 2010) was the Chief of staff (military), chief of staff of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Army. He was a career officer in the Yugoslav National Army, Yugoslav Army but left i ...

(Commander of the

and the Main Staff/General Staff 1993–95) *

Ismet Bajramović Ismet "Ćelo" Bajramović (26 April 1966 – 17 December 2008) was a Bosnian soldier and reputed organized crime figure from Sarajevo. During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and specifically the siege of Sarajevo, Bajramović was one of the gan ...

"Ćelo"(Commander of

Bosnian Military Police Bosnian may refer to: *Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants *Anything related to Bosnia (region) or its inhabitants * Bosniaks, an ethnic group mainly inhabiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of three constitu ...

detachment in

) *

Ejup Ganić Ejup Ganić (born 3 March 1946) is a Bosnian engineer, politician and academic who served as President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1997 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2001. A former member of the Party of Democratic Action, he also ...

(vice-president and member of the war

Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina The presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Predsjedništvo Bosne i Hercegovine, separator=" / ", Предсједништво Босне и Херцеговине) is a three-member body which collectively serves as head of state of ...

) * Dr.

Haris Silajdžić Haris Silajdžić (; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnian politician and academic who served as the 5th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2006 to 2010. He was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegov ...

(

Foreign Minister of Bosnia Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

1990–93,

Prime Minister of Bosnia The chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnian/ Croatian: ''Predsjedavajući Vijeća ministara Bosne i Hercegovine'', ) is the head of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The chairman of the Council of Minist ...

1993-1996 and president of the government) *

(Commander of the

8th Operational Group Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

in Srebrenica later renamed

28th Mountain Division Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

of the 2nd Corps) *

(Commander of the

and Chief of Staff of the Main Staff 1992–93; Deputy commander and still Chief of Staff of the Main Staff until November 1993) * Jusuf Prazina "Juka" (Commander of Special Brigade ARBiH, Commander of the Special Forces of Bosnia, known as " Juka's Wolves" 1992–1993, commander of Special Forces of HOS 1993 until he escaped to Croatia) *

Bakir Alispahić Bakir (, meaning "coming early") or Bakır (Turkish, meaning "copper") may refer to: Given name * Bakir Beširević (born 1965), Bosnian footballer * Bakır Çağlar (1941–2011), Turkish jurist and professor of constitutional law * Bakir Izetb ...

(Minister of Bosnian Ministry of the Interior and director of Bosnian AID (secret police)) *

"Ćelo" (Deputy Commander of the 9th Motorized Brigade of the 1st Corps)

External links

Semir Halilovic's Website

Bosnian "60 minutes" with Semir Halilovic and his book (part 1)

Bosnian "60 minutes" with Semir Halilovic and his book (part 2) Non-fiction books about war Bosnian language 2005 non-fiction books Cultural depictions of Bosnia and Herzegovina people Non-fiction books about the Bosnian War {{mil-hist-book-stub