Detaljna rekonstrukcija večeri u kojoj je cijeli svijet doznao za Hrvatsku

Zvonko Bušić vjerovao je kako dobre stvari trebaju biti dostupne svima. Ono za što je živio, radio i vjerovao, za što je podnio žrtvu, objavljeno je u knjizi “Zdravo oko”, koja je dostupna na Amazonu. pod nazivom “All Visible Things”. Taj djelić hrvatske povijesti odsad ćete moći čitati svake druge srijede na hrvatskom i engleskom jeziku, na portalu dijaspora.hr. Poglavlje po poglavlje, kap krvi po kap krvi i život dan po dan u 33 dijela – samo s jednim ciljem! Trajat će!

OTMICA

Nakon što je odluka donesena, odmah sam se bacio na pripreme. Počeo sam proučavati potrebnu literaturu, tražiti pogodne suborce, a planirao sam i susret s Brunom radi Proglasa koji sam namjeravao tiskati u novinama i bacati iz zrakoplova.

Glavni priručnik za sastavljanje bombe bila mi je tada popularna Anarhistička kuharica. Kasnije na suđenju sudac je optužio Julie da je izrezala stranice iz te knjige u knjižnici, što je nju silno uzrujalo i naljutilo. Potječe iz obitelji koja iznimno poštuje knjige i izrezivanje listova iz neke knjige za nju je predstavljalo nešto nedopustivo, pravo oskvrnuće. Stoga je tvrdoglavo dokazivala da je samo fotokopirala dijelove knjige, a ne izrezivala, premda to nije imalo nikakvu procesnu važnost.

Proučavao sam zrakoplove. Tip zrakoplova, držao sam, također mora biti adekvatan za realizaciju onoga što sam namjeravao. Izbor je pao na Boeing 727. Nisu pri tome presudne bile one karakteristike koje se kod zrakoplova obično gledaju – veličina, brzina, broj i snaga motora. Presudna je bila činjenica da je taj tip zrakoplova imao dupla vrata, tako da su se iz unutrašnjosti zrakoplova mogla otvoriti prva vrata, a nakon što bi se ona zatvorila mogla su se otvoriti druga, a sve to ne bi proizvelo onaj poznati tlačni fenomen koji iz otvorenoga zrakoplova sve isisava van.

Tu karakteristiku Boeinga 727 iskoristio je poznati američki pljačkaš i ucjenjivač D. B. Cooper. On je nakon što je dobio novce i pustio putnike, naredio posadi da uzleti i čeka njegove daljnje upute. Također, naredio im je da ne smiju bez njegove dozvole izlaziti iz kabine jer će ubiti prvoga tko pomoli nos. Nakon što dulje vrijeme nisu dobili upute kamo da lete, jedna je stjuardesa riskirala i ušla u prostor za putnike. Međutim u zrakoplovu nije bilo nikoga, premda su vrata i prozori bili čvrsto zatvoreni! Ispostavilo se da je Cooper iskoristio prednost duplih vratiju. Izašao je u prostor između dvojih vrata, potom zatvorio prva, otvorio druga i s padobranom iskočio iz zrakoplova. Dakako, i s novcem! Nikada ga nisu uhvatili. Mene novci nisu zanimali, ali dupla vrata činila su mi se idealnima za bacanje letaka. Zato sam odabrao Boeing 727.

Imao sam sreće upoznati jednu od stjuardesa koja je bila na letu kada je Cooper izveo svoju akciju. Ona mi je detaljno ispričala kako se odvijala cijela akcija i ne sluteći što je uzrok moga interesa za Cooperov zločin i Boeing 727. Prvi udarac mome planu dogodio se onoga trenutka kada sam od pilota, nakon što sam već preuzeo kontrolu nad zrakoplovom, doznao da su poslije Cooperova razbojništva na tom tipu zrakoplova preuredili vrata. S njih se više nisu mogli bacati letci! Štoviše, zbog opasnost da ih usišu elise motora nisu se mogli bacati ni na bilo koji drugi način. Tako se u Montrealu morao podignuti još jedan zrakoplov u zrak. I krenuti prema Europi.

Za akciju kakvu sam planirao bila je potrebna i određena svota novca. To sam riješio relativno lako, prijatelj mi je dao deset tisuća dolara, a da nisam morao iznositi detalje same akcije. Imao je u mene povjerenja, a ja sam smatrao da čak i sudionicima same akcije treba u određenoj mjeri dozirati informacije. Bilo je dovoljno da budu upoznati s osnovnim planom, dok su detalji bili poznati samo meni. Najviše je znala Julie, no ni ona nije znala da postoji prava bomba u pretincu njujorške podzemne željeznice. Frane Pešut mi je rekao da je on za Hrvatsku spreman na sve i ne pitajući detalje. Vjerovao mi je i nije se bojao posljedica. Slobodan Vlašić bio je detaljnije upoznat s akcijom, no ni on nije znao da eksploziv nije pravi. On je među nama bio najbolji stručnjak za sastavljanje eksplozivnih naprava, stoga sam njemu dao zadatak da u toaletu zrakoplova sastavi dijelove navodne eksplozivne naprave, što je on i učinio vjerujući da se radi o pravom eksplozivu.

Frani je pak prst poplavio od tridesetdvosatnog držanja prekidača. Zašto im nisam sve rekao? Prvo, znao sam da nakon akcije idemo u zatvor s obzirom da ćemo se predati nakon što u novinama tiskamo svoj proglas i bacimo letke iznad određenih gradova. Ta predaja je, zapravo, trebala biti jedan od ključnih dijelova akcije. Nakon što bismo se predali i nakon što bi putnici svjedočili o humanom postupanju prema njima, svi bi u svijetu bili upoznati s diktaturom u Hrvatskoj, a nitko ne bi mogao reći da smo se mi, borci za njezinu slobodu, ponijeli kao okorjeli teroristi premda smo pribjegli drastičnoj mjeri otmice zrakoplova.

Nakon predaje, držao sam, moji će se suborci lakše braniti i dobit će manju kaznu ako budu manje upućeni u moj naum. Drugo, cijelu sam situaciju želio imati pod kontrolom. Bojao sam se da bi, ako bih u zrakoplov unio pravi eksploziv, u nekoj nepredviđenoj situaciji moglo doći do nesreće i nevinih žrtava. To nisam mogao dopustiti! S druge strane, ako bi znali da eksploziv nije pravi, opet bi nešto moglo poći po zlu. Netko bi od nas mogao to odati svojim ponašanjem, uspaničiti se ili nešto slično. Treće, čemu kriti, u to sam vrijeme bio prilično paranoičan, kao i većina političkih emigranata. Udba nas je progonila, špijunirala, ubijala, infiltrirala se u naše redove. U svakom slučaju, tajna koju nikome nisi rekao ostajala je samo tvoja, ti si bio njezin gospodar, u protivnom, ona je mogla zagospodariti tobom.

Pripreme su se odvijale po planu. Na proljeće smo Julie i ja otputovali u Europu da se vidimo s Brunom. On je preuzeo pisanje Poziva na dostojanstvo i slobodu. Julie se nadala da će me Bruno, kao stariji i zreliji, možda odgovoriti od akcije. Naravno, takvo što nije se dogodilo. Veći dio vremena proveli smo na Bodenskom jezeru. Julie je čak skoknula do Hercegovine. Bio je to određeni rizik, ali ona si ga je kao Amerikanka mogla priuštiti. Tog lipnja 1976. posljednji sam put vidio Brunu. Ubili su ga dvije godine kasnije kada sam ja već bio na doživotnoj robiji.

Julie je proglas otipkala na pisaćem stroju Marijana Gabelice. Znao sam da će policija to istraživati pa se nisam trudio sakriti tu činjenicu. Istina je i Gabelici bila najbolja zaštita. Prije polaska u akciju stali smo kod njega i vratili mu pisaći stroj. Kada me policija ispitivala, rekao sam im na čijem je stroju pisan Poziv na dostojanstvo i slobodu. Gabelica uistinu nije imao pojma zašto mi stroj treba. A budući da nije ni znao, nisu ga ni za što mogli optužiti.

Lonce smo kupili u trgovini, a na aerodromu smo ih prikazali kao poklone. Rekli smo da putujemo prijateljima na vjenčanje. Glinu detektori metala nisu mogli otkriti, a da su je kojim slučajem otkrili pretresajući prtljagu, svejedno ništa ne bi mogli posumnjati. Možda bi se nekome moglo učiniti bizarnim to što sa sobom nosimo glinu, no nitko to nije mogao protumačiti kao nešto opasno. Kako, uza sve mjere opreza, nisam bio siguran da oni koji me prate ništa ne slute, dan i noć prije akcije proveo sam u obilasku lokala, nastojeći da me vide s čašom u ruci, a na počinak sam otišao tek pred jutro. Tako sam bio siguran da – i u slučaju da me prate – nitko normalan neće pomisliti da bih nakon „burne“ noći mogao krenuti u tako opasan pothvat kao što je otmica zrakoplova.

Cijela akcija zasnivala se zapravo na fino nijansiranoj psihološkoj igri. Više od trideset sati apsolutno smo gospodarili situacijom u zrakoplovu, držali u šahu nekoliko vlada, bacali letke, diktirali članke najvećim tiskovinama, preletjeli dva kontinenta – a od naoružanja nitko od nas nije imao ni džepni nožić. I da nije bilo tog fatalnog slučaja s B. Murrayem, bila bi to najelegantnija, najčistija i najuspješnija otmica u povijesti zrakoplovstva. Ovako, ostala je gorčina i osjećaj grižnje savjesti koji će me pratiti do kraja života.

Često su me i dobronamjerni poznanici pitali zašto sam ostavio bombu u pretincu u podzemnoj željeznici. Mnogima se to činio potpuno besmislen i nepotreban dodatak dobro smišljenoj akciji. Međutim, nije tako. Za moj plan bomba u postaji bila je podjednako važna kao i glina u loncima. Ona je trebala dati vjerodostojnost mojim tvrdnjama u pregovoru s američkim vlastima, agentima i policijom. Lonci koje smo nosili sa sobom bili su identični loncu ostavljenom u podzemnoj, samo što je u njima bila glina, a u njemu pravi eksploziv. Bez te bombe netko je mogao posumnjati da blefiramo. Osim toga nakana mi je bila da se u početku predstavimo kao teroristi s kojima se nije uputno šaliti jer smo samo tako mogli dobiti sve što smo zahtijevali. Bomba je i u tom smislu bila nužan dio ukupnoga plana.

Ipak, gorka je spoznaja da je netko ni kriv ni dužan stradao kao kolateralna žrtva tvoje akcije za neku ideju. O kojoj stradali, ruku na srce, nije imao blagoga pojma niti ga je zanimala. Pitanje slučajnih, dakle nevinih žrtava uvijek se postavlja kada čovjek poduzima neku akciju koja sadrži elemente nasilja. Upravo o tom aspektu cijelog poduhvata razmišljao sam možda i više nego o drugim aspektima planirane akcije. Zato sam, uostalom, i otimao zrakoplov bez ikakva oružja. Međutim, zlo se dogodilo tamo gdje sam ga najmanje očekivao, gdje nije bilo, barem mi se tako činilo, ni teoretske šanse da stvari pođu po zlu. Već sam pisao o tome kako sam gotovo siguran da u pogibiji policajca Murraya imaju umiješane prste neke službe.

Otmicom su bili zatečeni i Amerikanci i Udba, ipak teško je dokazati je li na toj relaciji došlo do nekog dogovora o kompromitiranju akcije. Uvjeren sam da jest. Ne govorim to stoga da bih skinuo krivnju sa sebe. Krivnja je u prvome redu moralna kategorija. Pravni, zakonski aspekt krivnje otplatio sam dugogodišnjim zatvorom, odležao sam više od brojnih okorjelih ubojica, silovatelja i pljačkaša. Moralni aspekt krivnje ostaje kao moj račun s vlastitom savješću i s Bogom, bez obzira na to je li Murrayevu smrt prouzrokovala nespretnost onih koji su bombu detonirali ili je posrijedi bila naknadna diverzija tajnih službi. Bombu sam ja sastavio i postavio u pretinac u podzemnoj, i za smrt koju je ona prouzrokovala snosim krivnju bez obzira što se s tom bombom kasnije događalo. Dakle, ne pokušavam izbjeći krivnju nekim naknadnim konstrukcijama, nego doista mislim da su u nesreću bili upleteni prsti onih koji su pošto-poto htjeli kompromitirati cijelu akciju.

I američke agencije naizgled su se poprilično zabrinule. U nekoliko članaka u New York Timesu (od dvanaestoga i četrnaestoga rujna 1976.), samo nekoliko dana nakon otmice, navodile su se “pomne procjene” šefa pirotehničkog odjela nakon “prvog takvog pogubnog događaja u posljednjih 37 godina”. Odjel je priznao da “nijedan od stručnjaka nije nosio zaštitnu opremu kad su prišli eksplozivnoj napravi… a što su bili obvezni prema policijskim propisima”. Među njima bio je i policajac Murray, opisan kao “revni čuvar zakona i jedan od prvih koji je prihvatio opasan zadatak”. Međutim, “nikako nisu uspijevali dokučiti razlog eksplozije”, što nije bio odgovor na pitanje zašto policajci nisu nosili propisanu zaštitnu opremu.

“Pirotehničarima je očito zagonetka zašto naprava nije reagirala na impulse mehanizma na daljinsko upravljanje kojim se policija obično koristi za detoniranje eksploziva u za to predviđenim rupama.” Sudeći po članku u New York Timesu, jedna od teorija koju je policija istraživala bila je da je “daljinski upravljač DOISTA aktivirao bombu – nekoliko minuta nakon što je trebao, odnosno u trenutku kad su se policajac Murray i drugi približili eksplozivnoj napravi.” Upravo o ovom scenariju razgovarao sam s Aldrichom Amesom: frekvencija daljinskog upravljača bila je onemogućena, i upravo u trenutku kad su se policajci naginjali nad bombu, svi bez zaštitne opreme, ona je ocito aktivirana s drugog jaceg daljinskog upravljaca. Razgovori s Aldrichom Amesom dali su mi i neke konkretnije spoznaje o vjerojatnosti i logičnosti mojih zaključaka. Naravno, poginuloga policajca žalim kao nedužnog čovjeka, ali cijeli slučaj bezbroj sam puta trijezno razmotrio i uvijek mi se činilo da se nad njega nadvija tamna sjena političkih službi.

Veći dio vremena tijekom otmice proveo sam u pilotskoj kabini. S putnicima su uglavnom komunicirali Julie i Matanić. Pešut i Vlašić predstavljali su šutljivu prijetnju, barem su ih putnici tako trebali doživljavati. Kad sam od pilota doznao da je zrakoplov u kojem smo bili nepogodan za bacanje letaka, situacija se zakomplicirala, ali nije me spopala malodušnost, štoviše cijelo sam vrijeme imao osjećaj da savršeno vladam situacijom. Znao sam da su policajci provjerili bombu ostavljenu u pretincu te se nisam bojao da bi netko mogao doći na ideju da smo oteli zrakoplov potpuno nenaoružani. Inače, u opasnim pothvatima obično tako biva – kad je plan napravljen, odluka donesena i pothvat otpočeo, čovjek funkcionira besprijekorno. Šok je nastupio u Parizu kada je do nas došla vijest da je poginuo policajac. U prvi mah u to nisam htio povjerovati, mislio sam da su obavještajne službe za nas tiskale poseban primjerak New York Timesa kako bi nas obeshrabrile.

Poslao sam Matanića i Julie iz zrakoplova da nazovu određene telefonske brojeve i provjere istinitost te vijesti. Kad sam dobio potvrdu da se uistinu dogodila tragedija, bilo mi je jasno da je naša akcija okončana. Neće biti ništa od planiranog bacanja letaka iznad Zagreba i Solina, gdje se upravo odvijala proslava 1300-te obljetnice kršćanstva u Hrvata. Naime, dok sam planirao otmicu zrakoplova, između nekoliko simboličnih datuma odlučio sam se upravo za taj. Spoznaja da je nastradao nevin čovjek i da je izgubljen jedan ljudski život pretpostavljala je trenutnu predaju. Bio je to vjerojatno najteži dan u mom životu, a proživio sam na tisuće uistinu teških dana. Amplituda osjećaja u samo jednom danu bila je ogromna, od osjećaja da savršeno kontroliram situaciju i da činim nešto veliko za ideju za koju sam se cijeli život borio, do osjećaja klonuća zbog toga što su stvari krenule u krivom smjeru tamo gdje sam to najmanje očekivao.

Potpuno klonuo ipak nisam, započeto je trebalo privesti kraju. Predaja je izvršena u najboljem redu i bez panike. Prvi su izašli putnici i moji suborci. Pilot i ja ostali smo posljednji. Premda su tražili da on izađe prije mene, on to nije htio učiniti sluteći da bi me specijalci mogli ustrijeliti. Inzistirao je da zajedno izađemo, štoviše prebacio je ruku preko moga ramena tako da me, ako su to i namjeravali, nisu mogli ustrijeliti, a da i njegov život ne dovedu u opasnost.

Okupljenim novinarima dao je onu svoju poznatu izjavu: „Ovime drama za posadu i putnike završava, a za Taika i njegove suborce tek počinje“. Mnogo godina kasnije putovao sam zrakoplovom iz Splita za Zagreb. Kad sam se mimoilazio s pilotom, prepoznavši me, on me šeretski upita: „Kamo danas letimo, gospodine Bušiću?“ Ovaj put samo u Zagreb, rekoh mu nasmijavši se. Srdačni humor u glasu tog čovjeka podsjetio me na srdačnu ozbiljnost kapetana otetoga zrakoplova. Ja sam, eto, valjda jedini otmičar zrakoplova koji s pilotima ima samo dobra iskustva.

Zvonko Bušić

EN

Zvonko believed that good things should be shared with everyone. What he lived, worked for and believed in, what he sacrificed for, is presented in his book “All Visible Things”, which is available on Amazon. From now on, you will be able to have access to this part of Croatian history every other Wednesday and print it out free of charge, in Croatian and English, on the dijaspora.hr portal. Chapter by chapter, drop of blood by drop of blood, and life day by day in 33 parts – with only one goal! He will live on…

The Hijacking

After the decision was made, I immediately began preparations. I started studying necessary materials, locating appropriate collaborators, and planned a meeting with Bruno to discuss the Declaration I intended to have printed in newspapers and thrown from the plane. The main handbook for making the bomb was the then popular “Anarchist’s Cookbook”. Julie was later accused of having torn pages out of this book in the library, which really upset and angered her, since she comes from a family of book lovers who would consider that an unforgivablesacrilege. She firmly insisted that all she did was photocopy the pages, not tear them out, although it was a totally insignificant point in the trial.

I studied airplanes as well. The plane, I believed, had to be appropriate for what I intended. The choice fell on the Boeing 727. The traditional characteristics one looks for in a plane – speed, size, type and power of the motor – were not the most critical. What was important was that the plane had double doors, so that the first door could be opened from the inside of the plane, then closed, and then the second door opened, so that the well-known suction phenomenon could not occur, drawing everything and everyone out of the plane. This double-door element was used by the famous American robber and blackmailer, D. B. Cooper. After he got the money and released the passengers, he ordered the crew to take off and wait for further instructions. He also said nobody was allowed to leave the cabin without his permission, and he would kill the first one who dared. After they waited quite awhile for instructions about where to fly, one of the stewardesses took a risk and entered the passenger seating area. But it was totally empty, although the doors and windows were firmly closed. It turns out Cooper had used the advantage of the double doors. He went into the middle door space, then closed the first door, opened the second and parachuted out. With the money! He was never caught.

I was not interested in money, but the double doors seemed ideal to me for throwing leaflets. That is why I chose the Boeing 727. I was fortunate enough to meet a stewardess who had been on that flight with D. B. Cooper. She told me in great detail how the entire action unfolded, never suspecting the source of my interest for Cooper and the Boeing 727. The first blow to my plan took place when I learned from the pilot, after I had taken control of our plane, that after the Cooper events, the doors were altered on that type of plane. Leaflets could no longer be thrown from the plane. What’s more, because of the possible danger that the leaflets could be sucked into the motor, they could not be thrown in any other way, either. So we had to put a second plane in the air in Montreal. From there we then headed for Europe.

I did need a certain amount of money for the action I had planned. This was fairly simple; a close friend gave me 10,000 dollars without my having to explain any details about the action. He had complete trust in me, and I felt information should be given out sparingly even to the participants in the action. It was enough for them to know the basic plan; the details were known only to me. Julie knew the most, but even she did not know there was a real bomb in the locker of the train station. Frane Pesut, one of the participants, said he was ready to help Croatia in any way without knowing the details. Slobodan Vlasic also knew about the action in greater detail, but did not know the explosive was fake. He was the most knowledgeable in assembling explosives, so I gave him the task of assembling all the different parts of the alleged “bomb” in the plane’s bathroom, which he did, thinking it was real. Frane’s finger even turned blue from holding the switch for thirty-two hours!

Why did I not tell them everything? First, I knew we were all going to prison, since we planned to surrender after the media printed the leaflets and threw them over certain cities. This surrender was supposed to be one of the key elements of the action. After our surrender and after the passengers had spoken, we hoped, given the humaneness of our behavior toward them, that the whole world would know of the dictatorship in Croatia and nobody would be able to say that we, fighters for Croatian freedom, acted like cold-blooded terrorists, although the hijacking itself was a drastic action. I thought my co-defendants would have an easier defense after the surrender and receive a lesser sentence the less they knew of my intentions. Second, I wanted to have the whole action under control. I was afraid that if there had been real explosives in the plane, some unforeseen circumstance could lead to an accident and harm innocent victims. This was out of the question! On the other hand, if it was known the explosives were not real, something could also go wrong. One of us could expose this through our behavior, get panicky or something. Third, why hide it? At that time, I was quite paranoid, like most political emigrants. The Yugoslav Secret Service harassed us, spied on us, killed us, infiltrated into our ranks. Therefore, a secret you haven’t shared with anyone remains yours alone and you are its master; otherwise, it controls you.

The preparations went according to plan. In the spring, Julie and I traveled to Europe to meet with Bruno. He accepted the task of writing The Call for Dignity and Freedom. Julie hoped that Bruno, who was older and more mature, would maybe talk me out of the action. Of course, that did not happen. We spent most of our time at the Boden Lake. Julie had even gone to Herzegovina. It presented a certain risk, but she as an American could afford it. That June in 1976 was the last time I saw Bruno. They murdered him two years later when I was already in prison serving a life sentence.

Julie typed the leaflet text on a friend’s typewriter, Marijan Gabelica. I knew the police would investigate this so I did not attempt to hide this fact. It is true that Gabelica was the best defense. Before launching the action, we stopped at his place and returned the typewriter. When the police questioned me, I told them whose typewriter it had been. Gabelica really had no idea why I needed the typewriter. And since he didn’t know, they were unable to charge him with anything.

We bought the pots in a market and wrapped them up as gifts before going to the airport. We said we were going to a friend’s wedding. The metal detectors could not detect the clay, and even if they had found it in a baggage search, they would not have suspected anything. It might have seemed bizarre that I was carrying clay with me, but they would not have considered it a dangerous substance. Regardless of all my security measures, I still was unsure whether I was being followed or under suspicion, so I spent the day and night before the action bar hopping so I’d be seen “drinking”, and finally went to bed at dawn. Just in case I was being followed, I was sure nobody in his right mind would think that I could have performed such an action as a hijacking after such a “wild” night.

The whole action was based upon a very nuanced psychological exercise. For more than thirty hours we were in absolute control of the situation in the plane, as well as holding several governments at bay, throwing leaflets, and dictating the printing of the leaflets in leading world media while flying over two continents – all without so much as a nail file in our pockets. If the fatal case with Officer Murray had not occurred, it would have been the most successful and unblemished hijacking in history. As it was, it left within me and the others a bitter taste, a deep regret and remorse that will follow us all our days.

Well-intentioned people have often asked me why I had to leave explosives in the locker at the train station. It seemed to them a senseless and unnecessary addition to a well thought-out plan. But this is not so. The explosives in the locker were every bit as important a part of the plan as the clay in the pots. It was intended to give credibility to my negotiations with the American authorities, the agents, and the police. The pots we carried with us were identical to the pot left in the locker, except that in ours there was clay, and in the other real explosives. Without this bomb, someone might believe we were bluffing. Besides that, it was my intention in the beginning to present ourselves as dangerous terrorists not to be fooled with, because that was the only way our demands would be met. Therefore, the bomb was an important element in the overall plan.

However, it is difficult to live with the knowledge that an innocent person died as a collateral victim of an idealistic action, for which he had no idea or interest. The issue of accidental, innocent victims is one that is always considered when an action with dangerous elements is undertaken. And I gave the most thought of all in my planning to this aspect of the action. That is why, after all, the hijacking took place without using any weapons whatsoever. But a tragedy happened where it was least expected, where there was not, it seemed, even a theoretical chance that things would go wrong.

I have already written about how I am almost positive that certain agencies were involved in the death of Officer Murray. The hijacking surprised both Americans and the Yugoslav Secret Police, and it would be difficult to prove that there was some kind of agreement between the two to compromise the action. But I am convinced there was. I claim this not to free myself from guilt. Guilt is above all a moral category. I have absolved the legal, judicial aspect of guilt through my 32 year-long imprisonment that I served longer than countless murderers, rapists, and career criminals. The moral aspect of my guilt is left to my own conscience and to the Almighty, regardless of whether Murray’s death was caused by the negligence of those who detonated the bomb, or a diversion by certain intelligence agencies. I placed the explosives in the locker and I carry guilt for the death they caused, regardless of what happened after their removal to the detonation site four hours later.

So, I am not trying to absolve myself from guilt by means of some later reconstruction, but I truly believe that there was involvement by people who wanted at all costs to compromise the entire action. There seemed to be considerable concern and uneasiness among the American agencies as well. Several New York Times articles (September 12 and 14, 1976), only days after the hijacking, wrote of the “painstaking evaluations” undertaken by the head of the bomb section in the wake of the “first such fatality in 37 years”. The department head acknowledged that “none of these experts wore protective gear when they approached the device… as they were required to under police regulations”, including Officer Murray, who was described as “a gung ho cop who was one of the first to take on a dangerous task”. However, “the cause of the explosion eluded them,” but not the answer to the question of why the officers were not wearing required protective gear. “What clearly perplexed the bomb squad… was why the device failed to respond to impulses generated by the remote control mechanism that the police normally use to detonate explosives in the demolition pit.” One theory the police pursued, according to the NYT article, “was that the remote control gadget did activate the bomb several minutes after it was supposed to, just as officer Murray and the others approached the device.” This would be the exact scenario I had discussed with Ames: the frequency of the remote control device was overridden and disabled, and at the very moment the officers were bending over the bomb, all without protective gear, another “player” with a different game plan activated the device. My discussions with Ames gave me even more concrete knowledge of the probability and logic of my conclusions. Of course I deeply mourn the death of the innocent police officer, but I’ve thought seriously and often about the entire case, and it always seemed to me that there was a dark shadow of the Yugoslav Secret Police, UDBA, hanging over it.

(Editor note: Two years after this book was first published in Croatia, an American intelligence expert and former NSA analyst, John Schindler, released the first well-documented and credible expose of the long-term UDBA-FBI connections and their collaboration in the United States and elsewhere (The Observer, January 4, 2016). This confirmed the possibility, even probability, that the explosion at the Bronx detonation site in our case could well have been sabotage:

http://observer.com/2016/01/why-hasnt-washington-explained-the-1975-laguardia-airport-bombing/
http://studiacroatica.blogspot.hr/2010/02/dr-john-r-schindler-agents-provocateurs.html)

During the hijacking, I spent most of the time in the pilot’s cabin. Julie and Matanic communicated most with the passengers. Pesut and Vlasic represented a kind of understated threat; at least, that was how we intended the passengers view them. When I learned from the pilot that leaflets could not be thrown from the plane we were in, the situation became more complicated, but I did not despair. In fact, the entire time I had the feeling I was keeping the situation under perfect control. I knew the police had confirmed the explosives in the locker were genuine so I was not concerned that someone would get the idea we had hijacked the plane totally unarmed. Actually, in dangerous actions, this is usually the case – when the plan is made, the decision reached, and the action launched, one simply functions according to plan.

Then the shock came in Paris, when we got the news that a police officer had died. At first, I did not want to believe it; I thought the intelligence services had printed a special, false edition of the New York Times in order to destroy our morale. I sent Julie from the plane to call certain phone numbers and confirm the truth of this news. When I learned it was really true, it was clear to me that the action was over. There would be no further throwing of leaflets over Zagreb and Solin, where at that time the 1300-year anniversary of Christianity inCroatia was being celebrated. When I had been planning the hijacking, among several symbolic dates I had decided on this one. The knowledge that an innocent person had become a victim and a human life lost led to our immediate surrender. It was probably the most difficult day in my life, and I have had thousands of extremely difficult days. The intensity of feelings I experienced in just one day was immeasurable. From the belief of having a situation under perfect control, that I was doing something significant for the ideals I had fought for my entire life, and then to extreme desolation that things had taken such an utterly unexpected turn.

I did not completely despair, though, because what was begun had to be brought to an end. The surrender took place in an orderly fashion and without panic. First the passengers exited, along with my colleagues. The pilot and I remained until the end. Although the police ordered the pilot to come out before I did, he refused to do so, suspecting the Special Forces would shoot me. He insisted we leave together; he even put his arm around my shoulder so that, if that had been their intention, they would not be able to shoot me without endangering his life as well.

Then he gave the journalists gathered around the plane this widely reported statement: “This drama is over for the crew and travelers, but for Taik and his comrades it has only just begun.”Many years later, I was flying from Split to Zagreb. As I passed the pilot in the aisle, he recognized me and asked with a wry smile, “So where are we flying today, Mr. Busic?” The sincere humor in the voice of this man reminded me of the captain of the hijacked plane. I would say I am one of the few hijackers who has only had good experiences with pilots.

Zvonko Bušić

Ključne riječi #otmica zrakoplova #Zdravo oko #Zvonko Bušić