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SerbiaCulture5 days ago

Croatia Eyes ‘Secret’ Yugoslav Airbase as New Node in EU Asylum Architecture

The article discusses the historical significance of the Zeljava Military Airbase, a secret Yugoslav airbase located under the Pljesevica mountain, which was abandoned during the Yugoslav Wars. The base was constructed to house up to 58 fighter jets and was later damaged by the Yugoslav People's Army to prevent its use by Croatian or Bosnian forces. The article includes an interview with Pave Zivkovic, a former aircraft mechanic who worked at the base.

In 1995, after a lightning military operation called ‘Storm’ effectively ended the war in Croatia, Pave Zivkovic went to inspect what was left of his former workplace.

An aircraft mechanic, Zivkovic had spent seven years working in a top-secret Yugoslav airbase, built beneath the Pljesevica mountain on what would later become Croatia’s border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Zeljava Military Airbase was a feat of Yugoslav engineering: four tunnels, eight metres high and 20 metres wide, carved from the foot of the mountain to accommodate up to 58 fighter jets ready to take to the skies at a moment’s notice.

Zivkovic, today in his sixties, recalled working on the jets as the best job he ever had, but when the Yugoslav People’s Army abandoned the base in May 1992, it laid dynamite to damage the tunnels and render them unusable by either Croatian or Bosnian forces.

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Balkan Insight (BIRN)IndependentCenter5 days ago
Croatia Eyes ‘Secret’ Yugoslav Airbase as New Node in EU Asylum Architecture

The article discusses the historical significance of the Zeljava Military Airbase, a secret Yugoslav airbase located under the Pljesevica mountain, which was abandoned during the Yugoslav Wars. The base was constructed to house up to 58 fighter jets and was later damaged by the Yugoslav People's Army to prevent its use by Croatian or Bosnian forces. The article includes an interview with Pave Zivkovic, a former aircraft mechanic who worked at the base.

Bias read (Center): The article provides a historical account of the Zeljava Military Airbase without taking a political stance or showing bias toward any particular group or ideology. It focuses on the technical details of the base and includes a personal anecdote from a former worker, presenting the information neutr