Srdjan Golubovic, known as DJ Max, the criminal from Ron Haviv’s famous photo from 1992, from Bijeljina, continues to perform in Belgrade clubs, and his last performance was on New Year’s Eve.
The photograph taken by the American photographer Ron Haviv in Bijeljina, in which a Serbian soldier, a member of the Arkan‘sTigers, kicks the murdered Tifa Sabanovic, has become one of the most famous depictions of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
A few weeks ago, Rolling Stone published a story in which it is stated that the soldier in the famous photo is Srdjan Golubovicand that he has been performing as DJ Max in clubs throughout Serbia for years.
On his Instagram account, he announced that his last performance was a few days ago, for New Year’s Eve at Club Suma on Ada Ciganlija in Belgrade.
Together with DJ Stole, he forms the team Xperiment, which performs at festivals throughout Serbia. In November, they had a performance in Novi Sad in Hall 2 of the Novi Sad Fair, and a little earlier in April they had a performance at “Forest Fest” on Ada Ciganlija.
Golubovic was arrested by Serbian authorities in 2012, not for war crimes in Bijeljina, but for illegal possession of weapons and drugs.
The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is conducting several proceedings concerning the crimes committed in Bijeljina in April 1992, but it is not known whether Srdjan Golubovic is one of the suspects.
On April 1st, 1992, Arkan’s Serbian Volunteer Guard, together with the formation of Mirko‘s Chetniks, entered Bijeljina, and several dozen civilians were killed immediately after entering, and their bodies were left lying on the streets.
Arkan’s Tigers were also supported by the paramilitary unit ”Panteri” led by Ljubisa Savic “Mauzer”. Together with the Serbian Volunteer Guard, they started a campaign of violence against the local Bosniaks, by raping, killing, searching their houses, and looting their property.
The Hague Tribunal’s investigations later showed that the victims were shot “in the chest, mouth, temple, back of the head, some at close range” and that none of them were wearing military uniforms.
The Bosniaks in Bijeljina were completely surprised by the military action and there was no serious defense plan. The attack of the Serbian Volunteer Guard on Bijeljina is also considered the beginning of the war in BiH. What is particularly devastating is the fact that in the center of Bijeljina, there is a street dedicated to Arkan’s criminals, and the local authorities mark April 1st as “city defense day”.
Srdjan Golubovic walks free in Belgrade. He continues to perform. Whatever he did as one of Arkan’s Tigers, even some of his friends wonder how he lives with his past, if secrets haunt his dreams.
