The Diaries of General Pavković Up to the Outbreak of the NATO Bombing as a Historical Source

Abstract

The books based on the diary entries of General Nebojša Pavković constitute engaging and compelling reading. Their original source value, practical usability, and significance for historiography are considerable. Daily notes on intelligence assessments, armed clashes and events, the names of those killed, and the occasional aggregated presentation of data enable historians to access a wealth of valuable information, some of which would otherwise remain unknown for decades, or even permanently. The diaries serve as testimony both to the struggle against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and to the participants on both sides, as well as, to a large extent, to the role of the international factor. Pavković addresses not only military but also political actors, recording conversations, agreements, and orders aimed at resolving problems within the territory of the province. Certain segments, however, require a degree of caution, particularly Pavković’s attitude towards specific individuals with whom he was evidently in conflict, as well as the inherent limitation of being unable, from his position, to provide a detailed account of all events during a turbulent and complex period across extensive zones of responsibility. For this reason, comparison with and supplementation from other sources are necessary. Pavković’s views on Generals Momčilo Perišić, Aleksandar Dimitrijević, and, to a lesser extent, Dragoljub Ojdanić are subject to such analysis. Some of Pavković’s claims are, nevertheless, corroborated by subsequent events, such as the final conviction of Perišić for espionage and the disclosure of state secrets in 2021 and 2022, as well as Dimitrijević’s conduct in relation to, and before, the Hague Tribunal. In addition to primary materials from proceedings before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, historians may also draw on memoirs and recollections of other participants for purposes of comparison and further contextualisation. This does not diminish the fact that the diary records of Nebojša Pavković, one of the most significant military commanders in modern Serbian history, and all the more so for that reason, represent a seminal and indispensable work for any historian interested in topics related to the events in Kosovo and Metohija during 1998 and 1999.