Mayor of Banja Luka, Drasko Stanivukovic, on Tuesday rejected criticism from Croatia over a plaque, recently unveiled in the city, honoring Yugoslav Army Major, Milan Tepic, active in the 1990s, who had ordered the blowing up of an ammunition depot held by the Yugoslav Army in Bjelovar, Croatia in a suicidal action in 1991, in which ten Croatian soldiers were killed.

Responding to the protest note by Croatia’s foreign affairs ministry, sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, Stanivukovic – who had personally unveiled the plaque – said on Tuesday that Tepic was a “hero” and an “illustrious example of a Serb who defended his country.”

Tepic is best known for blowing up the Barutana barracks held by the Yugoslav Army in Bjelovar in 1991, in an effort to prevent the arms and ammunition stored there to be seized by Croatian forces. Tepic himself was killed in the explosion.

Stanivukovic said that by doing so Tepic had prevented the weapons stored there to be “used against Serbs.”

“Major Tepic sacrificed his life because of his loyalty to his own country and army. He acted chivalrously, the way a soldier is expected to,” Stanivukovic said in a press release. He added that at the same time, honoring Tepic was not directed against anyone, including the Croatian people.

The Banja Luka mayor, a member of the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), which is in the opposition at the entity and state level in Bosnia, added that he “believes that he has demonstrated his good will and readiness for cooperation by inviting Zagreb’s mayor to visit Banja Luka.”

On 29 September 1991, Tepic, who was the commander of the Barutana Yugoslav Army barracks, decided to blow up the ammunition warehouse causing a devastating explosion in which ten Croatian soldiers were killed. The Presidency of the former Yugoslavia, led then by Slobodan Milosevic, proclaimed Tepic a national hero.

In its unsigned protest note, Croatia’s foreign ministry called the unveiling of the plaque in Banja Luka “unacceptable.” The press release added that “it glorifies a terrorist act by a person who, during the Great Serbian aggression against Croatia, knowingly caused the death of a large number of Croatian defenders and civilians and huge material destruction in Bjelovar.”

The ministry sent Stanivukovic a message saying that by unveiling the plaque he “has identified with the criminal Great Serbian policy”, jeopardising “the process of building mutual trust and good neighbourly relations.”