Aco Jovanoski Reagan (1951-2024) spent his working life as a professional driver, mostly at the transport company Pelagonia from Prilep. He was the driver of one of the buses in the Army convoy that was attacked near Karpalak on 8 August 2001.
The interview was conducted in 2019.
GORAN TALESKI: Please, introduce yourself.
ACO JOVANOSKI: I’m AcoJovanoski with nickname Regan. I was born in 1951 in Kosel village near Ohrid. Now I live in Prilep, on Belasicastreet, number 1/1. All my working life I spent as a driver. As a driver for the company PelagonijaTurist – Prilep, in the year 2001 we were deployed as bus drivers to drive the army to the crisis regions. On August 6 2001, in the morning we went to the barracks. Our task was to drive them in Krivolak where they had live firing exercise. There was firing with all types of weapons: artillery, tanks, and infantry. On August 7 four buses headed toward Tetovo – two buses toward Brvenica, and two including mine toward Rasadnik. In my bus was artillery colonel Rikio – Risto, a man with a big heart, a great expert, an artilleryman. We did our shift, we were coming back to Rasadnik, the column was completed and our four buses were coming back to Prilep.
GT: Does that mean that you were bringing back to Prilep reserves who were already there for some time?
AJ: Yes, their shift was done so we were bringing them back to Prilep. At the overpass near Grupcin, we noticed some movement – a column of armed people with black uniforms. Still, they didn’t pay much attention to us, so it didn’t happen anything particular, we passed unnoticed. We passed through Skopje, Veles and came back in Prilep. When we arrived at the barracks, the commander was Branko Drakalski. We met him and informed him about the event, the movements that we have seen. He said: “No problem. Everything is secured”. – “OK”.
GT: This happened on August 7?
AJ: On the 7. On August 7 in the evening, in the afternoon, we came back and we went to the bus station. Written timetable, me and my colleague Borce Bogdanoski who was in the second bus to Karpalak. According to the written schedule, we were arranged again to drive to Tetovo barracks. At 6 o’clock in the morning we took the soldiers we went, and then a quarrel happened between Drakalski and the sergeant Goce who didn’t want to be in the truck as he should as a warrant officer, but he wanted to travel by the bus instead.
GT: All this happened in Prilep barracks, on August 8 in the morning?
AJ: In the barracks before department. They started arguing with Drakalоski whether he goes or not. Then intervened Sashe Kitano, God rest his soul, and said: “Stop arguing. I will go in the truck. I will chat with Nane”. We set ourselves and we slowly headed through Pletvar to the road Veles – Skopje. We didn’t have enough drinking water, so we stopped at Pletvar to get some water, we stopped in Sirkovo for the same reason, and our last stop was at Kula, after tollgate Veles, now there is “Makedonija pat – winter center”. Here the soldiers, the reserves had breakfast. There the kid from Ropotovo, DarkoVeljanoski, went into the truck instead of the bus to join Marko from Novoselani and Pece from Belo Pole, same generation and school friends. We continued towards Skopje. At street “Plasticharska”, a grey BMW with tinted windows came between the Hermelin and the first bus driven by me. It was driving between us up to the crossways for”Aleksandar Palas”, despite the fact that it had an opportunity to pass by the Hermelin and go far away. But, it didn’t do that. At the crossways for”Aleksandar Palas” at Zajachki Rid we continued straight for Gjorche and, furthermore for Tetovo. When we arrived at the crucial spot…
GT: How did the convoy look like?
AJ: The convoy: a hermelin, two buses, a truck, and a van. And the van was part of it (of the convoy).In the hermelin there was no…There were five people: the driver, patrolman officer, and three policemen – reserves, who were leading the convoy. But they were armed with two pistols and three guns. The hermelin didn’t have any combat armament. When we came into the crucial spot, the first Zolja hit between me and the hermelin. We heard an explosion from the right side and we continued to drive. The second hit was from a rocket launcher that hit the hermelin in the left-back tire…
GT: That is all happening in Karpalak, right?
AJ: Yes, it’s the place in Karpalak, where the incident starts.
GT: How does that place look like? Can you give a short description?
AJ: It’s a gorge. Only the highway and a small river pass through. Cuts, hacks, you name them. They started shooting from the left side. When we arrived near the caves they started shooting from the right. Fortunately, no one was shot in the bus, except RubinchoPetreski – Magareto. When it started (incomprehensible) …they shouted that there is a man wounded in the back. When the shooting started, the soldiers lied down in the space between the seats and luckily, they were high so the bullets couldn’t reach anyone. RubinchoPetreski – Magareto was wounded at the back. We proceed to drive to the place where the bus stopped, lost air, smoke showed up and it happened at a distance of 8 km and 600 m.
GT: From the time of the attack to the moment when you stopped?
AJ: From the time of the attack, the place where we had to stop because we couldn’t move anymore. The soldiers got out, took a position over the bus, at the higher parts. They were armed, with plenty of ammunition, so to say – no one could pass. When we realized that we couldn’t move further: the cooling system was destroyed by bullets, tires were flat, especially the front left tire, the air intake system was damaged too. The bus got stuck there and there was no chance to change the tires or to start the engine because the bus probably got jammed.
GT: What was happening inside the bus when the attack started? You had a wounded man…
AJ: When the attack began started a big panic. A panic took place, they were screaming: “Blood, wounded, go, don’t go, stop…”, as you can expect when 50 people roar at the same time. When all ended, after so many fired bullets, Rikio (may God rest his soul), told me: “Regan, God knows how many bullets were sent in your direction”.God helped me and those with me so I didn’t lose a single life on my bus.
GT: How many people were altogether in the whole convoy?
AJ: In the whole convoy there were around 118 people, ten died and 108 were left. After that Karpalak did what it did, Karpalak syndrome and as we say, Karpalak keeps killing until this day.
GT: How many people did you have on your bus? 54?
AJ: We were 55 when we got off, during the trip, one guy, DarkoVeljanoski from Ropotovo left the bus and went to the truck, so we were 54 at the end including me.
GT: What happened to the other bus?
AJ: The second bus was driving behind mine. There was some shooting towards it, too. But, compared to the one towards mine bus, it was much less, probably because the primal shot wave was targeting to stop the convoy. But, we somehow managed to escape. They caught the truck that they stopped. Behind the truck was the van owned by Borche Kragueski, driver from Lazani. In that van were major Rashic and Mile Bezbednjak. The van was small, so they turn the van back to Skopje. For the events that occurred after the moment the bus was stopped, I will elaborate the reconstruction given by the coroner who was at the crime scene that on the 13…
GT: August?
AJ: On August 13 my colleague BorcheBogdanoskiand I were called to witness in Skopje. There we got this reconstruction of the incident, now I am quoting his words: “The truck driver was killed first, the truck was stopped. By fusillade were killed Sashe Kitano and Nane. In the cabin on the back of the truck left seven soldiers. Those left in the cabin, at the back, those 7 soldiers, as they jumped from the cabin they have been murdered one by one in a radius of 20 meters on the highway. After that, the truck had been shot with Zolja and then fired and exploded because of the mines and explosives inside the truck. BrankoSekuloski, the truck driver, had been left on his seat and was totally burned. Sashe Kitano and NaneNaumoski had fallen dead near the front right tire they had been thrown out of the cabin and were murdered there. The rest of the young boys had been murdered one by one as they were jumping out”. Allegedly, after that, all of them have been shot in the head. When we arrived in the barracks…
GT: In Tetovo, right?
AJ: In Tetovo, to be more specific at the place where I left the bus, two buses came to take us. The first bus was from “Jugotrans” –Strugawas supposed to be sent on repairs, so it was all empty. We asked the driver to bring us to the barracks and the man agreed without saying a word. Then a bus from the public transportcame, which was driving the “Wolfs” to the barracks in Tetovo. We moved to that bus and that way we arrived in the barracks in Tetovo. We accommodated there, my colleague Borcheand I stayed at the tank men headquarters. The others were assigned to different units according to the regular schedule. We spent the evening at the barracks in Tetovo, that night there was an attack by a mortar grenade, but fortunately, no one of the grenades hit the roof in the part where we were staying. The next morning, me, major Rasic and Mile Bezbednjakoheaded to Skopje when they went to Butel to take the corpses, we came back to Skopje and from Skopje with our, Prilep bus, we came to Prilep.
GT: What was the date when you returned to Prilep?
AJ: We came back on August 9. All that happened on August 8, so it was on August 9.
GT: What happened to the bus?
AJ: They had burnt the bus, all of it. General Josip Bosheski told me that, he told me that the bus is on fire. When I informed the manager in Prilep that the bus is on fire, he answered that whole Prilep is on fire too. It started… how to say, gloomy atmosphere. We didn’t know what was going on, how it was going on. When we came to Prilep the next day, what we saw was very ugly: the mosque was burnt out, many shops and stores were burnt out, even the small stand for selling pumpkin and sunflower seeds at the bus station as well…
GT: Those objects were owned by Muslims?
AJ: Those were Muslim objects. Yes, 18 years passed from that moment, I took an oath to myself every year at 9:30, the time when they died, to go to the place in Karpalak and organize a memorial service together with people from Tetovo and the rectory. We don’t allow that event to be forgotten.
GT: What consequences did the event on August 8 has left you personally?
AJ: It is natural to have consequences, the traumas last… After that, during the first years, bishop Kiril, God rest his soul, every year he was coming to this place and he was giving a memorial service. After his death, the Tetovo rectorydoes that memorial service. I know for sure, 2009 was the last year whenbishop Kiril came to Karpalak, he gave an effigy, Virgin with Jesus, as a gift to the families of the victims. Among those who survived, only I got an effigy. Here it is (showing to the effigy).
MilevaJovanoska: And flowers too.
AJ: Give it to me, so it can be shot by the camera.
MJ. All right. Should I get up?
AJ: No, that one.
MJ: Shot it (to the cameraman) or you want to hold it (to Aco)
AJ: (Mileva passes the effigy to him). This is that effigy it has an inscription at the back from the bishop Kiril. And…
MJ: Come on, turn it.
AJ: I can say….it is a beloved memory for me.
GT: Do you keep in touch with the other survivors from Karpalak?
AJ: All we, survived, keep in touch. Every year we meet on August 7 in “MircheAcev” barracks where we place flowers on the first monument. We also have an oath, every August 7 to gather in the monastery “Sveta Petka”. We have her as our saint – protector because the event occurred exactly on Sveta Petka’s day.
GT: What kind of support, did the state offer some kind of support and help?
AJ: The state gave very little in return to the survived, because they promised so much, and they did nothing. Allegedly, healthcare, education, all that stuff – and nothing at the end. And I must say that we have people who are treated in state asylums, like DemirHisar, for example. Some people accepted all that with great trauma, their marriages were destroyed, became alcoholics and…While Marjan Risteski was a mayor, he showed some concern and took care for those people, however, nowadays, no one cares, they are left on their own.
GT: Was there any other type of help, in sense of some psychological support?
AJ: No, it wasn’t. For the victims’ families, the state gave a little, according to its possibilities at that time, although I personally think that they are not pleased as well, and it’s the same case for us, nothing is done. Well, some people helped…gave an employment tosome children, to them,to the minor part, but, still, not all of them are satisfied. What the state should do…we went and we demanded to be adopted the Croatian model of care for their defenders. They promised that again and again, we attended some meetings several times, and I can freely say that the last one was kept 6 or 7 years ago in the House of Army in Skopje. At that meeting we met with the legal departments, the army and the police as both of them were defenders, it was about the rights of the defenders, so the goal was to make an agreement and next time to decide what to do. But, no one called us to the next meeting. Even today is the same – to meet, to agree, and after that – all came to nothing. That’s the way it is.
GT: From today’s perspective, do you have any resents for the other side?
AJ: It’s pointless to have any resent about anything, because I will speak for myself, my daughter got employment and I am thankful for that, for instance. She got a job in the Public Revenue Office. And about the others, I don’t know who, when, maybe everyone should tell for himself how pleased he is. It’s not up to me to talk about someone else…
GT: When I asked about the “others”, I meant the enemy from 2001. From today’s perspective, do you…
AJ: The enemy from 2001, those are… From today’s perspective, there is a strong vandalism. They were crushing the memorial in Karpalak 9 or 10 times. What does it mean?
GT: The memorial, the commemorative plaque in the place of the event?
AJ: Yes, the memorial in the place of the event. It has been crushed 9 or 10 times. Last time it happened recently, when StojancheAngelov publicly, in the TV show “Samovistina”, stated that Karpalak attack and the murder of the reserves from Prilep have been legitimate because they had been wearing a uniform. We had a huge objection about it and this time they didn’t allow me, and I was planning to make a big scandal during his visits of “MircheAcev” barracks and Karpalak. When he justifies that act, then he doesn’t have the right to visit those places. He justified it, he still justifies it. He publicly justified it on TV, on “Samovistina”, and all of us that heard, have been horrified of the statement. Noone could comment, to say, but it was inappropriate to mention Karpalak on TV. We should never forget Karpalak, we should never forget August 10 and LjubotenskiBachila, we should never forget April 28 and Vejce, we should never forget “Brioni” the motel when two watchmen were tied to the supporting poles and blown up with a dynamite…murdered. That could be done only by some kind of a fanatic. A sane, healthy person with normal reasoning would never do something like that. These words are very hard, but they also are true. And my fight, until I am alive, my wordthat I have given to myself, so far, every August 8, at 9:30, the time of the death, I am at that place. I have never skipped, and I have no intentionto skip, as long as my health and strength allow. And I will keep going.
GT: Aco, what did you blame your side for which is related to the war?
AJ: I will say just two things. To pay more attention to those who were on the front line of the fight for the motherland, who were defending it, and now that motherland has been selling off. I could never accept that. Wouldn’t those people turn over in their graves for sacrificing their lives for this Macedonia of ours? We can talk about Ilinden, we can talk about the partisans, about the defenders. Those are the people who defended, who preserved and will preserve this country.
GT: Considering all this experience, what should the next steps be?
AJ: Next steps…Until we, the citizens, organize ourselves and start to think and act as one, there won’t be hope for this country. In one occasion, when the decomposition of this country has just begun, I had a short clip with that but it’s in another phone, publicly declared…first it was in the “Bumbar” TV show, I publicly asked are 10 Albanian members of the parliament more influential than 100 Macedonian members? As it happened, it’s clear that they are really stronger. They came to choose our prime minister, our speaker and our president. And I don’t see how someone can persuade me in the opposite. And for all that we fought for,for everything that was done in 2001, in 1941, and after the Ilinden period and all that, everybody fought only for one thing – for this Macedonia. What was wrong with the life we had, that common life we had in Macedonia? What was wrong with it? Recently, we listen that “there was not any vandalism in the theatre”. All that indecent chanting about Macedonia, that we don’t have a state, that this Macedonia is Albania, what is all that? Is it vandalism or…?
GT: Let’s turn back to our town for a moment, do you think that, somehow…I mean, how should our town behave toward what has happened. You also have mentioned the unwanted incidents in this town that caused proclaiming a curfew, and also destroying the mosque and the other objects. What should the municipality do? Do you have any advice maybe?
AJ: My personal opinion is that the mosque is a religious building from the XIV century and has historical importance. It should be done conservation and be proclaimed as historical site in Macedonia. For Prilep, for Macedonia. Only that. Not to allow all that to come to nothing, but to do conservation and to be proclaimed for historical site.
GT: Thank you. Is there anything I didn’t ask you about, so you would like to add?
AJ: I would like to add that no matter who from which party would come to power, I will talk in the name of Prilep, in the name of Macedonia, to pay more attention to the defenders from ‘41. Ilinden and 1941 are already past, very few left among those from 1941, and the defenders from 2001 are offspring of the Ilinden people and the partisans. Each of them was fighting for this country and each of them was defending Macedonia and they succeeded and preserved it. Don’t let us trade it for dirt cheap as it is said.
GT: Thank you for this interview…
AJ: Just for the end, anyone who will hear these words, who can see this interview, should know that nothing is exaggerated. Everything I said is true. The goal is to have more respect, more engagement to help everyone who has been part of that in 2001. Each of them has his own deficiencies, his own traumas. Something should be done something to help those people in terms of health and social care. There are people who, I could say, are on the breadline. It’s not polite, but I could list the names of the people who are in an asylum, who have no income at all, who live from tiny state benefit, and all of them have been on the frontline of the fight for the motherland. The state mustn’t allow this. They are capable to find money for odds and ends. The money for thedefenders is not that much. In 2001 there were 16 000 defenders, and among them, 5000 are from Prilep. That means that Prilep is the bravest town and really deserves the title “hero town”, a town of survivor, a town of Ilinden people, partisans and defenders. What else should I say?
GT: Thank you for your time.
AJ: When it’s about 2001 – anytime.