On 17 June 1925, Yugoslavia signed the Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical weapons.[1] This treaty, which Yugoslavia ratified on 12 April 1929, also included prohibitions on the use of bacteriological warfare. Yugoslavia ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWTC) in October 1973.[2] Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia ratified the BTWC on 7 April 1992, Croatia on 28 April 1993, Bosnia Herzegovina on 15 August 1994, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 24 December 1996. No allegations of biological warfare related research or production activity have been leveled at Yugoslavia, and as far as is publicly known, Yugoslavia and its successor states have fully adhered to the provisions of both treaties.
As is typical of modern military forces, the Yugoslavian Army (VJ—Vojske Jugoslavije) and its successor, the army of Serbia and Montenegro (VSCG - Vojske Srbije i Crne Gore), has a unit (ABHO - atomsko-biolosko-hemijske odbrane) responsible for detecting and defensively responding to the consequences of biological attacks.[3] The unit's responsibilities also include defensive response to chemical and nuclear attack. The advanced training of ABHO personnel takes place at the NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) educational center in the town of Krusevac.[4] As of 2003, the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro was working to modernize the capabilities of this unit to bring it into line with NATO standards.[5] The Slovenian army has at least one NBC protection battalion.[6]
The army of the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro is provided with a full range of individual and collective protective equipment intended to enable its continued operations in the event of a biological attack. Biological protection equipment is typically included as part of the standard outfitting of Yugoslavian designed armored vehicles. The other Yugoslavian successor states possess similar or identical equipment and are likely to be equally well protected. The Trayal corporation based in Krusevac produces NBC protective equipment for individuals including masks, filter cartridges, gloves, and protective suits. It also produces filter equipment for military vehicles.[7]
The Military Medical Academy located in Belgrade, which in the past was associated with the Yugoslavian CW program, has a Department of Biological Warfare Defense within the Institute for Epidemiology.[8] This small institute has a staff of 10 consisting of four biologists and six medical doctors.[9] There are no indications of research into offensive BW applications. Croatia appears to employ a number of personnel within its Ministry of Defense who work on biological warfare related topics.[10] There are no indications that these personnel are engaged in offensive research.
Diseases endemic to the former Yugoslavia's territory include anthrax, which produces sporadic outbreaks in herd animals; Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever concentrated in the province of Kosovo; cholera; and typhus. In August 1967 there was an outbreak of a hemorrhagic fever in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany. The causitive agent was identified as an RNA filovirus and given the name for Marburg. These cases were tracked to infected monkeys imported from Africa, and there were no subsequent cases. In March and April 1972, Yugoslavia successfully contained Europe's last outbreak of smallpox.[11] It is possible, but highly unlikely, that samples of either disease were retained by Yugoslavian medical authorities and would be available to military programs engaged in defensive or offensive research.
It appears extremely unlikely that Yugoslavia or any of its successor states have pursued biological weapons. The removal of the Milosevic regime in 2000 did not lead to any revelations in this area. As is the case with all countries capable of undertaking basic research into microorganisms and the production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, there is a latent capability that would allow a biological weapons program to be initiated in the event that such a political decision was made.
Key Resources:
[1] <http://disarmament2.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf>
[2] <http://disarmament2.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf>.
[3] <http://www.vj.yu/english/en_struktura/Vidovi/kov/abho.htm>
[4] <http://www.vj.yu/english/en_struktura/Vidovi/kov/abho.htm>
[5] Timothy Edmunds, Adelphi Paper 360, Defence Reform in Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003).
[6] The 18th Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) Protection Battalion, <http://www.pomurski-sejem.si/Angelsko/vojska_strok.htm>
[7] <http://www.trayal.co.yu>
[8] <http://www.vj.yu/VMA/En/Epidemiologija_E_Index.htm>
[9] <http://www.vj.yu/VMA/En/Epidemiologija_E_Strucnitim.htm>
[10] Second World Congress on Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism: Chemical and Biological Medical Treatment Symposium - Industry III, Dobrovnik, Croatia, 6-12 September 2003 <http://www.morh.hr/cbmts/program/sci.html>.
[11] Jonathan B. Tucker, Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox, (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001), pp. 86-89.
 |
| |
Updated February 2006 |
|
|
