The Velebit uprising or Lika uprising () was a minor action carried out by Ustaà ¡e militias against a Yugoslav gendarmerie station on 6 and 7 September 1932.
In the area near GospiÃÂ, the Ustaà ¡e militia was well-organized and led by lawyer Andrija ArtukoviÃÂ. Some other notable members of GospiÃÂ's Ustaà ¡e branch were landowner Marko Doà ¡en, former Austrian-Hungarian officer , traders Josip Tomljenoviàand Nikola Oreà ¡koviÃÂ, and tax clerk Josip JapunÃÂiÃÂ.
Rukavina had one of the more important roles in the uprising. He visited a number of villages to gain support from local inhabitants for the uprising. The Ustaà ¡e spread propaganda stating that Fascist Italy supported Croatian independence, and that the Ustaà ¡e would help them to gain the area near the Triglav and Ljubljana mountains, while the Italians would give Rijeka and Trieste to Croatia.
Since the main goal was sabotage of the military depot and garrison in GospiÃÂ, the Ustaà ¡e tried to establish contact with some military personnel, but without major success. The Ustaà ¡e from Gospiàwere in contact with the Ustaà ¡e in emigration, constantly exchanging information and advice. Before the beginning of the action, Italian authorities gave permission to the Ustaà ¡e to start the action. Ustaà ¡e leader Ante Brkan was responsible for transferring arms from Italy through Zadar, which was then part of the Italian state. In early 1932 the first arms were transferred, with a major shipment of arms arriving in August.
At the same time the Ustaà ¡e prepared by enlisting men for the action. Two sergeants, Josip ÃÂaÃÂiàand Ante Malbaà ¡a agreed to participate. Five armed and uniformed Ustaà ¡e arrived from Italy, among whom was Rafael Boban. They hid in a house of some peasants in Lukovo à  ugarje village, and were later followed by another five Ustaà ¡e.
At a meeting held in Spittal in Austria held on 28 August 1932, Ante PaveliÃÂ, Gustav PerÃÂec, and Vjekoslav Servatzy decided to start a small uprising. Servatzy was chosen to organize the action. Before the action started, Artukoviàand Doà ¡en went to Zadar to avoid arrest by the Yugoslav gendarmerie.
During the night between 6 and 7 September, the Ustaà ¡e launched an attack on the gendarmerie station in Bruà ¡ane village near GospiÃÂ. Besides the ten Ustaà ¡e that arrived, some Ustaà ¡e from Gospiàalso participated in the assault. Before the attack, the Ustaà ¡e cut the phone lines to the gendarmerie station in GospiÃÂ, then opened fire on the gendarmerie station in Bruà ¡ane. The attack lasted for half an hour, after which the Ustaà ¡e who lived in Croatia returned to their homes, while those who came from Italy went to Zadar across the Velebit. Though the leader of the action, ArtukoviÃÂ, escaped, he was arrested and put on trial in 1936 in Belgrade. He was accused, among other Ustaà ¡e, of destruction of the gendarmerie station on the night of the action. One member of the group, Stjepan DevÃÂiÃÂ, was killed at Jadovno by gendarmerie members during the follow-up operation.
Despite the small scale of the uprising, the Yugoslav authorities were unnerved because the power of the Ustaà ¡e was unknown. As a result, major security measures were introduced. This action had an impact in the foreign media, especially among the Italian and Hungarian press. In November 1932 in an article published in the official gazette of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, party general secretary Milan Gorkiàcriticised the communist leadership in Dalmatia because they did not join Ustaà ¡e during the Velebit uprising.
was sentenced to death by hanging for his involvement, a sentence which was later commuted to life in prison by King Alexander I. Rukavina was released from prison in 1939, but then interned shortly after. He was freed after the invasion of Yugoslavia, and became the commandant of the Jadovno concentration camp, where tens of thousands of Serbs and Jews were killed. After the war, Rukavina was captured by the British in Bleiburg. He was handed over to Yugoslav authorities during the Bleiburg repatriations, after which he was immediately put on trial. Rukavina was sentenced to death for war crimes, and was executed by firing squad in June 1945.
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