Page 2423
1 Wednesday, 18 March 2009
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.06 a.m.
5 [The witness takes the stand]
6 JUDGE PARKER: Good morning, Mr. Zyrapi.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good morning.
8 JUDGE PARKER: The affirmation you made to tell the truth at the
9 beginning of your evidence still applies.
10 Mr. Neuner.
11 WITNESS: BISLIM ZYRAPI [Resumed]
12 [Witness answered through interpreter]
13 Examination by Mr. Neuner: [Continued]
14 Q. Good morning, Mr. Zyrapi. I want to --
15 A. Good morning to you.
16 Q. I want to show you one last document relating to the topic of
17 orders which we couldn't finish yesterday, and this is
18 65 ter number 4301. We see here it's a document from the
19 10th of January, 1999, and I'm interested in the first paragraph above
20 the name -- the word "order." And it says here in the last lines of that
21 paragraph:
22 "The General Staff at its meeting of 5 January 1999 issued the
23 following order ..."
24 Could you tell me, were you participating in that meeting?
25 A. Yes.
Page 2424
1 Q. And -- please --
2 A. I was. This was the meeting of zone commanders that was held in
3 the General Staff and order was issued from there.
4 Q. And where exactly was that meeting, in what location?
5 A. The meeting was held in Divjak, where the General Staff was
6 based.
7 Q. And who issued the order which is referred to here at the
8 meeting?
9 A. The order was issued by the Operational Zone of Pashtrik. The
10 signature is not of the zone commander but the deputy zone commander.
11 MR. NEUNER: Can we scroll down that the witness is seeing the
12 signature, please.
13 Q. What's the name of the deputy zone commander?
14 A. The name of the commander is Ekrem Rexha, but as you can see from
15 the signature it was signed by Kolcaku.
16 Q. Thank you. I -- we misunderstood each other. I wanted to know
17 who at the General Staff meeting issued the order which prompted the
18 order of the deputy commander from the operational zone.
19 A. This order of the staff was issued by me, and it is related to
20 transportation issues. The zones could use vehicles that they needed
21 especially in various terrain, rough terrain.
22 MR. NEUNER: Could I, with this explanation, seek to tender this
23 document which has the 65 ter number 4301, Your Honours.
24 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
25 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00440, Your Honours.
Page 2425
1 MR. NEUNER:
2 Q. I want to move on to my next topic, discipline within the KLA.
3 MR. NEUNER: And can we have 65 ter 2448 being shown to this
4 witness.
5 Q. We see here from the handwritten date it is from the
6 28th of November, 1998, and my first question is: Who signed that order?
7 A. I signed the order.
8 Q. And if we go to number 3 of your order we see here:
9 "Improper behaviour with respect to the civilian population is to
10 be prevented in all KLA units."
11 Could you tell me what it was that prompted you to write such an
12 order?
13 A. I issued the order after I had contacts with the zone commanders,
14 and I heard complaints by superior officers that units from one zone went
15 to another zone and had improper behaviour towards the population, had
16 taken equipment from them without issuing the appropriate documentation;
17 and that's what prompted me to issue this order for the KLA soldiers and
18 their way of behaviour towards the population.
19 Q. So the units who took items from the civilian populations were
20 KLA units or elements thereof, better said?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Can you tell me what improvement, if any, followed that order of
23 yours?
24 A. After the order was issued, the behaviour of members of the KLA
25 improved considerably.
Page 2426
1 MR. NEUNER: Could I seek to tender 2448, Your Honours.
2 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
3 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00441, Your Honours.
4 MR. NEUNER: The next document has a 65 ter number 2463.
5 Q. We stay in the area of discipline. We see here that the first
6 line tells us:
7 "Pursuant to an Order by the Investigate Judge ..." and the order
8 is 10 February 1999
9 Could you first of all tell me, had the investigative judge in
10 1999 the authority to issue an order to zone commander of the KLA?
11 A. Yes. At the time, yes.
12 Q. To whom -- or who was the superior of such an investigative
13 judge, if there was any?
14 A. At that time the head of the military court was Sokol Dobruna.
15 Q. And on what level was Sokol Dobruna working, at what level within
16 the KLA structure?
17 A. Sokol Dobruna was above the general Chief of Staff.
18 Q. So to clarify, he was a member of the General Staff of the KLA?
19 A. Yes.
20 MR. NEUNER: With this explanation could I seek to tender
21 document 2463, Your Honours.
22 JUDGE PARKER: Can you please tell me, Mr. Zyrapi, what was the
23 request of the investigating judge that's referred to in paragraph 1 of
24 the order?
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can't remember this case;
Page 2427
1 however, it says here that the investigating judge had given an order,
2 maybe a disciplinary issue had arisen, and the military police of the
3 zone is placed at the disposal of carrying out this order.
4 JUDGE PARKER: Do I understand from that that the investigating
5 judge could not himself make a binding order?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The investigating judge had issued
7 an order about an investigation, but this order had to go through the
8 commander of the operational zone in order to be executed.
9 JUDGE PARKER: Thank you.
10 It will be received.
11 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00442, Your Honours.
12 MR. NEUNER: The next document has 65 ter number 2464.
13 Q. And we see it's a document dated from the 1st of February, 1999
14 from the Operation Zone Pashtrik. Could you tell me - and I'm reading
15 here from the paragraph above order, the word "order," it says on the
16 basis of certain articles of the disciplinary regulations of the
17 General Staff of the KLA.
18 What are these disciplinary regulations?
19 A. We talked about this yesterday. We had the interim regulations
20 of the KLA which was amended and completed with other rules as the time
21 went by. The articles of these regulations were used to take
22 disciplinary measures against the soldiers.
23 Q. And if I look here at number 1 of that order it says that a man,
24 Hasan O Bej has to be in the detention for the period of 48 hours. If
25 you remember that case, what conduct of Mr. Bej prompted that he had to
Page 2428
1 go for two days into detention?
2 A. I remember it a little bit. I think he misused his weapon. He
3 used his weapon to fire in the air. That's why the disciplinary measure
4 was taken against him for this offence.
5 Q. And can you explain to us, we see that Mr. Ekrem Rexha, the
6 commander of the Pashtrik zone, is issuing that order. Had a zone
7 commander in the KLA disciplinary powers so that he himself without a
8 judge could issue such an order?
9 A. Yes, he could issue orders. They -- there were also legal
10 advisors working with the commander, the zone commander, who could advise
11 them about disciplinary measures of this sort.
12 MR. NEUNER: Can I tender 2464, Your Honours.
13 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
14 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00443, Your Honours.
15 MR. NEUNER: The next document is 4300, 65 ter number 4300.
16 Q. And we see here in front of us, it's an order from the
17 18th of January, 1999, again from the Operation Zone Pashtrik. And I'm
18 just summarising briefly paragraphs 1 and 2 of that order. A state of
19 military-readiness is declared here. And number 2 says:
20 "All officers and soldiers" of that zone "who are outside their
21 unit should report immediately to" the "base in the Operational Zone
22 Pashtrik."
23 And I'm only interested now in number 7 of that order, and it
24 says in English:
25 "Disrespect for this order will result in penal discipline,
Page 2429
1 whereby immediate and rigorous measures will be taken."
2 Could you explain what disciplinary measures, if any, were
3 envisaged in case the soldiers who were ordered here did not report back
4 to their duty?
5 A. As far as I remember, if the soldiers did not comply with the
6 order, they would be declared deserters and the military court would be
7 used to take measures against the soldier or superior officer who did not
8 report. We used for this the former laws used in the Yugoslav Army as
9 well as international laws.
10 MR. NEUNER: With this explanation can I tender 65 ter 4300 into
11 evidence, Your Honours.
12 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
13 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00444, Your Honours.
14 MR. NEUNER: The last document on discipline has the
15 65 ter number 4183.
16 While this is being shown, can we also have the map from
17 yesterday, which I did not tender -- oh, it's lying already next to the
18 witness on the ELMO. That's, for the record, 65 ter number 615.6.
19 Q. This is a document here from the Serb side from the
20 11th of January, 1999, from the state security RDB of the
21 Ministry of Interior, and I don't want to delve into the formalities of
22 the document, just ask you to look into the first paragraph where it is
23 mentioned in the second line, talking about the territory of Suva Reka
24 municipality, that the main stronghold is in Brezance village, the site
25 of the KLA Main Staff for that municipality. Could you, by looking on
Page 2430
1 the map next to you, encircle for us where that Brezance village is which
2 is talked about here in the document.
3 MR. NEUNER: I see the ELMO appears or I don't get an image of
4 the ELMO here on my screen. Thank you.
5 We would need to zoom out a little bit, I guess.
6 Q. Can you mark --
7 A. This is not a topographic map and this village is a very small
8 one, that's why it's not on the map, but it's approximately here where I
9 made this circle.
10 Q. And for the record you have marked a number 4 next to the circle
11 where you believe that Brezance is.
12 Going back now to the document which talks about that village, it
13 says that an army barracks is in that village. Which unit was located in
14 Brezance village, which KLA unit?
15 A. It was the 123rd Brigade which was located in this village.
16 Q. And then we see in the same sentence it talks, next to a military
17 hospital, about a prison which was formed. Can you explain, if you know,
18 what that reference may mean.
19 A. Each brigade command had a room for keeping in isolation or for
20 detaining the people who violated the rules. There was a hospital that
21 was located in Pagarusha.
22 Q. Can you mark, if it is visible on the map, where that place,
23 Pagarusha, is by encircling it and marking a 5 next to it.
24 A. [Marks]
25 Q. Thank you. We were now talking about the 123rd Brigade. Can you
Page 2431
1 tell me in general did KLA brigades have some detention rooms, or was it
2 only in the case of the 123rd KLA Brigade that such detention rooms would
3 exist?
4 A. Other brigades had them as well.
5 Q. What about operational zones, did they have detention rooms?
6 A. Yes, in general.
7 Q. I want to move on to my next topic which is territory held or
8 controlled by the KLA. If we stay in this document for a second, and I'm
9 referring to the first sentence here.
10 The Serbian State Security Service reports here on the
11 11th of January, 1999, and I'm reading the first sentence that:
12 "In the territory of Suva Reka
13 controlled by the terrorists of the so-called KLA."
14 Could you, being the Chief of Staff of the KLA at the time,
15 comment upon that assessment from the Serbian side?
16 A. It is true that most of the villages in Suhareke municipality
17 were under the control of 123rd Brigade.
18 Q. If I understand here the reference, it talks about the territory
19 of Suva Reka municipality. Could you clarify whether the entire
20 municipality was the A OR of the 123rd Brigade or of several other
21 brigades?
22 A. Most of the villages, as I said, were under the command or
23 control of the 123rd Brigade. It is possible that a village belonged to
24 the area of responsibility of another brigade, depending on the border
25 separating two neighbouring brigades.
Page 2432
1 Q. I'm just asking because -- were other KLA brigades in the
2 territory of Suva Reka
3 controlling territory of Suva Reka
4 alleges?
5 A. In the northern part of Suhareke, some villages were under or in
6 the area of responsibility of 121 Brigade, whereas the remaining villages
7 were under the control of 123rd Brigade.
8 MR. NEUNER: With this explanation could I seek to tender
9 65 ter number 4183, Your Honours.
10 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
11 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00445, Your Honours.
12 MR. NEUNER:
13 Q. I want to show you now 65 ter number 2460, a document from the
14 KLA side roughly in the same time-period. We see it's the
15 28th of December, 1998.
16 MR. NEUNER: And if we could just for a second move to the
17 signature on the last side, and we only need to do that in the Albanian
18 version. I want the witness to see the signature.
19 Q. Could you tell us who signed this document?
20 A. I signed it.
21 Q. Thank you.
22 MR. NEUNER: We could now go to page 3 -- yeah, to page 3 in both
23 versions, and I'm interested in the letter (g) which says "our forces" --
24 "combat situation," and then there is a subheading "our forces." And in
25 the B/C/S we would need -- I think the witness has read the last two
Page 2433
1 lines. We would need to switch to the next page as well. So that the
2 witness can read the next page because it goes onto the next page -- in
3 Albanian we need to go to the next page I wanted to say, to page
4 number 4, please, and there the upper part, of course. Thank you.
5 Q. Witness, if you read this briefly, it says in your document - and
6 this is in English somewhere in the middle - it says:
7 " ... we can freely say," I quote, "that the territory
8 controlled by our units is now of a greater percentage than prior to the
9 enemy offensive."
10 What I'm interested in is: Which enemy offensive were you
11 referring to here, and when was that offensive coming to an end?
12 A. This was the offensive launched by the Serb military and police
13 forces. It commenced in July and finished sometime in October 1998.
14 Q. And do I interpret your sentence correctly that following the end
15 of that offensive in October 1998, as you just explained, the territory
16 controlled by our units is now of a greater percentage, territory
17 controlled by whom?
18 A. "Our units" means KLA units.
19 Q. And can you tell me why was, in your assessment, by December, end
20 of December 1998, the KLA holding a greater percentage of territory?
21 A. After this offensive, the KLA units withdrew during this
22 offensive and had smaller territories; but after the offensive itself the
23 units consolidated, the number of soldiers increased, and they spread
24 their territory that was under their control.
25 Q. And before in the document we were talking about Suva Reka
Page 2434
1 municipality. In this document about which parts of Kosovo are you
2 talking about?
3 A. The document does not refer only to the Suhareke territory, but
4 also to the Dukagjini territory based on the report that was compiled by
5 the commander of the zone at the time.
6 MR. NEUNER: Can I seek to tender 65 ter number 2460 into
7 evidence, Your Honours.
8 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
9 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00446, Your Honours.
10 MR. NEUNER: The next document is 4186.
11 Q. We see here it's from the 13th of March, 1999, a document a few
12 days before the NATO air-strikes begin. And it is again from the state
13 security department of the MUP, so from, if I may call it, the other
14 side. And I'm interested in page 5 of that document in both versions.
15 There is a headline entitled "Prizren Municipality
16 If you would please read the first paragraph. It will be
17 enlarged shortly. We see here in the first paragraph mentioning is made
18 of the villages of Pirane and Randobrava. If you look at the map next to
19 you, could you first of all point -- not encircle, just point with a
20 marker for Your Honours' benefit where Pirane and Randobrava are located.
21 No need to mark it. Just point at it, please.
22 MR. NEUNER: The ELMO needs to be moved, Your Honours, or the --
23 could we zoom out a little bit.
24 Q. Yeah. Can you just for Your Honours' benefit point -- yes, yeah,
25 you have marked a dot for Your Honours' benefit where
Page 2435
1 Pirane and Randobrava are. Thank you.
2 And moving on in the document we have seen which the occasion is
3 which are referred to here in the document. We see that 50 to 70
4 terrorists are mentioned --
5 JUDGE PARKER: Mr. Djurdjic.
6 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I think that the
7 witness did not mark Randobrava and Mr. Neuner has just indicated that he
8 did. Pirane, yes, but Randobrava, no, as far as I can see. I don't know
9 if you are seeing the same thing.
10 JUDGE PARKER: He marked two towns, one almost directly north of
11 the other, two villages, and they are both Randobrava and Pirane.
12 MR. NEUNER: Correct.
13 Q. Yeah, I wanted to move on in the document itself. If we move on,
14 we have clarified what the area is, to the next paragraph, it is
15 mentioned here about the terrorists, so to speak. And I'm quoting:
16 "They have built fortifications and bunkers and set up a
17 check-point with armed men on the hill between Randobrava and Mala Krusa,
18 overlooking Mala Krusa close to the Kosovo Vine cellars ..."
19 Could you, if we talk about this check-point on the hill,
20 indicate for Your Honours where that check-point on the hill is.
21 A. This is a hill above Randobrava, or rather, between
22 Randobrava and Krusha e Vogel.
23 Q. Could you mark on your map by encircling this time where you
24 believe that check-point on the hill is.
25 A. [Marks]
Page 2436
1 Q. I believe number 6 is the next highest number we would need.
2 A. [Marks]
3 Q. Thank you. Can you tell me, did you ever visit that spot which
4 you have encircled as number 6?
5 A. During February/March time-period, I toured not only this
6 check-point but more or less the entire defence line. It was like an
7 observation post that observed the movement along Prizren-Gjakove main
8 road. So this was the movement from Prizren direction towards Gjakove
9 covering also Xerxe and the bridge of Rashevc
10 Q. I listened carefully to what you just explained. You are
11 referring to this spot which you have marked as number 6 as an
12 observation point, while the Serb side here says it was a check-point
13 which indicates to me that there were cars controlled. Can you explain
14 to me what you believed when you were there, what activity was going on
15 on that hill from the KLA side?
16 A. It was a point in the defence line of the KLA, and as I said
17 earlier, it was an observation post like an observation of the terrain
18 was carried out from that point.
19 Q. If cars passed through, were they stopped and controlled and
20 checked?
21 A. Cars could not pass through this area. It was a hilly part, so
22 it was just part of the defence line of the KLA, this check-point from
23 where we carried out the observation of the terrain.
24 Q. Now I hear in the translation it was a check-point. I'm just
25 trying to clarify. The Serb side says it was a check-point and you used
Page 2437
1 a couple of times observation point. Could you just clarify one last
2 time what that spot was?
3 JUDGE PARKER: I think we have it clarified.
4 MR. NEUNER: We have it clarified. Okay. Then I would seek to
5 tender that document, Your Honours.
6 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
7 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00447, Your Honours.
8 MR. NEUNER: The next document is 2462.
9 Q. We see it's a document from the 125th Brigade, and I'm interested
10 in the -- in Albanian the third-last paragraph --
11 MR. NEUNER: If you could scroll down a little bit for the
12 benefit of the witness.
13 Q. -- and in English the fourth-last paragraph starting with:
14 "On Thursday, the 25th of March ..."
15 And I'm quoting here:
16 "On Thursday, 25th of March, 1999, the first Serb offensive of
17 this year began all of over Kosovo by stretching to include
18 Prizren and Rahovec municipalities. Krusha e Madhe and Krusha e Vogel
19 suffered most, as did the surrounding villages."
20 Could you by looking at the map next to you encircle, first of
21 all, Krusha e Vogel.
22 A. [Marks]
23 Q. And mark a number 7.
24 A. [Marks]
25 Q. Thank you. And I'm then continuing in the text:
Page 2438
1 "Serb forces stretched to include the villages of Pirane-Zejz and
2 Mrovec."
3 JUDGE PARKER: Mr. Djurdjic.
4 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, as far as
5 Krusha e Vogel is concerned, on the map that I have it's -- it was marked
6 yesterday. I don't know.
7 MR. NEUNER: I can explain that yesterday I had him mark the
8 train station of Krusha e Vogel, and today I had marked him
9 Krusha e Vogel proper, which is the village itself. I can ask the
10 witness to clarify if this is a concern of the Defence.
11 JUDGE PARKER: Can I say, Mr. Neuner, that the map shows in the
12 grey shaded area the villages.
13 MR. NEUNER: I believe so, Your Honour.
14 JUDGE PARKER: And the circle of the witness with number 1
15 encircles the grey shaded area of the village. It may also contain the
16 railway station, naturally.
17 MR. NEUNER: I will clarify, Your Honours.
18 JUDGE PARKER: I really wonder that you need to.
19 MR. NEUNER: Okay. Fine. Then I leave it here.
20 I will move on.
21 Q. In the text briefly it says in the next sentence:
22 "On this very day," referring to the 25th of March, "the village
23 population left and sheltered in the village of Mamusha
24 Could you please show by encircling, Your Honours -- by
25 encircling on the map, could you show Your Honours where Mamusha is.
Page 2439
1 A. [Marks]
2 Q. And mark an 8 next to it.
3 A. [Marks]
4 Q. Thank you. And my last question relating to this document
5 relates to Friday, the 26th, it's two paragraphs down there in the text.
6 "On Friday, the 26th of March ..." and I'm leaving out a passage,
7 "around 1720 the village was surrounded by numerous Serbian forces that
8 took their positions with tanks, armoured vehicles, and heavy
9 machine-guns in the woods ..."
10 Could you tell me, you were the Chief of Staff of the KLA at the
11 time, have you heard that the Serb forces were deploying tanks on
12 Friday, the 26th of March, 1999?
13 A. I had this as an information from the reports received from the
14 zone commander, brigade commander. I was informed that that the Serb
15 forces launched their attack earlier, on the 25th, and advanced further
16 in the territory of the 124 and 125 Brigade. So I have received this
17 information on the movement of armed -- armoured personnel carriers and
18 tanks.
19 Q. Could you by looking at the map next to you draw, so to speak, if
20 you know, an arrow indicating the beginning and the direction of movement
21 of the tanks?
22 A. Based on the report I received from the commander at the time,
23 the armoured military vehicles moved along this direction.
24 Q. Thank you. You have drawn three arrows. How did you react to
25 that information?
Page 2440
1 A. Upon receiving the information, the first order was for the units
2 to withdraw to the second and third line of defence in order to
3 consolidate the defence, and all units that had equipment, antitank
4 equipment, had an order to use them in order to repel the attack or the
5 offensive of the enemy forces.
6 Q. Where were you going, if anywhere, upon receiving that
7 information?
8 JUDGE PARKER: Yes, Mr. Djurdjic.
9 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the witness did not
10 say where he was when he received the information. He merely stated that
11 he received the information. Thank you.
12 MR. NEUNER: I rephrase.
13 Q. Where were you when you received that information?
14 A. I was in Divjake, in the General Staff building.
15 Q. And did you stay all the time in the General Staff building in
16 Divjak or did you move somewhere; if so, where?
17 A. I moved depending on the intensity of fighting at the time. So
18 as Serb forces advanced in this direction, I moved to the zone command
19 based at Nishor; and together with zone command, we went on the ground to
20 organise a defence line at Dobrodolan village where there were units that
21 had previously withdrawn from the defence line, units that belonged to
22 the 124 and 125 Brigades.
23 Q. Could you briefly mark, if it's on the map, Dobrodolan. Encircle
24 it and mark a 9?
25 MR. NEUNER: And then I would seek to tender that map,
Page 2441
1 Your Honours.
2 THE WITNESS: [Marks]
3 MR. NEUNER: This is 65 ter number 615.06.
4 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
5 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00448, Your Honours.
6 MR. NEUNER:
7 Q. I want to move quickly to the map which you gave in your
8 statement.
9 MR. NEUNER: I was just informed that the document which I had
10 shown to the witness was not tendered yet. I would seek to tender also
11 the document 2462. That's the 65 ter number into evidence, Your Honours.
12 JUDGE PARKER: That too will be received.
13 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00449, Your Honours.
14 MR. NEUNER: And the map can be removed from the witness -- from
15 the ELMO I mean.
16 MR. DJURDJIC: [Microphone not activated]
17 [Interpretation] Your Honour, could you --
18 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel please speak into the
19 microphone.
20 JUDGE PARKER: That couldn't be heard, I'm afraid, by the
21 interpreter, Mr. Djurdjic. Could you repeat what you've said.
22 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, there was only the
23 first page of this document that has been admitted was shown on the
24 screen. We could only see the heading. We didn't see the end of the
25 document, whether it was signed, by whom, and whether this is an
Page 2442
1 authentic document, whether that can be verified. That's why I'm asking
2 why only the page that we see on the screen is admitted or is the
3 document in its entirety admitted into evidence.
4 JUDGE PARKER: The document has been tendered in its entirety.
5 If you think there is a dispute about its authenticity, you may pursue
6 that in cross-examination. Thank you.
7 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.
8 MR. NEUNER: Maybe before the document disappears from the screen
9 or it's already disappeared --
10 Q. Witness, the document you have just seen last, who produced that
11 document to the ICTY?
12 A. This document, together with other documents, were produced by
13 me.
14 Q. And where did you obtain that document before you brought it to
15 us?
16 A. I obtained it from the archives of the Pashtrik Operational Zone.
17 MR. NEUNER: I forgot now, Your Honours, did it receive already
18 an -- it did already receive an exhibit number.
19 I want to move on to the next document which is Exhibit 427, and
20 I would also need the last page. This is, for Your Honours' information,
21 the witness statement which I tendered yesterday.
22 Q. We were just discussing about the operation near
23 Pirane-Mala Krusa, and the next map was attached here to your witness
24 statement. I would be interested once it comes up if you tell us who has
25 produced it.
Page 2443
1 MR. NEUNER: We can go in one-screen mode, for the usher's
2 assistance, because this is a very huge map. And if we could focus
3 simply on the lower markings, it's roughly in the middle of that
4 document.
5 Q. Could you tell us, because you see the map already, who has
6 produced this map?
7 A. I produced the map, and I made the lines and the drawings on it.
8 MR. NEUNER: Could we now zoom in very much on the letter A which
9 we see in the middle right now on the screen. Thank you.
10 Q. Yeah, could you -- just that we orientate ourselves - tell us, is
11 the area around letter A almost similar to the area of the map which we
12 just saw where you made all these nine to ten markings?
13 A. Yes, approximately; however, this map contains more detail about
14 villages, but it's the same part of the country.
15 MR. NEUNER: I'm leading the witness a little bit. I just wanted
16 to have a few explanations for Your Honours' benefit. I note also the
17 time. I'm almost winding down, Your Honours. I just -- I'm leading at
18 this point in time just to explain you the background of the map.
19 Q. Could you tell us by drawing a long arrow, if you can, in which
20 direction the Serb forces, which we understood were coming from the
21 western side, in which direction were the Serb forces moving at the end
22 of March 1999?
23 MR. NEUNER: This is all in evidence, my learned colleague. I'm
24 just --
25 JUDGE PARKER: Would you address the Chamber, not other counsel,
Page 2444
1 Mr. Neuner.
2 Yes, Mr. Djurdjic.
3 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, Your Honour, the
4 witness never said that Serb forces were coming from the west, not at any
5 point. Second, I wonder whether this document has been tendered into
6 evidence or not, although I can take care of that later on during my
7 cross. But any mention of the west relating to the axis of movement of
8 the Serb forces was never made.
9 JUDGE PARKER: I believe that is correct, Mr. Neuner.
10 And this map has not been tendered as an exhibit, Mr. Djurdjic.
11 [Trial Chamber and Registrar confer]
12 JUDGE PARKER: I am told, Mr. Djurdjic, that this map is, in
13 fact, the last page of Exhibit P427, the statement of the witness, so it
14 is part of Exhibit P427.
15 Now, Mr. Neuner.
16 MR. NEUNER: Yes, it is tendered already. I just wanted to
17 highlight a few portions for Your Honours' benefit. The entire operation
18 which is ensuing has been discussed at length in the witness's last
19 testimony in the Milutinovic et al case, and I'm talking about 5.900 --
20 transcript pages 5.990 till 6.008. I'm just trying to show Your Honours
21 briefly the introduction to that map, what the background is. And I
22 didn't want to spend much time on this. I see I'm getting objections,
23 but everything, I believe, is already in evidence.
24 Q. Could you - and I'm withdrawing my earlier question - just
25 indicate from which side to which side the Serb forces were moving? You
Page 2445
1 can draw over that map an arrow to indicate the direction of movement of
2 the Serb forces on the screen in front of you.
3 JUDGE PARKER: Mr. Djurdjic.
4 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, as far as I can
5 recall, reading the transcript from the Milutinovic case, I think that
6 the witness then marked in red ink the positions and activities of the
7 Serbian forces.
8 JUDGE PARKER: There is a red marking on the map.
9 MR. NEUNER: Yeah, I'm asking -- which are multiple markings.
10 I'm just asking about the general direction of the movement of the Serb
11 forces and that is all. While the witness has marked some individual red
12 markings which is all explained already. I just wanted Your Honours to
13 grasp in which direction the Serb forces overall were moving throughout
14 the operation, and the witness has now marked, for the record, an arrow
15 indicating the direction of overall movement. And maybe with that
16 explanation I would just seek to tender this one page because I wanted to
17 move inside the map to other areas.
18 Could I seek to tender just this one --
19 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
20 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00450, Your Honours.
21 MR. NEUNER: Could we, by zooming in on the map again --
22 JUDGE PARKER: Yes, Mr. Djurdjic.
23 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the version of the
24 map that the witness has just marked has now been zoomed in, and it is
25 only a portion of the earlier map; in other words, the other map
Page 2446
1 contained other portions as well that were marked in phases, I think
2 A, B, C, and D. I think that's how the witness marked them. So that now
3 we have a confusion here because we just see a section of this map
4 without actually being able to see the rest of the map.
5 MR. NEUNER: [Microphone not activated] -- the entire map is in
6 evidence, Your Honours. The problem of that map is it's of a very small
7 scale, and if one prints it out, it is almost -- since it is so small it
8 is almost hard to catch with the own eye. What I'm just doing is I'm
9 blowing up portions here of the map to make it more legible and
10 understandable. We can have one general explanation per A, B, C, D,
11 which is marked here on these maps, tender them in a larger scale so that
12 Your Honours can make sense out of it. That's all I'm doing. I thought
13 I'm sitting in a few minutes' time, but I'm getting very many objections
14 about that. The entire map as such is in evidence and Your Honours can
15 look at it, but as I believe, it is very difficult to understand.
16 JUDGE PARKER: Please continue.
17 MR. NEUNER: If I could now ask the usher to pull us the other
18 section of this overall map relating to B, C, and D. Just -- I need this
19 portion so it's more visible for Your Honours. We don't need A any
20 longer. Yeah, thank you.
21 Q. We see here B and C and front of us. You have already marked for
22 us the lower part. Could you just explain to us where was the
23 offensive -- the Serb offensive, if at all, proceeding, just by
24 indicating a rough arrow?
25 A. Yes, it continued to the territory of Pagarusha
Page 2447
1 Q. Sorry, we have lost --
2 A. -- and towards --
3 MR. NEUNER: Have we still kept the marking of the witness?
4 Q. We need to start afresh, Witness. Could you please mark again.
5 A. Yes, it started in Dobrodolan, towards Pagarusha, and further on
6 to Berisha, where it stopped.
7 Q. Could you mark roughly the line where the Serb offensive stopped?
8 A. [Marks]
9 Q. You have drawn an arrow indicating the direction of movement,
10 first of all, as explanation for the record.
11 A. When I was there at the time, it is about here that the offensive
12 stopped. The Serb forces did not continue further on.
13 Q. You have marked a dotted line where you believe that the Serb
14 forces stopped. Around what time did the Serb forces stop in 1999 at
15 this line?
16 A. This was about the 26th and the 27th of March. There were
17 sporadic fightings on the other days as well, but the Serb forces did not
18 go beyond this line.
19 Q. Could you just encircle where the headquarter of the
20 General Staff of the KLA was at the time for Your Honours' attention.
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. And mark a 1 next to it.
23 A. [Marks]
24 MR. NEUNER: I would seek to tender that annotated map into
25 evidence, Your Honours.
Page 2448
1 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
2 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00451, Your Honours.
3 MR. NEUNER:
4 Q. The last document I have for you has exhibit number --
5 65 ter number 2457. 65 ter number is 2457.
6 And my first question is: Who signed that order?
7 A. This order was signed by me.
8 Q. And you're ordering here the Pashtrik Operational Zone to
9 establish a defence line, and that's on the 1st of April, 1999. Could
10 you explain whether this defence line was indeed established.
11 A. This defence line, although the order was given, was not
12 established -- or they started to establish it, but because of the Serb
13 offensive they had to withdraw.
14 MR. NEUNER: Could I nevertheless with that explanation seek to
15 tender that document into evidence, Your Honour.
16 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
17 THE REGISTRAR: That will be P00452, Your Honours.
18 MR. NEUNER:
19 Q. We have just seen here that you're trying through such orders to
20 create defence lines against the Serb -- advancing Serb forces. Could
21 you tell me, Did the General Staff of the KLA in March/April 1999 have
22 some own forces at their disposal which could be used to reinforce zone
23 commanders' troops?
24 A. Yes, at that time the General Staff had units at its disposal,
25 also units of the military police, the intelligence unit, and sabotage
Page 2449
1 unit. These were used to reinforce the troops in the zones according to
2 their demands or requests.
3 Q. So how many troops did the General Staff itself command, how many
4 men, how many soldiers, in March/April 1999?
5 A. As far as I remember, there were about 300 soldiers of the KLA
6 assigned to the General Staff.
7 MR. NEUNER: The Prosecution has no further questions,
8 Your Honour.
9 JUDGE PARKER: Thank you very much, Mr. Neuner.
10 It's probably convenient, is it, Mr. Djurdjic, to have the break
11 now?
12 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Well, I think it would be
13 preferable to take the break now so that I can prepare and then we can be
14 more efficient.
15 JUDGE PARKER: We will need to have a break now to resume at ten
16 minutes to 11.00, half an hour. We adjourn now.
17 --- Recess taken at 10.19 a.m.
18 --- On resuming at 10.51 a.m.
19 JUDGE PARKER: I believe Mr. Djurdjic has some questions for
20 you now, Mr. Zyrapi.
21 Yes, Mr. Djurdjic.
22 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
23 Cross-examination by Mr. Djurdjic.
24 Q. [Interpretation] Mr. Zyrapi, my name is Veljko Djurdjic. And I
25 am a member of the Defence team of the accused, Mr. Vlastimir Djordjevic.
Page 2450
1 With me today is Ms. Marie O'Leary, a member of our team. Would you
2 please listen carefully to my questions and answer my questions
3 specifically so that we can complete the cross-examination as soon as
4 possible.
5 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we now please have
6 Exhibit P00436 on the screens.
7 Q. Mr. Zyrapi --
8 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we please see the next page
9 where the actual text begins.
10 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, these are the interim regulations on the organisation
11 of internal affairs in the army that you mentioned yesterday. Would you
12 please read the military declaration, the contents of the military oath,
13 which is under Roman II, subparagraph 1. Could you please read it out
14 loud.
15 A. Yes.
16 "As a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, I hereby swear that I
17 will fight for the liberation of the occupied territories of Albania
18 their unification, that I will always be a loyal soldier, a worthy
19 soldier of freedom, vigilant, brave, and disciplined, ready at all times,
20 even unto death to struggle to protect the sacred interests of the
21 Fatherland. If I break this oath, may I be punished by the most severe
22 martial law and if I commit treason may my blood be spent. I swear!"
23 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi. This is an oath that each new member of
24 the KLA had to make; am I correct?
25 A. Yes, this is the oath that was taken in the beginning, but it
Page 2451
1 changed in the later period.
2 Q. Thank you. This oath states that:
3 "I shall fight for the liberation of the occupied territories of
4 Albania
5 Could you please explain to us what occupied territories of
6 Albania
7 supposed to be unified?
8 A. This oath that was taken at the time comprised Kosova, part of
9 Macedonia
10 Q. Thank you. And what did they mean by unification of all Albanian
11 territories?
12 A. It is about the unification of those territories that I mentioned
13 together with Albania
14 Q. Thank you. Would you now please read Chapter II, Roman I,
15 item 1, the national flag. This is on page 3 in Albanian and on the
16 second page of the English version.
17 A. I can see it now, yes. The raising of the national flag, meaning
18 the red flag with the black eagle in the middle.
19 Q. Thank you. And this is the symbol of the state of all Albanians,
20 if I'm not mistaken, that's what is stated here.
21 A. Yes, this is the national flag.
22 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, in this document in chapter 7 on page 16
23 in Albanian and page 10 in English, it is stated:
24 "All KLA activities have been stated in the platform of the
25 Kosovo -- Albanian National Movement and in the platform of the Kosovo
Page 2452
1 Liberation Army for liberation on unity."
2 Mr. Zyrapi, could you tell us, please, what the
3 Albanian National Movement is.
4 A. The creation of the KLA, its political base or foundation was the
5 LPK, the patriotic movement of Kosova; and according to its platform, the
6 KLA began to be formed based on the platform of the LPK.
7 Q. Thank you. Am I correct in saying that the KLA platform that was
8 adopted was to separate the territories of Serbia, Macedonia
9 Montenegro
10 thus forming a greater Albanian state?
11 A. In the beginning the platform of the LPK was this, that you just
12 read; however, the platform later on was changed so this platform was
13 revised to the effect of liberation of the territory of Kosova
14 secession from Serbia
15 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi, but these were interim regulations on the
16 organisation of internal affairs in the army that you passed in
17 November -- in November 1998; am I correct?
18 A. In November I received this document, the document was compiled
19 earlier.
20 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, I've carefully read all your statements,
21 but I must say that I am not clear on the structure and organisation of
22 the Main
23 the head of the Main Staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army. First could
24 you just mention what the function was, the highest function.
25 A. I'm speaking about the period November and onwards. There was a
Page 2453
1 commander of the General Staff, deputy commanders of the General Staff,
2 then there were the different departments of the directorate --
3 directorates of the staff and the Chief of General Staff.
4 Q. Thank you. I apologise, I was referring to the time when you
5 were appointed as chief of the Main Staff. Could you please tell me, the
6 commander of the Main Staff, who was it at this time?
7 A. At the time commander of the chief -- the General Staff until
8 March 1999 was Azem Syla.
9 Q. Thank you. And after March 1999?
10 A. After March until May commander of General Staff was
11 Sylejman Selimi.
12 Q. Thank you. When you say as of March, does this imply the time
13 before the NATO operations or after the NATO operations?
14 A. Before.
15 Q. Thank you. Who was the deputy commander of the Main Staff?
16 A. There were two deputy commanders of General Staff. One of them,
17 Sokol Bashota, deputy commander for operations, whereas Jakup Krasniqi
18 was the deputy commander of the General Staff for political issues.
19 Q. Thank you. How many administrations did the General Staff of the
20 Kosovo Liberation Army have?
21 A. Initially there were six, then the number of directorates
22 increased depending on the needs, and to what I remember I think there
23 were eight altogether later on.
24 Q. Thank you. I've reviewed many documents, but I never saw a
25 document depicting the structure and organisation of the staff of the
Page 2454
1 KLA. Does such a document exist?
2 A. In my statement I did explain the commanding structure of the
3 staff from top to bottom.
4 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi, but that was not my question. I did not
5 ask of you to describe the structure and organisation, but rather, which
6 document actually sets forth that organisation structure?
7 A. At the time there was, and this document was in the hands or with
8 the commander of the General Staff.
9 Q. Thank you. And where is this document now, and when was it
10 passed?
11 A. As far as I remember, it should be in the archives of the KLA,
12 the adopted document; however, it was revised and changed. For the
13 structure I'm talking about it referred to the period November and
14 December 1998.
15 Q. Thank you. While you were the Chief of Staff of the
16 General Staff, were you in contact with other armies?
17 A. From November until April, I did not have contacts with other
18 armies except with the KLA army.
19 Q. Thank you. And did you have any contact with the NATO forces?
20 A. Personally I didn't.
21 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, I did not mean you personally, but rather your
22 General Staff, whether your General Staff had any relations or any
23 contact with the NATO forces; and if so, what kind of relationship did
24 they have?
25 A. During the time I was Chief of Staff, I did not have any
Page 2455
1 knowledge of contacts between the KLA General Staff and NATO forces.
2 Q. Thank you. Let me try to refresh your memory, Mr. Zyrapi. You
3 gave an interview to the Zeri newspaper and in answer to the question:
4 During the air-strikes of NATO, the communication between the KLA and the
5 NATO enabled the discovery of the military potentials of the Serb army
6 and their front line, and in answer whether there were any other forms of
7 cooperation with them you answered: During the air-strikes this was one
8 of the main purpose of our cooperation, the coordination between the NATO
9 and our own forces.
10 Do you remember that you've said this?
11 A. This was the operations centre that informed on the groupings and
12 movements of the Serb forces to inform the NATO forces that at the time
13 were based in Macedonia
14 Q. Thank you. Could you now please describe how you maintained
15 communications between the operations centre of the Main Staff of the KLA
16 and the NATO forces in Macedonia
17 A. The operations department -- there was another part of the
18 operations centre organised in Albania
19 movement and grouping of Serb forces were sent; and from there, the
20 information was then conveyed to NATO forces, both in Albania
21 Macedonia
22 Q. Thank you. Am I right if I say that at the time when you were
23 appointed the Chief of the General Staff of the KLA, an agreement was
24 signed, the Geremek-Jovanovic, Milosevic-Holbrooke and other agreements
25 actually, and that those agreements established the
Page 2456
1 Kosovo Verification Mission
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Thank you. Now I would like us to get on our screens the
4 Prosecution Exhibit P446.
5 Mr. Zyrapi, this exhibit was admitted into evidence yesterday.
6 You are familiar with it; am I right?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And you signed it; is that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. I'm interested in this document -- well, the date is the 28th
11 of December, 1998, and in paragraph (b) the last sentence reads:
12 "The enemy suffered considerable losses in personnel and
13 equipment with minimal consequences for our KLA units."
14 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter's note: The counsel is kindly
15 requested to slow down when reading.
16 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. Could you please explain to us what you meant when you said that?
18 A. This is a report extracting from the report sent by zone
19 commanders, a first report compiled during the meetings between the zone
20 commanders and the General Staff, during which the zone commanders
21 reported to the General Staff about the situation in their respective
22 zones. So they reported on the damages inflicted on the Serb forces and
23 on the KLA side for the relevant period.
24 Q. Thank you. This document was adopted by the KLA General Staff
25 before you drafted it and submitted it?
Page 2457
1 A. So this is a report based on the reports received from the zone
2 commanders. It was compiled, it was signed by me, and it was sent to the
3 commander of the General Staff; and at the time it was the deputy
4 commander of the General Staff who received the report.
5 Q. Thank you. In paragraph (d), the second-to-last sentence reads:
6 "The Llap Operational Zone is different from other operational
7 zones because it organised the Territorial Defence and civilian
8 protection."
9 Mr. Zyrapi, could you explain to me this Lap zone, what was this
10 Territorial Defence and the civilian protection like, what did it consist
11 of?
12 A. The Llapi Operational Zone, in addition to the regular KLA units,
13 there were also civil protection units in order to secure the area, in
14 order to help the population to evacuate in cases of fighting occurring
15 in the areas where they lived.
16 Q. Thank you. And were those units different from the KLA units?
17 A. Yes, they were different from the KLA units, both in terms of
18 organisation, weapons, and leadership.
19 Q. Thank you. The General Staff, was it superior also to those
20 units?
21 A. All the Territorial Defence units and the civil protection units
22 reported to the operational zone command and through that to the
23 General Staff.
24 Q. Thank you. In paragraph (g) you say - and this was quoted back
25 to you today -
Page 2458
1 "After the enemy offensive, the forces were regrouped in the axis
2 in all operational zones in positions there, and we can say that the
3 territory controlled by our units is greater now than it was before the
4 enemy offensive in percentage terms."
5 [No interpretation]
6 A. During that time, according to the report and after the
7 offensive, I explained this earlier -- before the offensive, the KLA was
8 covering smaller territories; however, later on the KLA developed
9 gradually but it did not reach to the main roads and axis. However, the
10 KLA developed in the villages and by that I mean the increase in number
11 of soldiers and so on.
12 JUDGE PARKER: Mr. Neuner.
13 MR. NEUNER: I just waited for the witness to finish because the
14 question was not recorded. If you could just repeat your question, I
15 think that's probably a possible course of action. Thank you.
16 JUDGE PARKER: Yes, your question came too quickly to be
17 recorded, I believe, Mr. Djurdjic.
18 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
19 Q. So the response to my question before the intervention by my
20 learned colleague, Mr. Neuner, was that -- well, the question was: Does
21 that mean that you used the agreement that the Federal Republic
22 of Yugoslavia
23 that was now greater than it had been before the summer conflicts? Thank
24 you.
25 Mr. Zyrapi, as the Chief of Staff you were quite aware of the
Page 2459
1 fact that the agreement between the FRY and the international officials,
2 all kinds of them, that it envisaged cessation of hostilities, a
3 cease-fire; am I right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Thank you. And in the next sentence you say:
6 "Special approach was taken by organising KLA units in towns and
7 areas that were not under the control of the regular KLA units."
8 Mr. Zyrapi, does that mean that in all towns in Kosovo you had
9 your units set up?
10 A. No, because it wasn't possible to create the units in towns. The
11 units were only in the villages.
12 Q. Thank you. But, Mr. Zyrapi, let me repeat:
13 "Special approach was taken by organising KLA units in towns and
14 areas that are not under the control of the regular units."
15 A. Maybe there is a mistake here made in the writing of the report;
16 however, as I said earlier, there were no units in the towns because it
17 was not possible to form that at that time. But there were units in the
18 villages.
19 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, can you tell me what document actually
20 served as a basis for the foundation of the military court of the
21 Kosovo Liberation Army?
22 A. The military court was formed at the same time that the
23 General Staff was restructured. I'm speaking about the period when I was
24 Chief of General Staff, so it coincided with the same period that the
25 General Staff was restructured.
Page 2460
1 Q. Thank you. And what document actually was used as a basis for
2 the organisation of the military court?
3 A. I said earlier that the document used or documents used for the
4 functioning of the military court were the former laws of the
5 Army of Yugoslavia
6 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, you're not now telling us what
7 regulations the military court applied, and I'm asking you how and when
8 the military court was established, what was the founding document, the
9 statute?
10 A. The document is the same document that established the
11 restructuring of the General Staff. This was compiled in
12 January/February. I was not Chief of Staff at the time, but I know that
13 they worked with that document before I arrived.
14 Q. Thank you. But you didn't tell me January, February -- what
15 year?
16 A. 1999.
17 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi, but you were the Chief of the
18 General Staff at that time?
19 A. Yes, from November, December, January, February, March, April.
20 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter notes that it was the interpreter's
21 mistake. The witness said: I was not present when the document was
22 compiled, and not I was not Chief of Staff when the document was
23 compiled.
24 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
25 Q. Thank you. But you must have seen this document?
Page 2461
1 A. The document for the restructuring of the General Staff was the
2 same document that founded the military court.
3 Q. Thank you. And until now this document has not been seen or
4 shown in this court. Have you seen it yourself?
5 A. Yes, I have, because on the basis of that document, the staff was
6 organised and restructured. But the after the air-strikes and the
7 offensives, the documents were transported and moved elsewhere, and not
8 everything was taken away with us.
9 Q. Thank you. And can you tell me based on this document that you
10 had seen how the judiciary was set up in the KLA, the judicial organs?
11 A. As far as I remember, it envisaged the creation of the military
12 court. At the General Staff each zone command would have a legal
13 advisor, and this was also sent to the brigades. This would be the
14 structure of the military court at the time.
15 Q. Thank you. I don't know if I understood you correctly. Today
16 you said that the president of the court was a member of the
17 General Staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army?
18 A. Yes, he was member of the General Staff.
19 Q. And can you tell me what judges were appointed to this court
20 which was attached to the General Staff?
21 A. Sokol Dobruna was head of the military court, and he was also
22 part of the General Staff. And he reported to the general commander.
23 Q. Thank you. That means that he was the only judge; am I right?
24 A. No. There were others as well, but I don't remember them because
25 I did not have contact with them.
Page 2462
1 Q. Thank you. But where was the seat of the court?
2 A. Sokol Dobruna was located in the Berisha mountains, first in
3 Divjake for a short period of time, and then he moved to Novoselle or
4 Shati i Ri.
5 Q. Thank you. Do you know of any cases that were tried until its
6 completion before the military court?
7 A. I can't remember. I know that there were cases, but I can't
8 remember exactly which ones they were.
9 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, you told us yesterday that when you were
10 appointed the Chief of the General Staff, operational zones were set up,
11 seven of them; am I right?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Thank you.
14 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Now I would like to ask the usher
15 to put on our screens a Defence document, that's D002-4026.
16 Thank you.
17 Q. Now here where we see Glogovac and Srbica --
18 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Yes, precisely, if you could zoom
19 in on that area. Could you scroll down a little bit. Yes, yes, just, or
20 rather, scroll up. No, you were heading in the right direction. Could
21 you scroll down a little bit so that Srbica or Skenderaj is moving
22 towards the top of the screen. A little bit more. A little bit more.
23 That's fine. Thank you.
24 Q. Witness, could you please mark the Drenica Operational Zone here
25 on this map.
Page 2463
1 A. I will start from here because the map does not go further down
2 enough.
3 Q. Thank you.
4 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Now I would like to ask the usher
5 to zoom out because the witness can't now draw in the entire zone -- it's
6 impossible to do it now?
7 JUDGE PARKER: We lose what's there if it's altered now.
8 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Very well. Thank you.
9 Q. Witness, sir, could you please tell me where was the headquarters
10 of the Drenica Operational Zone when you were appointed the Chief of the
11 General Staff?
12 A. The headquarters of the Drenica Operational Zone was based at
13 Likoc.
14 Q. Thank you. And could you tell me who was the commander of the
15 Drenica Operational Zone while you were the Chief of the General Staff?
16 A. Up until March 1999, the Drenica commander was Sylejman Selimi.
17 From March onwards, the commander was Sami Lushtaku.
18 Q. Thank you. And could you tell me, the General Staff when you
19 were appointed its head, was it located in the Drenica Operational Zone?
20 A. When I was appointed Chief of Staff of the General Staff of the
21 KLA, the General Staff was not based there. Part of the General Staff
22 that was in Kosova was in Shati i Ri in the Berisha mountains.
23 Q. Thank you. I did not quite understand where the Berisha
24 mountains are. Could you please tell me exactly so I can have a clear
25 understanding.
Page 2464
1 A. They start here between the municipalities of Gllogoc, Malisheve,
2 Shtime, Lipjan, so it goes from the Llapushnik gorge up to Carraleve.
3 Q. Thank you. Could you please mark Likoc with a number 1 so that
4 we know that this is where the Main Staff of the operative zone was?
5 A. [Marks]
6 Q. Thank you. Please tell me, what brigades were within the
7 operational zone of Drenica in March 1999?
8 A. In 1999 the brigades were 111th, 112th, 113th, and 114th.
9 Q. Thank you. Now, please tell me, where was the 111th Brigade?
10 A. At that time the 111th Brigade was partly based in Likoc, another
11 part of it was in the surrounding villages. I can't remember exactly
12 where. This brigade was a rapid intervention brigade.
13 Q. Thank you. Could you now draw a wider circle around Likoc to
14 depict where the 111th Brigade was and then please mark that with 111 on
15 the outside of the circle.
16 A. [Marks]
17 Q. Thank you. If I understood correctly, you mentioned that this
18 was a rapid intervention brigade. Was it under the operation zone staff
19 command?
20 A. Yes, it was under the command of the Drenica Operational Zone
21 command.
22 Q. Thank you. Could you now please mark the area where the
23 112th Brigade was?
24 A. The 112th Brigade, now do you want me to mark the command of this
25 brigade, where it was located, or the territory that it covered?
Page 2465
1 Q. I would like you to put an X where the staff was and then mark
2 the area where the brigade was with a circle.
3 A. The command of this brigade was in this area here, between these
4 villages, whereas the area of responsibility of this brigade covered this
5 part.
6 Q. Thank you. Could you please put 112 next to the X.
7 A. [Marks]
8 Q. Thank you. Tell us now about the 113th Brigade, where was its
9 headquarters, and what was its area of responsibility?
10 A. The command of this brigade was based in Ujimire, whereas its
11 area of responsibility -- this was the area of responsibility of this
12 brigade.
13 Q. Witness, now I would like to ask you to tell us, please do not
14 draw anything on the map, but would you be able to mark the area where
15 the 114th Brigade was on this map or not? If you're unable to do that,
16 we can use a new map so you can mark the area where the 114th was; and if
17 you can, if you're able to mark it on this one, then please go ahead and
18 do it.
19 A. I think we can use the same map because the area of
20 responsibility of this brigade was this one here. This brigade's command
21 was initially based in Gllanasjelle, I'm talking about the period when I
22 toured this brigade, and this is the area of its responsibility.
23 Q. Thank you. Could you please tell us what -- describe the
24 activities of these brigades in March 1999.
25 A. Based on the reports from that time, the task of this brigade was
Page 2466
1 the defence one, to defend the territory and the civilian population in
2 their respective areas of responsibility.
3 Q. Thank you. Please tell us in what manner you issued instructions
4 for the population to be defended by the brigades?
5 A. In cases of attacks, offensives, that is, all units along the
6 defence axis and the population near the front line or the defence line
7 had to withdraw in the rear so that they would be outside the perimeter
8 of the danger.
9 Q. Thank you. Would your order of April 1st, 1999, be a typical
10 order, issuing instructions as to how to act, the order that relates to
11 Belanac [phoen]?
12 A. That was the case in the majority of cases, this is how the
13 instructions and orders were issued pertaining to the movements of the
14 units and the withdrawal of the population.
15 Q. Thank you. Did you receive reports on the operations in
16 March 1999 within the Drenica Operational Zone?
17 A. Yes, as we received reports from other operational zones.
18 Q. Thank you. Do you recall what these reports were like and what
19 the situation in the field was?
20 A. Of course I remember it, maybe not in details. Based on the
21 reports received from the zones, we received mainly these reports through
22 communication with radio, and satellite phones. It was impossible to
23 receive written reports from the zones. The Drenica Operational Zone as
24 well as the other operational zones during this time-period, 25th, 26th,
25 and onwards when the Serb attacks started, their positions were attacked.
Page 2467
1 The Serb forces advanced to these positions and the movement of the KLA
2 units, their withdrawal, all the reports pertaining to these movements
3 were communicated to us through radio communication and satellite phones.
4 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, were you able to communicate with NATO
5 via these satellite phones?
6 A. The information possessed by the operations centre within the
7 staff and by the part of the operations centre based in Albania on the
8 grouping and the movement of the Serb forces was also conveyed via these
9 satellite phones.
10 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi. I think that I saw in one of your
11 statements that you said that while you were in command of the KLA staff
12 that there were about 17 to 18.000 fighters. Was I -- did I see that
13 correctly?
14 A. Yes. Pursuant to the information I had at the time from the zone
15 commands there were between 17.000 and 18.000 soldiers who performed
16 tasks and duties within the KLA.
17 Q. Thank you. Of that number, how many men were within the
18 Drenica Operations Zone?
19 A. I cannot give you the exact figure, but I would say approximately
20 4.000 or 5.000 soldiers.
21 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi.
22 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I would like to
23 tender this exhibit into evidence.
24 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
25 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D00055, Your Honours.
Page 2468
1 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could the court usher please put
2 map number D0202426 [as interpreted] on the screen again.
3 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, could you please help us now. I would now like to
4 have the whole of Pastrik Operational Zone on the map. How far should we
5 zoom it in so that we can see the entire operation zone on the screen, in
6 other words, to cover Suva Reka, Prizren, Dragas, and Orahovac; right?
7 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we now just pull this map up
8 a bit, please.
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I think it's enough. It covers all
10 the territories. I will draw now the area of responsibility --
11 MR. DJURDJIC: [Previous translation continues] ...
12 [Interpretation] Far too small this map. Could we just zoom in
13 on the portion above Prizren and then scroll up the map because I don't
14 think you'll be able to read any of the places on the map. We can't
15 really see it. Maybe your vision is so good that you can. No, please --
16 scroll down, please, further down, please, all the way down, please. A
17 little bit more. Perfect. Now could you scroll it down just a little
18 bit more so we can see the entire yellow area of Dragas at the bottom.
19 Can you scroll it up, please, a little bit. A little bit more so we can
20 see Suva Reka, the entire area, and we also need to see Orahovac.
21 Q. Is this all right, Witness, or should we scroll it up a bit more?
22 A. It's all right like this.
23 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we scroll it up a bit more
24 so we see the entire area of Orahovac. Excellent. Thank you.
25 MR. NEUNER: Maybe to assist my learned colleague, I have
Page 2469
1 tendered this Exhibit 430 into evidence which marks exactly the size of
2 the operational zones. It probably can be used by my learned colleague
3 and then enlarged, focusing directly on the operation zone so that we
4 don't lose so much time, but it's just a proposal.
5 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Prosecutor. That's
6 what I thought to do at first; however, this -- that map is not very
7 detailed. The operational zones are there in the entirety, but I would
8 like also to see the place names on the map as well.
9 Q. So, Witness, could you now please mark the
10 Pastrik Operational Zone. Thank you.
11 A. Yes. This is the operational zone of Pashtrik, or rather, the
12 area of responsibility of Pashtrik Operational Zone.
13 Q. Thank you. Just to clarify some things. So it's the entire
14 Prizren municipality, Dragas municipality, where we see these two red
15 lines, and the entire municipalities of Orahovac and Suva Reka, they all
16 are within the Pastrik Operation Zone, right. Now what I'd like to ask
17 you about is Pagarusa and this purple-coloured area, was that within the
18 Pastrik Operational Zone as well or not?
19 A. Yes, Malisheve as well.
20 Q. Thank you. Now, tell us, please, where was the command of the
21 Pastrik Operational Zone in March 1999, and could you please mark that
22 with an X.
23 A. [Marks]
24 Q. Thank you. Would you please put a number 1 next to that.
25 A. [Marks]
Page 2470
1 Q. Thank you. Who was the commander in March 1999 of this zone?
2 A. Until mid-March, I don't know the exact date, it was Ekrem Rexha;
3 and afterwards, it was Tahir Sinani.
4 Q. Thank you. Could you now please tell us in the
5 Pastrik Operational Zone, name the brigades that were active there.
6 A. 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125. Later on, sometime in January or
7 February, the 126th Brigade was also formed.
8 Q. Could you please now mark the place where the command of the
9 121st Brigade was, and would you also draw a circle where its area of
10 responsibility was and put a number 121 there.
11 A. If we can scroll up -- down.
12 THE INTERPRETER: Correction.
13 JUDGE PARKER: We can't scroll and retain the markings.
14 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. Please tell us, what was the name of the place where it was if we
16 can't see it on the map?
17 A. [Previous translation continues] ...
18 Q. Just mark the part that is visible on this map.
19 A. This is the area of responsibility of 121 Brigade, whereas its
20 command was based in Klecke village.
21 Q. Thank you. Let's just clarify. Is Klecka in Suva Reka
22 municipality?
23 A. No. It is in Malisheve municipality.
24 Q. Thank you. Could you now indicate the place where the command of
25 the 122nd Brigade was and its area of responsibility.
Page 2471
1 A. The command of the 122nd Brigade from November until March was in
2 the Joviq village. Its area of responsibility was this one and more up
3 but it's not visible on the map.
4 Q. Thank you. And this place where you put an X, we see Dragobilje
5 under it and Jovic over it.
6 A. It was in Joviq, but you cannot see it very well here.
7 Q. Thank you very much. Could you now indicate the command and area
8 of responsibility of the 123rd Brigade.
9 A. Number 1 marks the command of the 123rd Brigade. It is a little
10 bit below then. There is a village called Breshance there but it is
11 impossible to mark it. It should be somewhere here. Here the cross
12 covers Semetisht, but the village I just mentioned is very close.
13 Q. Thank you. Would you please put number 3 next to that and could
14 you just delineate the area of responsibility?
15 A. [Marks]
16 Q. Thank you. Please indicate the command and area of
17 responsibility of 124th Brigade?
18 A. The command was based at Reti village, whereas the area of
19 responsibility ...
20 Q. Thank you very much. Is Reti the same as Retimlje or ... ?
21 A. Yes, it's the same village. Reti in Albanian, Retimlje in
22 Serbian.
23 Q. Thank you. Could we now mark the area of responsibility of the
24 125th Brigade and its headquarters.
25 A. It had to cover the Prizren area completely in military terms;
Page 2472
1 however, during November-March period, it was also based in Reti village
2 with the area of responsibility that it was able to cover at that time.
3 However, in military terms it was envisaged that the area of
4 responsibility of this brigade was Prizren and its surrounding area. So
5 this was the area of responsibility of 125 Brigade.
6 Q. Could we -- oh, yes. Could you please explain now, in this
7 circle, or rather, in this square here between the border and it runs
8 parallel to Prizren, is that a separate area of responsibility or is this
9 the 125thth?
10 A. This here belongs to 125th, whereas this here belonged to the
11 126th Brigade which began to be formed in February, although it was not
12 completely formed.
13 Q. Now the area of responsibility of the 126th Brigade.
14 A. It is already marked as the area of responsibility of
15 126 Brigade. The command of this brigade which was in the process of
16 formation was also in Reti village, in Reti e Ulet, or lower Reti.
17 Q. Thank you. Could you now explain to me, the whole of Dragas
18 remains outside of the lines. Was Dragas in the area of responsibility,
19 any area of responsibility; and if yes, what brigade, this area that is
20 marked in yellow here?
21 A. The yellow area was the area of responsibility of 127th Brigade
22 which was not formed.
23 Q. Well, thank you. 125th Brigade, did it hold this area too?
24 A. I'm talking about the time-period November-March. The area of
25 responsibility of the 125th Brigade is the area I just marked. This part
Page 2473
1 here was not part of the area of responsibility of the 125th Brigade.
2 Q. Thank you. And was the area of responsibility in this shape when
3 the conflict with NATO started?
4 A. Yes, these were the areas of responsibility when the NATO
5 air-strikes began.
6 Q. Thank you. Am I right if I say that the defence line set up by
7 the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Pastrik zone followed the line
8 Bela Crkva, Celina, Zrze, Nagavac, Velika Krusa, Mala Krusa, Pirane, and
9 Landovica?
10 A. No, the defence line set up by the KLA was the following:
11 Brestovc - Hoxha e Vogel - Nagavc - Randubrave, and up the villages of
12 Krusha e Vogel - Pirane - Medvegje - Mamushe linking up to the part in
13 Perbisht and up to the units of the 123rd Brigade.
14 Q. Thank you. I forgot to ask you this. Is there an archive --
15 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] I do apologise, Your Honours, it
16 is time for our technical break.
17 JUDGE PARKER: Are you wanting to just finish that question you
18 were on?
19 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.
20 Q. So for the Drenica zone, I'm asking you now, are there any
21 archives for those areas or the Pastrik and Drenica Operation Zones?
22 A. There should be archives, however, I don't know what you can find
23 in those archives now but they should be part of them, yes.
24 Q. Thank you.
25 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I would like to
Page 2474
1 tender this document into evidence.
2 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
3 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D00056, Your Honours.
4 JUDGE PARKER: We will have the second break now and resuming at
5 five minutes to 1.00.
6 --- Recess taken at 12.23 p.m.
7 --- On resuming at 12.58 p.m.
8 JUDGE PARKER: Yes, Mr. Djurdjic.
9 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honours.
10 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, in March 1999, how many men were there in the
11 Pastrik Operation Zone?
12 A. As far as I remember according to a report there were about 6.000
13 soldiers.
14 Q. Thank you.
15 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we now please see on the
16 screens again map 002/4026. Thank you. Could we now please zoom in on
17 the area Pec-Djakovica and the area toward Klina and Istok. This would
18 be in the south-western and western region. Could we please move that a
19 bit. Thank you. Could we now just zoom out a little bit. Rather, let
20 me ask the witness.
21 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, can we delineate the Dukadjin Operation Zone in this
22 format, or do we have to zoom out the map a bit?
23 A. Now it is perfect like this; however, the southern part is not
24 there. I cannot see Gjakove there.
25 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Just a bit more, please. Yeah, I
Page 2475
1 think you have to zoom out by one step perhaps. That's too much. And to
2 the right a bit, please. No, the opposite way. I'm sorry. I apologise.
3 Q. Is this okay, Mr. Zyrapi?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Please mark the boundaries of the Dukadjini Operational Zone.
6 A. [Marks]
7 Q. Please tell us, is this state border also the border of the area
8 of responsibility?
9 A. Yes. This is the state border with Albania, and it also marks
10 the boundary with the Dukagjini Operational Zone.
11 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi. Could you now indicate where the staff of
12 the Dukadjini Operational Zone was in March 1999?
13 A. In March 1999 the Dukagjini Operational Zone command was in the
14 village of Gllogjan.
15 Q. Thank you. Could you please put a 1 there, number 1.
16 A. [Marks]
17 Q. Am I correct that Mr. Ramush Haradinaj was the commander of this
18 operational zone?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Thank you. Could you tell us who the deputy commander was?
21 A. Deputy commander of the Dukagjin zone was Nazmi Ibrahimi.
22 Q. Thank you. In the Dukadjini Operational Zone, tell us which
23 brigades were active.
24 A. In this zone operated brigades 131st, 132nd, 133rd, and 134th,
25 but the latter was not very active to my recollection.
Page 2476
1 Q. Thank you. Would you please indicate the area of responsibility
2 of the 131st Brigade and its headquarters.
3 A. I can only draw the area of responsibility because the
4 headquarters moved from place to place. The headquarters, I think, was
5 close to the village of Gllogjan
6 what house.
7 Q. Thank you. It's a bit unclear to me. Now we see there are two
8 parts of this operational zone, Dukadjin; and I can't really tell where
9 the 131st Brigade should be, where its operational zone should be, the
10 131st Brigade.
11 A. The area of responsibility is the part that I marked, includes
12 Gjakove, the territory of Gjakove
13 Q. Thank you. Could you now please show us where the 132nd area of
14 responsibility was, 132nd Brigade.
15 A. [Marks]
16 Q. Thank you. Could you please write 132 inside that zone and, if
17 you know, could you show where the headquarters of the brigade was.
18 A. The headquarters of this brigade was somewhere between Prilep and
19 Irzniq, here.
20 Q. Thank you. Now could you please mark the area of responsibility
21 of 133rd Brigade.
22 A. The boundary in the direction of Kline and another boundary here.
23 Q. Please put a 133 there.
24 A. [Marks]
25 Q. Thank you. And now the brigade command where you were, could you
Page 2477
1 show us that, please.
2 A. The brigade was located in the territory of Baran
3 can't see it here, though. This would be an approximate place.
4 Q. Thank you. That's exactly what I meant. Could you put a
5 number 3 there, please.
6 A. [Marks]
7 Q. And would you put a number 2 next to Prilep.
8 A. [Marks]
9 Q. Thank you. The 134th, if I understood you correctly, was not
10 operative at the time or ...
11 A. This brigade began to be established in January/February and this
12 happened in Rugova. I think that its headquarters was close to
13 Pec e Vogel. It was located in this territory.
14 Q. Thank you very much. Would you put a number 4 next to that X.
15 A. [Marks]
16 Q. Since we are near this zone near Pec, am I correct that this zone
17 was active near Karpusnica in March 1999?
18 A. According to the information I had at the time, there was not any
19 such units in Karpushniqa.
20 Q. Thank you. Would you tell me how many men there were in this
21 area, this zone?
22 A. This zone was quite active. There were major attacks against it.
23 As far as I know, there were about 3.000 soldiers in the area.
24 Q. Thank you. Tell us, please, in the area of Decani did the
25 General Staff have any instructions for the units that were active in the
Page 2478
1 area of Decani?
2 A. Do you mean the General Staff issued instructions to the units in
3 Decane?
4 Q. Yes, yes, Mr. Zyrapi.
5 A. No. The instructions were from the Dukagjini Operational Zone.
6 Q. Thank you. Did the Main Staff issue instructions to the command
7 of the Dukadjini Operational Zone?
8 A. Yes, in March.
9 Q. Could you tell us what type of instructions did the Main Staff
10 issue or what instructions --
11 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter correction.
12 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. -- did the Main Staff issue to the command of the Dukadjini
14 Operational Zone?
15 A. To my recollection, during the air-strikes and the offensive, the
16 instructions were for them to establish defence in their areas, to help
17 the population withdraw to safer areas outside the front line where the
18 fighting was occurring. If that was not possible, the civil population
19 should be taken to places -- the closest places that were safe for them.
20 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, what was the strategic goal in the
21 beginning when the NATO strikes began?
22 A. The strategic goal was that our units would defend the territory
23 under their control and protect the population in that period.
24 Q. Thank you.
25 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we now see a video-clip,
Page 2479
1 Your Honour, if I may?
2 JUDGE PARKER: Yes. Are you planning to tender the map?
3 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] I think we will still need this
4 map, and that is why I did not seek to tender it; but yes, it is my
5 intention to tender it into evidence. However, there will be discussion
6 on some other areas.
7 JUDGE PARKER: Well try and save it.
8 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, this video-clip was
9 produced by the Albanian television, and I think its duration is 42
10 seconds. Could we now please show it.
11 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreters note that they're not provided
12 with a transcript.
13 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] This is just a video-clip. There
14 is no audio.
15 [Video-clip played]
16 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. That was the clip. Mr. Zyrapi, could you tell me what weapon we
18 saw in this clip, what artillery piece was it?
19 A. In the video-clip I saw a recoilless gun, and the other one is a
20 howitzer, a 120-millimetre.
21 Q. Thank you. Did the KLA have this kind of howitzer that we've
22 just seen on this recording?
23 A. There were recoilless guns in Kosova, but howitzers were not
24 in -- found in the territory of Kosova
25 the territory of Albania
Page 2480
1 Q. Thank you. These are the soldiers of the Kosovo Liberation Army
2 that were firing from the territory of the Republic of Albania
3 territory of Kosovo and Metohija; am I right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Thank you. Am I right when I say that this was artillery support
6 to the KLA personnel that was engaged in fighting in the Kosare
7 section -- sector?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Thank you. That's the Kosare-Caragojs valley, Meja, Korenica,
10 Junik area; am I right?
11 A. Koshare and parts of Junik were included in this area.
12 Q. Thank you. Am I right when I say that on the 9th of April there
13 was a ground attack launched from the Republic of Albania
14 area which is in Kosovo and Metohija?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Thank you. Is it true that you were one of the people involved
17 in the planning of this operation?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Thank you. Can you tell me what the objective of this action
20 was?
21 A. The objective of the Operation Arrow was to open up corridors
22 from the territory of the Republic of Albania
23 to the Dukagjini zone in order to provide supply of weapons and food for
24 the population in this area, from the direction of the
25 Pashtrik Operational Zone too with the same objective.
Page 2481
1 MR. NEUNER: May I ask my learned colleague to clarify in which
2 year that operation was. It just says "9th of April" in the transcript
3 right now.
4 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. Sir, that's the 9th of April, 1999; am I right?
6 A. Yes, we are talking about the period April, May, June 1999.
7 Q. Thank you.
8 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could we please -- I would like to
9 tender this video-clip into evidence, please.
10 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
11 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D00057, Your Honours.
12 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Now I would like to ask the usher
13 to bring up on the screen the map. Yes, that's right.
14 Q. Witness, could you tell us, what is the -- what was the corridor
15 that was supposed to be secured by this plan for the aggression or attack
16 from Albania
17 territory?
18 A. The corridor was supposed to be secured from the territory of
19 Albania
20 direction of the area controlled by the Dukagjini Operational Zone.
21 Q. Thank you. Could you please mark that line with number 5.
22 A. [Marks]
23 Q. Thank you. Am I right when I say that this action lasted until
24 mid-May 1999?
25 A. Yes, the action lasted until 15th May, but the preparations
Page 2482
1 continued up until June.
2 Q. Thank you.
3 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could I ask the Trial Chamber to
4 admit this map into evidence.
5 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
6 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D00058, Your Honours.
7 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you. Could I please have
8 another copy of the D0024026 [as interpreted]. Let me explain to you,
9 Your Honours, this is the last operational zone that I will be dealing
10 with in detail because I think I covered the zones that were the most
11 active in 1999 by now.
12 Q. Witness, let's now move this map in such a way that we can see
13 the whole of the Nerodimlje Operational Zone, so that should be the
14 Kacanik-Urosevac area.
15 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] If we could please zoom in there.
16 It's further down, further down, yes, that's precisely where we should
17 go. I think, yes, we should move it down a little bit.
18 Q. Sir, can you now draw in the operational zone? It's just that we
19 don't see the lower part, Djeneral Jankovic.
20 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Could you scroll down a little
21 bit. Could you move the map up so that you can't see Lipljan anymore. A
22 little more. Yes. Stop.
23 Q. Now could you please draw it in.
24 A. This was the area of responsibility of the
25 Nerodime Operational Zone.
Page 2483
1 Q. Thank you. Could you now mark the location where the
2 headquarters of the operational zone was in May 1999?
3 A. The command of the operational zone was in Petrove village.
4 Q. Thank you. Could you please mark it with number 1.
5 A. [Marks]
6 Q. And in March 1999 was an element of the General Staff of the KLA
7 perhaps located in the Nerodimlje Operational Zone; and if yes, could you
8 please mark that location.
9 A. In March 1999 there were no elements of the General Staff in this
10 zone; however, in April there were myself and part of the staff moved to
11 Devetak village, whereas part of the political department of the
12 General Staff was also based in Petrove village.
13 Q. Thank you. And can you see Devetak here?
14 A. Yes, you can.
15 Q. Could you please mark it with number 2.
16 A. [Marks]
17 Q. And was the operational zone headquarters of the Dukadjini
18 Operational Zone located at the same place, in Petrovo, where you were?
19 A. The headquarters of the Nerodime Operational Zone was located in
20 Petrove, and in April - I'm talking now about April - part of the
21 political wing of the General Staff was also based in Petrove village.
22 Q. Thank you. Who from the political directorate of the
23 General Staff was in Petrovo in 1999, in April?
24 A. In April 1999, when I went there, there were Hashim Thaqi,
25 Ram Buja, and several others from the political department, Agim Ceku at
Page 2484
1 the time.
2 Q. Thank you. And who was with you in the village of Devetak
3 A. It was myself with some officials from the operations department
4 and some elements of the military police; Ekrem Rexha, Shpetim Golemi
5 from the officers were with me there; and, as I said, elements from the
6 operations department.
7 Q. Thank you. Could you please tell me in the territory of the
8 Nerodimlje Operational Zone, what brigades were active there?
9 A. This zone had two brigades: 161 and 162.
10 Q. Thank you. Could you please now mark the area of responsibility
11 of the 161st Brigade.
12 A. [Marks]
13 Q. Could you please write 161, and if I can ask you to mark the
14 command of this brigade, the location where it was.
15 A. The command of this brigade in April when I went there was in
16 Rance village.
17 Q. We don't see the village of Vranac
18 it here, we can see it here.
19 A. Here.
20 Q. Thank you. Could you please mark this with number 3.
21 A. [Marks]
22 Q. And now I would like you to mark the area of the 162nd Brigade
23 and the location of its command.
24 A. The area of responsibility of this brigade was quite broad, but
25 actual control was part of Shterpce and part of Kacanik municipality.
Page 2485
1 Q. Thank you. Mr. Zyrapi, am I right when I say that in March 1999,
2 in the border area of the Republic of Macedonia
3 Kosovo and Metohija, somewhere around Djeneral Jankovic there were 12.500
4 soldiers, NATO soldiers, who were deployed there?
5 A. I don't know the exact number of the NATO forces deployed in this
6 area, but I know that there were NATO forces deployed in the territory of
7 the Republic of Macedonia
8 Q. Thank you. And did you know that one of the axes for the ground
9 aggression was to lead from Djeneral Jankovic -- from Macedonia to
10 Djeneral Jankovic and then heading towards Urosevac?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Thank you. Is this why this operational zone was so important
13 for the General Staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army?
14 A. Not only this zone but other operational zones were also
15 important for the General Staff because the NATO ground forces had an
16 axis of operation also from the Prizren area. After the fightings in the
17 Pashtrik Operational Zone, part of the staff withdrew in order to assist
18 the Nerodime Operation Zone because offensives were expected in that zone
19 as well. And this is where I handed over the duty of Chief of Staff.
20 Q. Thank you, Mr. Zyrapi. How many soldiers were there in the
21 Nerodimlje Operational Zone?
22 A. Very few. From the information I had at the time, there were
23 about 600 soldiers.
24 Q. Thank you.
25 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] I would like to tender this into
Page 2486
1 evidence, please.
2 JUDGE PARKER: It will be received.
3 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D00059, Your Honours.
4 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, can you tell me, Are there any archives of the
6 Kosovo Liberation Army in existence today?
7 A. I know that they existed. Part of the KLA archives were
8 transferred to the TMK
9 archives or parts of the archives of the staff of the KLA were
10 transferred to the TMK
11 Q. Thank you. Could you please tell me, as the
12 Chief of the General Staff do you know if the General Staff archive, was
13 it your responsibility? Were you in charge of it?
14 A. For the archives of the General Staff, I was responsible for the
15 period November-April, and we safe-guarded this documentation to the
16 extent that we could, depending on the movements we had to make at the
17 time.
18 Q. Thank you. Can you tell me where is the archive now?
19 A. At the time I was able to see these archives, it was in the
20 command of the staff of the TMK
21 Q. Thank you. And at the time when you saw them, did the archives
22 contain the combat reports from the operation zones and brigades?
23 A. I did bring some reports as documents here, those that I could
24 find.
25 Q. Thank you. Were those combat reports?
Page 2487
1 A. There were also combat reports amongst them. There were other
2 reports and other documents too.
3 Q. Thank you. And did you hand over those combat reports to the
4 Office of the Prosecutor of this Tribunal?
5 A. What I had, what I was able too bring here, I did, yes.
6 Q. Mr. Zyrapi, am I right when I say that in 1995 you went to the
7 Netherlands
8 with Fehmi Lladrovci, you joined the Kosovo Liberation Army?
9 A. In 1995 I went to the Netherlands
10 of 1997 I met with Mr. Lladrovci, but I did not join the KLA right then.
11 Q. Thank you. In March 1998 you went to Tirana and you waited to
12 receive approval from the KLA to start training soldiers in Albania
13 right?
14 A. In March, having been invited by Xhemal Fetahu and
15 Fehmi Lladrovci, now deceased, I went to Tirana, Albania
16 Q. Thank you. You trained soldiers from various parts of Europe
17 people who were sent to be trained in Albania from Kosovo.
18 A. Yes, a large number of Albanians came from the diaspora while
19 other Albanians came from Kosova.
20 Q. Thank you.
21 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, it appears to me that
22 it is time ...
23 JUDGE PARKER: Are you able to indicate, Mr. Djurdjic, how long
24 you expect now to be with the cross-examination?
25 MR. DJURDJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you for your patience with
Page 2488
1 me today. I am convinced that we will be able to complete the
2 cross-examination fairly quickly. We've come to the area that we will be
3 able to deal with quickly, and I need the maximum of one session to
4 complete the cross-examination, because you can see for yourself it's
5 going pretty fast.
6 JUDGE PARKER: We'll be encouraged.
7 We must now adjourn, as another trial will be using the
8 courtroom. We resume tomorrow at 2.15. And the officers will tell you
9 about the arrangements overnight.
10 We now adjourn.
11 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.47 p.m.
12 to be reconvened on Thursday, the 19th day of
13 March, 2009, at 2.15 p.m.
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