Page 290
1 Monday, 20
2 [Prosecution Opening Statement]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9.33 a.m.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: May the registrar call the
7 case.
8 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Case number
9 IT-96-23-T, the Prosecutor against Dragoljub Kunarac,
10 Radomir Kovac, and Zoran Vukovic.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. May we have the
12 parties, please. The Prosecution.
13 MR. RYNEVELD: If it please the Court. Dirk
14 Ryneveld for the Prosecution, and with me today are
15 Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff and Peggy Kuo, and also
16 assisting are our case manager, George Huber, and the
17 legal officer, Daryl Mundis.
18 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. The Defence
19 counsel.
20 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Good
21 morning, Your Honours. I am Slavisa Prodanovic. Next
22 to me, I have my colleague, Ms. Mara Pilipovic, and we
23 are the Defence counsel for Mr. Dragoljub Kunarac, the
24 accused.
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
Page 291
1 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Good morning,
2 Your Honours. I am lawyer Momir Kolesar from Zemunj,
3 and I'm the Defence counsel for the accused Radomir
4 Kovac.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
6 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] Good morning,
7 Your Honours. Attorneys Goran Jovanovic and Ms. Jelena
8 Lopicic as the Defence counsel for Mr. Zoran Vukovic.
9 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
10 I would like to find out from the accused
11 persons whether they can hear the proceedings.
12 Mr. Kunarac, can you hear the proceedings in
13 a language you understand?
14 THE ACCUSED KUNARAC: [Interpretation] Yes,
15 Your Honours, I can hear and follow the proceedings.
16 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
17 Honours. My name is Radomir Kovac. If I can take up a
18 little bit of your time, I would like to make several
19 remarks.
20 First of all, as you can see on my team,
21 there is no co-defence counsel. I have several times
22 tendered a request for Mr. Milan Vujin, in whom I have
23 full confidence; however, the Registrar refused my
24 request. I would like to ask you to request of the
25 Registrar to speed up my new request and claims for
Page 292
1 attorney Stanko Bejatovic, so that in the course of
2 this week, he can join my defence team. Otherwise, I
3 feel trial-ready. Thank you.
4 JUDGE MUMBA: If I may answer that with
5 Mr. Kolesar's attention. This matter has already been
6 decided. The Registrar referred the matter to the
7 Trial Chamber; the Trial Chamber did decide. The other
8 matter had gone to the President. The decision has
9 already been taken that the President has no
10 jurisdiction. So the matter as it stands now is that
11 Mr. Vujin will not be granted audience by this Trial
12 Chamber. That is the position. So the trial will
13 proceed with Mr. Kolesar.
14 The next accused, please. Can you hear the
15 proceedings in a language you understand?
16 THE ACCUSED VUKOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes,
17 Your Honours, I can understand.
18 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. You may be seated.
19 This is the opening session, and I will hear
20 from the Prosecution any opening statement.
21 MR. RYNEVELD: Madam President and Your
22 Honours, before I commence the opening statement, I
23 would seek your permission to have Mr. Mundis, who is
24 assisting me this morning, to be allowed to sit at the
25 ELMO to display various maps and charts which I will be
Page 293
1 referring to throughout the proceedings.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. The Prosecution may go
3 ahead.
4 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you.
5 Your Honours, it is now my privilege to
6 present the Prosecution case against Mr. Kunarac,
7 Kovac, and Vukovic by outlining the evidence that the
8 Prosecution will adduce.
9 Just for your information, before we start, I
10 expect my opening statement will take approximately an
11 hour and a half.
12 I do not intend to simply restate the
13 contents of our trial brief. I intend, instead, to
14 outline the framework of our case and highlight some of
15 the material evidence that the Prosecution's witnesses
16 will give. At the end of the trial, we submit that
17 this evidence will leave no doubt in your minds as to
18 the guilt of the accused Kunarac, Kovac, and Vukovic.
19 Your Honours, this is a case about rape camps
20 in eastern Bosnia, whose uncovering in 1992 shocked the
21 world. This is a case about the women and girls, some
22 as young as 12 or 15 years old, who endured
23 unimaginable horrors as their worlds collapsed around
24 them. Before their very eyes, their family members
25 were killed and their homes were destroyed. They were
Page 294
1 then brutalised, sexually assaulted, and dehumanised by
2 their captors, including the three accused who sit
3 before you today. This is a case about justice and
4 international laws that seek to proscribe the
5 atrocities committed during armed conflict. In this
6 trial, you will see the human face of the atrocities,
7 both of the perpetrators and the victims.
8 The victims will testify about what happened
9 to them. They will identify these three men as being
10 among those who raped and tortured them. The three
11 accused before you today are only a few of the
12 individuals indicted for the crimes these women and
13 girls endured. Other individuals indicted with these
14 accused are still at large. In light of the fact that
15 there are still other indicted persons at large, many
16 of the victims, as you are aware, have residual
17 concerns for their own safety and for that of their
18 families. As a result, it will be necessary to protect
19 the identities of many of the victims and witnesses.
20 Of course the Court and the accused will hear their
21 testimony and the Prosecution's case will largely be
22 proven through their compelling accounts of what
23 happened.
24 More importantly, however, this testimony,
25 together with the testimony of other witnesses, will
Page 295
1 draw you to the inescapable conclusion that each legal
2 element of rape, torture, and enslavement, as set forth
3 in the Statute, has been proven beyond a reasonable
4 doubt.
5 Rapes, sexual torture, and other forms of
6 sexual violence prohibited under humanitarian law are
7 found in the Lieber Code, the Hague Convention of 1907,
8 the Geneva Conventions of 1929 and 1949, as well as the
9 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions.
10 Customary international law outlaws rape during armed
11 conflict. The Tribunal's Statute, which according to
12 the Secretary-General derives from customary law,
13 specifically enumerates rape as a crime against
14 humanity.
15 The Trial Chamber will hear that women and
16 children, some as I said earlier, as young as 12 years
17 old in Foca, were detained and raped vaginally, anally,
18 and orally; subjected to gang-rapes, forced to dance
19 nude with weapons pointed at them; and even enslaved.
20 The jurisprudence of the Furundzija and the
21 Celebici cases at this Tribunal and the jurisprudence
22 of the Akayesu and Musema cases at the Rwanda Tribunal
23 have already held that similar acts of this nature
24 amount to torture, rape, and outrages upon personal
25 dignity. There is no doubt, we submit, that the acts
Page 296
1 of sexual violence that the witnesses will recount are
2 serious violations of international humanitarian law
3 within the meaning and the mandate of the Tribunal's
4 Statute.
5 Providing the backdrop to this case is the
6 armed conflict that swept through Bosnia-Herzegovina in
7 the early 1990s. Of course, the Prosecution does not
8 intend to litigate the war. Everyone agrees that there
9 was an armed conflict at the time, and the origins of
10 that armed conflict are largely irrelevant, except to
11 the extent that it is necessary to demonstrate that
12 these crimes occurred within the context of a
13 widespread or systematic attack on the non-Serb
14 civilian population in the area. Having said that,
15 however, allow me to set forth a brief account of what
16 transpired in the Foca area in 1992.
17 If we could turn to the ELMO.
18 Prior to April 7th, 1992, the town of Foca
19 was an ethnically mixed community located on the banks
20 of the Drina River in south-eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina
21 near the Montenegrin border. Its inhabitants appeared
22 to coexist in relatively peaceful harmony, until
23 approximately 1990 when various nationalist political
24 parties began fomenting ethnic tension.
25 What you are about to see now is an
Page 297
1 approximately one-minute excerpt of what is obviously a
2 home video taken by someone in April of 1991, about a
3 year prior to the war in Foca breaking out. As the
4 video footage starts, one of the first buildings to
5 come into view is a building known as the KP Dom, a
6 prison facility. The camera then pans to the right to
7 show the town of Foca, and incidentally, you will see
8 footage of the Partizan Sports Hall and a mosque.
9 These buildings will play a significant role in the
10 unfolding of the narrative of this trial.
11 Could we have the video.
12 [Videotape played]
13 MR. RYNEVELD: You can see that the video is
14 taken on the 3rd of April, 1991. Now we are seeing the
15 prison facility known as the KP Dom. There's a
16 close-up of the prison facility. That gives an idea of
17 the Drina River and the valley which houses the town of
18 Foca. The building that it's now zooming in on is the
19 Partizan Sports Hall. You will hear about that
20 facility as a place of detention. The building now is
21 the police building, known as the SUP, and there you
22 see a mosque.
23 By a slight majority, the population of Foca
24 municipality, prior to April 7, 1992, was predominantly
25 Muslim. As you will note on the map now on the ELMO,
Page 298
1 this map shows the ethnic composition of the various
2 villages and communities within Foca municipality. You
3 can see from the legend that green means Muslim; red
4 means Serb; and blue means other. The large pie in the
5 top right-hand corner shows the ethnic composition of
6 the entire municipality, and the entire municipality,
7 of course, is the area in yellow. On the map itself
8 are the different ethnic compositions of each of the
9 settlements. The evidence will disclose that the
10 municipality of Foca had a pre-war population of 40.513
11 inhabitants, of whom roughly half, or 51.6 percent
12 were Muslim.
13 We will expect the evidence to show that the
14 war in Foca, much as it did in other regions of Bosnia
15 and Herzegovina, began on the 8th of April, 1992, and
16 continued with the take-over of the surrounding
17 villages throughout the summer of 1992.
18 Witnesses will also testify that fighting was
19 occurring in the surrounding municipalities of Gorazde,
20 which is being demonstrated on the ELMO, Gacko,
21 Kalinovik, and the areas bordering them, including
22 Trnovo and Rogoj.
23 The parties to this armed conflict were the
24 newly-declared Republika Srpska and the government of
25 Bosnia-Herzegovina. Foca was the scene of fighting
Page 299
1 between the Republika Srpska army, the VRS, and the
2 army of Bosnis-Herzegovina, the ABiH. The Serb forces,
3 unlike the Muslims, were well-organised and equipped.
4 The fighting was protracted and was conducted by the
5 Serb forces with both light and heavy weaponry, and the
6 VRS was supported and equipped by the Yugoslav National
7 Army, the JNA. By contrast, the forces of the ABiH
8 were comprised of reserve police and Territorial
9 Defence units and were equipped with only light
10 weapons. By the summer of 1992, the VRS occupied the
11 town of Foca and the surrounding municipalities. As is
12 well-known, the greater war in Bosnia-Herzegovina
13 lasted until at least the signing of the Dayton Peace
14 Accord in December 1995. One of the major front lines
15 of that conflict was along the strategic axes running
16 between Sarajevo, Foca, and Gorazde, as is being shown
17 now on the ELMO.
18 In the period leading up to the commencement
19 of armed conflict, Foca and its surrounding villages
20 were torn with ethnic and religious strife. You will
21 be hearing from some of our initial witnesses about
22 that process of transformation. You will hear that
23 many Serb citizens of Foca turned on their Muslim
24 neighbours and professional colleagues ostracised
25 members of their profession of different ethnic or
Page 300
1 religious affiliation. And that was only the beginning
2 of the protracted nightmare that lay in store for many
3 of the women and children that we will be hearing
4 about, and from, during the course of this trial.
5 The evidence will show that life as they knew
6 it changed drastically for the inhabitants of Foca on
7 the 8th of April, 1992. They became personally and
8 directly involved, as victims and not as participants,
9 in an armed conflict that was being waged throughout
10 Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Prosecutor asserts that the
11 attack on the non-Serb civilian population of Foca and
12 the surrounding area was also perpetrated by inflicting
13 acts of sexual violence committed against women and
14 girls. The attack was part of an organised and planned
15 campaign and policy of the Bosnian Serb authorities to
16 ethnically purge the Foca municipality of non-Serbs.
17 This policy to ethnically cleanse the Republika Srpska
18 was simultaneously implemented on various fronts
19 throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. You will be hearing
20 from experts during the course of this trial who will
21 detail the background of the conflict and how
22 widespread and systematic the assault on the civilian
23 population was in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992.
24 Bosnian Serb forces started military action
25 and their soldiers and military police started
Page 301
1 arresting non-Serb inhabitants. Foca became a
2 battleground. Its inhabitants and neighbourhoods were
3 specifically targeted for destruction, and as will
4 become obvious during the course of the trial, Muslim
5 houses were looted, burned, and destroyed.
6 You will now see an excerpt of a BBC News
7 broadcast, narrated by Martin Bell, describing what
8 happened to Foca on the day it fell to the Serbs.
9 [Videotape played]
10 MR. RYNEVELD: Similar to the pattern that
11 had developed in the rest of Bosnia, in what was a
12 widespread and systematic attack on the civilian
13 population, non-Serb residents were rounded up,
14 arrested, and detained with the men and the women
15 separated into two groups. The men were confined in
16 prisons such as the KP Dom, a former penitentiary for
17 the region, and the women and children were kept in the
18 detention centres such as the Foca High School and the
19 Partizan Sports Hall, localities that will play a large
20 part in the unfolding of the narrative of this trial.
21 As in other parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the
22 area around Foca became part of a savage and inhuman
23 campaign of terror designed to drive away the non-Serbs
24 and to make the area ethnically pure. Nor was this
25 event an unexpected one. It had been planned for some
Page 302
1 time by the Serb leadership, and ultimately implemented
2 on various fronts throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina at
3 approximately the same time. The inflammatory rhetoric
4 of the politicians threatening war and the secret arms
5 build-up by the Serbs demonstrates that the Serbs were
6 planning to go to war and knew that the Muslims were
7 unprepared to engage them.
8 You will now see a brief video clip of a
9 Parliamentary exchange between Mr. Karadzic and
10 Mr. Izetbegovic just prior to the war in which they
11 discuss the relative parties's preparedness for war.
12 [Videotape played]
13 MR. RYNEVELD: So effective was this
14 systematic attack on the non-Serb inhabitants of Foca,
15 and so thorough was the process of ethnic cleansing
16 that by the end of the war, Foca, which prior to the
17 war had been a predominantly Muslim town, was
18 exclusively composed of Serb residents. Indeed, so
19 effective and so thorough was this ethnic cleansing
20 that the town of Foca was renamed Srbinje after the
21 war, referring to its new entirely Serb composition.
22 Turning again to the ELMO, similar
23 circumstances befell the non-Serb inhabitants of the
24 neighbouring communities of Kalinovik and Gacko, as
25 shown on the map. You will hear from various witnesses
Page 303
1 that starting in May 1992, they were driven from their
2 homes, arrested, and subsequently detained in the
3 Kalinovik Primary School, which served as a detention
4 facility similar to that of the Partizan Sports Hall in
5 Foca.
6 Although during the course of this trial,
7 among other things, you will be hearing evidence about
8 rapes and torture, sexual assaults and enslavement of a
9 number of girls and women, this is not just a rape case
10 like those in national jurisdictions. It must be
11 remembered that this is a trial about the crimes of a
12 policy of ethnic cleansing unleashed by the Bosnian
13 Serb leadership on the non-Serb civilian population.
14 These crimes were committed during an armed conflict
15 and were widespread and systematic.
16 It will become clear that what happened to
17 the Muslim women of Foca and surrounding area occurred
18 purely because of their ethnicity or religion and
19 because they were women. It will also become clear
20 that what befell them was either at the hands of these
21 three accused directly, or at the hands of individuals
22 who were subject, in the case of Kunarac, to his
23 authority.
24 Allow me to briefly introduce the backgrounds
25 of these accused to you. All three are Bosnian Serbs
Page 304
1 born in the Foca region.
2 Dragoljub Kunarac, also known as Zaga or
3 Dragan, was born in Foca on the 15th of May, 1960.
4 Immediately prior to the war, he lived in Tivat,
5 Montenegro. He briefly returned to Foca in late May
6 1992, and again on the 6th of June, 1992, remaining
7 there until his arrest in 1998. He was involved in the
8 fighting in the Foca area, serving as a corporal in a
9 mine-clearing and reconnaissance unit. He apparently
10 was quite adept at his military duties, since we know
11 that not withstanding his relatively junior rank, he
12 commanded a detachment which bore his name, the
13 Independent Zaga Detachment, and which reported
14 directly to the battalion commander.
15 The second accused, Radomir Kovac, also known
16 as Klanfa, was born in Foca on the 31st of March, 1961
17 and was a permanent resident of the town. He was one
18 of the sub-commanders of the military police and was a
19 paramilitary leader in Foca. He was involved in the
20 attack on Foca and the surrounding villages and
21 participated in the arrest of civilians.
22 The third accused, Zoran Vukovic, was born in
23 the village of Brusna, in the municipality of Foca, and
24 was a permanent resident of the town of Foca. Prior to
25 the war, he worked as a waiter and a driver. Like
Page 305
1 Radomir Kovac, Zoran Vukovic also participated in the
2 attack on Foca and the surrounding villages, and in the
3 arrest of civilians. He also served as one of the
4 sub-commanders of the local military police and as a
5 paramilitary leader in Foca.
6 The parties have stipulated that the offences
7 charged in this indictment occurred during an armed
8 conflict between, on the one hand, forces composed of
9 mostly ethnic Serbs, and on the other hand, forces
10 composed of mostly ethnic Muslims. Indeed, in some
11 instances, the Defence does not seem to contest that
12 the victims were, indeed, raped and sexually assaulted
13 in the manner that they will describe in their
14 testimony. The Defence only contests that these
15 accused committed the crimes or that these offences
16 were part of a planned, widespread or systematic attack
17 on the civilian population. The other contested issue,
18 of course, is one of the identities of the accused as
19 the ones who committed these offences.
20 The Prosecution submits that at the end of
21 the trial, the Trial Chamber will have no difficulty in
22 concluding that these offences occurred during a
23 widespread or systematic attack on the civilian
24 population. Nor will you have any difficulty in
25 concluding that the victims were indeed raped and
Page 306
1 sexually assaulted in the manner that they will
2 describe in their testimony. Furthermore, for reasons
3 I will elaborate upon later in this opening address,
4 the Prosecution submits that the identification
5 evidence given by the victims, coupled with the
6 inferences to be drawn from the circumstantial
7 evidence, will satisfy you beyond a reasonable doubt on
8 the issue of identity of all three accused.
9 Turning next to the issue of victim
10 testimony.
11 Because this case involves multiple victims
12 at various locations, at various times at the hands of
13 multiple perpetrators, we have prepared some charts
14 that will hopefully assist you to keep track of exactly
15 what happened. These charts are based on the
16 information contained in the indictment and will assist
17 you in visualising how the victims were transferred
18 between various locations and which victim was raped at
19 which location by which accused.
20 Due to the complexity of the evidence and the
21 multiplicity of events and occurrences involving
22 multiple victims and multiple accused, it is difficult
23 to accurately depict the number of times the victims
24 were raped or assaulted at the locations noted on the
25 charts. You will hear in detail from the victims when,
Page 307
1 where, and how often the accused raped and sexually
2 assaulted them.
3 With your permission, I would ask the usher
4 at this time to provide the Trial Chamber, as well as
5 my learned friends for the Defence, with copies of two
6 charts which we have prepared for ease of reference,
7 and I would ask that Mr. Mundis will be displaying
8 those on the ELMO during the course of my opening.
9 Each folder contains two charts. If I may refer first
10 to the time-line chart, that's the coloured one, it's
11 entitled "Overview - Places of Detention".
12 The first chart was prepared to show you in a
13 time-line form where the various victims were detained
14 and their transfer between the various locations that
15 will be referred to during the course of the trial. It
16 is important to remember when looking at this chart
17 that the Prosecution maintains that the victims were
18 continuously detained. Even when a witness testifies
19 that she was removed from a detention facility and
20 taken to another location to be raped and then returned
21 to the primary site of detention, they were
22 nevertheless still detained throughout. It is equally
23 important to point out that we take the position that
24 these women, in addition to being constantly detained,
25 were simultaneously subjected to or had reason to fear
Page 308
1 violence, duress, and psychological oppression during
2 each of the crimes described in the indictment.
3 I'll return to that chart in a moment. I
4 just want to introduce the second chart, which is
5 entitled "Locations, Victims, Perpetrators". It's now
6 on the ELMO.
7 The second chart outlines in visual form the
8 allegations in the indictment where the victims were
9 raped and by whom. It shows that although some of the
10 victims were raped where they were detained, most of
11 them were not. They were instead taken to other
12 locations, raped there, and then returned to the
13 detention facility. It is important to keep in mind
14 that this chart also does not depict how many times
15 each victim was raped at each location. I will be
16 referring to both charts from time to time during the
17 opening.
18 If you'd be so kind as to turn with me again
19 to that time-line chart, I propose to describe it.
20 As you can see on the left, the time-line
21 chart begins on the 8th of April, 1992. On that date,
22 you will hear, the attack on Foca began. You can also
23 see from the chart that at the outset of these
24 detention periods, there were two main groups of
25 detainees: those initially detained at Buk Bijela and
Page 309
1 then at Foca High School, and those who were initially
2 detained at Kalinovik Primary School. In addition,
3 there were a smaller group of girls from Miljevina who
4 were arrested and detained in the Partizan Sports
5 Hall. These three groups of women and girls were later
6 brought together and detained at Karaman's House, which
7 is the red box in the middle.
8 You will note that the charts refer to
9 various locations in and around Foca, and I would like
10 to briefly describe a couple of these locations for you
11 at the outset. And perhaps we can have some
12 photographs on the ELMO, and I would ask the
13 audiovisual people to display those. Thank you.
14 The first photograph we now see on the ELMO
15 is the Buk Bijela. That is a settlement on a
16 hydroelectric dam construction site near Foca. After
17 April 1992, it was turned into a local military
18 headquarters, and some of the victims in this case were
19 briefly detained at this location before being
20 transferred to the Foca High School. Now, the Foca
21 High School, you'll see, is named the Aladza High
22 School. That's the same facility. It's now on the
23 ELMO. The victims were then subsequently transferred
24 to the Partizan Sports Hall. The Partizan Sports Hall
25 was located in Foca adjacent to the police headquarters
Page 310
1 building, known as the SUP, S-U-P, and they were
2 detained there.
3 Ulica Osmana Djikica 16 served as
4 Mr. Kunarac's headquarters and those of his men. The
5 photograph now depicts not a building, because the
6 building is gone. Mr. Mundis is pointing out sort of
7 the green area where the building was at the time.
8 That building has subsequently been destroyed.
9 Although it was subsequently destroyed, it stood at the
10 location indicated on the photograph, and this was the
11 place where, by Mr. Kunarac's own account, his men
12 rested between missions and spent their time off.
13 Kunarac himself has acknowledged being there, as you
14 will hear shortly. This house also served as a rape
15 house, as numerous victims will testify.
16 The next photograph is of Karaman's House.
17 Karaman's House, which was formerly a Muslim family's
18 residence and which some victims will refer to as the
19 "tailor's house," was used as a detention centre.
20 We next see the building known as the Brena
21 Block, which was an apartment complex in Foca where
22 several victims were taken and raped. Moreover, the
23 accused Kovac maintained an apartment, which was also
24 formerly the residence of a Muslim family, in this
25 complex. You recall hear witnesses describe this
Page 311
1 apartment as Klanfa's Apartment and what occurred to
2 them there.
3 Next we have a photograph of the Hotel
4 Zelengora. You will hear references to this Hotel.
5 The next is the KP Dom, that building that
6 you also saw on that 1991 home video, which although
7 it's not central to the events in this case, this was
8 the place where many of the non-Serb male residents and
9 the occasional female resident were detained.
10 Turning now to the map, I want to deal next
11 with what happened to the women and girls at the Buk
12 Bijela and Foca High School.
13 On about the 3rd of July, the villages of
14 Trosanj and Mjesaja in the vicinity of Foca were
15 attacked by soldiers including Zoran Vukovic, and
16 Radomir Kovac. As part of this attack, a group of
17 about 60 non-Serb women, children, and elderly persons
18 were taken to Buk Bijela where they were detained for
19 the day. While at Buk Bijela, Zoran Vukovic conducted
20 the interrogations of the women and threatened them
21 with murder and sexual assault if they lied. Several
22 of the girls and younger women were raped at Buk
23 Bijela. Following their brief detention in Buk Bijela,
24 these civilians were transferred and detained at the
25 Foca High School.
Page 312
1 You can see from the time-line chart that
2 these detainees were kept there until the 13th of July,
3 1992, when they were transferred to the Partizan Sports
4 Hall, where most of them remained until about the 13th
5 of August, when they were deported to Montenegro.
6 The sexual assaults, rapes, gang-rapes, and
7 degradations were a daily occurrence from the outset of
8 detention, starting at Buk Bijela for some of the
9 victims. Among them were Witness 50, Witness 75,
10 Witness 87, and Witness 95. A military police
11 organisation known as Cosa's Guards, of which both the
12 accused Kovac and the accused Vukovic were members,
13 were responsible for these crimes, it is alleged. The
14 accused and/or their associates threatened to kill many
15 of these women and/or their children if they resisted
16 being sexually assaulted. If they nevertheless did
17 resist, soldiers, including the accused Zoran Vukovic,
18 beat them.
19 These crimes continued on a daily basis
20 during their subsequent detention at the Foca High
21 School. On the 6th or 7th of July, 1992, Zoran Vukovic
22 was involved in the selection of Witness 50,
23 Witness 75, Witness 87, and Witness 95 sometime during
24 the first week of July. The women were taken to a
25 separate classroom in the Foca High School, distributed
Page 313
1 among several soldiers, and forced to remove their
2 clothing. Each woman was then raped. The evidence
3 will show that Zoran Vukovic personally raped
4 Witness 87 on that occasion. You can see this depicted
5 on the perpetrator's chart as well.
6 On at least five other occasions between 8
7 July and 13 July 1992, Witness 75 and Witness 87 were
8 again taken to another classroom at Foca High School
9 and raped by the accused Vukovic.
10 Turning back to the time-line chart, if we
11 may. As I mentioned earlier, selected victims were
12 transferred from the Foca High School to Partizan on
13 the 13th of July, 1992. Once detained at Partizan
14 Sports Hall, four of the victims initially detained at
15 Buk Bijela were taken on various occasions to other
16 locations by the accused and their soldier colleagues
17 for the express purpose of rape and sexual assault.
18 For example, on the perpetrator chart, you can see that
19 Witness 75, which is -- the witnesses are up along the
20 top column -- Witness 87 and DB were raped on 13 July
21 1992, at Ulica Osmana Djikica 16, which will also be
22 referred to as Kunarac's headquarters. On this
23 occasion, the accused Kunarac and three other soldiers
24 raped Witness 87. Several other soldiers
25 simultaneously raped Witness 75 at that location.
Page 314
1 On the same night, after they had been
2 returned to the Partizan Sports Hall, the accused
3 Kunarac went back to Partizan and took two of the same
4 three women, Witness 75 and Witness 87, as well as
5 Witness 48, to the Hotel Zelengora. You will hear that
6 Witness 48 refused to go with him and Kunarac kicked
7 her and dragged her out. She was then taken to a room
8 at Hotel Zelengora, where both the accused Kunarac and
9 the accused Vukovic raped her that night. She was then
10 told that she would now give birth to Serb babies.
11 On or about the following day, the 14th of
12 July, 1992, Witness 50 was taken to an apartment near
13 Partizan and raped by the accused Vukovic.
14 Witness 95, one of the other women initially
15 detained at Buk Bijela and subsequently transferred to
16 Partizan, was taken out by the accused Kunarac on at
17 least two occasions between the 13th of July and the
18 2nd of August, 1992. On the first occasion, the
19 accused Kunarac took her and two other women to his
20 headquarters, where he took her into a room and
21 personally raped her. Later that evening, three other
22 soldiers also raped her. On the second occasion, after
23 the accused Kunarac took her to Ulica Osmana Djikica
24 16, two or three soldiers again raped her.
25 On the following day, the 14th of July, 1992,
Page 315
1 or thereabouts, Witness 48, along with Witness 87 and
2 another woman, were taken from Partizan and transported
3 to the Brena Block apartments. When they arrived, the
4 accused Zoran Vukovic was waiting with another
5 soldier. Vukovic then raped Witness 48, while his
6 soldier friend raped Witness 87.
7 During that same month, July of 1992,
8 Witness 87 was frequently removed from Partizan and
9 raped, and on one occasion gang-raped by four men,
10 including Zoran Vukovic.
11 In addition, you will hear that Witness 48
12 was raped by Zoran Vukovic again on the 15th of July,
13 but this time he was a participant in a gang-rape
14 perpetrated upon her by eight or more soldiers. This
15 assault took place in an empty Muslim house in the
16 Aladza neighbourhood. At the time of this episode,
17 Witness 48 had been threatened by one of the soldiers
18 to have her throat slashed if she resisted. Zoran
19 Vukovic, who apparently was the sixth man in succession
20 to rape her, bit her nipples until they bled and then
21 pinched her breasts until she fainted from the pain.
22 Vukovic also raped her at the Brena Block on July 23,
23 1992 and at the same location on 12 August 1992. The
24 witness herself will tell you the details of those
25 assaults.
Page 316
1 Thus, the evidence will show that Witness 50,
2 Witness 75, Witness 87, and Witness 95 were removed
3 from Partizan Sports Hall and raped and sexual
4 assaulted by Serb soldiers almost every night of their
5 detention between the 13th of July and the 13th of
6 August, 1992. They would be taken to one of those
7 various locations, on the left-hand column of the
8 perpetrator's chart, raped and then returned to
9 Partizan.
10 You can see from the time-line chart that 2
11 August 1992 has been highlighted as a significant
12 date. On that day, the Aladza Mosque was destroyed, a
13 fact that is undisputed. And although some of the
14 witnesses may be uncertain with respect to precise
15 dates, they will be able to relate events to the date
16 when the mosque was destroyed.
17 So on the 2nd of August, 1992, the night the
18 Aladza Mosque was destroyed, the accused Kunarac again
19 took Witness 50 and three other women to his
20 headquarters. There she was raped by an unknown
21 Montenegrin soldier who threatened to cut off her arms
22 and legs and take her to a church in order to baptise
23 her.
24 This date is significant because it was on
25 the eve of the destruction of the mosque that the
Page 317
1 accused Kunarac took some of the detainees from both
2 the Partizan Sports Hall and the Kalinovik Primary
3 School to his headquarters. These two groups were
4 subsequently moved to and detained at Karaman's House
5 in Miljevina. Thus, in essence, selected members of
6 the two groups of detainees were brought together for
7 the first time from different detention locations.
8 Turning, if I may, next to the group that
9 came from Kalinovik. You will see from the time-line
10 chart that a group of women and children from Gacko and
11 Kalinovik had been detained at Kalinovik since about
12 the 4th of July, at approximately the same time that
13 the Trosanj and the Mjesaja women had been collected
14 and detained at Buk Bijela and Foca High School.
15 These groups in essence, had been detained in
16 separate facilities. However, the evidence will show
17 that selected victims were removed from both detention
18 centres and taken to various houses in Foca, including
19 Karaman's House, where some of them were subjected to
20 sexual assaults, rapes, torture, and degradations, at
21 the hands of the accused Kunarac and his associates.
22 Other victims were transferred by the accused Kunarac
23 to different locations and raped.
24 The time line also shows that the Kalinovik
25 school detention facility continued to operate for the
Page 318
1 balance of the detainees from Gacko and Kalinovik until
2 about 1 September 1992.
3 But the horrors of detention and abuses did
4 not end for some of the unfortunate victims from either
5 the Partizan group or the Kalinovik group with the
6 transfer or deportation to Montenegro of the balance of
7 the detainees. No. Instead, these selected victims
8 were subjected to daily and frequent atrocities at the
9 hands of multiple perpetrators, including the accused
10 Kunarac, both at Karaman's House until about
11 mid-October 1992, and at a house in Trnovace.
12 On the 2nd of August, 1992, the accused
13 Kunarac and two other soldiers took Witness 186,
14 Witness 191, and JG, who had earlier been detained at
15 Kalinovik, from his headquarters to the abandoned house
16 of Halid Cedic in Trnovace. Once at this house, the
17 soldiers divided the girls amongst themselves and raped
18 them. The perpetrators' chart shows that at this
19 house, the accused Kunarac raped Witness 191.
20 Witness 186 and Witness 191 were kept in this
21 house for approximately six months. During this
22 period, the accused Kunarac constantly raped
23 Witness 191 for a two-month period, while another
24 soldier raped Witness 186 during the entire six-month
25 period.
Page 319
1 As mentioned earlier, the accused Kunarac
2 transferred Witness 75 and Witness 87 from Partizan to
3 Karaman's House on the 2nd of August, 1992. These
4 witnesses, along with seven other women, were detained
5 in this house until the end of October 1992. While so
6 detained, they were forced to perform household chores
7 and were frequently raped and sexually assaulted.
8 On or about the 30th of October, 1992, four
9 of the young victims, 75, 87, A.S., and A.B., were
10 taken by associates of the accused Kovac from Karaman's
11 House and handed over to the accused Kovac the
12 following day near the Ribarski Fish Restaurant in the
13 centre of Foca. The accused Kovac and another soldier
14 then transferred these victims to an apartment in the
15 Brena Block occupied by the accused Kovac, referred to
16 as Klanfa's Apartment. While at Klanfa's Apartment,
17 the victims were continually subjected to rapes, sexual
18 assaults, torture, and degradations, including being
19 forced at gunpoint to undress and dance naked on a
20 table. On one occasion at this apartment, Witness 75
21 was ordered to have sex with another soldier, and when
22 she refused to do so, she was beaten.
23 Towards the middle or the end of November
24 1992, two of the victims, Witness 75 and A.B., were
25 taken from this flat to a house near the Hotel
Page 320
1 Zelengora, where for a period of about 20 days, they
2 were constantly sexually assaulted by a group of
3 soldiers. These two victims were then transported to
4 another location, a flat in Pod Masala, a neighbourhood
5 in Foca, where they were raped for an additional 15
6 days before being returned to the accused Kovac on or
7 about the 25th of December, 1992. Later that evening,
8 as the soldiers drank and shot through the windows of
9 the flat, Kovac sold A.B. to another soldier for 200
10 Deutschemarks. Victim A.B., who was 12 years old at
11 the time, has never been located since, and remains
12 missing to this day.
13 The following day, December 26th or
14 thereabouts, Witness 75 was handed over by Kovac to
15 another soldier in Kovac's group, and from there she
16 was taken by numerous other soldiers to various
17 locations where she was subjected to repeated rape and
18 sexual assault until the 5th of March, 1993, when a
19 sympathetic soldier finally helped her to escape.
20 While A.B. and Witness 75 were subjected to
21 these indignities, Witness 87 and A.S. remained in
22 Kovac's flat in the Brena Block from on or about the
23 30th of October, 1992 until the 25th of February,
24 1993. During this period of detention, the victims
25 were subjected to constant rape and sexual assault in a
Page 321
1 manner that amounted to enslavement. Throughout this
2 period of nearly four months, they were also forced to
3 cook and clean for Kovac and one of his associates. On
4 the 25th of February, 1993, Kovac and his associate
5 sold Witness 87 and A.S. to two Montenegrins for 500
6 Deutschemarks each. The victims were then transported
7 to Montenegro where they were subjected to more sexual
8 violence and where they were forced to work as
9 barmaids until their escape on the 5th of April, 1993.
10 The accused Kunarac is also charged with the
11 rape of Witness 183, who was taken from her home, an
12 apartment in Foca, to a location on the banks of the
13 Cehotina River near Velecevo and raped in mid-July
14 1992. The accused Kunarac and two of his soldiers
15 suspected this woman of sending messages out over a
16 radio. After looting her apartment, the three men took
17 her to the Cehotina River, which is a tributary of the
18 Drina River, threatened to kill her and slaughter her
19 son and then raped her. During the rapes, the accused
20 Kunarac taunted the witness by telling her that she
21 would not know which of the three rapists would be the
22 father of her son. After returning her to her
23 apartment, the accused Kunarac robbed her of all her
24 gold and money, and this incident is shown on the
25 bottom of the perpetrator's chart as well.
Page 322
1 Even though this last incident involves an
2 isolated rape of one victim at one location, this case
3 is emphatically not about an isolated rape of one
4 victim at one location. This was an organised campaign
5 of rape and sexual assault upon various women at
6 various locations over a prolonged period of time.
7 Look at the perpetrator chart with me for a moment, and
8 you will see the pattern established.
9 You will undoubtedly keep this in mind while
10 deliberating on the evidence of the various victims who
11 were raped at various locations at various times.
12 The witnesses will tell you what happened to
13 them, how they were assaulted, raped, and tortured.
14 They will describe their terror and their feeling of
15 helplessness. They will tell you who do this to them.
16 However, it must always be remembered that the victims
17 are being asked to testify many years after the event
18 and, consequently, there may be minor discrepancies in
19 details.
20 These events occurred in 1992 and early 1993,
21 and it is understandable that memories may have faded
22 or details become less precise. The important facts,
23 however, remain indelibly etched into the memories of
24 the victims. The details that made an impression will
25 remain clear, and the reliability and credibility of
Page 323
1 these witnesses will not, and should not, be eroded
2 simply because of time.
3 In some instances, the witnesses gave signed
4 statements much closer in time to the events than
5 today, and we will rely in part on those statements,
6 when necessary, to fill in some gaps. But those
7 instances will be rare, and the heart of the
8 Prosecution evidence will be based on what the
9 witnesses say in court over the next few weeks.
10 A few words about identification, if I may.
11 In many instances, the victims were forced to live in
12 close contact with the accused over a long period of
13 time. Identity of the accused is not an issue in these
14 circumstances. In other instances, the contact was
15 much shorter, and the witnesses can only identify the
16 perpetrators through bits and pieces of identification,
17 such as their recognition of the accused from before
18 the war, or their opportunity to observe the accused on
19 one or more occasions.
20 In some instances, the witnesses may have
21 been shown photoboards of individuals and have been
22 asked to determine if they recognise anyone from
23 photographs. Often, recognition comes from a
24 combination of recognising facial features or
25 mannerisms, or gait, or voice, or unique features of
Page 324
1 how people move or stand or behave. In those cases,
2 in-court identification may prove to be of more
3 assistance in establishing identity. In some cases,
4 the witnesses did not know who their attackers were at
5 the time. In those instances, inferences may have to
6 be drawn from circumstantial evidence and hearsay
7 evidence with respect to names of perpetrators given to
8 them by other witnesses or fellow captives.
9 Thus, there are basically three categories of
10 witnesses as they relate to identification. The first
11 category is comprised of those witnesses who did not
12 know the accused prior to the commission of the crimes,
13 but who observed the accused over a lengthy period of
14 time during which the crimes were committed. We submit
15 that the credibility of these witnesses relating to
16 identity will not be a problem. For example, the
17 accused Kovac detained Witness 75 and 87 for prolonged
18 periods of time, and we contend that therefore their
19 identification of him will be credible and reliable.
20 The same can be said of several of the witnesses with
21 respect to the accused Kunarac.
22 The second category of witnesses are those
23 who knew the accused prior to the commission of the
24 offences. Like the first category, their credibility
25 regarding the identity of the accused should not be an
Page 325
1 issue.
2 The third category involves witnesses who did
3 not know the accused prior to the commission of the
4 offences and who only saw the accused once. With
5 regard to this third category of witnesses, we contend
6 that circumstantial evidence, combined with the
7 in-court identification of these witnesses, will
8 convince you beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused
9 sitting before you are indeed the ones who committed
10 these crimes.
11 It must also be remembered that many of the
12 victims were emotionally and psychologically scarred by
13 their experiences at the hands of their attackers.
14 However, as the Trial Chamber in the Furundzija case
15 explicitly recognised, victims who have suffered
16 traumatic experiences are not necessarily unreliable.
17 When assessing the credibility of any
18 witness, the Court will look at all the usual factors
19 in determining whether the witness is reliable. They
20 are, of course, different in each instance, and I will
21 not attempt to numerate them here. One factor that the
22 Court may take into account, however, is the similarity
23 of the method or pattern of conduct used by the accused
24 in taking the women out of the detention centres for
25 the purpose of rape and sexual assault. Another may be
Page 326
1 the frequency of the complaints by various witnesses
2 that may tend to corroborate one another. In other
3 words, a pattern of conduct may be established from
4 which the Court may draw inferences that tend to
5 support complaints by some witnesses in those cases
6 where identity may be less clear.
7 Before I move on to our theories of
8 liability, allow me to comment on two final points
9 regarding the testimony of the victims. First,
10 pursuant to Rule 96, no corroboration is necessary for
11 the testimony of victims of sexual assault; and,
12 second, unlike many domestic rapes, the offences
13 committed in this case were often done in the full view
14 of others, or in rooms where several women were being
15 raped simultaneously. Thus, many of the victims will
16 testify not only about what happened to them, but also
17 as to what happened to others at the same time.
18 The theories of liability. I will now
19 attempt to highlight the Prosecution's theory of
20 liability with respect to the accused Kunarac. I do
21 not propose to deal in this opening statement at any
22 great length with issues of law, such as criminal
23 responsibility, under Statute Article 7(1), or such
24 issues as intent, because the Prosecutor's position has
25 been thoroughly detailed in our pre-trial brief. Nor
Page 327
1 will I dwell on legal issues involving the accused
2 Kovac or Vukovic, since they are charged only with
3 Article 7(1) individual criminal responsibility.
4 Rather, my focus in this opening will be on factual
5 issues relating to some of the legal considerations.
6 With that in mind, I propose now to turn next to the
7 issue of Kunarac's criminal responsibility under
8 Article 7(3).
9 With respect to the accused Kunarac, the
10 Prosecution will prove that he was guilty under both
11 Article 7(1) and Article 7(3) of the Statute. With
12 respect to Article 7(1), the Prosecution contends that
13 Kunarac was a perpetrator and as such committed acts of
14 rape, torture, enslavement, and outrages upon personal
15 dignity. The Prosecution also submits, as stated in
16 our pre-trial brief, that Kunarac's liability under
17 Article 7(1) could be based on his participation in the
18 collective criminal conduct or in his acts of aiding
19 and abetting others to commit sexual crimes.
20 As a commander, he can also be liable under
21 the provisions of Article 7(1) if his actions in this
22 position actually contributed to the commission of the
23 crimes. The Prosecution will establish Kunarac's
24 culpability in accord with the theory of command
25 responsibility for the offences committed by the
Page 328
1 soldiers under his command. This culpability is based
2 on his failure to either prevent or stop the offences
3 committed by his subordinates or by his failure to
4 report or to punish his subordinates who committed
5 rapes and other acts of sexual violence. In so doing,
6 Kunarac is liable and can be convicted under both
7 Articles 7(1) and 7(3).
8 The Prosecution asserts that the evidence of
9 his participation as a perpetrator will be convincing
10 and overwhelming with respect to Article 7(1).
11 Similarly, we submit that evidence of his superior
12 authority and failure to punish and report will result
13 in his conviction under Article 7(3).
14 The Prosecution anticipates that during the
15 course of the victims' testimony, it will become very
16 clear that Dragoljub Kunarac had actual knowledge of
17 the illegal activities occurring at his headquarters at
18 Ulica Osmana Djikica 16. That was the place where he
19 met his men, where he selected soldiers for various
20 assignments, where they returned to reside after
21 returning from battle, and where some of them lived.
22 That was also the place, among others, where many of
23 the victims you will hear from during the course of
24 this trial were taken from Partizan between the 13th of
25 July to the 2nd of August, 1992, and from other
Page 329
1 locations at other times; raped, brutalised, assaulted
2 and abused, both by Kunarac personally and by his men.
3 Not only did he personally rape some of them
4 on several different occasions, but he was also
5 physically present when his men divided the women up
6 amongst them and raped them. He was also --
7 THE INTERPRETER: Could the speaker please
8 slow down.
9 MR. RYNEVELD: He was also the one who often
10 transported the women from Partizan and other places to
11 his headquarters for purposes of rape. However, based
12 on his position as a commander, he is also criminally
13 responsible under Article 7(3) for the rapes at this
14 house even when he was not present, on the basis that
15 he failed to prevent these rapes from occurring or
16 failed to punish those responsible.
17 Now, the accused Kunarac claims that he had
18 no idea what was going on at his headquarters. Let's
19 look at the perpetrator's chart. If you look at the
20 perpetrator chart in the column opposite Ulica Osmana
21 Djikica 16, you will count that there are seven
22 witnesses who will describe being raped by Kunarac
23 personally or by Kunarac's men with his knowledge or
24 participation at that location. Even just considering
25 the sheer number of victims and the lengthy time
Page 330
1 interval during which these rapes and assaults took
2 place, we submit that there is no air of reality to his
3 contention he did not know what was going on.
4 We know from his interview given to
5 investigators shortly after his arrest that the accused
6 Kunarac initially admitted a number of things, although
7 in perfect fairness, in a later statement, he attempts
8 to back away from some of those earlier admissions.
9 You will have an opportunity to hear the entire
10 interviews during the evidence of Mr. Brett Simpson,
11 the OTP's investigator in this case who primarily
12 conducted the first interview. I propose now, however,
13 to play certain extracts of that interview which
14 highlight some of the points I wish to make during this
15 opening.
16 With respect to his role as a commander of a
17 special reconnaissance unit, Kunarac had the following
18 to say in the following two brief excerpts of his
19 initial interview.
20 Could we have the footage, please.
21 [Videotape played]
22 MR. RYNEVELD: And skipping ahead to the
23 second portion.
24 [Videotape played]
25 MR. RYNEVELD: Mr. Kunarac has acknowledged
Page 331
1 that some of his men stayed at the house at Ulica
2 Osmana Djikica 16.
3 Go ahead.
4 [Videotape played]
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Moreover, Kunarac admits that
6 he was at the house at Ulica Osmana Djikica 16.
7 [Videotape played]
8 MR. RYNEVELD: It can be seen from the
9 indictment and the perpetrator's chart that the accused
10 Kunarac was involved in sexual assaults over a
11 prolonged period of time, on different occasions with
12 multiple victims at multiple locations. At times he
13 committed the acts alone, sometimes in the company of
14 others, and at yet other times was there while other
15 soldiers committed the acts with his express or implied
16 knowledge and consent. We will prove his involvement
17 by a variety of means:
18 a) direct identification by the victims and
19 witnesses who say that he was the one who raped them or
20 others in their presence;
21 b) direct identification by witnesses who saw
22 him take victims away;
23 c) identification by witnesses to whom Zaga
24 was pointed out to them;
25 d) identification by witnesses who knew what
Page 332
1 he looked like but did not know his name and who heard
2 what he was called by means of hearsay evidence;
3 e) identification by circumstantial evidence,
4 in relation to other known facts;
5 f) identification by witnesses who knew him
6 or knew of him prior to the outbreak of hostilities;
7 g) his pattern of conduct; and
8 h) the accused's own statement and
9 testimony.
10 The accused Kunarac claims that he was
11 elsewhere during some of the times when these crimes
12 were committed and, therefore, could not have committed
13 them. However, the evidence will show that during the
14 times he alleges he was at the battlefront, the various
15 locations in Foca where the crimes were committed were
16 a short driving distance away and accessible to him.
17 Indeed, on the night of August 2nd, when the mosque was
18 destroyed, the accused admits he was in Foca and heard
19 the detonation. He only denies that he was at the
20 tailor's house or at Partizan.
21 In the armed conflict that engulfed
22 Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s, it may be said that
23 the three accused sitting before you were not
24 particularly major players. They are not the ones who
25 hatched the diabolical policy that resulted in the
Page 333
1 deaths of thousands of individuals including innocent
2 civilians. They are not the ones who contrived the
3 policy of ethnic cleansing. They are not the ones who
4 ordered the wholesale destruction of villages. They
5 are also not the ones who determined that the Muslim
6 culture that dated back for centuries in
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina should be decimated.
8 But make no mistake about it: there would
9 have been no ethnic cleansing if there were not
10 individuals willing to turn on their neighbours, to
11 unleash terror and hatred, to turn multi-ethnic
12 communities into homogenous communities and to leave
13 scarred victims. Unlike the policymakers who dealt in
14 theories and plans, these were the individuals who
15 rounded up innocent women and girls, then raped them,
16 or sexually assaulted them, tortured them, enslaved
17 them, and then, in some cases, exchanged, sold, or
18 transferred them to other soldiers. These accused are
19 the individuals who gang-raped these women, while
20 boasting that the women would give birth to Serb babies
21 in order to further humiliate them.
22 As you listen to the evidence that is about
23 to unfold throughout the course of this trial, there
24 will be times when it will be difficult to fathom the
25 depths of despair and the horror that these victims
Page 334
1 went through. You, as experienced professionals, may
2 have heard evidence of this nature previously during
3 the course of your legal and judicial careers. You do
4 not need me to tell you how such experiences may have
5 affected the lives of the survivors.
6 Nevertheless, imagine, if you will, what
7 these women must have felt in their unique
8 circumstances. They were unprotected, captive, and
9 afraid for their lives. The laws available to protect
10 them were repeatedly violated. The structure of their
11 lives had been shaken, turned upside-down, and
12 demolished by the events that overtook them in 1992.
13 They had seen friends and family members beaten and
14 killed. Their Serb captors seemingly had power to do
15 with them what they wanted. There was no avenue of
16 escape, no entity to protect them, no shred of hope to
17 cling to. Their humiliation was complete. Some of
18 them were owned by their captors, used, abused, and
19 later disposed of as they saw fit.
20 This may help to put into perspective some of
21 the evidence that I anticipate you will hear from the
22 various witnesses. Against this backdrop that I have
23 just painted, you will hear, for example, the witnesses
24 describe their ordeal in the following terms:
25 "I was raped by many soldiers that night,
Page 335
1 one after the other."
2 "I was out of my myself, like a machine in
3 their hands."
4 "I felt horrible. During these months, I
5 felt like an object that was being constantly
6 exchanged. I never knew what was going to happen to me
7 the following days. All the time I was afraid for my
8 life."
9 Your Honours, at the end of this trial, we
10 submit, the Prosecution's evidence will prove the
11 culpability of these accused beyond a reasonable
12 doubt. The International Community demands that crimes
13 of sexual violence be exposed, prosecuted, and punished
14 according to international law. Accordingly, Your
15 Honours, the Prosecution will be asking you to find
16 each of the accused guilty as charged.
17 Thank you.
18 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you very much,
19 Mr. Ryneveld. I will ask my colleagues if they want to
20 ask any questions. Thank you very much. We do not
21 have any questions for you, Mr. Ryneveld.
22 I'm looking at the time now. We have eight
23 minutes. Mr. Registrar, I hope that that clock is
24 correct. So it's close to our time for taking a
25 break. I wanted to find out from the Defence counsel
Page 336
1 if they wanted to make their statements soon after the
2 Prosecutor's statement.
3 Mr. Prodanovic.
4 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
5 Honours, we do not have the intention of presenting
6 our -- any statements after what the Prosecutor has set
7 out. We're going to be making our introductory address
8 after the Prosecution presents its evidence.
9 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
10 Is that the same, Mr. Kolesar?
11 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Your Honours,
12 that is also true for the Defence of the accused
13 Mr. Kovac.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
15 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours,
16 the position for us is the same as for my colleagues.
17 Thank you.
18 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you very much. I think
19 we'll take a break, and we'll enjoy the luxury of the
20 extra minutes since this is the first day. The Trial
21 Chamber will rise and will resume proceedings at 11.30
22 hours.
23 --- Recess taken at 10.55 a.m.
24 --- On resuming at 11.32 a.m.
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. We are ready to proceed.
Page 337
1 Is the Prosecution ready to proceed?
2 MR. RYNEVELD: If it please the Court, we are
3 prepared to proceed. I wonder, whether before we call
4 our first witness, there were some preliminary matters
5 we can address in order to ensure that everything is
6 understood by everyone.
7 The first matter is a matter of the
8 stipulations which have been the issue of pre-trial
9 matters, but I wonder whether there's a way in which we
10 can now formally have those stipulations made part of
11 the record, and I've asked Ms. Kuo to deal with those
12 issues. I don't know how the Chamber wishes to deal
13 with it, but as you're aware, we have filed the
14 stipulations, and I just want to ensure that my learned
15 friends and the Prosecution are in accord and that
16 those stipulations, indeed, are part of the record. I
17 don't know how you wish us to handle that, but that's
18 why I'm raising it.
19 JUDGE MUMBA: Can we just have you mention
20 each one of them and the date they were filed for
21 purposes of identification?
22 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. I'll ask Ms. Kuo to
23 handle that, if I may.
24 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
25 Ms. Kuo.
Page 338
1 MS. KUO: Thank you, Your Honours. On the
2 1st of February, 2000, the Prosecution filed a
3 Prosecution submission regarding admissions of fact and
4 issues not in contention regarding Mr. Kunarac and
5 Mr. Kovac.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. Can you wait for
7 Mr. Prodanovic and Mr. Kolesar? You have understood
8 what the Prosecution are saying?
9 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
10 Honours. We had to wait a little bit to get the
11 interpretation. But, yes, it is correct, and we have
12 agreed and the joint proposal I hope went to the Trial
13 Chamber, that is to say, to you yourself.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. In terms of having them
15 as admitted documents, I'll ask the registrar that
16 since we have almost every exhibit numbered, we can
17 start with the last to next number so that we don't
18 confuse the numbering. So that one will be exhibit
19 number -- can you give us the number?
20 MS. KUO: Your Honours, it should be number
21 174.
22 JUDGE MUMBA: It should be 174.
23 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Yes, that's
24 right. The document will be marked 174.
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. The next one.
Page 339
1 MS. KUO: The second submission was filed on
2 8th March, 200, and it's entitled Prosecution
3 submission regarding admissions and contested matters
4 regarding the accused Zoran Vukovic.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Jovanovic, for the
6 accused.
7 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] We are in
8 full agreement with our learned colleagues from the
9 Prosecution, and as far as I know, that has been sent
10 to the Trial Chamber as well.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. It will be exhibit
12 number?
13 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] It will be
14 Exhibit 175.
15 MR. RYNEVELD: There are some other minor
16 matters. I can tell the Court that in an effort to
17 reduce the necessary -- the necessity of calling some
18 military and political experts, we have instead decided
19 to call a Mr. Subasic, and we have some additional
20 summaries of his evidence and I have about 15 copies of
21 that that are, perhaps -- copies can be distributed now
22 both to the bench and to my learned friends, with your
23 permission. We think that we may be able to reduce the
24 necessity of calling some experts by adding this
25 witness to the list. That's Mr. Subasic,
Page 340
1 S-u-b-a-s-i-c.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: What is his full name?
3 MR. RYNEVELD: Excuse me.
4 JUDGE MUMBA: The full name?
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. It's Osman Subasic.
6 O-s-m-a-n S-u-b-a-s-i-c. And we have a summary of that
7 witness statement here and we would ask perhaps our
8 case manager present it to the usher for distribution.
9 JUDGE MUMBA: And you are saying he is an
10 expert witness?
11 MR. RYNEVELD: No. He would be more of a
12 fact witness, but we take the view that with this fact
13 witness, it will obviate the necessity to call an
14 expert who, in our view, perhaps might encroach an area
15 in which this bench is, in fact, the experts on
16 international law. Rather than call an expert to tell
17 you about something in which you are an expert already,
18 we thought it would be best to do it by way of fact
19 witnesses.
20 JUDGE MUMBA: So that will be Prosecution
21 witness number --
22 MR. RYNEVELD: We haven't actually given him
23 a number, but I --
24 JUDGE MUMBA: No, just in terms of number of
25 witnesses. It adds to the number, doesn't it?
Page 341
1 MR. RYNEVELD: Sorry. Yes, and there's
2 another one as well.
3 JUDGE MUMBA: That will be 39.
4 MR. RYNEVELD: That will be 39.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: That will bring the
6 Prosecution's witnesses to 39.
7 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. Thank you. And the
8 fortieth witness, I can tell the Court that we have
9 just last week made contact with the individual
10 referred to throughout as A.S. She has been referred
11 to in the indictment, referred to in the opening and we
12 only managed to get in touch with her last week. We
13 don't have a formal statement, but we have interviewed
14 her informally and, again, we have summaries of her
15 evidence which we would ask to distribute to both the
16 Defence and the bench at this time --
17 JUDGE MUMBA: Regarding that witness, is the
18 witness a fact witness?
19 MR. RYNEVELD: She is a victim fact witness,
20 yes.
21 JUDGE MUMBA: And you are saying what you
22 have now, only summaries, is it your intention to
23 extract a full statement from this witness?
24 MR. RYNEVELD: No. We do not. I don't think
25 that time has permitted to do that. She has been
Page 342
1 informally interviewed, and we want to give as much
2 notice, as early as possible, and we have summarised
3 the extent of the evidence we anticipate she will give
4 and are providing that now. It was only prepared
5 yesterday.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. I appreciate that. But
7 what I'm trying to look at is the problems with fact
8 witnesses in the sense that the Defence have to know
9 for purposes of cross-examination, not only of that
10 particular witness, of other witnesses as well. So it
11 is important that the summaries you are going to
12 give --
13 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: -- that witness will stick to
15 that. Is that my understanding?
16 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. I do understand what
17 you're saying. I anticipate that the witness will stay
18 within the parameters of the informal statement and the
19 summary we have prepared. I understand that -- you're
20 saying that what we give now, we can't go beyond the
21 bounds of that.
22 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
23 MR. RYNEVELD: I understand that. And we
24 have asked for translation of that document, but, of
25 course, since we've just got it over the weekend, that
Page 343
1 is in the process of being done.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: It's unredacted.
3 MR. RYNEVELD: It's unredacted, yes.
4 JUDGE MUMBA: The full name --
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Full name, everything yes.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Any other witness?
7 MR. RYNEVELD: No. Those are the two
8 issues.
9 The third issue --
10 JUDGE MUMBA: Is that the only issue dealing
11 with witnesses?
12 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes.
13 JUDGE MUMBA: Can I have the answers from
14 Defence counsel before we leave it, so that we have
15 their stand understand?
16 MR. RYNEVELD: Sorry. I do have one
17 additional thing, and that is that Witness 90 will not
18 be testifying. So we are adding two but deleting one.
19 JUDGE MUMBA: Okay. So that will give us a
20 total of --
21 MR. RYNEVELD: Back to 39, unless, of course,
22 major -- General Rogers is not called, which reduces us
23 back to 38.
24 JUDGE MUMBA: Okay. Let me hear Defence
25 counsel with regard to witness Osman Subasic and A.S.,
Page 344
1 please. What is your stand?
2 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
3 Honours, we are still not in a position to read as to
4 what the witness will be testifying to, Mr. Subasic,
5 and if we introduce him and the A.S. witness, we should
6 like to request that they be -- they give testimony at
7 the end of the Prosecution witnesses, which gives us
8 enough time to check out the facts presented by those
9 two witnesses. So we don't have anything against them
10 testifying, but we'd like to have a longer time period
11 to consider it.
12 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
13 Mr. Kolesar, the same?
14 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] I agree fully
15 with the proposal made by the Defence counsel of
16 Mr. Kunarac.
17 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
18 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
19 Honours, we agree.
20 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. Thank you. So those
21 witnesses will be added to the list of Prosecution
22 witnesses, and Defence counsel will be given sufficient
23 time to indicate whichever way. But they will be given
24 enough time.
25 Yes. Any other matter?
Page 345
1 MR. RYNEVELD: The only other matter that --
2 I don't know whether you wish to address now. You're
3 aware that we have received a copy of a Defence request
4 about closed session proceedings. I don't know whether
5 you wish us to address that now or at some other time.
6 But we did receive from the Defence a request about the
7 fact victim witnesses the Defence has filed, and I
8 don't know if you wish to address that now, but
9 we're --
10 JUDGE MUMBA: I'm wondering which motion this
11 is, because I've seen a Defence motion dealing with
12 Prosecution witnesses.
13 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: That they want some of their
15 evidence in closed session because some of those have
16 either voice alteration or face alteration only, and
17 they are just -- they are asking for a variation of
18 those protective measures because they have concerns
19 which they've expressed. And the Trial Chamber will
20 decide on those matters later.
21 MR. RYNEVELD: Fine.
22 JUDGE MUMBA: Because we haven't -- I wonder
23 whether the Prosecution have filed their response.
24 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. If you wish to decide
25 that later, that's fine.
Page 346
1 JUDGE MUMBA: Or maybe to cut the whole story
2 short, is there an objection on any of the witnesses?
3 MR. RYNEVELD: Well, the request that I'm
4 referring is the one whereby they are suggesting that
5 there be closed session proceedings --
6 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please,
7 Mr. Ryneveld.
8 MR. RYNEVELD: Sorry.
9 The request is one that was just filed, I
10 believe, on the weekend, whereby they're asking for
11 closed session proceedings on, it seems to me, the bulk
12 of the victim witnesses. And our position is that we
13 have asked for protection for those witnesses that we
14 feel are adequate to address the needs; we are also
15 mindful of the fact that this Chamber wishes these
16 proceedings to be as open and as public as possible.
17 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
18 MR. RYNEVELD: And our position is that the
19 witnesses who are being called that the Court has
20 looked at their individual requirements carefully and
21 sufficiently, and we take the view that it would not
22 serve the interests of justice to have such an
23 expansive request for closed sessions as has been
24 suggested by my learned friends. It seems to me that
25 it's, perhaps, more a way to prevent the evidence
Page 347
1 against their clients from being made public. And
2 accordingly, our view is that we would oppose the full
3 expansiveness of the request and say that there is an
4 adequate protection at present.
5 [Trial Chamber confers]
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. Having heard the
7 Prosecution, the Trial Chamber will give a written
8 decision in due course, on the understanding that none
9 of those witnesses are coming today.
10 MR. RYNEVELD: That's correct.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: So a written decision will be
12 issued.
13 JUDGE HUNT: Mr. Ryneveld, the lists of
14 exhibits that I have stops at 116. Those were the ones
15 filed in February. Now, according to the registrar,
16 that exhibit went in as 174. So there's a list of
17 exhibits that needs to be brought up to date, I should
18 think.
19 MR. RYNEVELD: I think that's an "oops" there
20 somewhere in the material. The numbering that we have
21 is up to 173, and then we've added 174 and 175. That's
22 in the binder that you're referring to.
23 JUDGE HUNT: The document I have commences at
24 page 3615 and ends at 3602 in the filing.
25 MR. RYNEVELD: Ms. Kuo seems to have the
Page 348
1 answer to this, and I would just be scrambling so I
2 will defer to her.
3 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
4 MS. KUO: Your Honours, at the Pre-Trial
5 Conference, we orally superseded that exhibit list with
6 the trial binders that were submitted to the Court and
7 in the trial binder volume 1, there should be a full
8 list of all the exhibits, and it goes up to 173.
9 JUDGE HUNT: Well, on the bench this morning,
10 there was a document which says Trial Binder 1, index,
11 and the list of exhibits goes up to 148 only.
12 MS. KUO: Yes, Your Honour. As I mentioned,
13 at the Pre-Trial Conference, the Prosecution submitted
14 a set of five binders. At the beginning of binder 1,
15 there should be an index for all five binders. We've
16 made some changes in trial binder 1 in preparation for
17 today's witness, and that is what Your Honour is
18 referring to, the document -- that is, only trial
19 binder 1 that you received, that should be substituted
20 for what you previously received. So we apologise to
21 the Court that there was no formal filing to the
22 Registry regarding the new set of exhibits, but we
23 hoped that we had made clear on the record in court
24 that that's what we were doing.
25 JUDGE HUNT: Yes. Thank you. I've found
Page 349
1 it.
2 MR. RYNEVELD: There is just one more thing,
3 if I may, with respect to scheduling. I heard my
4 friend's request that Witness Subasic and A.S. be
5 scheduled at the end. I can tell the Court that we
6 have disclosed all of Mr. Subasic's material, including
7 B/C/S, to the Defence today, and we do intend to call
8 him towards the end. However, Witness A.S., who only
9 corroborates Witness 87, that's the nature of her
10 evidence, we have her presently scheduled for the 3rd
11 of April of 2000. And since she is a corroboration
12 witness, we wonder whether -- just so that the flow of
13 evidence and the availability of the witness, whether
14 that can be accommodated into the schedule.
15 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. That is two weeks from
16 today.
17 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. And she's not exactly a
18 brand new witness. She's been referred to, she's only
19 a corroboration witness, and they now have her
20 summary. So that would be our request. Hopefully, my
21 learned friends, once they've had an opportunity to see
22 the contents of the summary, may be in a position to
23 agree that the 3rd of April is not an unreasonable time
24 to call her.
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Okay.
Page 350
1 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
2 Honours, at this point in time, it is very difficult
3 for me to say whether that two-week period is all right
4 or not, because we have not read the statement. So I
5 don't know whether we are able to check out what the
6 witness says in her statement because we're going to
7 spend three weeks here, and as far as I've understood,
8 she will be here after the third week of trial. So we
9 would ask for your indulgence and to be later on,
10 towards the end, as I stated a moment ago. Regardless
11 of the fact that we have had very good cooperation with
12 the Office of the Prosecutor so far, but at this point
13 in time, it is difficult for me to say that I accept
14 this proposal or not from the Prosecution.
15 JUDGE MUMBA: The submissions of the Defence
16 are taken by the Trial Chamber. I think we'll
17 proceed. We'll deal with this matter at a later
18 stage.
19 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you, Your Honour. Then
20 we are prepared to call our first witness, and I will
21 ask Ms. Kuo to lead the evidence in this regard.
22 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes, please.
23 Would the witness stand up and take the
24 solemn declaration, please.
25 THE WITNESS: I solemnly declare that I will
Page 351
1 speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
2 truth.
3 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. You may be seated.
4 WITNESS: TEJSHREE THAPA.
5 MS. KUO: Your Honours, as a preliminary
6 matter, I just would like to let the Court know that we
7 are calling this witness for the purpose of tendering
8 into evidence Exhibits 1 through 36, and we do not
9 intend to tender her as an expert in interpreting the
10 documents; simply in summarising and describing them.
11 Furthermore, the order of the exhibits that
12 will be presented will be as follows: We will start
13 with maps, and then we will go -- there's some video --
14 through some videotapes which we'll ask the audiovisual
15 director to show, then a number of documents. And so
16 they will be a little bit out of order from the way
17 they were in the trial binder, but we think this makes
18 a little bit more sense. We also apologise, there were
19 some last-minute changes, and our case manager did give
20 new copies of the exhibits that were new or changed to
21 your legal assistants, and we hope that they did make
22 it into your binders in time.
23 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
24 JUDGE HUNT: They're all left at this end of
25 the bench.
Page 352
1 [Trial Chamber confers]
2 JUDGE HUNT: If you do it again, Ms. Kuo, it
3 would be helpful if you put some holes in them.
4 MS. KUO: I apologise, Your Honour.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. We may proceed.
6 MS. KUO: One more preliminary matter is that
7 if it becomes necessary to make arguments under
8 Rule 89(C) for relevance, we would just ask that we
9 wait until we go through all the evidence because it
10 might be easier to deal with them as a group.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
12 Examined by Ms. Kuo:
13 Q. Would you please state your name for the
14 record.
15 A. Yes. Tejshree Thapa.
16 Q. How are you employed, Ms. Thapa?
17 A. I'm a research officer in the Office of the
18 Prosecutor.
19 Q. How long have you worked as the research
20 officer?
21 A. Since May of 1995.
22 Q. Can you describe briefly for the Court what
23 your role has been in that capacity?
24 A. I've worked since 1995 on the Foca
25 investigation, largely as an investigator more than as
Page 353
1 a research officer, really. In the course of my
2 duties, I've recorded witness statements and collected
3 documentary evidence; orders, newspaper articles,
4 videos, maps.
5 Q. So in your capacity as a research officer,
6 are you familiar with the various maps and documents
7 collected in the Foca case?
8 A. Yes, I am.
9 MS. KUO: With the usher's aid, I wish to
10 tender to the witness Exhibits 1 through 36.
11 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreters kindly
12 request that pauses be made between question and
13 answer. Thank you.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes, Ms. Kuo, please remember
15 the interpreters. Ms. Kuo, just remember that there is
16 interpretation going on, and pause for the witness to
17 answer.
18 JUDGE HUNT: There's an awful lot of feedback
19 too. I don't know whether the technical people can do
20 something about it, but it's pretty grim.
21 MS. KUO:
22 Q. Ms. Thapa, turning first to Exhibit 14, could
23 you put that on the ELMO and describe what that is,
24 please.
25 A. This is a map of the former Yugoslavia as it
Page 354
1 existed before the war, so around 1990. It shows you
2 the six republics of the former Yugoslavia and the two
3 autonomous provinces within Serbia. More specifically,
4 for this case, it shows the Republic of
5 Bosnia-Herzegovina, with its administrative capital in
6 Sarajevo. South-east of Sarajevo, approximately 70
7 kilometres, we have indicated with a star the town of
8 Foca.
9 Q. Turning to Exhibit 15, can you describe that,
10 please?
11 A. Exhibit 15 shows the Republic of Bosnia and
12 Herzegovina and the Republic of Montenegro. We have
13 mapped out four of the municipalities most relevant for
14 this trial, that is, Foca, Gorazde, Kalinovik, and
15 Gacko. The administrative capitals which share the
16 name of the municipalities are also indicated within
17 each of the municipalities.
18 Within Montenegro, we have indicated the
19 capital -- sorry, we've indicated Podgorica and the
20 town of Niksic, which you will be hearing about in the
21 trial.
22 Q. Turning to Exhibit 16, describe that,
23 please.
24 A. Again, this is the map of the Republic of
25 Bosnia and Herzegovina. The coloured areas indicate
Page 355
1 the Serbian Autonomous District which was proclaimed by
2 the assembly of the Serbian people in
3 Bosnia-Herzegovina on the 21st of November, 1991.
4 You can see that the municipalities of Foca,
5 Kalinovik, and Gacko appear in the green/yellow shaded
6 area, representing the fact that they were declared as
7 a part of the Serbian Autonomous District of
8 Herzegovina.
9 Q. Turning now to Exhibit 17, Ms. Thapa, could
10 you explain what that is?
11 A. This is a map which shows the ethnic
12 composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina based upon the census
13 of 1991. The green areas indicate Muslim majorities;
14 the blue indicates Serb majorities; and the pink/orange
15 indicates Croat majority. There are small pockets of
16 red which indicate areas with no specific ethnic
17 majority.
18 Q. Could you outline with the pointer, please,
19 more or less where the municipality of Foca is?
20 A. Yes. Foca is in this region here
21 [indicates]. Gorazde is here [indicates], and you can
22 see that Foca -- it's difficult to see on this map, but
23 it is indicated -- you can see that the municipality on
24 its borders, going this way [indicates], has a Muslim
25 population, and there's a Serb population here
Page 356
1 [indicates] as -- just along the middle, bordering
2 Montenegro.
3 Q. When you say "population," do you mean that
4 it's a majority population or that it's fully Serb or
5 fully Muslim?
6 A. It's a majority.
7 Q. Now, let's turn to Exhibit number 18,
8 please. Can you explain what that is?
9 A. Yes. Exhibit 18, these are the results of
10 the 1991 census. This is a little bit difficult to
11 read because of the way it's been photocopied. I don't
12 know if that helps. But the municipality of Foca is
13 indicated on page 102, at line 24, and to get the
14 results of the 1991 census, you have to read across to
15 page -- on to page 103.
16 Q. Could you please tell us what the result of
17 the 1991 census showed to be the population of Foca?
18 A. The total population is shown as 40,513
19 persons; with 94 Croats, 20,790 Muslims, 18,315 Serbs,
20 483 [sic] Yugoslavs, and 851 "other" or "not known".
21 Q. 463?
22 A. Sorry, 463, that's right.
23 Q. Just to clarify, is that Foca town or
24 municipality?
25 A. That's the municipality.
Page 357
1 Q. Do you see the statistics for Foca town?
2 A. Yes. That is on pages 104 and 105; the
3 results are on line 14. The total population of the
4 town in 1991 was 14,335; with 74 Croats, 5,526 Muslims,
5 7,901 Serb, 312 Yugoslavs, 522 "other" or "not known".
6 Q. Now, turning to some information about other
7 towns in that municipality, could you point out the
8 statistics for Miljevina and Mjesaja, please?
9 A. Yes. The results from Miljevina and Mjesaja
10 appear on pages 106 – 107. Miljevina is on line
11 3. The total population of Miljevina in 1991 was
12 1,763; with eight Croats, 730 Muslims, 943 Serbs, 44
13 Yugoslavs, and 38 "other" or "not known". For Mjesaja,
14 a total population of 328; with no Croats, 161 Muslims,
15 166 Serbs, and one Yugoslav.
16 Q. Turning to the information regarding the
17 municipality and town of Gacko, could you please
18 indicate what the census results were?
19 A. Gacko municipality, the results appear on
20 line 21, page 110 – 111. The total population
21 was 10,778; 29 Croats, 3,858 Serbs, 6,661 Yugoslavs,
22 and 84 "other" or "not known".
23 Q. And for Gacko town?
24 A. Yes. Gacko town appears on -- sorry, I
25 haven't highlighted that -- it appears on line 39. It
Page 358
1 shows a total of 4.584 in the town; 28 Croats, 2.253
2 Serbs, 2.144 -- sorry, the other way. 2.253 Muslims,
3 2.144 Serbs, 78 Yugoslavs, and 81 "other" or "not
4 known".
5 Q. Thank you. Let's look now at Exhibit 19.
6 Would you describe that, please?
7 A. Yes. This is a map based on the 1991 census
8 results. I'm sorry, the whole thing won't fit on the
9 ELMO.
10 Q. So the results that you've just pointed out.
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Exhibit 18.
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. This was prepared in-house based upon the
15 1991 census results. The green indicates Muslim, the
16 red is Serb, and the blue is "other". This is just the
17 municipality of Foca. You can see that the chart --
18 the big pie chart over here [indicates] shows the total
19 population of the municipality; 52 percent Muslim, 45
20 percent Serb, and the little bit, that is, areas
21 unknown, is "other".
22 Could you please point out Foca town?
23 A. Foca town is here [indicates], it's right in
24 the centre, and -- I'm sorry. I have to get closer to
25 it to read the results. It's 55 percent Serb and 38
Page 359
1 percent Muslim, with the remainder as "other".
2 Q. Could you point out Miljevina town, please?
3 A. Miljevina is here [indicates], to the west of
4 Foca town, and the population at that time was roughly
5 53 percent Serb to 41 percent Muslim, and the
6 remainder is "other".
7 Q. Finally, could you point out Mjesaja town,
8 please?
9 A. Mjesaja is here [indicates], it's to the
10 south of Foca town. According to the 1991 census
11 results, it was 50/50, Serb and Muslim.
12 Q. Turning to Exhibit 20, could you please tell
13 us what that is?
14 A. This is a partial reproduction of a road map
15 showing parts of Montenegro and a part of
16 Bosnia-Herzegovina.
17 You can see the town of Foca here
18 [indicates], and the red lines indicate the main
19 roads. What you can see is that four main roads go
20 through Foca town itself: One main road comes in from
21 Montenegro, through Niksic, up into the town; there's
22 another road that continues, the most direct road, to
23 Sarajevo, and it goes through the Rogoj Pass, through
24 Dobro Polje, through Trnovo, up to Sarajevo; there's
25 another road going down south, all the way to the
Page 360
1 Croatian coast at Dubrovnik; and another main road
2 going up north, towards Gorazde.
3 Q. Turning now to Exhibit 23, can you please
4 describe that for the Court?
5 A. This map shows the main municipalities
6 relevant to this trial.
7 Q. Could you please put it upright on the ELMO.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Thank you.
10 A. This scale is 1:50.000, and we've circled in
11 green the areas that are of particular relevance.
12 Shall I just point them out to you?
13 Q. Yes, please.
14 A. You can see Sarajevo here [indicates], it's
15 the largest city in the area. Coming directly south
16 from Sarajevo, again on -- if you follow the main red
17 road that I showed early on the previous exhibit, you
18 would come down through Trnovo, through the Rogoj Pass;
19 you would pass Dobro Polje, down to Miljevina, and on
20 to Foca. Again, north of Foca is Gorazde; directly
21 south is Trnovace; further south is Mjesaja.
22 You can see Kalinovik here [indicates]. And
23 this is not on this main road, you have to take a turn
24 off this road, off the main Sarajevo-Foca road, to get
25 to Kalinovik.
Page 361
1 Q. Thank you.
2 MS. KUO: Now, with the assistance of the
3 usher or someone else who can get Exhibit 21, I'll ask
4 the witness to indicate that, that's the big map.
5 Q. Maybe I can just ask the witness to approach
6 the map -- or at the podium, indicate what the map is,
7 and then approach the map.
8 A. This is a map, once again, of the various
9 municipalities you've just seen on the 1:50.000, the
10 reduced version. It shows you Sarajevo municipality,
11 Gorazde municipality, Foca municipality, Kalinovik
12 municipality, and a part of Gacko, at the bottom.
13 Q. What is the source of the map?
14 A. This is from UNPROFOR.
15 Q. May I ask the witness now to approach the map
16 and just generally indicate -- perhaps you could use
17 the pointer.
18 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
19 MS. KUO:
20 Q. Indicate where Foca is, Sarajevo, and
21 Gorazde.
22 A. Sorry. You said Foca? This is Foca here
23 [indicates], at the confluence of the Drina River and
24 the Cehotina --
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Can I interrupt? Is your
Page 362
1 microphone cord long enough for you to stand on the
2 other side, to allow Defence counsel to look at the
3 map?
4 THE WITNESS: Yes.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: I can see that your pointer is
6 a bit short, but do try so that the Defence counsel can
7 see. You can extend it. Okay.
8 A. This is Gorazde here [indicates], along the
9 Drina River. Here is Foca [indicates].
10 MS. KUO:
11 Q. And Sarajevo?
12 A. Sarajevo is up here [indicates], it's this
13 built-up area.
14 Q. Can you point out where Miljevina is?
15 A. Yes. To get to Miljevina, you have to take
16 this road west of Foca, and it's right here
17 [indicates].
18 Q. And Trnovace -- I'm sorry. Trnovo.
19 A. Trnovo is further along this road. You pass
20 Dobro Polje here, continue north to Sarajevo, and it's
21 here [indicates].
22 Q. And the Rogoj Pass?
23 A. The Rogoj Pass is in this area [indicates].
24 Q. Would you point out Trnovace, then, please?
25 A. Yes. Trnovace is south of Foca, and it's
Page 363
1 right here [indicates].
2 Q. Thank you. I'll ask the witness now to turn
3 to Exhibit 12 and place that on the ELMO.
4 A. Exhibit 12, yes.
5 Q. Could you describe what that is, please?
6 A. This is a map of the town of Foca itself.
7 The scale is 1:10.000. It shows you really just the
8 centre of Foca. This is the Drina River [indicates],
9 which flows north, and the Cehotina, which also joins
10 the Drina and flows north together.
11 Q. What is the source of the map?
12 A. This is from the Bethesda Mapping Agency.
13 Q. Is there a date on it?
14 A. Yes. 1993.
15 Q. I'll ask the witness to turn to Exhibit
16 12/1. Explain that one, please.
17 MS. KUO: This, for the Court, is --
18 JUDGE HUNT: Have we been given a copy of
19 this?
20 MS. KUO: This is one of the exhibits that I
21 mentioned earlier that would have been given to your
22 Chambers. If not, we can -- it's been provided, I've
23 been informed. There should be another map of Foca
24 with markings on it, Your Honour.
25 JUDGE HUNT: Is this in the bundle of papers
Page 364
1 that were on the bench this morning? Because it
2 doesn't appear in my copy.
3 MS. KUO: I've been informed by my case
4 manager that this was given to Chambers late last week,
5 Wednesday.
6 [Trial Chamber confers with legal
7 officer]
8 JUDGE HUNT: The senior legal officer got one
9 this morning, but no one else seems to have one.
10 MS. KUO: Your Honours, we apologise for this
11 mix-up, and we can provide extra copies to the Court
12 during the break.
13 JUDGE MUMBA: Do the Defence counsel have
14 copies?
15 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
16 Honours, we do have a copy of 12/1, and up to number
17 20. We have received that, that is to say, we received
18 it an hour ago.
19 JUDGE HUNT: We're looking for 12/1. Is it
20 12/1?
21 MS. KUO: Yes, it is.
22 JUDGE HUNT: There seems to be some
23 misunderstanding as to the instructions you gave to the
24 legal officers. They understood that this was a
25 replacement of Exhibit 12 not a new Exhibit 12/1. So
Page 365
1 the one we have is 12/1 and we've lost 12.
2 MS. KUO: Your Honour, that was our fault,
3 because at one point, we were going to replace 12 with
4 12/1, and we realised that it was probably better for
5 the Court to have both maps. So then we went to
6 12/1 --
7 JUDGE HUNT: That's where the mix-up is.
8 MS. KUO: That's correct, Your Honour. Well,
9 if you then need to have the copies of 12, we can
10 provide that.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes, in the meantime, we will
12 use the ELMO.
13 MS. KUO:
14 Q. Ms. Thapa, can you indicate on Exhibit 12/1
15 what that exhibit is?
16 A. This is based on the previous map, the
17 1:10.000 city map. What we did with this map was
18 simply indicate on it the particular points of
19 interest, either landmarks -- landmark buildings and
20 neighbourhoods for the case, as well as distances to
21 neighbouring towns and municipalities.
22 Q. Okay. Could we please maybe start with an
23 overview of the town of Foca, indicating the main
24 geographic features.
25 A. Yes. I'll start with the rivers. This is --
Page 366
1 JUDGE HUNT: It would help if we could
2 actually see what is being transmitted on this. So far
3 as I can see, I'm just getting a picture of the
4 witness. We're not getting a picture of what's on the
5 ELMO. Thank you.
6 A. I'll start with the rivers. This is the
7 River Drina, which flows into Foca, first through the
8 town of Brod, then up through the centre of town where
9 it is met by Cehotina, which is a much smaller river.
10 They continue then further north, towards Gorazde, as
11 the Drina River. We've marked Gorazde as being 35
12 kilometres as you follow the river north. Along the
13 Cehotina here [indicates], about 1.5 kilometres to the
14 east is Velecevo. Montenegro is 15 kilometres east if
15 you go in one direction, if you take another route,
16 this way it is 21 kilometres. The town of Trnovace is
17 to the south, 2.5 kilometres. This way, Mejsaja is
18 about 10 kilometres. Miljevina is about 13 kilometres
19 west and Kalinovik, about 34 kilometres west. .
20 MS. KUO: Could you, beginning with what's enumerated
21 as number 1 on the map, point out what those features
22 are? And you can go from 1 through 11.
23 A. Number 1 indicates Partizan Sports Hall.
24 That's there [indicates]. Number --
25 Q. Is that the black rectangle indicated there?
Page 367
1 A. Yes, it is.
2 Q. Yes.
3 A. Directly above it, at number 2, is the police
4 building which witnesses refer to as the SUP or the
5 Secretariat of the Interior. Number 3 points to what
6 is referred to in the legend as the opstina building,
7 which is the municipal assembly building, where the
8 local parliament sat. Number 4 points to the Brena
9 Block, the Brena apartments. Number 5 --
10 Q. Excuse me. Number 4 is written on the legend
11 as Lepa Brena. Is that any different from what you
12 just stated?
13 A. No. I just used the shorthand -- the full
14 name of the apartment building is Lepa Brena.
15 Number 5 points to the Hotel Zelengora.
16 Q. Again, the legend indicates Hotel/Motel
17 Zelengora. Is there a difference?
18 A. No, there isn't. We have used that because
19 witnesses refer to both the hotel and the motel, they
20 use the two interchangeably.
21 Number 6 shows the site of where the Foca
22 Trans Company was. Number 7 is the male penitentiary,
23 the KP Dom. It's quite a large block of buildings.
24 Number 8 on this map shows Ulica Osmana Djikica 16,
25 but unfortunately the arrow needs to be extended a bit
Page 368
1 further.
2 Q. If you could use a black pen and indicate
3 with an "X" where that address would be on the map?
4 A. Right now the arrow is pointing to the main
5 road. So the house is actually just off the main road,
6 it's roughly here [indicates], it's here, where the
7 main -- it's at a point where the main road meets the
8 small road.
9 Q. If I could ask the AV director to
10 zoom in a little bit closer there, please.
11 Would the witness point out where she's
12 indicated the "X"?
13 A. Here [indicates].
14 Q. Thank you. And if you could continue with
15 number 9.
16 A. Number 9 shows the Aladza High School. If I
17 could just point out, there's a legend over the high
18 school which says Aladza settlement. That refers to
19 the neighbourhood. It's actually just a bit larger
20 than how it's indicated.
21 Q. And are the names of other neighbourhoods
22 likewise indicated in green?
23 A. Yes, there are. And Donje Polje further up
24 here, Cohodor Mahala across here. Donje Polje here.
25 Q. And number 9 is what?
Page 369
1 A. Number 9 is the high school, that's the Foca
2 High School. It is sometimes called the Aladza High
3 School, the Nikola Tesla, Srednja Skola, it goes by
4 different names. It's the Foca High School.
5 Q. And number 10?
6 A. Number 10 is the Livade warehouses.
7 Q. And finally 11?
8 A. Number 11 shows the stadium.
9 Q. I'll ask the witness now to turn to Exhibits
10 number 22 and 22/1 through /5. I hope the Court has
11 received these. These would be aerial photographs.
12 Ms. Thapa, could you please explain what
13 Exhibit 22 is.
14 A. Yes. This is an aerial photograph of
15 Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is from the US Reconnaissance
16 Systems, and the photograph is dated the 10th of
17 August, 1992.
18 Q. What does the photograph show?
19 A. The photograph shows the town of Foca.
20 Again, this is the Drina River, the Cehotina. You can
21 see the stadium I last pointed to on the map. In
22 addition to just showing the town, we have marked on
23 the map little boxes which --
24 Q. Ms. Thapa, could you please move the
25 photographs a little bit up on the ELMO so that we can
Page 370
1 see that more clearly? Thank you.
2 A. Yes. The boxes -- the white boxes, and these
3 represent areas where there were mosques, and as of
4 this date, the 10th of August, 1992, there were no
5 mosques.
6 Q. Could you just show where the corresponding
7 boxes are and whether they are then indicated on
8 further exhibits?
9 A. Yes. This is Exhibit 22/1, and we will be
10 showing you a photograph of 22/1; likewise, this is
11 22/2, 22/3, 22/4, and 22/5.
12 Q. And just for orientation sake, could you
13 point out where Partizan is on this map, if you can
14 find it?
15 A. I think this should be Partizan Sports Hall.
16 Q. And the Aladza neighbourhood?
17 A. That's here [indicates].
18 Q. All right. Let's turn to Exhibit 22/1. Can
19 you explain this exhibit, please?
20 A. Yes. This is the first box that I referred
21 to on the overview map. These are before and after.
22 The first -- the box on the left-hand side of the page
23 shows a photograph from the 30th of October, 1991, and
24 on the right-hand side of the page is a photograph from
25 the 10th of August, 1992. What you can see in the 10th
Page 371
1 of August, 1992 picture is an empty space where there
2 should be a mosque – it appears to be on the 1991
3 photograph that the mosque was here [indicates], and
4 you can see that it's no longer visible on the 10th of
5 August map.
6 Q. Maybe briefly go back to Exhibit 22 and show
7 where that is.
8 A. That's this [indicates].
9 Q. Does the box on Exhibit 22 correspond in
10 precise size to 22/1?
11 A. No, it doesn't. The area shown in the
12 close-up photograph, the before and after of the
13 mosque, show a larger area than what is shown in the
14 box. In the box itself, you really can see only just
15 an empty space where the mosque was, while in this, you
16 see the larger neighbourhood around it.
17 Q. Going now to Exhibit 22/2, can you explain
18 that, please?
19 A. This is also -- the left-hand side of the
20 photograph is from the 30th of October, 1991; the
21 right-hand side is 10th of August, 1992. Again, you
22 can see -- I know the copy isn't very clear from 1991,
23 but there appears to be a mosque here [indicates]. You
24 can see something that looks like a minaret there, and
25 that's the mosque. On this photograph, what you see is
Page 372
1 what looks like the dome of the mosque, but no
2 minaret. And that appears to be the destruction to
3 that mosque.
4 Q. And indicate on Exhibit 22 where that
5 corresponding box is.
6 A. That's here [indicates]. And again the area
7 shown on this map is larger than what is shown in the
8 overview, the town map. If I could just point out, you
9 can see quite a bit of damage to the houses in the area
10 around the mosque also.
11 Q. And you're pointing out to the August 1992
12 map?
13 A. The 1992 map.
14 Q. Let's go to Exhibit 22/3. Can you explain
15 that, please?
16 A. Yes. This is again from -- the photo on the
17 left is from the 30th of October, 1991; on the right is
18 from the 10th of August, 1992. You can see -- it's
19 difficult to see again on the 1991 photograph, but the
20 mosque appears to have been here [indicates], and there
21 is no mosque here [indicates].
22 Q. In 1992, you mean.
23 A. In 1992, yes.
24 Q. Then let's go back briefly to Exhibit 22 and
25 indicate where that is.
Page 373
1 A. That's this box [indicates].
2 Q. Now, Exhibit 22/4, can you describe that,
3 please?
4 A. Yes. This is also before and after. The
5 30th of October 1991 on the left-hand side; the 10th of
6 August 1992 on the right-hand side.
7 This is actually the Aladza mosque that is
8 being shown here. You can see it on the 1991
9 photograph quite clearly, right here [indicates].
10 That's the minaret, this is the dome. You can see that
11 there is nothing here [indicates], where it used to
12 be.
13 Q. On the 1992 map.
14 A. On the 1992 map.
15 Q. And could you point that out on the overview
16 map, Exhibit 22, please?
17 A. That is this [indicates], where this square
18 is.
19 Q. And finally, Exhibit 22/5.
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Can you describe that?
22 A. Again, this is a before and after. The 30th
23 of October, 1991 and the 10th of August, 1992. The
24 mosque appears to have been -- sorry. The light is
25 glaring. The mosque is here [indicates], in the 1991
Page 374
1 photograph; that's the minaret, here's the dome. In
2 the 1992 photograph, you don't see a mosque, you see
3 what appears to be just a hollow shell of a building,
4 but there's no dome and there's no minaret.
5 Q. In the 1992 photograph, can you also see
6 damage in the surrounding area?
7 A. Yes, you can. This is the Donje Polje
8 neighbourhood, actually, which was quite extensively
9 destroyed.
10 Q. Thank you, Ms. Thapa.
11 We'll turn now to a series of videotapes.
12 Some of these tapes have been played already during the
13 opening statement, and if the Court wishes, we can not
14 show them again, or since they're brief, I don't know
15 if the Court wishes us to show them again. Exhibit --
16 JUDGE MUMBA: I think it's better to show
17 them again so that we have a sequence, because we are
18 now dealing with evidence.
19 MS. KUO: Very well, Your Honour.
20 I would ask the audiovisual people to have
21 Exhibit 24 ready.
22 Q. But first I'll ask the witness to explain
23 what Exhibit 24 is.
24 A. Exhibit 24 is a news item broadcast by the
25 BBC on the 17th of April, 1992, Martin Bell reporting.
Page 375
1 He reports about the war, the fighting in Foca, he
2 reports the fall of Foca, and there's a small bit at
3 the end about a funeral in Sarajevo.
4 Q. You've seen this videotape, have you?
5 A. Yes, I have.
6 Q. What do the images portray at the beginning?
7 Is Foca indicated on it?
8 A. There are pictures of Foca burning, Foca in
9 flames, and you can tell only from the voice-over that
10 this is Foca. It's not immediately recognisable as
11 such.
12 MS. KUO: May I ask the AV director, please,
13 to play Exhibit 24 from the point where it's cued.
14 [Videotape played]
15 MS. KUO:
16 Q. That's the end?
17 A. Yes, it is.
18 Q. Exhibit 25, can you explain what that is?
19 A. Yes. This is a videotape; it's a short piece
20 taken from the Death of Yugoslavia series. It shows
21 the parliamentary exchanges between Mr. Karadzic and
22 Mr. Izetbegovic. Mr. Ryneveld showed part of it in his
23 opening statement.
24 MS. KUO: May I ask the AV director, please,
25 to play from the cued point.
Page 376
1 [Videotape played]
2 MS. KUO:
3 Q. Ms. Thapa, turning to Exhibit 26, can you
4 explain what that is?
5 A. Yes. This is a videotape. It contains
6 pictures of Foca from before the war. It is part of a
7 personal collection given to us by a resident of Foca.
8 Q. I'm going to ask you to put Exhibit 22 back
9 on the ELMO and show us where approximately this video
10 appears to have been taken. If you have the aerial
11 photograph.
12 A. The video was shot from -- it appears to have
13 been shot from this side of the river, looking at Foca
14 this way [indicates]. The quality of the image is not
15 very good, partly because of the distance, I think.
16 Q. And the area where you're indicating, is that
17 at a higher elevation than the town itself?
18 A. Yes, it is. The person who took the video
19 appears to have been on a picnic and seems to have gone
20 up a bit into the mountains.
21 Q. Could you show us -- well, let's go to the
22 videotape, and you can show us on the videotape.
23 MS. KUO: If we could have the volume turned
24 down or off. Thank you.
25 Q. Ms. Thapa, could you show us --
Page 377
1 MS. KUO: Perhaps we should go back. I'm
2 sorry. Could the AV director go back for a few seconds
3 to the beginning. To the point where it was cued at
4 5.00.
5 Q. Okay. Ms. Thapa, could you narrate and tell
6 us what we're looking at?
7 A. This building that is now going to come into
8 focus, with the red roof, the white building with the
9 red roof, that is Partizan Sports Hall. The building
10 now that's in the middle of the screen, the white
11 building, that's the police station. The building
12 there at the bottom, that just fell off, is the
13 municipal assembly building. This is a neighbourhood
14 in Foca. This is the stadium that's now coming into
15 view. This is the River Cehotina, the small river.
16 This is the Drina River, but it's not -- you can't
17 really see it clearly. Again, Partizan Sports Hall
18 there. The police building. The camera is actually
19 moving from south to -- well, now it's looking back
20 south again but ... This is the Hotel Zelengora, the
21 building that is at the right-hand corner of the
22 screen. I believe it comes back in. It has the red
23 roof, this building, yes [indicates], that is the Hotel
24 Zelengora, and the building behind it is part of the
25 hotel also. There's a high-rise adjacent to it which
Page 378
1 came into focus for a little bit, and that's the Lepa
2 Brena Block. This is the centre of Foca.
3 MS. KUO: Okay. Thank you to the AV
4 director. That will be all.
5 Q. I turn now to Exhibit 27. Can you explain
6 what that is?
7 A. Yes. These are segments of rush footage,
8 that is to say, footage that was not broadcast by the
9 BBC Panorama when they were producing what eventually
10 became their broadcast programme, "Getting Away with
11 Murder." These particular clips show, I believe, the
12 Partizan Sports Hall and the Aladza neighbourhood and
13 parts of Foca. This is from 1993.
14 MS. KUO: There are two separate clips, and
15 I'll ask the AV director to play the first clip,
16 please.
17 [Videotape played]
18 A. This is an apartment building next to Foca --
19 I mean, next to Partizan Sports Hall. This is Partizan
20 Sports Hall. This is the main entrance, the steps
21 leading up to it. You can see that it's right in the
22 middle of where civilians were living, in the middle of
23 town. You see the bars on the window; some witnesses
24 will refer to this.
25 MS. KUO: Let's cue forward to the second
Page 379
1 segment.
2 [Videotape played]
3 A. These are just driving shots around Foca. I
4 believe this building coming up on the left-hand
5 side -- yes, it is, this is the Aladza High School, the
6 Foca High School, where some of the women and girls
7 were detained. This is in the Aladza neighbourhood.
8 MS. KUO: Thank you. That's all for the
9 videotape.
10 Q. Ms. Thapa, did you mention what date,
11 approximately, this was taken?
12 A. Yes. This was in 1993. The programme itself
13 was broadcast at the end of 1993. I believe they took
14 the footage in the summer of 1993.
15 Q. Let's turn to Exhibit 28. Can you describe
16 what that is?
17 A. Number 28, these are videos made by -- or
18 this is a video made by the investigative team, the
19 Tribunal investigative team, in 1996. I was part of
20 the mission to Foca in June of 1996, when we visited
21 several of the sites and prepared this videotape.
22 Q. Can you tell us what this segment that we're
23 about to show will be of?
24 A. Yes. This segment shows the site of the
25 Aladza mosque, where it used to be, and of a street
Page 380
1 just adjacent to it, Ulica Osmana Djikica.
2 MS. KUO: Could I ask the AV director,
3 please, to show the segment in Exhibit 28.
4 [Videotape played]
5 A. This is the part of the Aladza
6 neighbourhood. This green expanse where the horses are
7 grazing, this is where the mosque used to be. You can
8 see that there is nothing left there, really. There
9 are the signs of a foundation. This street here,
10 that's Ulica Osmana Djikica.
11 MS. KUO: Can we pause for a moment, please?
12 Q. Can you see where number 16 would have been?
13 A. Number 16 is at the end of the street, you
14 can't actually see it on this photo. You would have to
15 continue walking up this street, not much further, but
16 it's at the intersection -- this street meets a larger
17 street, a larger road, further up, and it's just at the
18 intersection, on the right-hand corner of that
19 intersection.
20 MS. KUO: Could we continue, please.
21 [Videotape played]
22 A. Again, this is the site of the former
23 mosque. You can see some of the rubble, limestone.
24 This is a tombstone, a Muslim tombstone. This is part
25 of what's remaining of the cemetery. This is where the
Page 381
1 minaret used to be, this round foundational remains.
2 This is a close-up of the minaret. I believe this area
3 is now a park, or it's used as an open space. This is
4 a tombstone, the site of a grave, a Muslim grave. The
5 camera now moves again to Ulica Osmana Djikica.
6 MS. KUO: Pause, please. Pause.
7 Q. Do you have a better view there of the house?
8 A. Yes, slightly. Just at the end there, on the
9 right-hand side of the road, it's difficult to see but
10 that house is the house next to what used to be Ulica
11 Osmana Djikica 16. Mr. Kunarac himself in his
12 interview has referred to this house on the end as
13 being the house where he said overflow soldiers would
14 stay. If there wasn't enough room for them at number
15 16, they would stay in this house.
16 MS. KUO: Can I ask the AV director to go
17 backwards, rewind for a few seconds, so that we can
18 just go through that segment again. Okay.
19 Q. So the mosque is on the left?
20 A. That's right. And this is the street. The
21 house right at the end on the right-hand side, that's
22 the overflow house. I believe the camera now tries to
23 get a bit closer. You can see in photographs that I'll
24 be showing you, you'll see this photograph -- this
25 house more closely.
Page 382
1 Q. Thank you.
2 MS. KUO: That's the end of the videotape,
3 please.
4 Q. So the house in the videotape that's shown as
5 blue/green, what house is that?
6 A. I don't know the number on it, but this is
7 the house next to Ulica Osmana Djikica 16. Number 16
8 itself is where Mr. Kunarac and his soldiers stayed,
9 and according to Mr. Kunarac himself, this blue/green
10 house next to it is where his overflow soldiers
11 stayed.
12 Q. But number 16 no longer exists; is that
13 right?
14 A. It doesn't exist, no.
15 Q. Let's go to Exhibit 29, please.
16 MS. KUO: And may I bring the Court's
17 attention to Exhibit 29/1, which is a transcript of
18 Exhibit 29, and maybe the witness can explain what
19 Exhibit 29 is before we play that.
20 A. Exhibit 29 is -- it contains an interview
21 with Miroslav Stanic, who gave this interview to Srna
22 Television, which is Republika Srpska Television,
23 usually based in Pale at that time. He gave the
24 interview on the occasion of the third anniversary of
25 the "liberation" of Foca --
Page 383
1 Q. Which would mean what date?
2 A. It depends on what he views as the third
3 anniversary. It's not entirely clear. It could be --
4 if he dates it from the fall of the municipality, it
5 should be the end of April 1992. He may, however, be
6 dating it to St. Vitus' Day, which is the 28th of
7 June. It's not clear from the video the specific
8 date.
9 Q. What year would it be, then?
10 A. This was in 1995, because he says it's three
11 years after the liberation of Srbinje.
12 Q. Could you maybe, if you're making reference
13 to Exhibit 29/1, explain what the segments are that we
14 are about to see?
15 A. Yes. The first segment is just the beginning
16 of the programme in which Miroslav Stanic is introduced
17 as the member of the Main Board of the Serbian
18 Democratic Party, and primarily -- or more relevantly,
19 as the First War Commander in Foca.
20 The next segment that we're excerpting is a
21 section in which Mr. Stanic discusses the preparations
22 that the Serbs made in Foca for the war, the military
23 preparations that were made as early as 1991, and the
24 help that the SDS lent the Serbs in preparing
25 militarily for the war. He also discusses in this
Page 384
1 segment the First War Commanders, and he lists them.
2 Q. All right. Ms. Thapa, what I would ask, for
3 the Court, is this segment will run about ten minutes
4 or so, and we may run a little bit past 1.00. If you'd
5 like, we can begin immediately with this and conclude
6 with this exhibit, and when we come back from the lunch
7 break, we can begin with the documentary evidence.
8 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. We can go ahead.
9 MS. KUO: Just for the Court's ability to
10 follow, we will ask the AV director to begin at 1.50,
11 where there is a short segment, and then I will ask the
12 director to fast-forward at a certain point to 4.18,
13 where the interview begins. And then on the
14 transcript, it will end at the top of page 2, which,
15 for the AV director, will be approximately 5.08, and
16 then we'll fast-forward to 9.45, and that's the top of
17 page 3. We will conclude in the middle of page 4,
18 which is about 17.18.
19 So would the director please begin with 1.50,
20 please.
21 [Videotape played]
22 THE INTERPRETER: [Voiceover] The Serbian
23 heroes set out. Both sides of the road to Jelec are
24 packed with the deadly machine-gun nests of our former
25 neighbours. In Miljevina, a small Serbian mining town
Page 385
1 14 kilometres from Foca, the Serbian people took to
2 arms even before the events in Foca. The assassination
3 attempt against the Serbian leaders on the way to
4 Jelec, the disappearance of Luka Vukovic from Kozija
5 Luka, and open threats from Jelec were sufficient
6 reasons. At the open space in front of the hotel in
7 Miljevina, the fighters are receiving final
8 instructions from the Serbian heroes Pero Elez,
9 Slavomir Zivanovic, nicknamed Zuca, and Branimir
10 Cosovic.
11 [Videotape fast-forwarded]
12 [Videotape played]
13 THE INTERPRETER: [Voiceover] As we said at
14 the beginning of Otvoreni programme, the open
15 programme, today is the third anniversary of the
16 liberation of Srbinje. The guest in our studio is
17 Miroslav Stanic, member of the Main Board of the
18 Serbian Democratic Party of all Serbian states, and
19 member of the Municipal Board of Srbinje and the First
20 Commander. Welcome. How do you do?
21 Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you
22 here today.
23 Our viewers could see the combat footage of
24 the beginning of the liberation of Srbinje. This
25 anniversary is also an opportunity for us to remember
Page 386
1 the beginning of the conflict in this area.
2 I shall try ...
3 MS. KUO: I'd ask the AV director to turn the
4 volume down slightly. That would help. Thank you.
5 [Videotape fast-forwarded]
6 [Videotape played]
7 THE INTERPRETER: [Voiceover] You were the
8 First War Commander in the area of Srbinje. Can you
9 give our viewers your account of the beginning of the
10 armed conflict and the three war years.
11 I cannot talk about the whole period. I
12 shall talk only about the part when I was the
13 commander, on behalf of the SDS, which enabled me to
14 become the First War Commander because I was there at
15 the time. However, I must say this before we go on:
16 our response to the Bacchanal in the Drina Valley,
17 which was inevitable, at least a verbal response was
18 the magnificent founding of the assembly of the SDS in
19 September 1990, followed by yet more magnificent
20 Trojcindan Sabor, convention, when we said that the
21 Drina would never become a border but a windpipe
22 between two lungs. It may be true that one of the
23 lungs has been somewhat contracted now. Let me put it
24 this way, although that is far from my profession, it
25 has tonsillitis, to use that expression, but I hope
Page 387
1 that we shall eliminate this contraction with
2 preventive measures soon. The Serbian Democratic Party
3 left all the political activities aside and began the
4 self-organisation of the Serbian people, because it saw
5 the dark clouds rolling towards their people. The
6 Serbian Democratic Party promptly formed eight
7 battalions which were led, and some of them are still
8 led, by the then reserve Serbian officers. It worked
9 on the military organisation and material supplies for
10 the battalions. I would like to mention something that
11 I have never said in public in the three, now four
12 years, and it took place in June, during the inspection
13 of one of the battalions on Zlataj Mountain, when I saw
14 a magnificent scene. The battalion was lined up in
15 companies, the quartermaster's unit on one side, and
16 above them the tricolor Serbian flag, with the cross
17 and the four S's planted in a hollow beech tree. The
18 Serbs with their national symbols, in total illegality,
19 since it was June 1991. Was there anything more
20 beautiful for a Serbian Orthodox soul to see than that
21 at that time than that? Somebody will say yes there
22 is, because there are Serbian feasts in Serbia itself.
23 Are not the feasts in Sumadija better? And what about
24 skiing on Mount Kopaonik, or swimming at the seaside?
25 Yes. But history has planned another role for us,
Page 388
1 younger brothers, to defend the older brothers. But I
2 besiege our older brothers to understand that our
3 endurance has its limits and that they remove this
4 shameful shroud from the Drina River as soon as
5 possible.
6 Your response to the Muslims had to be swift
7 because, as we all remember, the SDA party, Serbian
8 Democratic Action party was strong in Foca at the
9 time.
10 Yes, it was strong, and it is a good thing
11 that we prepared on time and that we overestimated it
12 and that we did not do a song and dance, but prepared
13 the military organisation of the Serbian people a year
14 before. I have to say, and to mention the first war
15 commanders: Lazar Kunarac, Zoran Vukovic, Brane
16 Cosovic, Slavko Todovic, Dragan Nikolic, Nade Radovic,
17 Zdravko Kovac, Ljubisa Dostic, Boro Ivanovic, Gojko
18 Jankovic, Pero Elez, Jovan Vukovic, Slavomir Zivanovic,
19 called Zuco, and Radmilo Pljevadzic. There were other
20 heroes as well, some of whom have died and others are
21 still in command. Unfortunately, some of those I
22 listed have also died. And for obvious reasons, I
23 cannot tell you who those are. But I am sure that for
24 the Serbian people of Srbinje and for myself
25 personally, they will always be our war commanders. As
Page 389
1 regards the beginning of the war itself, which you
2 mentioned earlier on, it resulted from an attack by the
3 Green Berets, which took place on this date, on the
4 Serbian suburb area of Srpsko Prevrace. There was an
5 attack the day before, but we did not respond then. An
6 indication of the seriousness of the situation and that
7 the war would start in a matter of hours, or even
8 minutes, was the release of the prisoners of Muslim and
9 Albanian nationality from the penitentiary who were
10 armed and then sent towards Serbian positions. In our
11 crisis committee there were a lot of reserve officers
12 at the time. I was a man with no military education
13 and training, and I offered the commanding post to some
14 other members of the crisis committee, but they
15 declined it for personal reasons. I hope that a more
16 peaceful time will come and that they will tell me more
17 about that. This is not the time or place to do that.
18 I must say that at that time we had elaborated two
19 versions of our Serbian response: one was the
20 Triglav-Dzevdelija version and the other was the
21 Pale-Stari Grad version. The Triglav-Dzevdelija
22 entailed, I assumed, that we would fire a few shots and
23 then negotiate, then withdraw and in the end, a total
24 withdrawal.
25 But you did know what the enemy were up to.
Page 390
1 You asked me what my orders were. You can
2 guess what it was. I ordered to fight for
3 the"honourable cross and the golden freedom". What
4 else could I do? Our experience had taught us that if
5 we went for the first version, we would share the fate
6 of Gorazde, which I definitely hope will be ours. That
7 was the beginning of our outstanding victories. We
8 liberated the town in six days. By the 25th of April,
9 we managed to liberate the whole of the Foca
10 municipality, which was the largest municipality in the
11 Republika Srpska at the time. I submitted my war
12 report to the Ministerial council, as it was called
13 then. At the time, at the beginning of June, we were
14 active in the crisis committee, and later on in the
15 army command. I turned over the command to eleven
16 officers, headed by Colonel Marko Kovac. Our
17 organisation changed names. It was called Tactical
18 Group Drina, and then it was referred to as the
19 Garrison. It changed names several times. But the
20 structure of the battalion remained the same until a
21 year ago, and of course it was very efficient, as
22 everyone knows. This is common knowledge in the whole
23 of the Republika Srpska territory.
24 MS. KUO: That's all. Thank you.
25 Your Honour, that's all for the videotape
Page 391
1 exhibits.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. We shall still
3 continue with Ms. Thapa?
4 MS. KUO: Yes, we will.
5 JUDGE MUMBA: The Trial Chamber will adjourn,
6 and we will resume this afternoon at 14.30 hours.
7 --- Luncheon recess taken at 1.04 p.m.
8
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18
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Page 392
1 --- On resuming at 2.32 p.m.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. The Prosecution will
3 continue with Ms. Thapa.
4 MS. KUO: Thank you, Your Honour.
5 Q. Ms. Thapa, could you please turn to Exhibit
6 number 1. Actually, let's take Exhibits 1 through 10
7 first, as a whole. Can you explain what Exhibits 1
8 through 10 are?
9 A. They're all military documents. Some of them
10 are orders; some of them are newspaper articles from
11 military newspapers. All of these documents were
12 captured at various times in different places by the
13 army of Bosnia-Herzegovina and turned over to the OTP.
14 Q. Are you able to determine from where these
15 documents were captured?
16 A. Yes. Documents 3 through 8 were captured in
17 Trnovo, after the army of Bosnia-Herzegovina took over
18 Trnovo on the 31st of July, 1992. The remaining
19 documents, 1, 2, 9, and 10, were captured by the army
20 of Bosnia-Herzegovina in and around the area of
21 Gorazde.
22 Q. Do you know when?
23 A. No. At different times on different
24 battlefields, as and when they took control of certain
25 positions.
Page 393
1 Q. Let's turn now to Exhibit 1. Could you
2 please explain what that is?
3 A. I'll put it on the ELMO. This is the English
4 translation of a request from the Serbian Municipal
5 Assembly of Foca. It's signed by Josif Milicic, who
6 was the president of the Serbian assembly in Foca at
7 that time. It's dated the 17th of March, 1992. It's a
8 request for stationing a garrison in Foca. The request
9 is directed to the JNA General Staff, to the attention
10 of Colonel General Blagoje Adzic, and in the relevant
11 part, there is a reference to the possibility of the
12 women's penitentiary being taken over in Foca, and it
13 mentions that the penitentiary can house 500 to 600
14 persons.
15 Q. When you say "taken over," do you know for
16 what purpose?
17 A. For the purpose of the JNA to station a
18 garrison there.
19 Q. Do you know the name of the women's
20 penitentiary they are referring to?
21 A. Yes. That would be the Velecevo
22 penitentiary, which was later used by the VRS as its
23 brigade command.
24 Q. Does this document also state a source of
25 possible military reinforcements?
Page 394
1 A. Yes. The third paragraph in the document
2 says: "In order to reinforce the unit, we are ready to
3 provide the troops who are at present in training in
4 the Kalinovik garrison."
5 Q. Would you turn now, please, to Exhibit 2.
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Can you tell us what that is?
8 A. This is an order of battle from the Foca
9 Tactical Group commander --
10 Q. Could you please place it on the ELMO.
11 A. It's from the Foca Tactical Group commander,
12 it's dated the 7th of July, 1992, and it's an order to
13 break the siege of Gorazde. The order is quite
14 complex; it's directed to several different units, and
15 there are very specific instructions about what kind of
16 weaponry to use, what directions of attack to take.
17 Q. I would direct your attention to page 3.
18 Would you read the highlighted sentences, please?
19 A. Yes. It reads: "The 1st Independent Dragan
20 Nikolic Detachment shall take part in the liberation
21 and mop-up of Ilovaca village and beyond as part of one
22 SB." The translator's notation indicates that "SB"
23 stands for "independent battalion."
24 The second paragraph, the paragraph below
25 that reads: "The Independent Zaga Detachment shall
Page 395
1 take part in mopping up settled areas in the direction
2 of the 5th Battalion's attack."
3 Q. Turning your attention to page 5, could you
4 read the highlighted portion there as well?
5 A. Yes. It reads: "Regular reports every day
6 until 2000 hours, with the situation as of 1900 hours;
7 interim reports as needed."
8 Q. And by whom is this document signed?
9 A. It's signed by their commander, Colonel Marko
10 Kovac, and there's a stamp on the original, the stamp
11 of the Territorial Defence of the Serbian Autonomous
12 District of Herzegovina.
13 Q. I turn your attention now to Exhibit 3.
14 Could you place that on the ELMO and describe it,
15 please.
16 A. This is an order from the Serbian Republic of
17 Bosnia-Herzegovina. It's signed, on the second page,
18 by the prime minister of the Serbian Republic of
19 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Professor Branko Ceric, at that
20 time. This is an order which requires persons, subject
21 to military service, to remain within the area, and
22 stipulates that legal measures shall be taken against
23 individuals liable for military service who fail to
24 abide by these provisions.
25 Q. What is the date of the document?
Page 396
1 A. The 21st of May, 1992.
2 Q. Turning now to Exhibit 4, could you describe
3 that, please?
4 A. Yes. This is an order from the commander of
5 the Tactical Group Kalinovik. It's dated the 11th of
6 June, 1992, and it's signed by the commander of the
7 Kalinovik Tactical Group, Colonel Ratko Bundalo. The
8 order, first of all, declares the municipalities of
9 Kalinovik and Trnovo to be war zones. In paragraphs 2
10 and 3, it restricts the movement of the population in
11 the area of combat. Paragraph 4 onwards regulates the
12 conduct both of civilians and of members of the
13 fighting forces within the zone of war theatres. So,
14 for instance, it prohibits the consumption of alcohol
15 in certain areas and prohibits hunting and fishing.
16 Q. Turning now to Exhibit 6, would you please
17 describe what that is?
18 A. Yes. Exhibit 6 is also an order of battle.
19 It's another order from Colonel Ratko Bundalo, the
20 commander of the Tactical Group Kalinovik. It's the
21 tasking of units for further action. It's directed to
22 commanders of basic units and the command of the Trnovo
23 Battalion.
24 Q. What is the date of that document?
25 A. The 21st of June. It says "1800 hours".
Page 397
1 Q. Directing your attention to pages 2 and 3,
2 could you please read the highlighted portions relating
3 to the use of artillery?
4 A. Yes. Paragraph 1.2: "The 1st 155-millimetre
5 Howitzer Battery should open fire from the present
6 firing positions."
7 Paragraph 1.3: "The 1st 105-millimetre
8 Howitzer Battery should open fire from the present
9 firing positions."
10 Under paragraph 1.5, the second section of
11 that, it reads: "One 20/3 anti-aircraft defence squad
12 should launch attacks on the enemy forces in the
13 regions of Gradac, Pendicici, and Zabrdze, from the
14 area of the relay station."
15 Paragraph 1.7 reads: "While preparing
16 attacks, the 82-millimetre Mortar Platoon should fire
17 at the targets 1, 2, and 3 from its present positions."
18 Paragraph 1.8: "A two-squad rocket battery
19 deployed in the Sesteljevo area should open fire at the
20 observed targets and the established positions of the
21 enemy."
22 The next page. On the following page, there
23 is an instruction to the logistics unit to provide 100
24 projectiles for the 155-millimetre howitzer batteries.
25 Q. Turning to Exhibit 6/1 --
Page 398
1 MS. KUO: I hope that everybody has received
2 a copy of Exhibit 6/1.
3 Q. Will the witness please describe what that
4 is?
5 A. Yes. These are photographs that we
6 photocopied from the Canadian Immigration Service
7 Debrief Guide. It's meant to provide examples of what
8 some of this weaponry -- some of the weaponry described
9 in the order looked like.
10 Here you have the 155-millimetre howitzer.
11 This is 105-millimetre [sic] howitzer. Next to it is a
12 152-millimetre howitzer. Under "mortars," this first
13 one is the 82-millimetre mortar. This section down
14 here shows -- these are examples of three-barreled
15 anti-aircraft defence artillery.
16 Q. The first one you showed, I think you
17 misspoke. It's 155, or did you say "105," the first --
18 A. No, 155 is the first one; 105 is the one next
19 to it. Sorry.
20 Q. Thank you. Going back to Exhibit 6, could
21 you look at the bottom of page 2, and that final
22 paragraph that is entitled "Maintaining Morale," could
23 you read that outloud, please?
24 A. Yes. "Maintaining Morale. On 22 June, the
25 Assistant Commanders for Morale, the President of the
Page 399
1 Kalinovik Municipality, the President of the Kalinovik
2 Executive Board, and the President of the Trnovo Crisis
3 Staff will visit the units, in particular, the
4 infantry, explain the purpose and the objectives of the
5 forthcoming operations and motivate the troops for
6 carrying out the forthcoming tasks."
7 Q. Let's turn now to Exhibit 7. Could you
8 describe that, please?
9 A. Yes. This is an order for further
10 activities. Again, it's from the Command of the
11 Kalinovik Tactical Group, it's dated the 13th of June,
12 1992, and it's an order for further activities.
13 Sorry. It's also signed by Commander Colonel Ratko
14 Bundalo.
15 Q. Could you please read the highlighted
16 portions?
17 A. Yes. "Also fleeing with the enemy forces
18 were women, children, and the elderly. According to
19 information at our disposal, the enemy does not have an
20 organised system of defence. However, from its present
21 area, the enemy is deploying its forces at suitable
22 sites from which they are able to fire on our forces
23 with 82-millimetre mortars and other infantry weapons.
24 So far they have not been successful in their attacks.
25 The enemy has great problems. He is short of weapons,
Page 400
1 ammunition, and food. As a result of the success of
2 our forces, the large number of dead, and the
3 disorganisation in enemy ranks, great panic and fear
4 prevail among the Muslim people. They don't see a way
5 out of the current crisis. The Muslim authorities are
6 being increasingly criticised."
7 Q. Turning now to Exhibit 8, would you describe
8 what Exhibit 8 is, please?
9 A. Yes. I'll put the B/C/S original on the
10 ELMO. This is an order, again from the Kalinovik
11 Tactical Group Command, signed for the commander,
12 Colonel Ratko Bundalo, dated the 6th of June, 1992.
13 The order has two parts; there's a typewritten part
14 which is the actual text of the order, and then you can
15 see in the B/C/S version handwritten notes on top -- on
16 the margins.
17 Q. Would you read the English translations first
18 of the typewritten text?
19 A. Yes. It says: "Kalinovik Tactical Group
20 Command. Date: 6 June 1992. Number: S1/92. To the
21 Trnovo Territorial Defence Commander: I hereby order
22 that soldier Dragan Zvizdalo, born in Trnovo on 6 May
23 1992, be immediately included in the front line combat
24 units." The "1992" is clearly a mistake. "You are
25 personally responsible for the carrying out of this
Page 401
1 order, and you should report on this to the
2 Commander." Then you have the signature.
3 Q. Now could you please read, and indicate as
4 you're reading it, perhaps, what the handwritten
5 portions are translated into English as?
6 A. Yes. On the top part, it is translated as:
7 "He pointed out Muslim houses to Pero --" and then the
8 translator has indicated that the family name is
9 illegible. However, if you look at the B/C/S version,
10 you can see that it looks like "Elez," "E-l-e-z," "U"
11 is the way that the name would be declined in
12 Bosnian -- in B/C/S. So if you're familiar with the
13 name and you know that there is a Pero Elez from
14 Miljevina, that's quite obvious. The translator, I
15 think, who was translating it was not familiar with
16 it.
17 It continues: "... from Miljevina and the
18 Duke from 'illegible' so that they could burn them."
19 At the bottom, it says: "Rewarded for that, after
20 which he avoided military service, and
21 consequently ..." and then it's illegible.
22 Q. Let's turn now to Exhibit 9. Could you
23 please describe what Exhibit 9 is?
24 A. Yes. This is a request from the commander of
25 the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Milos Tomovic, a request
Page 402
1 to the Foca Tactical Group commander, asking that
2 fighters who have left the battalion to join other
3 units be returned to the units to which they belong.
4 Q. Does the name "Dragan Nikolic" appear on the
5 document?
6 A. Yes, it does. It appears on the left-hand
7 column, where the names of the platoons and units that
8 the soldiers belonged to are listed. On this side, you
9 have the names, and this side, you have the -- the
10 names of the soldiers; the names of the units.
11 Q. You mean the right-hand side?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Do you know, based on the context, what the
14 name appears to refers to, the name "Dragan Nikolic"?
15 A. Yes. It's the name of a unit, which we'll
16 hear more about. It's a unit that was part of the Foca
17 Tactical Brigade.
18 Q. Could you give us the date, please, of that
19 document?
20 A. Yes. It's the 24th of November, 1992.
21 Q. Let's look at Exhibit 10. Could you describe
22 what Exhibit 10 is?
23 A. Yes. Exhibit 10 is -- these are excerpts
24 from the military -- the military information newspaper
25 of Srbinje. Srbinje is the new name of Foca; Foca was
Page 403
1 renamed during the war and the name became Srbinje.
2 It's published by the Srbinje Garrison command of the
3 Republika Srpska army.
4 This particular magazine, this issue appears
5 to be a commemorative issue. Although there's no date
6 on the front page, on some of the articles, the date
7 the day "St. Vitus's Day" appears. That's the 20th of
8 June, 1995; it says, "Vitus Day 1995." It appears to
9 be a commemorative article. The tenor of many of the
10 articles suggest that they were all published as one
11 piece. They are articles that celebrate the work of
12 commanders, of particular units, and the liberation of
13 Foca.
14 MS. KUO: May I just point out to the Court
15 that the way this has been organised is that the
16 English translation appears right before each page of
17 the original B/C/S version. For some of the articles
18 where there are several articles that appear on a
19 single page, all of the English translations precede
20 the page in the original.
21 Q. So let me turn your attention to the article
22 that is headlined, "We Shall Defend." Would you please
23 put that on the ELMO and read very slowly the
24 highlighted portion?
25 A. Yes. This is an excerpt from an interview
Page 404
1 with Lieutenant Colonel N. Paprica, a Srbinje Garrison
2 commander in the Republika Srpska army. The
3 highlighted section reads as follows:
4 "Members of the army from Srbinje have
5 already done many things for which they will go down in
6 the history of the Republika Srpska. The way our
7 people organised themselves made it possible for us to
8 take control of the town of Foca as early as April
9 1992. In the course of the next two months, Serbian
10 armed units formed at that time managed to take over
11 the territory of the entire municipality. When the
12 process of the formation of VRS units was completed in
13 June that year, the general military situation in this
14 area was largely under our control. Since that time,
15 we have constantly expanded the free Serbian territory
16 so that it now corresponds to the garrisons' zone of
17 responsibility, which is larger than some European
18 countries."
19 THE INTERPRETER: Would the witness please
20 read slower.
21 MS. KUO:
22 Q. Turning your attention to the article that is
23 headlined "Looking at the Sky". If you would please
24 put that on the ELMO -- it already is -- and read the
25 highlighted portion very slowly.
Page 405
1 A. Yes. This is an interview with an officer of
2 the anti-aircraft defence unit of the VRS. The
3 paragraph reads:
4 "This unit embarked on its combat trail
5 immediately after the war broke out. The enemy has
6 experienced the fire of three-barreled and
7 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, which, supported by
8 infantry units and other sections of the artillery,
9 have been used in all combat missions in our zone of
10 responsibility, as well as further afield in Republika
11 Srpska."
12 Q. Now the article entitled "Continuing Their
13 Forbearer's Tradition".
14 A. This is the story of the Mixed Artillery
15 Battalion. The highlighted paragraph reads:
16 "Immediately after fighting broke out in our
17 area, activities were started toward forming an
18 artillery unit which would cooperate with other
19 branches in resisting the enemy. Some of the weapons
20 of an artillery regiment which were transferred from
21 Rijeka, Croatia were used to start forming a
22 battalion. The experience and efforts of four officers
23 of the former JNA were engaged to begin a course for
24 the weapons crew and start training new officers. Only
25 two days later, projectiles of 105-millimetre howitzer
Page 406
1 battery pierced the sky for the first time. The
2 greatest problem was a lack of fighters who had
3 specialised in artillery. Their places were filled by
4 men from the infantry, logistics, and other branches."
5 Q. We turn now to the article that is headlined
6 "Dragan Nikolic".
7 A. Yes. This is a commemorative article on the
8 late Dragan Nikolic, a former commander in the VRS.
9 I'll start with the second paragraph, which is
10 highlighted.
11 "We roll back the tape. It is Saturday
12 afternoon, 11 April. Shots and bursts fired from
13 automatic weapons are echoing through Foca. Shells are
14 falling over the town. People are mostly in shelters
15 or out of town, in a safe place. The bitterest battle
16 is being fought in the neighbourhood of Aladza, where
17 Muslims have been entrenched for a long time and have
18 prepared for long resistance. A sniper has been firing
19 from the minaret of the neighbourhood mosque since the
20 start of the street fighting. The unit commanded by
21 Dragan Nikolic, made up exclusively of volunteers from
22 the villages around Foca, has been assigned the most
23 difficult mission - to take control of this part of the
24 town. The volunteers knew exactly what to expect in
25 the conflict which began on 8 April."
Page 407
1 Further down on the page, it says:
2 "The name of this first fallen war commander
3 in Foca was later used for the intervention unit,
4 commanded by Brano Cosovic."
5 Q. Turning now to the article headlined "Lazo
6 Kunarac".
7 A. This is an article -- also a war story of
8 Lazo Kunarac, who died during the war. He is listed as
9 the late commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Serbian
10 army in Srbinje. I should say that, to the best of my
11 knowledge, Lazo Kunarac is not related to Mr. Dragoljub
12 Kunarac. The highlighted paragraph reads:
13 "It was 7 June 1992. The day before, he had
14 come back from Pale, where he and other leaders had
15 participated in arrangements being made at the command
16 of the Republika Srpska army."
17 Q. Now the article headlined "Pero Elez".
18 A. Yes. This is a commemorative article about
19 Pero Elez, who also died during the war. He was a
20 commander in the Republika Srpska army. The
21 highlighted paragraph reads:
22 "When roads were blocked in Sarajevo in
23 March 1992, similar roadblocks were erected in
24 Miljevina too. Pero and a small group of his
25 co-fighters were to obstruct the path for those who
Page 408
1 were driving lorries loaded with rifles to Jelec,
2 Meledzica, and Kozija Luka. In the small town on the
3 Bistrica, 6 April 1992 is now more than an ordinary day
4 in the calendar. In a well-organised and
5 professionally conducted operation, Serbian soldiers
6 took over all the institutions in the town. There was
7 no reason to wait any longer."
8 On the second page of that article, there's a
9 specific reference to the date of the death of Pero
10 Elez, and it reads:
11 "The date 10 December 1992 will be
12 remembered by every child in Miljevina. After lining
13 up the members of his unit and issuing combat orders,
14 Pero hurried to go out to the main command in Foca. He
15 had just got into a Golf when a shot rang out."
16 Q. Let's look now at the article headlined
17 "Slavko Todovic."
18 A. This is an article about Slavko Todovic, who
19 also died. He's referred to as an officer in the
20 Republika Srpska army. I'll start from the beginning
21 till the end of the highlighted section.
22 "'This day will go down in the history of
23 the Serbian people,'" said Slavko Todovic, on St.
24 Vitus' Day, 28 June 1991, at a secret meeting of the
25 Crisis Staff held in his family house in Foca --"
Page 409
1 Q. Would the witness please slow down.
2 A. Sorry. "There was no time to lose. Serbs
3 had to be rallied together and persuaded that they
4 could resist the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in
5 these areas only if they were united and organised.
6 "As a member of the Serbian Democratic Party,
7 Todovic became the representative of the constituency
8 of Livade in the Municipal Assembly and a member of the
9 Party's Main Board for Foca. He was a visionary and
10 felt that war was inevitable. He often said, 'The Foca
11 trans affair does not seem to have opened our Serbian
12 eyes. We are blind to repeated gatherings of Muslims,
13 their acquisition of weapons, their organised military
14 training, the formation of units, and the setting up of
15 guard posts. It is high time we too organised
16 ourselves and prepared for war.'" .
17 Q. Would you, before we leave this document,
18 continue reading the paragraph immediately after that?
19 A. "Slavko was familiar with military doctrine
20 and was therefore elected chairman of the Crisis
21 Staff. He took part in the preparation and
22 implementation of combat operations, in the setting up
23 of new defence lines, and the organisation of logistic
24 support. With a rifle in his hand, he went all around
25 our battlefield, rubbing shoulders with Serbian
Page 410
1 fighters."
2 I'm just highlighting this additional
3 paragraph.
4 Q. I'll turn now to the article headlined
5 "Radomir Cile-Cicmil".
6 A. Yes. This is an article about Radomir
7 Cile-Cicmil, former commander in the Republika Srpska
8 army. The only part of this document that I would like
9 to draw attention to is at the bottom of the first
10 page, going on to the second page, where Gojko Jankovic
11 is referred to as the commander of the special
12 detachment.
13 Q. That will be all for Exhibit 10.
14 Let's turn now -- it's a little bit out of
15 order, I apologise for this, but Exhibits number 31
16 through 36. Ms. Thapa, could you please explain what
17 Exhibits 31 to 36 consist of?
18 A. Yes. Exhibit 31 is a letter from the Federal
19 Ministry of Justice in Belgrade to the Prosecutor of
20 the ICTY, enclosing the documents, Exhibits 32 through
21 36, which are listed in Exhibit 31, which is a letter.
22 Q. What is the date of the letter?
23 A. The letter is dated the 25th of June, 1998.
24 Q. Does the letter appear to be in response to
25 something?
Page 411
1 A. Yes. It's in response to the request for
2 legal assistance of the Prosecutor of the Tribunal.
3 It's a request in which we requested certain documents,
4 and they supplied us with these documents.
5 Q. Does Exhibit --
6 JUDGE HUNT: My document is dated the 29th of
7 June. I assume we've got the same one, have we? The
8 witness said the 25th of June.
9 MS. KUO:
10 Q. Does the witness see those two dates?
11 A. Yes, I do. The 25th of June appears on the
12 left-hand side of the page, under "Federal Republic of
13 Yugoslavia, Federal Ministry of Justice". That appears
14 to be the date on which the letter was --
15 JUDGE HUNT: Yes. Thank you.
16 MS. KUO:
17 Q. Does Exhibit 31 make reference to Exhibits 32
18 through 36?
19 A. Yes, it does. It lists Exhibits 32 through
20 36. You can see them numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
21 Q. Let's take them one at a time. If you could
22 please tell us what exhibit number corresponds to each
23 item that is described.
24 A. Item 1, which is the indictment of 10
25 February 1993, refers to Exhibit 32. This is an --
Page 412
1 shall I describe the documents now or --
2 Q. Well, let's go through the listing, and then
3 we can go through each document.
4 A. Item number 2, the judgement of 16 December
5 1996, is Exhibit 33. Item number 3, the appeal of 23
6 July, and it says "1998" but it should actually read
7 "1993," is Exhibit 34. Item 4, the decision of the
8 Supreme Court of 15 June 1995 is Exhibit 35. Item 5,
9 the letter from the senior prosecutor, is Exhibit 36.
10 Q. Let's take the exhibits, then, in
11 chronological order. So we'll begin with what would be
12 Exhibit 32, and that is described as an indictment of
13 10 February 1993. Could you please explain that
14 document, just very briefly?
15 A. Yes. This is an indictment issued by the
16 senior public prosecutor's office in Podgorica against
17 several accused, including Zoran Vukovic and Radomir
18 Kovac. The indictment charges them with war crimes, in
19 specific, the murder of members of the Klapuh family.
20 Q. And where was this crime alleged to have
21 occurred?
22 A. In Montenegro.
23 Q. When?
24 A. When? On the 7th -- on the 6th of July,
25 1992.
Page 413
1 Q. Could you please read the personal
2 information for Zoran Vukovic and Radomir Kovac?
3 A. Yes. From the indictment?
4 Q. From the indictment.
5 A. I can put the indictment on the ELMO. For
6 Zoran Vukovic, the indictment, that's Exhibit
7 32: "Zoran Vukovic, father Milojica, date of birth, 6
8 September 1955, in Bruse, municipality of Foca, living
9 in Foca, member of the army of Republika Srpska, Bosnia
10 and Herzegovina, Special Unit 'Dragan Nikolic'."
11 "Radomir Kovac, father Milenko, date of
12 birth, 31 March 1961, in Foca, municipality of Foca,
13 living in Foca, member of the army of Republika Srpska,
14 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Special Unit 'Dragan Nikolic'."
15 Q. Let's go now to Exhibit number 34, which is
16 the next one chronologically, and that is dated the
17 23rd of July, 1993. Could you explain that, please?
18 A. Yes. This is an appeal by the senior public
19 prosecutor of Podgorica, appealing against the
20 judgement of the Court of First Instance, which found
21 the accused guilty for murder rather than for war
22 crimes, and this is a letter appealing that judgement.
23 Q. Do we have in Exhibits 31 through 36 a copy
24 of that judgement from which this is appealed?
25 A. I don't think we do. No, we don't.
Page 414
1 Q. Could you state briefly and generally what
2 the ground of appeal was?
3 A. Yes. There are two things that are
4 complained against. One is the verdict against Kovac
5 and Vukovic, and the other two, they received 20 years'
6 imprisonment. The senior public prosecutor complains
7 that the crimes that are charged amount to war crimes
8 and that they deserve a higher punishment than what was
9 given out. The second ground of complaint is that
10 Golubovic was found guilty for failure to report the
11 crime, and he was sentenced to only eight months
12 imprisonment. The senior public prosecutor complains
13 against that also, accusing him of having a greater
14 hand in the act than one of simple non-reporting.
15 Q. Let's turn now to Exhibit number 35, which is
16 dated 15 June 1995. Can you explain that?
17 A. Yes. This is the response -- this is the
18 response to the appeal.
19 Q. Is it a decision by the court?
20 A. Yes, it is. And the decision is that the --
21 the decision upheld the appeal by the Senior
22 Prosecutor and returns the case for a retrial to the
23 court of first instance. In particular, the Supreme
24 Court finds that there was sufficient grounds to find
25 the accused guilty, not just of murder but also of war
Page 415
1 crimes.
2 Q. Now, let's turn to Exhibit 33, which is dated
3 the 16th of December, 1996.
4 A. Exhibit 33, you said.
5 Q. Yes. What is that?
6 A. This is the decision by the court after the
7 case has been returned to the court of first instance.
8 This is the decision following the retrial. You can
9 see in the first paragraph that there was a main public
10 hearing. The decision specifically finds Zoran Vukovic
11 and Radomir Kovac, again with the same biographical
12 information, among others, guilty of violations of
13 international humanitarian law and war crimes against
14 civilians, and sentences them to 20 years'
15 imprisonment.
16 Q. Looking on page 2 of that document, the
17 second paragraph under the heading "Rationale," would
18 you read that paragraph, please?
19 A. "All the indictees were tried in absentia
20 pursuant to Article 300, and there were compelling
21 reasons for the trial in absentia, because the indicted
22 persons were charged with a serious crime, and
23 considering the manner and circumstances under which
24 the crime was committed, the Trial Chamber points to
25 the necessity that the sentence be brought against the
Page 416
1 indictees."
2 Q. Now turning finally to Exhibit 36, would you
3 describe what that is?
4 A. Exhibit 36 is a letter from the Senior
5 Prosecutor in Podgorica to the Prosecutor of the
6 Tribunal, giving a summary of the case, what happened
7 at what stage; gives a summary of what happened at the
8 court of first instance. Then it explains the appeal,
9 the Supreme Court's finding and the High Court's
10 finding when the case is returned to it.
11 Q. According to this, is that final finding
12 final, or is it being appealed? The one dated 1996.
13 A. Sorry. Did it mention 1996?
14 Q. Well, let me rephrase the question. Is there
15 anything in this letter from the Prosecutor, that's
16 dated 1998, to indicate an appeal was being taken
17 against the judgement that was entered in 1996?
18 A. No.
19 Q. All right. Let's turn now to the final
20 exhibit, which is Exhibit number 11, and that will be
21 the photo album of photographs in Foca.
22 MS. KUO: They should be in a separate
23 binder, the coloured versions, in any event, and in the
24 original trial binders we only had the black and
25 white. I hope everybody has the separate one.
Page 417
1 JUDGE HUNT: Before you leave this particular
2 volume, now that I've had the opportunity to put some
3 holes in the documents we received this morning,
4 Exhibit 22 you gave us, there is already an Exhibit 22,
5 a very large map there. Is this to replace that?
6 MS. KUO: Yes, Your Honour.
7 JUDGE HUNT: Replace it completely?
8 MS. KUO: Yes.
9 Q. Ms. Thapa, could you please explain what
10 Exhibit 11 is?
11 A. Yes. This is a series of photos that were
12 made during our investigative mission to Foca in June
13 of 1996. We took photographs of many of the crime
14 scenes and places of relevance, as well as panoramic
15 pictures of Foca, and they're all contained in this
16 album.
17 Q. Are the photographs numbered?
18 A. Yes, they are.
19 Q. Maybe you can give us the number of the first
20 photograph and the number of the final photograph.
21 A. Yes. The sequence starts at 00407286, and
22 that is actually the table of contents, the first page
23 of the table of contents. The last document in this
24 series, which is a photograph, is 00407532.
25 Q. All right. We'll, for shorthand, refer to
Page 418
1 the last three digits of the numbers, and I would turn
2 your attention first to number 288. Could you describe
3 for the Court, please, what this exhibit shows?
4 A. Yes. This is a picture of the town of Foca.
5 It's taken from the left bank of the Drina, looking at
6 the right bank, which is where the town is, and it
7 gives you a sense of the scale and the layout of the
8 town.
9 Q. Turning to the next page, the photograph 289,
10 can you explain what that is?
11 A. Yes. This is a photograph of a part of the
12 town. You can see that we've numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4,
13 we've marked certain buildings as 1, 2, 3, and 4.
14 Number 1 shows you Partizan Sports Hall; number 2 is
15 the police station; number 3 is the municipal assembly;
16 and number 4 is Hotel Zelengora, with the red roof.
17 Q. Let's look at Exhibit -- at photograph number
18 294?
19 A. This is a close-up on the photograph we just
20 saw. So we have 1, 2, and 3 marked. That's Partizan
21 Sports Hall. It's a clear view. You can see the
22 police station, the SUP, just below the hill here, and
23 this is the municipality building [indicates].
24 Q. Which one is the municipality building,
25 actually?
Page 419
1 A. Sorry. It's this one [indicates], there.
2 Q. Turning to photographs numbered 302 and 303.
3 First, 302.
4 A. This is Partizan Sports Hall. It's a view
5 from the front. This is the front door [indicates].
6 There are steps leading up to it which we saw more
7 clearly in the video. This is a little shack next to
8 it. It looks like there's a car actually in there
9 now. This is the green in front of it which witnesses
10 will refer to.
11 Q. And 303.
12 A. Photograph 303 is a different angle of the
13 same area. This is the corner of Partizan Sports
14 Hall. You can see some apartment buildings back here,
15 some houses here [indicates]. The police station is
16 directly below this green here [indicates], and this is
17 just a front --
18 Q. When you say "here," do you mean the lower
19 left-hand corner of the photograph?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Let's turn now to photographs 315 and 316.
22 What do they show?
23 A. These are photographs of the inside of
24 Partizan Sports Hall. When these pictures were taken
25 in 1996, Partizan Sports Hall was being used by the Red
Page 420
1 Cross as a distribution centre for humanitarian
2 supplies, and so the inside of Partizan, when we were
3 there, was filled with these humanitarian supplies.
4 These supplies were not there, the Red Cross was not
5 using this building in 1992, so the rooms would have
6 been free of these bags and boxes.
7 Q. What's shown in those photographs is the main
8 hallway -- the hall itself, the sports hall?
9 A. Yes, the main room in the sports hall.
10 Q. And number 325, what is that?
11 A. Again, it's the inside of the main hall of
12 Partizan Sports Hall. You can see the humanitarian
13 supplies. This is the stage [indicates], which
14 witnesses will refer to, the steps leading up to it.
15 Q. Would you look at photographs 327 and 328?
16 A. Yes. These are the washing facilities in
17 Partizan Sports Hall, these two photographs.
18 Q. I'm going to turn now to photograph 345.
19 A. Yes. This is the Miljevina Motel in
20 Miljevina. Witnesses will refer to it. It's quite a
21 distinctive building and serves as a landmark. In
22 Miljevina, Pero Elez and many of his soldiers used the
23 motel at different times, and you'll be hearing about
24 it during the trial.
25 Q. I look now at photographs 353 through 358.
Page 421
1 Beginning with 353 and 354.
2 A. These are all photographs of Karaman's House
3 in Miljevina. This is the house itself [indicates].
4 This photograph is taken from the motel which we just
5 saw.
6 Q. Motel Miljevina, you mean.
7 A. Motel Miljevina. And you can see that you
8 have quite a clear view onto the house from the hotel.
9 This is the house itself --
10 Q. That's 354?
11 A. Yes, 354. It shows Karaman's House itself.
12 It is the front gate, coming from the level of the
13 road. This is the house [indicates].
14 Q. Does the arrow point to something specific?
15 A. Yes. You can see, if you look closely, that
16 the arrow is pointing to Miljevina Motel, the
17 distinctive looking building with the odd angles.
18 Q. Photograph 355, please.
19 A. Photograph 355 is a clearer picture of the
20 house itself, of Karaman's House. This is the front
21 gate, this is the driveway [indicates]. The front door
22 is here. You can see this overhanging vine here
23 [indicates].
24 Q. Does that appear to be a grape trellis?
25 A. Yes, it does, from this photograph. And 356
Page 422
1 shows the front door of the house.
2 Q. Photograph 357, please.
3 A. This is Karaman's House, again seen from the
4 back. The earlier photographs were taken from the
5 road, which is up here, from behind -- or, actually,
6 that's -- the front entrance of the house is on the
7 side here [indicates], and this is a view from the back
8 garden.
9 Q. And the perspective from which this is being
10 taken is going somewhat downhill, into a valley; is
11 that correct?
12 A. Yes. That's correct. You can see on the
13 next photograph, 358, the view outward from that
14 valley. So the house is now directly behind you, and
15 you can see again Miljevina Motel here [indicates],
16 looking from the backyard of Karaman's House.
17 Q. Let's turn now to photographs 394 and 398.
18 Could you describe what is shown in 394?
19 A. Yes. 394, you may recall from the video, the
20 pictures of Ulica Osmana Djikica, as seen from the area
21 of the Aladza mosque, this is essentially the same
22 shot, just clearer. This is the house that I referred
23 to as the overflow house that Mr. Kunarac said that his
24 soldiers would sometimes stay in. This area with the
25 debris, with the green area, is where number 16 used to
Page 423
1 be.
2 Q. Photograph 394, that's somewhat in the middle
3 of the photograph; correct?
4 A. Yes. It's right here [indicates]. And the
5 Aladza mosque is further down here. You would have to
6 come down this street in this direction [indicates].
7 Q. If you -- is this the similar perspective
8 from the one shown on the video, Exhibit number 28?
9 A. Yes. It's the same perspective.
10 Q. So where would the photographer be standing
11 in relation to the mosque?
12 A. In relation to the mosque, the photographer
13 would be somewhere here. The mosque would be behind
14 him. Behind him, to the left.
15 Q. Exhibit number 395, what is that?
16 A. This is a view of the house from the other
17 side. Again, this house is not number 16. This is
18 where number 16 used to be.
19 Q. So it just shows the location of where number
20 16 was.
21 A. Yes, where it used to be. The other shot --
22 the photograph before this was shot from down here on
23 this road [indicates]. This shot is from the main road
24 over here [indicates].
25 Q. And you're indicating the bottom of the
Page 424
1 photograph.
2 A. That's right. I can point out that this
3 house here in cyrillic letters, this reads "Niksic",
4 and Mr. Kunarac has said that one of his soldiers wrote
5 this, one of his soldiers from Niksic wrote this.
6 Q. Let's look at photograph 396. Can you
7 indicate from this photograph where the house number 16
8 would have been located?
9 A. Number 16 would have been just where this
10 pile of rubble and green is. Right on the corner, you
11 can see this is a road here [indicates]. This is
12 Osmana Djikica. This is the little road that leads --
13 the arrow is pointing in the direction of the mosque.
14 This is the main road.
15 Q. So this photograph, 396, is taken from more
16 or less the same perspective as the previous
17 photograph?
18 A. Yes, just further back on the main road. And
19 you get a clearer sense of the space of the -- of where
20 number 16 used to be.
21 Q. And number 397.
22 A. Number 397, you can see the blue house here.
23 This is where number 16 would have been. Again the
24 arrow is now -- the photograph is taken again from the
25 main road and the arrow points in the direction of the
Page 425
1 Aladza High School.
2 Q. So just to compare the perspectives of
3 photographs 396 and 397, would it be fair to say that
4 the photographer is standing in more or less the same
5 location but just turning perhaps 90 degrees to the
6 left?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Finally, let's turn to photograph 398, and
9 can you explain that photograph?
10 A. Yes. This is another picture of the area
11 where Ulica Osmana Djikica 16 used to be. This is,
12 again, a slightly different angle on the blue house.
13 This area where the debris is is where the house used
14 to be.
15 Q. All right. Let's turn now to a few more
16 photographs of other locations. Number 400.
17 A. This is a photograph of a part of Foca town,
18 in particular, in focus with the red roof and the
19 building just behind it. This is the Hotel Zelengora.
20 Q. Hotel Zelengora is with the red roof.
21 A. Yes. This building which appears here
22 [indicates], in the corner, this high-rise, is the
23 beginning of the Lepa Brena apartments.
24 Q. And you're pointing to the right-hand side of
25 the photograph?
Page 426
1 A. Yes. That's right.
2 Q. Photograph 401.
3 A. Yes. These are the Lepa Brena apartment
4 building -- this is the main part. There are shops on
5 the street level, and above that are the apartments. I
6 point out that there are balconies attached to the
7 apartments.
8 Q. Let's look at photographs 415 and 416.
9 A. These are photographs of the Buk Bijela
10 barracks, where the women who were arrested on the 3rd
11 of July of 1992 from the villages of Mjesaja and
12 Trosanj were first taken. The photograph just below
13 415, number 416 shows essentially the same photograph,
14 it just has an arrow pointing to the motel which is
15 attached to the barracks.
16 Q. Photographs 418 and 419, please.
17 A. 418 and 419 both show the Foca High School,
18 in the Aladza area. This is a view from the side.
19 This is the main road leading to the high school. 419
20 is a view from the side. This is a parking lot, and
21 it's a view of the high school from the side.
22 Q. Photographs 426 and 427, please.
23 A. Yes. This is the inside of the high school.
24 426 has two arrows on it which indicates two separate
25 levels, level 1 and level 2. So you have the main part
Page 427
1 there, the ground floor, and this is the first level.
2 This is the second level.
3 Q. What room is this; do you know?
4 A. This is the lobby as you enter the building,
5 this area [indicates].
6 Q. Is this high school still being used as a
7 school, or at least in 1996 when you visited?
8 A. Yes, it was.
9 Q. Could you then turn to pages 430 and 431.
10 JUDGE HUNT: Is there some significance in
11 the arrow on 427?
12 THE WITNESS: 427?
13 JUDGE HUNT: Yes.
14 THE WITNESS: Yes. The arrow on 427
15 indicates the main entrance.
16 JUDGE HUNT: Thank you.
17 MS. KUO:
18 Q. I'm sorry. 428 and 429 first.
19 A. 428, again, this is all from inside the high
20 school; 428 shows you the stairs leading up to the
21 classrooms. 429 shows the corridors once you get
22 upstairs, and the doors leading to the classrooms.
23 Q. And now 430 and 431.
24 A. These two pictures are different angles on a
25 classroom. It gives you a sense of the size of the
Page 428
1 space in which the women and children were detained.
2 Q. Photograph 441.
3 A. Sorry. 441 shows the KP Dom, the men's
4 penitentiary. In Foca, this was a functional prison
5 from before the war, one of the largest in the former
6 Yugoslavia. This is the main detention unit
7 [indicates] for the prisoners.
8 Q. Do you know its function during the war?
9 A. It was used to detain male Muslim civilians.
10 A part of the prison was also used by the VRS to
11 punish -- to imprison soldiers who had violated
12 military norms.
13 Q. And turning to Exhibit -- photograph 442 and
14 443.
15 A. Yes. 442 is a picture of the KP Dom from the
16 other side of the bridge, again from the left bank of
17 the Drina. This is the bridge which was destroyed --
18 actually, it was bombed by NATO, and it's since been
19 rebuilt, but in 1996, it was still destroyed. This is
20 the KP Dom. Again, 448 [sic] is also from the other
21 side of the river, and it focuses more on this building
22 which was the restaurant outside the KP Dom which was
23 used by officers who work -- officers and functionaries
24 of the KP Dom.
25 JUDGE HUNT: I think that's 443.
Page 429
1 THE WITNESS: Yes, 443.
2 MS. KUO:
3 Q. Before we move to Exhibit 11, I would like to
4 return to photograph 295.
5 A. 295?
6 Q. Yes. I believe that 295 is in two parts. Is
7 that correct?
8 A. It is.
9 Q. Could you perhaps try to put the two parts
10 together and show it on the ELMO?
11 A. Yes. It should look something like this
12 [indicates]. I think it's still too big for the ELMO.
13 Q. Could you describe it, then?
14 A. Yes. This is the municipal assembly
15 building.
16 Q. You're pointing to the left-hand side.
17 A. The left-hand side, this brick building with
18 the tile roof. This white building, the large white
19 building, is the police station, which witnesses will
20 refer to as the SUP. And directly above that, this
21 small building here [indicates], this is the Partizan
22 Sports Hall.
23 Q. And you're pointing to the right of the
24 panoramic photograph.
25 A. Yes, that's right. It's a small -- it's a
Page 430
1 smallish building with -- it's a white long building
2 with a red tile roof.
3 MS. KUO: That will be all the questions that
4 the Prosecution has for this witness, Your Honours.
5 [Trial Chamber confers]
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Ms. Kuo, we were wondering
7 about whether or not these exhibits are going to be
8 admitted into evidence.
9 MS. KUO: Yes. I guess I would wish to know
10 how the Court wants to proceed on that. We do wish to
11 enter Exhibits 1 through 36 which have been discussed
12 by this witness into evidence, and --
13 JUDGE MUMBA: We'll ask the Defence.
14 The Defence counsel. Mr. Prodanovic first.
15 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
16 Honours, I wish to remind you of the fact that we did
17 not question the authenticity of these documents.
18 Nevertheless, I would like the Prosecutor to give me
19 some clarifications with regard to three documents.
20 Document 24, please.
21 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Prodanovic, you just want
22 clarification, not cross-examination yet.
23 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes. Yes.
24 Just clarifications.
25 Document 24 is the BBC cassette --
Page 431
1 THE WITNESS: I'm not getting any
2 translation. I think the volume is too low, that it
3 doesn't seem to be responding.
4 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] In this
5 cassette, we see houses that are burning in town.
6 Could the investigator please tell me, since she was an
7 investigator -- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
8 THE INTERPRETER: Can you hear the
9 interpretation now?
10 THE WITNESS: Yes, I can.
11 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] So I'm going
12 to repeat my question.
13 Document 24 is a videocassette made by the
14 BBC, and houses that are on fire can be seen in it.
15 Since you investigated this, did you investigate whose
16 houses were on fire? Can one see that from this
17 videocassette?
18 THE WITNESS: I haven't investigated which
19 those houses are that are shown on the video. I
20 suppose someone who knows the neighbourhoods of Foca better
21 than I do would be able to point out which
22 neighbourhoods these are which are on fire.
23 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] I presume
24 that this is going to be a topic that we will discuss
25 during this trial. Now document 8 and 9. This
Page 432
1 document does not have a seal or stamp on it. There is
2 another thing that is illogical. The soldier that we
3 are speaking of was born in 1992, that's what it says.
4 Do you have this document with a stamp, with the
5 original?
6 THE WITNESS: No. What we have is the
7 document as it appears. In our collection, also it is
8 without a stamp. And my understanding was that the 6th
9 of May, 1992, that's obviously -- that's a mistake.
10 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] That was
11 all. That was all the clarification I sought because I
12 thought that the investigator would have the original
13 of this document. Thank you.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: So are you objecting to the
15 admission into evidence?
16 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] We are
17 objecting to this document and to that other document,
18 number 9, where there is no stamp.
19 JUDGE MUMBA: And which one?
20 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] That is
21 document number 9.
22 JUDGE HUNT: And which is the other one?
23 JUDGE MUMBA: That's the only document you're
24 objecting to?
25 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Number 8
Page 433
1 too. Documents 8 and 9.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: So it's Exhibits 8 and 9, those
3 are the only two exhibits you are objecting to?
4 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
5 Honour. Yes.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: The rest you have no objection
7 to their being admitted into evidence?
8 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] No, Your
9 Honour.
10 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Kolesar.
11 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I
12 fully concur. I object to these two documents only. I
13 do not object to all the other exhibits, not in terms
14 of their authenticity, that is.
15 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Jovanovic?
16 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] No, Your
17 Honour, we have no objections to the authenticity of
18 these documents, except that the two documents that
19 were already mentioned by my colleague,
20 Mr. Prodanovic.
21 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
22 Any explanation on the points of objection?
23 MS. KUO:
24 Q. If I may ask the witness to explain how
25 documents 8 and 9 were obtained and copies made.
Page 434
1 A. These both were -- they come from two
2 different collections. Document number 8 comes from
3 what we refer to as our Trnovo collection. These are
4 documents which were captured by the army of
5 Bosnia-Herzegovina, again after the 31st of July,
6 1992. These were given to a member of the OTP. The
7 originals of these documents are still held by the
8 relevant authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. What we
9 have in our custody is simply the photocopy of the
10 original, which is what appears in the exhibit binder.
11 Q. And looking at Exhibit number 8, the
12 original, what language is that in?
13 A. That is in B/C/S.
14 Q. And is there a signature?
15 A. There is a signature. It is signed for the
16 commander, Ratko Bundalo.
17 Q. Now, Exhibit 9, can you explain how that was
18 obtained?
19 A. Yes. This document comes from our Gorazde
20 collection. This is an order which, together with
21 other documents from that collection, were found by the
22 army of Bosnia-Herzegovina in and around the
23 battlefields of Gorazde. Again, the original of this
24 document remains in the custody of the authorities of
25 Bosnia-Herzegovina. What we have here is a photocopy
Page 435
1 of the original. As far as this document is concerned,
2 I examined the original myself and made a photocopy of
3 it.
4 Q. And this photocopy in the B/C/S language, is
5 that -- was there anything changed in it from the
6 original?
7 A. No. No.
8 JUDGE HUNT: The point seems to be that
9 there's no stamp on it. Now, from that evidence, may
10 we assume that there was no stamp on the original
11 either?
12 MS. KUO: Yes, that's correct, Your Honour.
13 JUDGE HUNT: So you're relying upon the
14 provenance of them being found either in the
15 battlefield or in some particular spot by the
16 Bosnia-Herzegovina army.
17 MS. KUO: That's correct.
18 JUDGE HUNT: I see.
19 [Trial Chamber confers]
20 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. Is there anything that
21 the Defence counsel would like to say in reply? The
22 objection seems to be that they don't have stamps.
23 JUDGE HUNT: The point, Mr. Prodanovic, is
24 that they have exactly the same provenance as the other
25 documents. They are found in the same places. The
Page 436
1 originals don't have stamps either. So these are
2 merely photostats of the original documents found.
3 What is the difference between them and the ones that
4 do have stamps on them if they are found in the same
5 way?
6 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,
7 those who have stamps cannot be forged, in our opinion,
8 whereas those that do not have a stamp can be made by
9 anyone. That's the difference. Because, you see, this
10 document is illogical. It was signed by a Colonel, and
11 Zvizdalo Dragan was born in 1992, that's what it says
12 here. So the contents of the document is illogical as
13 well.
14 JUDGE HUNT: Ms. Kuo, have we got that
15 gentleman's signature on any of the other documents
16 that do have stamps?
17 MS. KUO: This signature on Exhibit 8 --
18 JUDGE HUNT: We've got several of his
19 documents, haven't we?
20 MS. KUO: Yes, we do. But it appears that
21 the signature on Exhibit 8 is signed by someone for
22 Ratko Bundalo, rather than him signing it --
23 JUDGE HUNT: Do you have any with that
24 particular signature on it?
25 MS. KUO: I don't believe so, Your Honour.
Page 437
1 If I could just respond very briefly to
2 Mr. Prodanovic's objection to the birth date of the
3 soldier. We are going on the assumption that that is
4 simply a typographical error, as it is entirely
5 illogical, nobody would have been born on that date and
6 be a soldier, but we are not offering that part of the
7 evidence as being true. We really are relying on the
8 handwritten part.
9 JUDGE HUNT: What about Exhibit 9? Is that
10 signature on any other document you have with a stamp
11 on it?
12 MS. KUO: I also don't believe that appears
13 on any other document.
14 JUDGE HUNT: Thank you.
15 [Trial Chamber deliberates]
16 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Prodanovic, and the other
17 Defence counsel, the Trial Chamber is of the view that,
18 in view of the objections that you have pointed out,
19 the Trial Chamber will consider what weight to attach
20 to these exhibits; otherwise, they will be admitted
21 into evidence.
22 Since the Prosecution have finished, we are
23 supposed to proceed with the cross-examination of this
24 witness, and we have a few minutes. I think we can
25 start.
Page 438
1 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your
2 Honours, we have no questions for this witness. We
3 have had a look at these materials. We already said
4 that we would not object to the authenticity of these
5 exhibits, save for the two already mentioned. My
6 understanding of what my colleague, the Prosecutor,
7 said before the investigator started talking about
8 these documents was that the substance of these
9 particular documents would be interpreted by experts.
10 So then at that point in time, we are going to put our
11 questions. For the time being, we don't want to take
12 up more of your time with questions related to these
13 documents. Thank you.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: Confirmed, Mr. Kolesar?
15 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Yes, I do
16 confirm this. We are going to have quite a few
17 questions, particularly in relation to the military
18 orders. However, I think that this witness cannot
19 respond to these questions, it will really be for a
20 military expert to answer those questions.
21 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. The third Defence
22 counsel.
23 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,
24 I fully agree with my colleagues' positions, but I just
25 have a brief question for the investigator related to
Page 439
1 numbers 31 to 36, related to the procedure -- rather,
2 the trial against Mr. Vukovic in Podgorica.
3 Cross-examined by Mr. Jovanovic:
4 Q. Before the trial began, we were told that the
5 investigator, in addition to these documents, had some
6 other details related to this that she investigated.
7 Since all of this has been presented in this particular
8 form, I would like to know whether the investigator has
9 been familiarised in any way with the provisions of the
10 Criminal Code in the territory of the Federal Republic
11 of Yugoslavia.
12 JUDGE MUMBA: The witness may answer that
13 question.
14 A. Yes. I am not, in any depth, familiar with
15 the codes of procedure -- criminal procedure and
16 evidence in the former Yugoslavia, in particular, in
17 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, I should say. I'm
18 aware of the fact that you can have these
19 proceedings -- you can have a trial in absentia of
20 certain accused in order to preserve the evidence. But
21 as and when the accused is arrested, there must then be
22 a trial again. This is all I know.
23 Q. Thank you. That was an answer to my
24 question.
25 MR. JOVANOVIC: [Interpretation] No further
Page 440
1 questions, Your Honours.
2 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you very much. That's
3 the end. We've finished with Ms. Thapa? That's the
4 end?
5 MS. KUO: Yes, Your Honour. May I just have
6 a clarification on the record that, in fact, Exhibits 1
7 through 36 are now in evidence.
8 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.
9 MS. KUO: Thank you.
10 JUDGE MUMBA: Any questions?
11 JUDGE HUNT: Ms. Kuo, could you just give us,
12 very briefly, what the relevance of them are, those
13 particular documents?
14 MS. KUO: Certainly, Your Honour. Shall I
15 begin -- go in the order --
16 JUDGE HUNT: No, just the whole of that
17 particular procedure. What is the relevance of them to
18 this trial?
19 MS. KUO: The maps and the photographs --
20 JUDGE HUNT: No. No. Documents 31 to --
21 MS. KUO: I'm sorry. I misunderstood. There
22 are two things, in particular. One is the fact of
23 showing that Mr. Vukovic, the same personal particulars
24 as the accused, and also Radovan Kovac, are members of
25 the Dragan Nikolic Detachment, and this is a finding by
Page 441
1 a court -- an official finding by a court. In
2 addition, we would ask at the sentencing phase to show
3 that these individuals, in fact, have been convicted by
4 a court of law and --
5 JUDGE HUNT: In absentia?
6 MS. KUO: That is correct.
7 JUDGE HUNT: No doubt that will be an
8 interesting argument later on.
9 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. Thank you very much,
10 Ms. Thapa. Thank you for the evidence. You are now
11 released.
12 We were informed by the Prosecutor that you
13 may wish to stay on during the evidence of other
14 Prosecution witnesses, and we have already granted our
15 order in that regard.
16 We've now come to the end of the afternoon
17 session. The Trial Chamber will adjourn until tomorrow
18 at 9.30 hours, for continuation of the Prosecution
19 case.
20 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at
21 4 p.m., to be reconvened on Tuesday,
22 the 21st day of March, 2000, at
23 9.30 a.m.
24
25