Page 23669
1 Wednesday, 5 March 2008
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The Accused Milutinovic not present]
5 --- Upon commencing at 8.59 a.m.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Good morning, everyone. Mr. Zecevic, I note that
7 Mr. Milutinovic is not with us. I take it we can continue in his
8 absence.
9 MR. ZECEVIC: Yes, Your Honour, he waived his presence for today.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
11 Mr. Lukic, your next witness?
12 MR. LUKIC: Good morning, Your Honours. Our next witness is
13 Mr. Sladjan Pantic.
14 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
15 [The witness entered court]
16 JUDGE BONOMY: Good morning, Mr. Pantic.
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good morning.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: Would you please make the solemn declaration to
19 speak the truth by reading aloud the document the usher will show to you
20 now.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will
22 speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you. Please be seated.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: You will now be examined by Mr. Lukic.
Page 23670
1 Mr. Lukic.
2 MR. LUKIC: Thank you, Your Honours.
3 WITNESS: SLADJAN PANTIC
4 [Witness answered through interpreter]
5 Examination by Mr. Lukic:
6 Q. [Interpretation] Good morning, Mr. Pantic.
7 A. Good morning.
8 Q. Would you kindly introduce yourself for the record.
9 A. My name is Sladjan Pantic, father's name Dragoljub, born 24 March
10 1969, in Pec.
11 Q. Thank you. Would you tell us briefly about your work history,
12 employment history.
13 A. My employment history began on the 19th of November, 1990, when I
14 started a course of training to become a policeman, upon which
15 completion -- upon the completion of which I was assigned to work in the
16 department for internal affairs of Srbica as policeman in the police
17 section of Srbica.
18 Q. Mr. Pantic, look at me, not the screen. The people from the
19 Victims and Witnesses Section only confuse you by instructing you to
20 watch the screen and then you stop talking normally. It's better to keep
21 eye contact.
22 Where were you employed after May 1992?
23 A. After May 1992, or more precisely, in July I was transferred to
24 the police section of Rudnik, which came under the jurisdiction of the
25 department of internal affairs of Srbica.
Page 23671
1 Q. What did the police section of Rudnik cover?
2 A. The Rudnik police section covered 18 villages, and our job was to
3 maintain public order, enforce the law, and do the other things normally
4 done by a police station.
5 Q. Name some of the villages.
6 A. Let's begin with Rudnik itself, Kostolac, Kladernica, Leocina
7 Turicevac, Brocna, Vocnjak, Radisevo, do I need to name them all?
8 Q. That will do. Can you till us what was the ethnic composition of
9 your police section?
10 A. We were around 20, three among us were Muslims, Bahrudin Bandic,
11 Ramiz Adrovic, and Ruzdija Milatovic, and there was another colleague
12 working with us of Roma ethnicity, Ismet Kukac.
13 Q. Did you personally have a good relationship with the local
14 Albanians?
15 A. I was on good and even friendly terms with the entire population,
16 including the ethnic Albanian community.
17 Q. Did Albanians move out of Rudnik in 1998?
18 A. Yes.
19 MR. LUKIC: [Previous translation continues] ... go into the
20 private session for a very short period of time. We should be mentioning
21 some names, and for their protection.
22 JUDGE BONOMY: Ms. Gopalan, do you have anything to say on that?
23 Thank you.
24 Very well, we shall go into private session for that reason.
25 [Private session]
Page 23672
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 (redacted)
5 (redacted)
6 (redacted)
7 (redacted)
8 (redacted)
9 (redacted)
10 (redacted)
11 (redacted)
12 (redacted)
13 (redacted)
14 (redacted)
15 (redacted)
16 (redacted)
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 [Open session]
22 THE REGISTRAR: We are in open session, Your Honours.
23 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. Mr. Pantic, did Albanians freely come to the police section of
25 Rudnik?
Page 23673
1 A. No, they did not come freely because they were afraid of each
2 other. If they were on good terms with the police, they would be
3 boycotted by their own compatriots, and sometimes not only boycotted,
4 sometimes there were worse consequences.
5 Q. Then how did you get reports that a crime was committed, for
6 instance?
7 A. In informal discussions. In the street, in tearooms, in informal
8 conversations when talking to Albanians, that's how we got our
9 information.
10 Q. Do you remember any drastic examples, that somebody was hurt or
11 came to harm because they socialised with Serbs?
12 A. Yes, I remember that in Vitak village a man was killed by the
13 name of Muhamet, his nickname was Barber. He owned a tavern, and he was
14 killed on his door-step. We learned about it a few days later when his
15 wife and son came to that tavern and Rudnik to collect the property from
16 the tavern, to collect the effects. And when we asked, Where is the
17 barber? They said he was killed outside his own house by people wearing
18 KLA uniforms.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Pantic, what was the ethnic composition in
20 1998 of Rudnik?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In 1998 and before, Rudnik was a
22 village with mixed population. There were some Serbs, some Albanians,
23 and a very small number, perhaps two or three houses, of Romas.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: So the picture we should have is of the Albanians
25 moving out and the Serbs and Roma alone occupying the village?
Page 23674
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, that's correct, except that in
2 one part of Rudnik itself there was a family by the name of Jovanovic.
3 There were two or three houses there on the edge of the village, and
4 those Serbs also moved out at the same time as Albanians because they
5 were afraid to remain there alone.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic.
7 MR. LUKIC: Thank you, Your Honour.
8 Q. [Interpretation] In 1998 were there any terrorist attacks in your
9 area?
10 A. Yes, in 1998 too there were some, and the main road Pec-Kosovska
11 Mitrovica was under blockade.
12 Q. In 1998 in which villages were there Serbs in your area out of
13 the 18 villages?
14 A. Banje, Suvo Grlo, Rudnik village, Radisevo village, Kostrc, and
15 Leocina.
16 Q. When did Serbs move out, out of some of these villages on the
17 territory of your police section?
18 A. In 1998 Serbs from Radisevo, Kostrc, and Leocina left their
19 homes, and there were no more Serbs there left after some KLA terrorist
20 attacks.
21 Q. You mentioned a road that was blocked. What was the category
22 given to that road?
23 A. It was a thoroughfare, a main road, from Pec to Kosovska
24 Mitrovica, a continuation of the so-called Ibar motorway that continued
25 towards Pec. And on that road -- let me say first that in some -- in
Page 23675
1 Rudnik itself there was some trees that they felled to make them fall on
2 the road and block it completely.
3 Q. Were there any attacks on civilians and the police?
4 A. Yes, there were attacks. On the local road from Radisevo towards
5 Rudnik a Serbian family by the name of Deverdzic was attacked. A brother
6 and sister were wounded in the attack. Also in Kostrc, Blagaj Jovanovic
7 was killed outside his house. And on the road towards Leocina at the
8 entry point to Leocina a woman named Dostana Smigic was kidnapped.
9 Q. Were the police ever attacked?
10 A. The police were constantly attacked.
11 Q. Did you stop sending patrols to a certain locality at a certain
12 time; and if so, which locality?
13 A. I remember --
14 Q. Give us the time, please.
15 A. I remember because it remained etched in my memory, on the 15th
16 of August, 1997, during a regular patrol mission on the ground, we
17 reached Vocnjak village, the hamlet of Ozren, where an Albanian I knew, a
18 friend of mine, asked me, Why did you come here? And I explained why.
19 He told me, Don't come here, take another path, KLA members are waiting
20 for you and from this day on you will be attacked every day whenever you
21 get out into the field. And from that moment on we did not go into the
22 field in that area of about ten villages.
23 Q. Just give us briefly the names of some of those villages where
24 you no longer went, beginning with the 15th of August, 1997.
25 A. Kostrc, Kladernica, Turicevac, Brocna, Vocnjak, Izbica, Leocina,
Page 23676
1 Donje Obilic.
2 Q. Thank you. Was anyone else attacked after that day in an attempt
3 to reach these villages, a state official perhaps?
4 A. Yes, in the autumn of 1997 two tax men were in Vocnjak village
5 where they were attacked by the KLA. Only they know how they managed to
6 get out of there alive.
7 Q. Was there an attempt to perform an on-site investigation after
8 that incident and what happened?
9 A. Yes, an on-site investigation team went out of OUP Srbica, but
10 they were attacked from all sides and they were unable to do the on-site
11 investigation. Ljubisa Ilic, scenes of crime officer in OUP Srbica, was
12 injured on that occasion.
13 Q. Very well then. Let us focus now on end March 1999. Do you
14 remember the assignment you received at that time. What was that
15 assignment? Who gave it to you? Describe it.
16 A. I remember that assignment, it was passed on to me by the section
17 commander based on the orders of Branko Jaradic, chief of the OUP, and
18 that was to participate in an action to crush the terrorists, to rout the
19 terrorists. They said I would be seconded to a unit from Belgrade that
20 also included the army.
21 Q. Describe, where did you set out from, how, and what a did you
22 encounter on that first day, what was that day?
23 A. To the best of my recollection, it was the 25th. We gathered
24 outside the station. The starting point was some 50 metres away from the
25 station where the road starts towards Kostrc and on to Turicevac, and
Page 23677
1 when I arrived that Belgrade unit was already there, and there was a
2 tank. We set out towards Kostrc village, we entered it, and 7 or 800
3 metres on, we came across trenches and communicating trenches and then we
4 were attacked by the KLA.
5 Q. So less than a kilometre away --
6 JUDGE CHOWHAN: [Previous translation continues] ...
7 communicating trench.
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Communicating trenches -- well,
9 they're like trenches, canals, some 30 to 40 metres in length. They're
10 used for defence purposes, that's the term we use. Maybe there is
11 another one in existence.
12 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. Certain clarifications are required on occasion because of
14 everything that is being interpreted. It wasn't your fault. You said
15 that -- the 25th of and you meant the 25th of March, 1999?
16 A. Yes, as far as I can recall.
17 Q. Less than a kilometre away from your starting point you were
18 attacked, is that correct, some 7 or 800 metres? I'm just checking that
19 piece of information.
20 A. Yes, that is correct.
21 Q. What followed after you were attacked on the 25th?
22 A. We were attacked and we responded, the fighting went on for about
23 one, two, or three hours, then it stopped and we continued, although we
24 were sniped at. We entered Kostrc village, we came to Dervisa Mahala and
25 that's where we bivouacked the first night.
Page 23678
1 Q. Were you join anyone else along that route that day or was it the
2 next day?
3 A. Not on the first day but on the second day.
4 Q. After the first day where did you go and who joined you?
5 A. We went towards Kladernica village on the second day. We reached
6 the outskirts of the village and turned to the right towards Leocina. On
7 that path up the hill we were joined by another squad of the Army of
8 Yugoslavia.
9 Q. Tell us what kind of uniform was worn by the people of your
10 group.
11 A. The unit I was seconded to, the police unit, wore green
12 camouflage uniforms with visible signs on their backs saying "police."
13 Members of the army wore green camouflage uniforms. I was the only one
14 to wear the standard-issue blue camouflage uniform.
15 Q. What happened on the 26th of March, 1999, that is the next day?
16 A. As I said, we turned to the right, we reached the plateau between
17 Kladernica and Leocina villages. We entered the hamlet of Arije, and we
18 spent the night in the first house we came across.
19 Q. Was there any fighting that day, on the 26th?
20 A. That day the unit I was with saw very little action, but to the
21 left and to the right you could hear a lot of shooting.
22 Q. On the 27th what happened?
23 A. In the morning on the 27th, we got up and we were getting ready
24 to go. At that point we were attacked from the village of Izbica. We
25 responded and turned to the left, returning to a hill nearby so as to
Page 23679
1 improve our position in relation to the KLA. After that attack, we
2 pressed ahead towards Vocnjak village. So we used the higher ground to
3 reach Vocnjak itself.
4 Q. The make-up of that group, did it change as opposed to the 26th?
5 A. It remained the same until we reached Vocnjak itself. Just prior
6 to entering it, the military squad and the tank turned back and we
7 pressed further towards Vocnjak.
8 Q. Did you see anyone on your route to Vocnjak?
9 A. On our path to Vocnjak at the first elevation we came across we
10 saw a column of civilians on the road moving towards the south. They
11 were using the road and we followed them up to the outskirts of Brocna
12 [Realtime transcript read in error "Brocna"] village. We moved along
13 slowly, and as of the point when we entered Vocnjak village there were no
14 attacks anymore. I don't know whether that was because of the civilians
15 that were on the road or not, but in any case we reached Brocna village
16 and we spent the night in Mahala Salja.
17 Q. In the morning of the 28th, what happened and what followed that
18 day?
19 A. In the morning of the 28th we got up, to put it that way, since
20 we were always ready to move. We waited for further orders, and during
21 the morning - I can't recall exactly when - buses arrived, and we were
22 taken to Metrohijska Klina. I was dropped off there and my role as a
23 guide for those units was completed at that point.
24 Q. You and the group you moved with, did you have any contact with
25 any civilians prior to the civilians you met on the road to Vocnjak?
Page 23680
1 A. No, there was no contact with any civilians before that.
2 Q. Do you know what PJP unit was with you?
3 A. I was with the unit that I have been told came from Belgrade. I
4 don't know what unit it was specifically. I only know they were from
5 Belgrade.
6 Q. Thank you, Mr. Pantic. I have no further questions for you.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: You'll now be examined by the Prosecutor, who in
8 this instance --
9 MR. CEPIC: Excuse me, Your Honour.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: Sorry, Mr. Cepic.
11 MR. CEPIC: I have some questions, with your leave.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: Very well.
13 Mr. Cepic has some questions for you first of all.
14 Mr. Cepic.
15 MR. CEPIC: Thank you.
16 Cross-examination by Mr. Cepic:
17 Q. [Interpretation] Mr. Pantic, good morning. My name is
18 Djuro Cepic. I appear on behalf of General Lazarevic.
19 A. Good morning.
20 Q. To go back to end March, you said that you were with the PJP unit
21 and that they came from the -- from Belgrade. It was a squad. On the
22 27th when you were moving towards Vocnjak and along the entire route, did
23 you and the Army of Yugoslavia squad you moved with entered the village
24 of Izbica?
25 A. No, we did not enter Izbica village. We used a higher ground
Page 23681
1 between Kladernica and Izbica.
2 Q. What was the distance you covered starting from the village of
3 Izbica?
4 A. Well, the route we were following is some 800 metres away from
5 Izbica itself. It's a forested hilly terrain. You cannot see much in
6 front of you or on the side.
7 Q. Could you see Izbica from the forest?
8 A. No.
9 Q. This military squad and the tank, they were moving behind you,
10 they were following you?
11 A. From time to time, the tank would have to choose its path, and
12 the squad itself was sometimes closer to us, sometimes further away, but
13 we all moved along together. I would say they spent most of their time
14 following us, yes.
15 Q. Thank you. You said that on the 27th of March there was an
16 attack from several directions on the members of the unit you were with.
17 Would you agree with me that those attacks were directed at the police
18 unit and that the unit merely responded to the attacks?
19 A. There was an attack, we responded, we responded. The tank was
20 not engaged. There was shooting, and I didn't see where the people were
21 exactly. I don't know whether the military infantry squad was firing
22 back; however, I know that the tank did not fire that day.
23 Q. Mr. Pantic, thank you.
24 A. You're welcome.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: One point of clarification, Mr. Pantic. You said
Page 23682
1 that you -- when you encountered civilians they were using the road and
2 you followed them up to the outskirts of Brocna village and then you are
3 recorded as saying: "... and as of the point when we entered Vocnjak
4 village there were no attacks anymore."
5 Is that an accurate record of what you said?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] When we arrived there, we saw them
7 on the road. We weren't following them per se. We saw them moving along
8 that road, and that was the axis of our movement. We slowed down,
9 waiting for them to pull out. During that period we were not being
10 attacked.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: Were you at Vocnjak before you got to Brocna?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. We went through Vocnjak and
13 reached Brocna village.
14 JUDGE BONOMY: And at what point was it that the attacks on you
15 stopped?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I don't remember exactly. As far
17 as I recall at the point of entry to Vocnjak, that's where the attacks
18 ceased.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
20 You'll now be cross-examined by the Prosecutor, Ms. Gopalan.
21 Ms. Gopalan.
22 Cross-examination by Ms. Gopalan:
23 Q. Good morning, Mr. Pantic.
24 A. Good morning.
25 Q. I'd like to begin by asking you a few questions about the police
Page 23683
1 station you worked at in Rudnik. You mentioned that there were 20 other
2 policemen who you worked with in the station. Could you tell us why you
3 were chosen to act as a guide for the VJ and MUP operations in late
4 March?
5 A. I was chosen because I was the head of a sector, of the security
6 sector, and I knew the terrain since I worked in that position for over
7 five years. In Rudnik I worked as of June 1990 -- excuse me, July 1992
8 until the 19th of June, 1999.
9 Q. Were you the only guide for these VJ and MUP units in late March
10 1999 during the operation, or were there other guides?
11 A. As far as I know, it was only me.
12 Q. What did you do as a guide?
13 A. My assignment as a guide was to show them the way they have to
14 take. They would tell me, We're supposed to go through Kostrc and to
15 reach Kladernica, and then would say, Well, this is the route we are
16 going to take. Then they told me, We have to go to Vis, up the hill to
17 the right towards Leocina, and then I chose the path. I knew the local
18 paths and that's why I was seconded to them.
19 Q. Thank you. When you said: "They would tell me ..." who gave you
20 the instructions as to the route that the unit would follow?
21 A. I don't know that. Specifically there was an officer there,
22 although I cannot recall his last name. I was with him. He would be
23 given instructions, I don't know from who, and he would simply tell me,
24 This is the way we should -- we are supposed to go, and I would take them
25 there, I would show them the way.
Page 23684
1 Q. Was this a police or an army officer?
2 A. He was from the police.
3 Q. And could you describe to me the uniform this officer wore?
4 A. He wore a green camouflage uniform with a flak jacket. On its
5 back, there were visible letters saying "police." The uniform was
6 camouflage green.
7 Q. You mentioned that some of the officers wore green camouflage
8 uniforms. Did any of them have the wording "milicija" on their uniforms?
9 A. As far as I remember, the term "milicija" stopped being used
10 quite some time before that, maybe even up to two years before that. I
11 know for sure that at that time we were the police, and that's what it
12 read on our uniforms, we were policemen, we were not "milicija."
13 Q. Excuse me, sir. I take it then that there were no -- you did not
14 see anyone with such uniforms marked "milicija"?
15 A. I didn't see anyone like that.
16 Q. So how big was this unit whom you were guiding, how many men were
17 in it?
18 A. I cannot tell you an exact figure, but as far as I could see, it
19 was a company, some 90 or 100 men. I am not versed in that, and I don't
20 know what the regular company should comprise, but more or less it was
21 the size of a company.
22 Q. So the unit you were guiding comprised of approximately 90 to a
23 hundred men who were either the police or the army; is that right?
24 A. Yes, more or less. However, on the first day there was the tank
25 and crew; and on the second day, a squad joined us of some seven, eight,
Page 23685
1 or ten men from the military.
2 Q. Were these men in any way differently dressed than the other army
3 officers who had joined you at the beginning of the operation?
4 A. No. They were all dressed the same; however, the people in the
5 crew were in the tank itself, so I couldn't see their uniforms.
6 Q. So when you were travelling with these units, how did you
7 communicate with them? How were your instructions passed on to you?
8 Were they handed to you verbally?
9 A. As I said a moment ago, there was the officer there, and I think
10 he was probably a platoon commander. I was with him and he would tell me
11 what we were supposed to do; and he would issue oral orders.
12 Q. Okay. So that was the only way, there were no radios involved;
13 you just received your instructions in person?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. So in terms of weapons carried by the men, did they have
16 machine-guns?
17 A. We had usual infantry weapons, automatic rifles and pistols that
18 each member had signed for, standard issue, that's all I saw.
19 Q. So you didn't see any machine-guns?
20 A. No, I didn't.
21 Q. And did you see any hand-grenades being carried by the men?
22 A. I didn't, I don't remember. Perhaps they were carrying some, but
23 I don't know.
24 Q. It's just that you don't remember?
25 A. Maybe I don't remember but in terms of something that I could
Page 23686
1 actually see them carrying hand-grenades on them, no, I didn't see that.
2 I think I would have remembered. I don't know what they had in their
3 pockets or in their flak jackets, but I certainly didn't see any.
4 Q. Was that because you were walking ahead from the unit or did you
5 travel with them?
6 A. I was with them and every now and then I fell behind a little
7 perhaps, but I certainly didn't walk ahead of them. That wasn't my
8 mission. There was a lot of firing in the area, and I would not have
9 relished the opportunity to be out at the front.
10 Q. So was this the only occasion you acted as a guide for these
11 units or any units for that matter?
12 A. Just that once.
13 Q. But even though it was only this one occasion, you're unable to
14 recall the weapons used by those you were escorting?
15 MR. LUKIC: I think that I have to object, that this is
16 misrepresentation. My witness explained exactly what kind of weapons
17 they had.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: What he said was what he saw, and you do have a
19 statement by the witness so far of his recollection of what he saw. Now,
20 are you challenging that?
21 MS. GOPALAN: Yes, I am.
22 JUDGE BONOMY: And the witness has said that those with him had
23 standard-issue automatic rifles and pistols. Now, what is it you're
24 actually putting to him?
25 MS. GOPALAN: Perhaps I could be more specific.
Page 23687
1 JUDGE BONOMY: Yeah, please, that would be better, I think.
2 MS. GOPALAN:
3 Q. Sir, is it correct that you do not remember that these men were
4 carrying hand-grenades?
5 A. I never said they were not carrying hand-grenades. I said I
6 didn't see them carrying hand-grenades, which doesn't necessarily mean
7 that they weren't. I simply didn't see them. They didn't wear it on
8 them. Perhaps they had it somewhere else. I couldn't see that.
9 Q. Okay. Thank you. Sir, you mentioned that -- I'm sorry, before I
10 move on to that, do you happen to know which VJ unit you were escorting
11 during this operation?
12 A. I don't know exactly which VJ unit this was or who it belonged
13 to. I didn't ask about that, I didn't talk to them, and I didn't know
14 where the military had come from or which unit it was specifically.
15 Q. So you mentioned that on the 28th of March, 1999, you saw some
16 civilians in the road in Vocnjak or close to Vocnjak. Could you tell us
17 how many civilians you saw?
18 A. Not the 28th, the 27th, the afternoon on the 27th. I don't think
19 I can be specific about the figure. They were heading down that road,
20 and I really couldn't say. I can't be very specific. I could give you
21 figures such as 100, a thousand perhaps, there could have been more,
22 there could have been less, I simply can't say.
23 Q. And was that the only occasion on which you encountered civilians
24 during your three-day tour?
25 A. Yes, that was the only occasion over those three days that we
Page 23688
1 encountered civilians.
2 Q. Sir, we've had evidence in this trial that thousands of civilians
3 were seen in the Izbica valley area around the 26th of March, a large
4 number of civilian refugees --
5 MS. GOPALAN: And this for the purposes of the record is in the
6 witness statement of Liri Loshi.
7 Q. Do you still maintain that apart from this one occasion you did
8 not see any other civilians moving in a large number during the
9 time-period you were in the Izbica valley?
10 A. Just a minute, please. I didn't say that we were in the Izbica
11 valley, nor were we, in fact. We were at an elevation between Kladernica
12 and Izbica, and there was a forest between us and the valley itself.
13 Therefore, we could not see if there were any civilians in the valley or
14 not. The first time we set eyes on any civilians was the 27th, the
15 afternoon of the 27th, as far as I can remember; they were walking down
16 that road, and that's the extent of it.
17 Q. So from where you were on the 27th, you only saw between a
18 hundred to a thousand civilians; am I right?
19 A. No, I think you misunderstood me. What I'm saying is I can't say
20 whether there was 100, a thousand, 5.000, perhaps. I simply couldn't
21 tell. There could have been 2.000, 3.000, not that I could tell. They
22 were walking down that road, but from where I was you could only see a
23 limited section of the road, maybe only 500, 600 metres of the road, but
24 you can't actually see any further than that, because there are bends in
25 that road, there are forests over there, that sort of thing. I simply
Page 23689
1 couldn't see. I don't know.
2 Q. So how many civilians did you actually see on that day?
3 A. Oh, well, I am telling you that I can't be specific, aren't I? I
4 couldn't tell, so -- I don't know. In my opinion, I'm no expert. I
5 can't tell you how many there were. There were some, they were walking
6 down that road.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: In the part of the road that you could see, were
8 there more civilians than there were police and army?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: So at least we know it was more than a hundred you
11 could see. Now, can you help us a bit more specifically?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, perhaps between -- more than
13 a thousand, roughly speaking.
14 JUDGE BONOMY: And that's simply in the area that you can see?
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That's right. There's an open view
16 from this hill, you can see the valley and the section is about 500 or
17 600 metres long, as far as I remember; and that was the portion that I
18 could see and I saw them walk down that road.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: Ms. Gopalan.
20 MS. GOPALAN: Thank you.
21 Q. Sir, we've had documentary evidence in this trial that
22 approximately around the 28th of March, 1999, several thousand civilian
23 refugees were expected in the Vocnjak village sector.
24 MS. GOPALAN: For the trial record this is Exhibit P2046, it is a
25 combat report dated the 28th of March, 1999, signed by the commander of
Page 23690
1 the 37th Motorised Brigade, Colonel Dikovic. I do not propose to show
2 this exhibit to the witness, but I will simply say that the colonel has
3 stated that: "In the forthcoming operations in the Vocnjak village
4 sector, we expect to encounter shelters with several thousand civilian
5 refugees."
6 Q. Sir, do you know why these civilian refugees were expected in the
7 Vocnjak sector?
8 A. No.
9 Q. You would agree with me, though, that the village of Izbica is
10 approximately 2 kilometres or less to the north of Vocnjak, yes or no?
11 A. I'm not sure about north. The distance is about 2 kilometres,
12 yes.
13 Q. And you were just outside the village of Izbica on the 28th of
14 March with the units you were guiding?
15 A. No, it wasn't the 28th. On the 28th we are still in the village
16 of Blocnje. They came there to get us in the morning, they came with
17 buses and they took us to Metrohijska Klina.
18 Q. Sorry, is the village of -- could you please repeat the village
19 you were at on the 28th, the name of the village, please.
20 A. Broc na.
21 Q. Were you in Vocnjak at all?
22 A. We passed through it on the way and then we reached Brocna. I
23 said that already, we took the road through Vocnjak and we reached
24 Brocna.
25 Q. After the 28th, where did you go?
Page 23691
1 A. After the 28th, after I had stayed behind in Klina, I went home
2 to Siga village, Pec municipality, because that was the day my shift
3 ended. In our department, we are facing a difficult situation and it was
4 difficult to travel. So we only had five-day shifts. I would spend five
5 days at the station and five days at home. I would, for example, spend
6 five days at home, after which I would go back to the Junik [as
7 interpreted] police station, and I would go about our regular, daily
8 tasks.
9 Q. I'd now like to move on to another area --
10 MR. LUKIC: I'm sorry, just for the transcript, it might cause
11 confusion, page 23, line 6, it's not Junik, it's Rudnik.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: The other one that may cause confusion for all I
13 know is Brocna. Is that meant to be, as far as you're aware, Mr. Lukic,
14 the same village as Brocna?
15 MR. LUKIC: No.
16 JUDGE BONOMY: These are two different villages.
17 MR. LUKIC: You go through Brocna to reach Brocna.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: The trouble is that the evidence is earlier
19 recorded as, "going through Vocnjak to read Brocna."
20 MR. LUKIC: Every time should be Brocna, I think.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: So if you look at page 22, line 16.
22 MR. LUKIC: Yes, I didn't want to jump every time.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I take it that that name is not the name of a
24 village in this area, B-l-o-c-n-j-a?
25 MR. LUKIC: Every time it's Brocna, it shouldn't be Brocna.
Page 23692
1 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
2 Ms. Gopalan.
3 MS. GOPALAN:
4 Q. Now I would like to go back to mid-1998. Are you aware of any
5 anti-terrorist operations conducted in the area of the 18 villages you
6 mentioned earlier, your area, between mid-July 1998 and October 1998?
7 A. At the time we were at the station. I'm just relying on my
8 recollection. The main road was blocked and it continued to be blocked
9 for up to two months. I know that there was a clearing operation,
10 operation that was launched to clear that road. As for any other
11 actions, I don't know if any other actions took place or not. My
12 position was not such -- was not such that I would have known of any
13 actions that were taking place.
14 Q. And was this action conducted by the MUP only or by the VJ and
15 the MUP jointly?
16 A. I don't know about that one action. The road is over 20
17 kilometres long, and we ourselves were at Rudnik. The road was being
18 cleared from Rudnik to Mitrovica. I didn't realize what units were
19 involved. I was, in a manner of speaking, just an ordinary police
20 officer. I was not privy to that sort of detail.
21 Q. Thank you very much, sir.
22 MS. GOPALAN: I have no further questions.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you, Ms. Gopalan.
24 Questioned by the Court:
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Pantic, how could you distinguish a police
Page 23693
1 officer -- a policeman, rather, from a soldier during the action between
2 the 26th and 28th of March?
3 A. Because of what their uniforms said. The police wore combat
4 jackets, that's what we used to call them, and it said "police." And on
5 the front side of their jackets they had a small pocket with a writing in
6 white letters that said "police."
7 JUDGE BONOMY: Were there more police than army in the action?
8 A. Yes, more police.
9 JUDGE BONOMY: Can you tell us roughly what proportion were
10 police?
11 A. Well, as I said before, there was a police company involved, that
12 was as far as I was able to see. As far as the military, I'm not sure
13 about how big that tank crew was. There might have been a squad there,
14 maybe seven, eight, up to ten soldiers.
15 JUDGE BONOMY: I have so far formed the impression that there
16 were more soldiers than simply the tank crew; is that wrong?
17 A. No, no. That's not wrong. As I said before, on the next day
18 there was a squad that joined us, a squad of the military, between seven
19 and ten men in addition to the tank crew.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: But I also had the impression that when you first
21 met up with the team that there were soldiers there in addition to the
22 tank crew; is that wrong?
23 A. Yes, that is wrong, I'm afraid. The only soldiers surrounding
24 the tank were the crew, and they later got into the tank. Actually, they
25 had begun to climb the tank already, but the commander of that crew was
Page 23694
1 standing at the top of the turret. But there were no other soldiers in
2 addition to those around the tank.
3 JUDGE BONOMY: Were you -- sorry, when you joined the team, was
4 the tank already there?
5 A. Yes, yes. The tank was exactly at this position from which we
6 then started out.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: So who commanded this team in the action?
8 A. I don't know.
9 JUDGE BONOMY: I find that difficult to accept. Who commanded
10 it?
11 A. All right. I know and I said that, that I was attached, and
12 there was a man from a brigade, I think he was the platoon commander, I
13 was with that man. I don't know who he was receiving instructions from.
14 It was above my head. I didn't know who was in command or who was
15 issuing orders.
16 JUDGE BONOMY: The platoon commander you refer to, was he a
17 policeman or a soldier?
18 A. He was a member of the police.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: Was this a police PJP unit or company?
20 A. Yes, yes, a member of the PJP from Belgrade.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: Which one was it, do you know the number of it?
22 A. No, no. I didn't see that. I don't think they actually had
23 their number displayed on their uniforms. None that I saw at least.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: Now, you earlier indicated that it -- the strength
25 of the police was about a company, but you talk about a platoon commander
Page 23695
1 being in charge. Could you clarify that for me?
2 A. The level was that of a platoon. It was from that level that I
3 was seconded or attached to this new level to be in charge, and there was
4 some platoon commander which in the roughest of terms -- well, what sort
5 of manpower could he be in charge of, about 30 men. But in that company
6 we had three such platoon commanders. There was only one that I was in
7 touch with because I was there to work with him, to help him out. So it
8 was he who told me where we should be headed, and he was issuing orders
9 to me as to where we were supposed to go to.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: Was he issuing orders to the other two platoons as
11 well?
12 A. No.
13 JUDGE BONOMY: So who was in command of this action?
14 A. Overall, as I said, I don't know. I know they were from
15 Belgrade. Those three men had their own superior officer whose name I do
16 not know. I don't know. I couldn't see them all the time. They had
17 some links, and they used radio links to communicate.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: Maybe I read too much into your earlier answer,
19 but I thought you told us that communication was by word of mouth.
20 A. By word of mouth, the link between me and him because that was
21 the question that was raised as far as I remember, how I communicated
22 with that, or rather, how he was issuing orders to me.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: When you were sent from your own office to act as
24 the guide, who were you instructed to make contact with when you got
25 there?
Page 23696
1 A. This was just outside the station, the police station, at Rudnik.
2 This man that I was with, he came to the station and we headed out
3 together pursuant to orders by my commander. We headed out some 50
4 metres, which is right outside the police station, and that's where we
5 began moving.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: And who was this man that you met outside the
7 police station?
8 A. This commander, platoon commander, that I was with later
9 throughout.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: So he told you where you -- the names of the
11 places you were to go to, but he didn't lead the other two platoons in
12 the right direction, somehow or other that just happened; is that the
13 position?
14 A. I was with him as a guide. I was attached to this unit from
15 Belgrade, the company, in that capacity. So we started out. They told
16 me what my job was. They said let's go to Kostrc, and I would tell them
17 let's take this path to get there. Who were they receiving orders from
18 in terms of where we should go, now that is something that I don't know.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: But as the result of you leading him in a
20 particular direction, did the others follow in the same direction?
21 A. Yes, yes, this is how we went. We moved forward practically
22 together.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: How did he communicate with the army?
24 A. I don't know.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Did the tank travel behind you or in front of you?
Page 23697
1 A. Depending on the situation and the road, the terrain, the first
2 day as we were going on a kind of road they went parallel with us; the
3 second and the third day he lagged a bit behind, more to the left or to
4 the right.
5 JUDGE BONOMY: Which brigade were the soldiers from?
6 A. I don't know. I don't know the brigade.
7 [Trial Chamber confers]
8 JUDGE BONOMY: Ms. Gopalan, does anything arise from that for
9 you?
10 MS. GOPALAN: No, Your Honour.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
12 Re-examination, Mr. Lukic?
13 MR. LUKIC: Only one question because of your questions, Your
14 Honour.
15 Re-examination by Mr. Lukic:
16 Q. [Interpretation] Just one question, Mr. Pantic. You were asked
17 by Judge Bonomy whether there were more army troops or policemen. When
18 you answered did you mean only your group or the entire action?
19 A. No, I don't know about the action as a whole. It's in the group
20 that I was in that there were more policemen.
21 Q. Thank you for coming here to today.
22 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] No further questions.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you, Mr. Lukic.
24 Mr. Pantic, that completes your evidence. Thank you for coming
25 here to give evidence. You may now leave the courtroom with the usher.
Page 23698
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honours.
2 [The witness withdrew]
3 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic, the next witness?
4 MR. LUKIC: Yes, Your Honour, our next witness is
5 Mr. Petar Damjanac.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
7 [Trial Chamber confers]
8 [The witness entered court]
9 JUDGE BONOMY: Good morning, Mr. Damjanac.
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good morning.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: Would you please make the solemn declaration to
12 speak the truth by reading aloud the document which the usher will show
13 you.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will
15 speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
16 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you. Now, I'm told you might find it more
17 comfortable to stand rather than sit. Which would you prefer?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, I would sit for the time
19 being, and if I need to stand up I'll ask your permission.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: That's exactly what to do, so please be seated.
21 You'll now be examined by Mr. Lukic.
22 Mr. Lukic.
23 MR. LUKIC: Thank you, Your Honour.
24 WITNESS: PETAR DAMJANAC
25 [Witness answered through interpreter]
Page 23699
1 Examination by Mr. Lukic:
2 Q. [Interpretation] Good morning, Mr. Damjanac.
3 A. My respects.
4 Q. I have some documentation here for you. We did not manage to put
5 it in order yesterday, but we'll still try to go through it. It's easier
6 than calling up documents on the screen sometimes. Can we begin?
7 A. Yes, yes.
8 Q. Could you please introduce yourself.
9 A. My name is Petar Damjanac, Savo is my father's name, mother's
10 name Javanka Petricic born in Novo Cikatovo village, Glogovac
11 municipality. I lived with my parents in 1966, or rather, 1969, when
12 they were forced to leave our native village. I continued my schooling
13 in the nearest town and did my university studies in Pristina. I found
14 employment in the Republic of Serbia in the secretariat of internal
15 affairs of Pristina. I started working as an inspector in criminal
16 investigations in SUP Pristina. I was one of the senior staff in the
17 crime police, and in 1991 in the notorious incidents when Albanians
18 staged a walk-out from the police force, I was sent to SUP [as
19 interpreted] in Glogovac, the department of internal affairs of Lipljan,
20 as a head of the operative personnel. I worked there on that position in
21 1990 and 1991, when they pulled me back into my original work position,
22 where I worked until end 1997 as chief of the crime police. When I was
23 sent to SUP [as interpreted] in Glogovac, my hometown where I worked to
24 the best of my ability until 1st May 1999 until the 16th of June I worked
25 in the crime police.
Page 23700
1 After the 16th of June, 1999, since our SUP was relocated to
2 Niska Banja, 7 or 8 kilometres outside Nis, for family reasons because my
3 family was living in Kragujevac at the time, from end June until the
4 beginning of year 2000, I worked in Kragujevac; and after that I
5 transferred to SUP Belgrade, section number 1, where I worked until
6 retirement in August last year. That was my career.
7 Q. Thank you, Mr. Damjanac. I believe it is time for the break now.
8 We will continue after the break.
9 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Damjanac, the system here is that we do have a
10 break around this time each day. We will take that break for 20 minutes;
11 while we have it, could you please leave the courtroom with the usher.
12 [The witness stands down]
13 JUDGE BONOMY: We shall resume at ten to 11.00.
14 --- Recess taken at 10.30 a.m.
15 --- On resuming at 10.50 a.m.
16 [The witness takes the stand]
17 JUDGE BONOMY: Please continue, Mr. Lukic.
18 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
19 Q. Mr. Damjanac, are you ready?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. You mentioned that your Albanian colleagues walked out. Just
22 before that it was recorded that you mentioned on page 31, line 21, SUP
23 Glogovac. Was there a SUP in Glogovac or an OUP?
24 A. It was an OUP, but it was territorially organized in Pristina as
25 SUPs in municipalities. So when I find -- found work, I found work in
Page 23701
1 the secretariat of Pristina which was under the jurisdiction of the
2 municipality of Pristina, the city of Pristina, and it was linked
3 horizontally and vertically with the MUP of Serbia through the provincial
4 SUP but it was at the level of the municipality. Later it changed and it
5 was called the security centre, former OUPs were called security centres.
6 It was just a name change, but organizationally it was OUP Glogovac,
7 linked to the SUP of Pristina or the security centre.
8 Q. So your Albanian colleagues walked out in 1990 and 1991,
9 abandoning their jobs in MUP. What was the reason, why did they no
10 longer work after that period?
11 A. I'm very familiar with the subject because I studied the
12 statistics at that time. From 1964 until the end of 1989 and 1990, on
13 the territory of Kosovo and Metohija in terms of ethnic representation in
14 the SUP, or rather, the MUP of the Republic of Serbia was 90 per cent of
15 Albanians or Siptars, as they were called until it changed in 1969, and
16 only 10 per cent conditionally speaking were non-Albanians, Serbs,
17 Montenegrins, Turks, Muslims, the Gorani, Croats, et cetera. In 1989
18 Rugova's party was established called DSK when the multi-party system was
19 introduced in Serbia. Already in 1989 a new platform took shape, geared
20 at creating Greater Albania but through the institutions of the system.
21 We have to bear in mind that this was soon followed by the amnesty of
22 political prisoners led by Adem Demaqi and hundreds of others Albanian
23 extremists who used the multi-party system to legalise their underground
24 political organizations. In 1990 Rugova's party, the DSK, Rugova, and
25 his associates an illegal Assembly in Kacanik, an illegal parliament
Page 23702
1 called the Kacanik parliament, that happened sometime in September 1990.
2 And that is when the constitution of the so-called Republic of Kosova was
3 adopted. They formed all the institutions envisaged by the constitution,
4 beginning with the government and all the ministries, the ministry of the
5 army, the police, education, and everything else. And a demand was made
6 at that time that all members of the ethnic Albanian minority working in
7 state institutions, in health care, the education system, socially owned
8 enterprises, and so on should abandon all the Serbian state agencies in
9 order to form a parallel system with parallel agencies. Let me just
10 mention that our colleagues, Siptars, I'll call them Siptars because
11 officially we always called them like that and they called themselves
12 Siptars, they demanded, although there was little media coverage of that,
13 that parallel police stations be set up. In other words, that within one
14 and the same system parallel structures would be formed. We, the Serbs,
15 would be on one side and they, Albanians, would have everything of their
16 own, their own barracks, their own everything.
17 It is also worth mentioning the discipline that prevailed among
18 this ethnic Albanian minority. In 1990 and 1991 as far as internal
19 affairs are concerned, they all obeyed the order of their illegal
20 leadership, their illegal parliament, of the already-proclaimed Republic
21 of Kosovo, and walked out of their jobs in the Ministry of the Interior
22 of the Republic of Serbia, the autonomous province of Kosovo. I say
23 Kosovo because Metohija was erased after the destructive demonstrations
24 in 1968, and it was always called Kosovo from the liberation onwards --
25 it was always called Kosovo and Metohija from the liberation. There was
Page 23703
1 a situation when the UN issued a document concerning health care where
2 they said that although the majority of Albanian medical employees left
3 their jobs and in 1998 the percentage they represented was 50.83 per
4 cent. Most of the doctors and nurses were Albanians and 90 per cent of
5 the patients were ethnic Albanians.
6 In the education system, which was another burning issue --
7 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Oren.
8 MR. OREN: I'm not quite sure if I see the importance or
9 relevance of this part of the statement.
10 MR. LUKIC: I just wanted to deal with the -- this.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: Well, it's been interrupted now, so your objective
12 has been achieved.
13 Mr. Lukic.
14 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. Mr. Damjanac, I know you spent a lot of time studying this
16 problem and you issued articles and so on and so forth, but we are
17 limited in terms of time here. Therefore, please focus on my questions
18 and try to provide brief answers to them. In relation to this topic, I
19 wanted to ask you if you know of any specific examples of the names of
20 people who left the MUP at the time?
21 A. Since, as I said, I was employed with the SUP in Pristina during
22 that time and given that we had a very fair work-mate relationship, since
23 we also associated out of office with our Siptar colleagues, we attended
24 parties and funerals together, our mutual relationship was very good.
25 Once that moment of separation arrived, it was very difficult for all of
Page 23704
1 us and I believe for many of the Albanians loyal to the state of Serbia.
2 I spoke to most of them, I asked them what it was all about, and they
3 said, You will never understand this. We simply have to do that.
4 Years passed by and I don't remember many names. Also, I don't
5 want to mention many names because I don't want them to get hurt by their
6 own ethnic groups since by this time they have moved on to other jobs.
7 But I will mention a specific case of my very good work-mate, a comrade
8 who attended Serbian parties, marriages, burials as well, this was
9 Fadil Abazi, he was the head of the so-called All People's Defence, it
10 was a formation within the SUP of Pristina. His wife was also employed
11 with the SUP of Pristina in the analytical department. When the people
12 had begun leaving, he tried to leave the SUP as quietly as possible as
13 well, and after that I met him in the street. I asked him, Fajo, since
14 that was his nickname, what was it that prompted you to join that group?
15 I knew him as a loyal citizen and his father was a policeman in Pec as
16 well. He said, Well, you cannot do anything against sheer force. That
17 was his explanation. Therefore, any further discussion was useless.
18 They were trying to be fair, but they were clearly trying to steer clear
19 of that topic. Perhaps I can expand a bit further.
20 Concerning their walk-out, it was also a difficult time for me
21 since I had a number of colleagues that I shared good and bad with. They
22 left and they simply abandoned me, so to say.
23 Q. Mr. Damjanac, if we continue this way we won't be able to cover
24 some important topics. We've been talking about this for ten minutes and
25 we've only come up with a single name.
Page 23705
1 A. I can mention the names of 90 per cent of the people I remember.
2 Practically all of them who had been employed left. I failed to answer
3 an important issue, which is a number of Albanians who remained, they
4 never left. Among those, there was a number of Albanians who were tasked
5 with staying to pass on information from within the state institutions on
6 behalf of the illegal government of Kosovo and Metohija. This was proven
7 at a later stage. Some of my colleagues were later identified as KLA
8 executioners. I believe that is necessary to mention. If you want me to
9 mention names, I will gladly do so. I can explain it graphically,
10 including the events that those so-called colleagues participated in.
11 They used to be diligent detectives --
12 JUDGE BONOMY: Just one moment. So you say that the KLA existed
13 in 1990?
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] If I may, Your Honour, I was born
15 in that very area, the central part of --
16 JUDGE BONOMY: It's a question that demands a yes or no answer.
17 Do you say that the KLA existed in 1990?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Even before that, but under a
19 different name. If I may, I can tell you when they officially came out
20 for the first time as the KLA because I was immediately involved in the
21 shedding light on the murder at the border crossing in Glogovac when the
22 current prime minister, Thaqi, since he was the right hand of Adem Demaqi
23 and a few other extremists, killed some of my colleagues who were driving
24 to work in a van. The very next year, 1994 --
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Well, that was 1993. Thank you.
Page 23706
1 Mr. Lukic.
2 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. We will go back to that if there will be any need to do so, but
4 can you tell us what the names of the people who stayed in the police
5 are?
6 A. For example, there were departments, for example, the crime
7 police or the uniformed police, and in those there were certain Siptars,
8 a certain number of Siptars. I cannot speculate as to any exact figures,
9 but I'd say some 10 per cent or more. They were in all departments at
10 all levels. None of them was moved or removed from their positions.
11 Many were even promoted.
12 Q. After --
13 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I just -- no, no, we'll come to it later.
14 Please continue, Mr. Lukic.
15 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
16 Q. Can you tell us of some examples after the Yugoslav forces had
17 withdrawn, what the fate of some of those people who stayed to work for
18 the police was?
19 A. What period of withdrawal do you mean?
20 Q. 1999, but briefly please.
21 A. In the area of Glogovac, and I will speak only of my policemen
22 although I could expand that to include the SUP of Pristina since I
23 worked there as well, however, in the OUP of Glogovac Xhafer Qorri,
24 assistant commander was killed. After several attempts which had failed
25 by the KLA to kill him and his family, he was final killed -- well, there
Page 23707
1 are documents, as far as I recall. It is the 11th of November and we can
2 go back to the documents --
3 JUDGE BONOMY: The 11th of November in which year?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] November -- the 11th of November,
5 1998, I'm still in 1998.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: That's not what the question's about. The
7 question you were asked is about the fate of policemen who stayed after
8 the forces withdrew in 1999. If Mr. Lukic wants to ask you about 1998,
9 he'll go back to that. He wants to know about the Albanian police
10 officers who stayed behind after June 1999 and what their fate was.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] After the withdrawal of the Serb
12 forces and the events during 1999, a number of Albanian policemen went
13 into hiding, mainly in Skopje, so as to escape the KLA revenge. A number
14 of them went into retirement. Ahmet Bruna, who was a police colonel, was
15 in hiding for a period of time and he retired, he also spent some time in
16 Serbia, in Belgrade, in some Scandinavian countries as well. I have
17 direct knowledge of that since we were also friends apart from being
18 colleagues. Hamza Hajra was a detective of mine in Glogovac. He was
19 hiding in Skopje for a while and then --
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Tell us about the ones that were killed or
21 kidnapped or anything of that nature for remaining behind.
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, I was about to before you
23 interrupted me, Your Honour. I wanted to tell you of Hamza Hajra. There
24 was an attempt on his life for three times, but finally he was killed in
25 2001 when he tried to go back to Glogovac since he was born there. He
Page 23708
1 was killed in a vehicle together with his wife and three children. They
2 were massacred in the bloodiest of ways. He was an Albanian who was
3 truly loyal, a good worker, and tried to go back to his place of birth.
4 He was killed with his entire family. He was simply destroyed. Killed
5 would be putting it too lightly. All those who stayed within the
6 service, they had to leave Kosovo and Metohija.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: Can you tell us just in brief terms how was he
8 killed?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] A group of KLA members opened fire
10 from several directions on the vehicle he was driving in with his entire
11 family. Only by pure chance did a single child survive. They were all
12 killed in the centre of Glogovac. There is abundant documentation in
13 existence and I believe international forces also verified that and
14 conducted an on-site investigation. As far as I --
15 JUDGE BONOMY: What others were killed?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Xhafer Qorri was killed, although
17 that was before the end of the war and they tried to kill his entire
18 family as well. Qerim Qshishku, assistant commander, managed to flee
19 Kosovo and Metohija, and I don't know in which country he is now --
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Were any others killed after June 1999 that you
21 can identify?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In Glogovac, where I was, two of
23 those who stayed were killed, the rest fled, trying to save their skins
24 and families. That is put in the briefest possible of terms.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: So who were these two?
Page 23709
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Xhafer Qorri was assistant
2 commander of the police station in Glogovac.
3 JUDGE BONOMY: And when was he killed?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In November 1998 --
5 JUDGE BONOMY: We're not talking about 1998. We're talking about
6 after June 1999. Do you understand that?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I do, I do.
8 JUDGE BONOMY: So how many more were killed after June 1999
9 because they stayed behind in Kosovo and were targets for revenge?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Hamza Hajra was killed in 2001 --
11 JUDGE BONOMY: We've had him, haven't we?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The rest did not return and there
13 were so few of them left they were not killed, their numbers were limited
14 in the service in that time.
15 JUDGE BONOMY: Just a second. So there is one example of a
16 policeman who remained being killed after May -- June 1999 that you can
17 identify. Can you now help me with a different question. Can you tell
18 me of - and if you need to go into private session we'll do
19 that - Albanian police officers who left Kosovo with the forces which
20 left in June 1999? Can you give me some names? And if you want to
21 protect their privacy we'll go into private session. Now, do you have
22 names of such people?
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Zenel Hoti --
24 JUDGE BONOMY: Just a second. Should we hear this from you in
25 private rather than in open court?
Page 23710
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I think it can be in public session
2 since this is a well-known fact. In the meantime he returned to Kosovo
3 and Metohija, although I don't know where exactly. As far as I know, he
4 does reside in Kosovo and Metohija. Zenel Hoti worked in Glogovac for a
5 while. He was a detective. Then in the SUP of Pristina until 1999, when
6 he withdrew with our units, I think he worked for the SUP in Belgrade --
7 JUDGE BONOMY: And do you say he now lives in Kosovo?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes, for two years now he's
9 been living there.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: Any who have left permanently as of May or June
11 1999?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Many left. A lot of time has
13 passed, and I cannot recall all of the names, but, for example, Tolaj, a
14 traffic policeman, first name Ismet, he retired from the SUP in Belgrade,
15 he was an Albanian. He wasn't the only one. Many of them retired in the
16 end after working in the SUPs of Serbia proper. I remember him, for
17 example.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: So he -- but they worked in Kosovo right up until
19 June 1999; is that the position?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: Then left?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, they withdrew together with us.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Okay. So that's one. Are there others?
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, as I say, I've forgotten most
25 of the names because there were too many to remember. In each of the
Page 23711
1 SUPs there was someone, one of the members of the Albanian ethnic
2 minority or the Gorani or whoever, Muslims, people who adhered to Islam,
3 the numbers were enormous. Another example that I can now remember was
4 Mujo Kujovic, who also retired from the Belgrade SUP. He happens to be a
5 Muslim. And --
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Is he an Albanian?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They're Muslims. Ismet Tolaj is an
8 Albanian --
9 JUDGE BONOMY: I'm asking you about Kosovo Albanians. Now,
10 you've given me one name. Can you give me any more?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I -- well, only those I personally
12 socialised with and those who were around me, those are the only people I
13 can remember, and I don't know their names. I used to meet them a lot,
14 but I really don't know their names.
15 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
16 Mr. Lukic.
17 JUDGE CHOWHAN: I just have a question for you. Now, you said
18 that people abandoned their jobs. You also said that some retired. Now,
19 when you talk of abandoning of the jobs, does it mean they just went away
20 and were absent from their job or did they resign? And about retirement,
21 you mean they retired in due course, which is reaching a certain age. So
22 what do you mean by this, can you kindly clarify?
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, yes. Yes, yes. I understand
24 you clearly. Some -- for example, if you look at where I worked
25 directly, a police officer who after the first clashes in Likosane was
Page 23712
1 directly involved and was a very good police officer, really, I can't for
2 the life of me remember his name, there might be some documents to that
3 effect, he never spoke to anyone, never got back to anyone, he just left
4 for Switzerland in order not to be subjected to any pressure by his own
5 people. Because he had family over there, his brothers who were working
6 there. Qerim Qshishku, as I say, assistant commander had been working as
7 inspector for a long time, assistant inspector, very capable. In 1999
8 when he had already received threats that something would be destroyed he
9 was very open with me that they would crush his family, destroy his
10 family. There was an attempt on his life, and he never got back to
11 anyone -- well, that was the usual. I know that they applied they never
12 spoke to anyone. He just left. For example, something that we call he
13 left and nobody knew where he went to, someone else who abandoned his
14 post Medo Agovic for example, another Muslim from Milica near Pec, one of
15 the police officers from our original team at the time his family was
16 still in Pec, they were in danger, and he said -- I cannot continue to
17 work here anymore --
18 JUDGE CHOWHAN: I'm sorry, I didn't mean -- I didn't ask for the
19 reasons why they did all that. I'm just saying what was the modus,
20 whether they resigned, whether they just left without leaving a leave
21 application, and about those who retired whether they retired because of
22 the age or having served for such long. That's the only question I've
23 asked.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes, yes, fine, that's fine,
25 that's fine. The gist is this, those who left, they didn't announce that
Page 23713
1 to anyone. We were extremely tolerant in that sense. We crossed the
2 threshold, the legal threshold, and were ready to take responsibility for
3 that all in the belief that they would soon return when we heard that
4 they had left in order to go abroad and that they were not to return, and
5 then as they say it was the final --
6 JUDGE CHOWHAN: That's okay. I have understood. What about
7 those --
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I apologise. Let me just say
9 something else about your question. In the case of retirement, this was
10 perfectly legal once they had reached a legal age.
11 JUDGE CHOWHAN: Thank you.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] -- to be retired and there is not a
13 single case that I am aware of. You see what I am saying that someone
14 was retired before they had reached their legal age limit or in any other
15 way.
16 JUDGE CHOWHAN: Thank you.
17 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic.
18 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. Mr. Damjanac, I really appreciate your knowledge, the sheer depth
20 and breadth of your knowledge, but let me be very graphic about where we
21 stand right now. I've asked you a hundred questions and you've answered
22 two. We've used up a lot of time. If we go on like this, you'll end up
23 answer maybe a grand total of four of my questions. I will simply have
24 to put an end to this exercise. Therefore, could you please focus,
25 answer my questions, we cannot go on like this, it is entirely
Page 23714
1 impossible, because the Rules of this court do not allow for anything
2 like that. Please focus, answer my questions. Can we press on, please?
3 A. Yes, certainly.
4 Q. You say you were born in Glogovac. Which area is that?
5 A. The Drenica area, and again I have to as they --
6 Q. Just please, as briefly as you can.
7 A. The Drenica area, yeah, sure as briefly as I can. The documents
8 about the Drenica area go back to before the Turks invaded the area of
9 Kosovo and Metohija. Other than that, the well-known Emperor
10 Vuk Brankovic ruled the area, he was born in Trstenik, which is a mere 5
11 metres --
12 JUDGE BONOMY: I have to intervene at this stage. The rules here
13 are quite clear. I don't know what your experience is of courts
14 elsewhere, perhaps in your own home country, but in this court you answer
15 the questions that you are asked. Now, you were asked a very simple
16 question, which area is Glogovac in and you answered it in three words:
17 The Drenica area.
18 Mr. Lukic will now ask you what he wants to ask you next.
19 Mr. Lukic.
20 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Your Honour.
21 Q. Briefly, please, three or four sentences if you can about the
22 more recent history, the problems in this area, they date back to when
23 exactly and who was it who fought who else?
24 A. The Drenica area after the Second World War Srez which is the
25 centre of Drenica's administration after World War II was Srbica and
Page 23715
1 Glogovac. Comprising today's Srbica area and Glogovac area. So this is
2 the main stronghold in the Drenica area. Between World War II and the
3 1990s in both Glogovac and Srbica, as they say, at the top positions in
4 the administrative sense in Srez and in the municipalities there were
5 only Albanians and their deputies were Serbs. Likewise, I can tell you
6 briefly, if you like, about that explains something more about that. You
7 can't view this in isolation. I mean, Glogovac municipality is isolated
8 from Srbica municipality, it's all one thing, that's how the people see
9 it, both Serbs and Albanians alike.
10 Here I'll name you an example, the typical example. After World
11 War II the first president was a man named Bajram Trnavac, who was a
12 president of the Srez, S-r-e-z.
13 Q. Mr. Damjanac, we simply cannot go on like this, we really cannot.
14 Why was the command staff at the Glogovac OUP replaced? If you keep on
15 being as expansive as you've so far been, we simply will not be able to
16 go on.
17 A. There had been frequent terror attacks on citizens and state
18 bodies in Glogovac. As early as in 1970s and the command staff of the
19 Glogovac OUP was physically and mentally eradicated, it was an
20 intolerable situation and no one could put up with it. One thing we must
21 point out is that the municipality of Glogovac itself contains 37
22 villages over 50.000 inhabitants, ethnically almost entirely Albanian
23 with the example of 27 Serbs who were actually recorded in Glogovac
24 municipality. After 1995 there was the terrorist action taken by the
25 Croat army known as Operation Oluja, Operation Storm, there were new
Page 23716
1 refugees now, a total of 45 Serb families who fled the area where the
2 clashes were taking place, and they take refuge now in workers' huts --
3 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic, you'll draw my attention to if you need
4 this evidence and you'll be allowed to ask it if you've judged it as
5 necessary, but your question was: Why was the command staff at the
6 Glogovac OUP replaced? Now can we have a time-scale for that, what's the
7 date, and that might then concentrate the witness's minded.
8 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. What about 1997, why did you come to the Glogovac OUP?
10 A. I'll try to be even more specific than that. In March 1997
11 within the compound of the Glogovac police station there had been an
12 attempt on the commander's life and the commander was Svetozar
13 Barjaktarvic there had been frequent attacks against the police station
14 or the Glogovac OUP, if you like. As they say, the chief of the OUP, the
15 commander, his assistants, and all the police officers had been so
16 exhausted by this time that they started applying in writing and in other
17 ways for a replacement.
18 Q. All right. They're asking to be replaced. So who's coming in?
19 A. As far as the commanding staff was concerned, there was an
20 experienced commander who came, rather senior, Radovan Lakusic, who had
21 been to all the police stations everywhere and had been a commander in a
22 number of different places in Pristina, and then after him -- well, since
23 I was born a mere kilometre from the Glogovac police station or the OUP,
24 the commanding staff, right, that's what I'm talking about of the
25 Pristina SUP, took this decision to dispatch me to the area in the belief
Page 23717
1 that I would be able to hold out under those circumstances, and I'm
2 talking about the sort of circumstances that prevailed at the time.
3 Q. Were there any attacks against Albanians back in 1997, briefly,
4 please?
5 A. Yes, quite many.
6 Q. Name a few persons, if you can, briefly tell us about those
7 attacks.
8 A. As for specific names, well, it must be recorded somewhere, there
9 must be documents to that effect. There must be diaries that were kept
10 about attacks, about cases of looting, vehicles being stolen, weapons
11 being stolen. There were certain situations which the owner of the
12 inhabitants of Glogovac was affronted, but there were many situations and
13 I don't think I could name anyone specifically without documents to show
14 for it. I think I might go wrong and name the wrong people; that's what
15 I'm afraid of.
16 Q. All right.
17 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Can we please have 6D1114.
18 Q. You have the documents in your binder, so please try to find it,
19 and we need page 1 of that document. There is no translation for this
20 document, but we only want the name of that person, and I want to know if
21 you remember this specific attack.
22 A. Yes -- I'm sorry. It was part of the KLA's strategy to first
23 liquidate all ethnic Albanians who were working for the state because
24 they viewed these people as associates or collaborators of the service.
25 So the name given here is Muja Sejdi, born in 1946, he was a forest
Page 23718
1 keeper working for Serbia's forests, public company, Glogovac department,
2 I remember this incident with particular clarity. He was killed on the
3 12th of January in the morning on a village road near his house in
4 Gradica village, Glogovac municipality.
5 Q. All right. Let's move on to paragraph number 4. Who is that
6 paragraph about?
7 A. Let me see if I can recall that paragraph 4.
8 Q. No, paragraph 4 right there, you see what I'm trying to say?
9 A. Oh, fine, I understand now. Mustafa Kurtaj, let me mention first
10 that he -- about Sejdi, he had 12 children, Mustafa Kurtaj was born in
11 1971, he worked for Serbia's PTT Glogovac branch office, I knew him
12 personally, he was a very nice lad, two children, again, he was killed in
13 his own village, Gornje Obrinje, at a bus stop there. It happened just
14 like that. A number of KLA people approached him in full view of the
15 number of people who took cover and they simply sprayed him with bullets.
16 Q. Thank you very much.
17 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Can we now have 6D1108, please.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: Just before you move, were you familiar with
19 Gornje Obrinje?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] For the most part I was familiar
21 with all the villages in Glogovac municipality. I do have to point out
22 this, not only was I a native of the area, I was an inspector fighting
23 white-collar crime and before I was ever appointed head I spent most of
24 my time working in that area. Therefore, I was personally acquainted
25 with quite many families and families and loyal citizens and so on and
Page 23719
1 some enemies too, needless to say.
2 JUDGE BONOMY: Sorry, Mr. Lukic, please continue.
3 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
4 Q. You see the document, don't you? Do you have it?
5 A. Yes, yes.
6 Q. Look at photographs 4, 5, and 6.
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. What attack on the police is this about, in which attack were
9 these KLA members -- were these people involved?
10 A. Yes, I remember clearly because it was right after this tragic
11 incident that I arrived at the scene, and I was actually there and I
12 remained in the area for two days and two nights. That day, or rather,
13 the 10th of January -- excuse me, I'm sorry, the 20th of February, 1998,
14 the morning of the 20th of February, if I can be more specific than that
15 I would like to describe exactly what happened. There was a police
16 patrol that was patrolling the area. There was a roster and there was a
17 court summons to be served in Likosane. These men were ambushed and they
18 called for help. This was a Saturday or a Sunday -- I think Saturday
19 much rather, and there was a Lada Niva vehicle, police vehicle, that was
20 near Vasiljevo at the time. They were on their way to help their
21 colleagues out and they were ambushed near the Djelji neighbourhood.
22 Someone approached them from a distance of 3 metres and riddled them with
23 bullets, that simple. Inside the vehicle itself, the Lada Niva, they
24 were all killed within the minute as they say. Miroslav Vujkovic, this
25 is photograph number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5. Miroslav Vujkovic, from Pancevo
Page 23720
1 this was a unit that had been seconded from Pancevo Miroslav Vujkovic --
2 Q. Just a minute, just a minute. Photograph number 5, please, just
3 for the sake of the screen we need page 4.
4 A. All right, I'm looking at the document I have in my binder, in my
5 binder, so I'm talking about Miroslav Vujkovic from Pancevo --
6 JUDGE BONOMY: [Previous translation continues] ... this was an
7 ambush and that there were a number killed.
8 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. Let us look at page 5, paragraph 1, please.
10 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Could you turn the next page, up at
11 the top, who is it?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Goran Radojcic. Since I took --
13 led them away from the field, that's when the open attack of the
14 terrorists began, an undisguised attack against everything, the police,
15 the army, whatever has -- bears the insignia of Serbia. Goran Radojcic
16 was killed from Pancevo, aged 20, in Gniva and Miroslav Vujkovic, only
17 thanks to God. Let us look Pavle Damjanovic and Matajic [phoen] were
18 killed at the same time and another two colleagues I can't find them here
19 without your assistance.
20 Q. We'll look later at other documents.
21 A. But let me just mention the two of them. Only thanks to God they
22 remained alive. Pavle Damjanovic was wounded and fell into the canal and
23 Matajic was left for dead by the Siptars. They even searched him, left
24 him for dead, took away his rifle, and left. I received the report by
25 radio, it was on a weekend. I came and with a group of policemen we came
Page 23721
1 as an emergency first aid. I pulled out these young boys from Gniva, and
2 while we were organizing themselves the terrorists led by Adem Jashari
3 opened fire from all directions and we had to call in reinforcement in
4 the form of special units, which arrived within a couple of hours by
5 nightfall in any case. They came to Likosane and in the skirmish with
6 terrorist gangs, two members of the special units were killed, Milan
7 Jovanovic, I'm reading from the binder, fourth picture down the page, and
8 Radoica Ivanovic, the sixth picture in 1108. I cannot see it on the
9 screen now.
10 Q. 6D13 -- that is 6D1038, page 9. You mentioned two men killed and
11 four wounded. We have a reference in P437. We will not open that one.
12 6D1114, please, fourth page, first paragraph.
13 Do you know this person, do you know the incident?
14 A. Before he died --
15 Q. What's his name?
16 A. Xhemal Krasniqi born in 1941 in Klina killed in Grobor [phoen]
17 village.
18 Q. Just one correction, we should be looking at the penultimate
19 paragraph, not first?
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Let us see the paragraph, further down the page.
21 MR. LUKIC: We need the first page, second-last paragraph,
22 please, of this document. Yes, that's it.
23 Q. [Interpretation] Continue, please, Mr. Damjanac. Continue
24 please.
25 A. Since I was called as part of that police patrol, I was there, I
Page 23722
1 was one of the first to arrive. It was just the beginning of these
2 terrorist attacks. I was not very young even then, but I had never seen
3 a body that badly butchered --
4 JUDGE BONOMY: Which year is this?
5 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
6 Q. Tell us the year and date.
7 A. It was the beginning of 1998, January 1998.
8 Q. The first --
9 JUDGE BONOMY: Not April?
10 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. When was Xhemal Krasniqi killed?
12 A. I can't see the date of the murder, but it's --
13 Q. It's in line 2, that's when he was found.
14 A. I can't see it -- oh, yes, sorry, 27th April. I'm sorry, I can't
15 see very well. My glasses are not very good. I'm sorry, 27th April,
16 around 1100 hours.
17 Q. And how long had the body lain there?
18 A. For several days because it was an area populated solely by
19 Albanians between Trstenik and Grobar. A village road, the body was
20 thrown in a ditch, his body was pierced, he was -- his intestines were
21 out and being dragged by birds all over the road. It was a harrowing
22 sight.
23 Q. 6D1113. Ivan Bulatovic, was he an employee under you?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. What do you know about his killing?
Page 23723
1 A. Ivan Bulatovic was a police officer and his wife worked in the
2 same department of internal affairs as a hygiene medical officer. They
3 had three little children and their permanent residence was in Glogovac
4 itself. He had a daughter from his first marriage aged 17 --
5 Q. Let us concentrate on the way he died.
6 A. Well, I had to tell the reason why he was kidnapped. He had to
7 go to Pec because he wanted to attend the funeral of his elder daughter.
8 I remember that case very well because I was shaken, both as a
9 professional and a human being. You can see from this that he had three
10 children and his elder daughter was being buried on the territory of Pec.
11 He told me that he was going to Pec, and I warned him that terrorists
12 were holding the road from Pec to Pristina. It was very risky. He told
13 me that he was going to travel by train and there had been no incidents
14 on the railroad until then. To cut a long story short, he set out with
15 his wife and the smaller children.
16 In Glogovac itself for security reasons the security detail was
17 not Serb, it was illegal Albanian security. They ordered him out of the
18 coupe, they stripped him as they were nearing the first stop in Banjica,
19 his wife, children, and the other passengers watched him being beaten by
20 rifle-butts, and if you want I will later explain how this came about.
21 They brought him to Likovac to that prison, where they beat him and did
22 all sorts of vicious things to him and kept him in a kennel. Everybody
23 knows what a kennel is. He was chained like a dog there and they forced
24 him whenever passed by to bark, and he had to do that all the time until
25 the moment when together with all the other detainees who had been
Page 23724
1 kidnapped he was liquidated, and he is still on record as a missing
2 person.
3 Q. What about Tomislav Fatic, was he your employee --
4 JUDGE BONOMY: Before you move, who is your source of your
5 information about the mistreatment of Bulatovic at Likovac?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I will explain.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: Just tell me who it is, that's all.
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] If you allow me, the same people
9 who were detained there. Ruzica Dobric is one of the women who was held
10 there from Djerdjevik [phoen] village. Shall I tell you the whole story?
11 JUDGE BONOMY: I just want to be clear, you said all the other
12 detainees were liquidated, but it appears that that's not correct. I'm
13 just trying to establish the facts. We deal in facts here, and we're
14 trying to be as precise as possible. Now, you're saying that survivors
15 of Lipovac are the source of your information; is that correct?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Only very old women from the
17 village. One single household among thousands of Siptars, they were very
18 old women and Albanian neighbours saved them because they were very nice
19 ladies. They gave a solemn oath called Besa in Albanian tradition that
20 they would save them and that's how they got out alive.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: Yeah. Thank you.
22 Mr. Lukic.
23 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation].
24 Q. I asked you about Tomislav Fatic, was he your employee and what
25 was his fate?
Page 23725
1 A. What page?
2 Q. We don't have him here.
3 A. Tomislav Fatic was another one of my employees. He was
4 liquidated too in May, it's somewhere in the documents the exact date, I
5 can't see it here, I don't want to guess, but it was a Sunday.
6 Q. May, which year?
7 A. May 1998, sorry. It was May 1998, it was a Sunday as I said, and
8 I got a phone call from the station about the terrorist attack against
9 the deputy commander Nebojsa Trajkovic. They told me that assistance was
10 on the way, but in the meantime Tomislav Fatic had succumbed --
11 Q. What happened after that, was a building, installation, attacked?
12 A. They shelled and they tried to attack the police station as well,
13 and when the police assistance detail arrived, they pulled out towards
14 Vasiljevo. Vasiljevo is up the hills from the site of the attack where
15 the Siptar terrorist forces had a stronghold.
16 Q. 6D614, page 45, please. 6D614. It's a long one. We need page
17 45, numbers 25 and 26. And I will question you about this. Did you ever
18 find bodies you were unable to identify?
19 A. Yes, in this particular case. It was quite obvious that the
20 terrorist gangs were killing people not only from Glogovac but also those
21 kidnapped and brought to that area from other localities. They killed
22 them on public roads and crossroads to intimidate the other residents,
23 and they inflicted the most horrific death they could.
24 Q. Which date was it?
25 A. 30th September 1998 in Glogovac village where the body was found,
Page 23726
1 and then it was sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Pristina
2 for a post mortem. The identity was not established.
3 Q. Same document, page 626. We need item 265.
4 A. I can't find it.
5 Q. 6D614, page 626, we need item 265. Do you remember this attack?
6 A. I'm sorry, I didn't find it.
7 Q. It's on the screen now. Try to read it from the screen, item
8 265.
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. What is the time-frame, what is the incident?
11 A. It's the 17th October 1998. I have to give you a longer
12 explanation. It's the period after the liberation of Malisevo from the
13 terrorists who had held it since spring that year. In that period a
14 point was set up near Orlate staffed by a reserve policeman because it
15 was a large area, and you couldn't cover it just with active-duty police.
16 There were not enough policemen. So the men there were all reserve
17 policemen who had not been properly trained, not qualified for this kind
18 of defence.
19 Q. Did there occur an attack, what happened?
20 A. The same evening a group of terrorists attacked them, barged into
21 the room, and simply sprayed them with bullets. Three young men survived
22 and the others were killed. There was an on-site investigation by the
23 investigative judge of the district court in Pristina, it was all
24 documented, but that's not the only case of this kind.
25 Q. Thank you. We move on. 6D586 in the English 13 -- page 13, item
Page 23727
1 17; in the B/C/S page 17, item 17. Can you tell us during what period of
2 time this was and what this was about?
3 A. Please repeat your question.
4 Q. You have the document before you?
5 A. Very well. What is the number?
6 Q. We need page 17 in the B/C/S and the 13th page in the English
7 since I saw -- I found this in English as well. Have a look at item 17.
8 A. Very well.
9 Q. What time-period is this?
10 A. On the 11th of November, 1998, something that happened seldom
11 until that time in Kosovo and Metohija took place. There was an attack
12 with all sorts of infantry weapons on the police station in Glogovac.
13 They also attacked the restaurant for the employees and their quarters.
14 I'll try to be specific. The attack took place in the afternoon as an
15 act of revenge on the part of the Siptar terrorists concerning something
16 that took place in the morning on the 11th. There was an attack along
17 the road between Pristina and Pec at Negrovac right across from the house
18 of Jakup Krasniqi, who was then the spokesperson of the KLA and commander
19 of the Malisevo region of the KLA. During the attack an active terrorist
20 well-known among the Siptars was killed. He came there as a trained
21 terrorist from Switzerland. His name is in the documents. His
22 identification was ascertained, although unfortunately I cannot recall
23 his name right now. In any case it can be found out easily. In the
24 afternoon we returned from the field around 3.00. People unpacked and
25 went to have lunch. Between 30 and 50 terrorists opened fire from all
Page 23728
1 directions from hand-held launchers, Zoljas, Osas, the Chinese automatic
2 rifles and machine-guns, several hand-grenades were thrown, on which
3 occasion Slavko Amidzic as well as Srdjan Stefanovic were killed. Light
4 injuries were sustained by the employees of the PTT office in Glogovac.
5 Q. What other buildings were attacked apart from the OUP building in
6 Glogovac?
7 A. Nearby there was the post office and the train station. It was
8 all riddled with bullets. In the PTT office the people who were securing
9 the building were wounded, the Krstic brothers, and Xhafer Qorri's house
10 was sprayed with bullets. Their intent was to kill his family. We
11 carried out some checks and confirmed that the terrorist group came from
12 Vasiljevo village.
13 Q. What is the ethnic background of Xhafer Qorri?
14 A. I did not specify the background of each and every policeman
15 since I believe Their Honours can recognise by names who is who by now.
16 He's been Albanian, he was killed subsequently, and the other two names I
17 mentioned were Serbs, reserve policemen with the police station in
18 Glogovac. They were sent there. Slavko Amidzic is a local of Glogovac
19 and his mother --
20 Q. Let's go to 6D1038 page 12, please. A few days after this attack
21 what is the time and who was attacked?
22 A. If I may have a moment, please.
23 Q. Page 12, you have pages 1 and 12 in your binder. It's on the
24 screen. We need the first item of the page; however, the page is wrong.
25 This is page 11. We need page 12, the first paragraph.
Page 23729
1 Can you see it?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Do you know of this incident and when did it occur?
4 A. The 17th of November, 1998, around 11.20 in the village of
5 Trstenik, Glogovac municipality, Dejan Krstic was wounded. We were
6 trying to send patrols to that road, the so-called reinforced patrols.
7 Since that was a particularly sensitive area around Trstenik and the
8 entire route between Glogovac and Srbica.
9 Q. Is this during the time when the KVM was there?
10 A. Yes, unfortunately. After this incident I have to say a
11 representative of the verification mission came, I think he was a German,
12 perhaps his first name may have been Gerhard, and he told me that from
13 now on we should particularly stay away from that road because in
14 Ljustaku [phoen] the Drenica area commander issued a threat. He said
15 that irrespective of any circumstances any police force's movement along
16 that road will be considered a hostile act and they will act to destroy
17 the personnel.
18 Q. We'll get to that later in documents.
19 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Could we please have 6D614, page 640,
20 item 331.
21 Q. Have you found it?
22 A. You mean 6D614?
23 Q. Yes, page 640, item 331, it's on the screen, perhaps it's easier
24 for you to see there. Item 331. What time-period and please explain.
25 A. It was the 11th of December, 1998. An attack was carried out on
Page 23730
1 the OSCE building in front of the railroad crossing in Glogovac by
2 terrorist forces. Xhafer Qorri, assistant commander of the police
3 station in Glogovac was killed alongside two members who were Albanians
4 just like Xhafer Qorri. I should mention that --
5 JUDGE BONOMY: Is that the same person as you've mentioned
6 earlier?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Xhafer Qorri, yes --
8 JUDGE BONOMY: The spelling is -- perhaps it's been altered
9 earlier but in case there's a difference we should note it's the same
10 person.
11 Please continue.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Xhafer Qorri was an active-duty
13 policeman, a diligent worker, he was killed on that occasion on the
14 premises of the OSCE [as interpreted] and that was their central location
15 for the entire Glogovac municipality. It was also important for
16 electricity supply. Together --
17 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter's correction: The witness
18 mentioned EPS which is not the OSCE, it is the electrical utility company
19 of Serbia, the acronyms are similar.
20 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation].
21 Q. We see in the transcript the OSCE. Can you tell us what EPS is?
22 A. As I said, it is a public company, a state-owned company, the
23 expansion is the electrical utility company of Serbia, their outpost in
24 Glogovac.
25 Q. In addition to the policeman who else was killed --
Page 23731
1 JUDGE BONOMY: Well, before you do, should we forgot about the
2 OSCE?
3 MR. LUKIC: Yes, Your Honour.
4 JUDGE BONOMY: That's simply a mistake.
5 MR. LUKIC: Yes.
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Okay, thank you.
7 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. Apart from the policeman, who else was killed?
9 A. The electricians of the EPS, two Albanians. To clarify, they
10 were loyal citizens of the state of Serbia, good employees, and thanks to
11 them at the OUP in Glogovac we had electricity. They were also
12 maintaining our equipment, radio devices, our heating, and they were also
13 providing the same services to the citizens of Glogovac. Terrorists
14 didn't like that, since they wanted all supply to be cut off in order to
15 make life and work in Glogovac municipalities as difficult as possible.
16 Q. Thank you. Let us please go to 6D202, page 3, paragraph 3 or
17 item 3, if you will.
18 What time-period is this about and are you familiar with this?
19 You have it on the screen as well, the third paragraph.
20 A. You can't see a date, although it was the fall of 1998. We don't
21 have an exact date when Zvonko Bojanic was killed, if I'm reading this
22 correctly. Yes.
23 Q. Before you continue could we please have 6D586 instead, the
24 English version page 13, item 18; in the B/C/S it is page 17, item 18.
25 It is 6D586. We should have some dates there.
Page 23732
1 A. Yes, very well. This is more detailed. If I may --
2 Q. Go ahead.
3 A. I knew the late Zvonko Bojanic and I am familiar with this
4 incident. I'll try to be as brief as possible. He was killed on the
5 18th of December, 1998, in a place called Careva Cesma, this is in
6 Vasiljevo as well as Gornja Koretica. In Vasiljevo a terrorist group was
7 stationed. They simply kidnapped Zvonko Bojanic. They took him from his
8 house in Velika Slatina where he had resided. He also used to work there
9 transporting raw materials. He was the only Serb who remained in the
10 area of Slatina. He used to be the vice-president of Kosovo Polje
11 municipality.
12 Q. Item 19 of the same document, when was that and do you remember
13 the incident?
14 A. Yes, unfortunately I do. I am very familiar with it since I was
15 the first to come across the corpse. This person was later identified as
16 Branislav Skulic from Belgrade rather than Sekulic as it reads here. It
17 happened in the morning on the 13th of January, 1999, when I left
18 Pristina for Glogovac in a vehicle. I came across a body on the road
19 close to Carevo Cesma and Gornja Koretica, which is Vasiljevo. He was
20 killed, thrown on to the Tarmac, and then a truck simply went over his
21 head. The only thing that was left was a mash. The brains were
22 scattered all over. While I was standing there with my vehicle, I tried
23 to ask for assistance by radio communication. I asked for an on-site
24 team -- an investigation team to be assembled. In the meantime an ICRC
25 jeep came followed by a jeep of the KVM. I asked them -- I begged them
Page 23733
1 to stop to see what sort of things were being done. They simply ignored
2 me. They didn't want to slow down, but rather simply circumvented me.
3 They went off the road to go around me and moved ahead to Pristina. What
4 was the price of a Serbian life in Kosovo I wonder?
5 Q. By way of reference I wanted to say that the same he was not is
6 mentioned in 6D614, page 48, item 43.
7 Mr. Damjanac, it is time for a break.
8 JUDGE BONOMY: Again, Mr. Damjanac, we need to break at this
9 stage for half an hour. Could you please leave the courtroom with the
10 usher.
11 [The witness stands down]
12 JUDGE BONOMY: And we shall resume at ten minutes to 1.00.
13 --- Recess taken at 12.20 p.m.
14 --- On resuming at 12.50 p.m.
15 [The witness takes the stand]
16 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic.
17 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
18 Q. Can we proceed, sir?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. 6D614, page 51, please, or if you find that too difficult it is
21 about to show up on our screens. We need item 58, page 51, item 58.
22 Again, when was this, what's it about, do you remember this?
23 A. Can you just repeat the reference, please?
24 Q. Page 51 in 6D614. It's on our screens, item 58, please.
25 MR. LUKIC: In English it's page 30, it should be page 51.
Page 23734
1 Q. [Interpretation] You can go ahead with your answer, sir.
2 A. So the date is the 20th of January, 1999. This was on the
3 Pristina-Pec main road near the village of Orlate, Glogovac municipality.
4 A body was discovered belonging to Elshani Ahmet born in 1965 in the
5 village of Banjica Glogovac municipality.
6 Q. Ethnicity?
7 A. Albanian from a large family, Elshani a brotherhood as they're
8 referred to. He was one of the police commanders in Kosovo too, Elshani,
9 we know that don't we? He was killed. They were all natives of Banjica
10 just outside he was killed. His body was ditched somewhere along the
11 Pristina-Pec main road at a turn-off towards the village of Orlate. If
12 you look at the document you can see that representatives of the OSCE
13 mission were there. The body was taken to the forensic institute in
14 Pristina for a post mortem.
15 Q. All right. 6D110, please, page 27. Third photograph or third
16 image.
17 A. Indeed. This is Milorad Mitic, late Milorad Mitic, one of my
18 police officers. He was killed on the 27th of February in Krivovo. He
19 was killed and we know this by the terror group from Vasiljevo led by
20 Betush Rexhepi. If I may, Betush Rexhepi had arrived from Switzerland as
21 a fully trained terrorist. He travelled through Albania and arrived in
22 Kosovo with another 30 fully trained terrorists. They made up an
23 independent group that was part of one of the battalions from
24 Fehmi Lladrovci's brigade and they were involved in liquidating quite a
25 number of Serbs on the ground.
Page 23735
1 JUDGE BONOMY: The number, Mr. Lukic, is not correct.
2 MR. LUKIC: It's 6D1110.
3 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
4 MR. LUKIC: That's correct. We have the page now.
5 Q. [Interpretation] Finish, please. Sir, Mr. Damjanac, aside from
6 Milorad Mitic who was killed were any other police officers seriously
7 injured?
8 A. Yes, the driver, Ljubomir Denic. They were on their way to get
9 some supplies, they were on their way to Pristina. It was along that
10 road that Rexhep set up an ambush. There is a cliff there. They were in
11 a vehicle that was secured on both sides; however, the roof was not
12 bullet proof and the terrorists were aware of that. It was the roof of
13 that vehicle that they targeted. They fired at the roof and killed
14 Milorad Mitic while Ljubisa Denic was seriously wounded or put out of
15 action as they say.
16 Q. All right. The reference for the person who was killed and the
17 person who was wounded, it's P1106, we'll not be opening the document
18 now.
19 Can we now please go to 6D614 and the page is 634. You can wait
20 for it to turn up on the screen if you have trouble finding the document.
21 We need item 303. Meanwhile let me ask you this: So far we've mostly
22 been discussing incidents in which people were killed. Were there also
23 terrorist attacks that took place leaving wounded but not killing anyone?
24 And if you look at this item which attack was this that is described
25 here?
Page 23736
1 A. If we're only talking about this item, again this is something
2 about Xhafer Qorri, is that the one you're referring to, 303, right?
3 Q. Yes, that's right.
4 A. This was not the only such incident. This was an attempt, as I
5 said before there was several attempts on Xhafer Qorri's life because he
6 continued to work as an officer of the Glogovac OUP. However, all the
7 attempts failed and the same applies to this one. I'm looking at it. I
8 need to remind myself, since as I said there was several attempts. They
9 shelled his home in which he resided with his family. I have to point
10 out that Xhafer Qorri, who was an ethnic Albanian, was married to a Serb
11 lady, a native of Prijepolje as far as I know. They had three children,
12 two daughters and a son. They tried everything they could to get him out
13 of the way, to kill him. If you look at the document you see that they
14 used all sorts of weapons to target his family home, and this is a
15 single-storey home, a simple, small home, as was common among the poor of
16 Kosovo and Metohija and throughout the rest of Serbia I should say, the
17 intention being to wipe out his entire family.
18 Q. Thank you. Unrelated to this document let me ask you this: Did
19 you record in the diary that you were keeping the deaths of police
20 officers who were members of the PJP?
21 A. Aside from police officers from the original unit, there were a
22 number of police officers who had come from outside. Some were recorded.
23 Unfortunately, some were not. Those who had been seconded by other units
24 and who were killed around the Glogovac area or along the fringe of the
25 Glogovac area; in some cases they belonged to other police centres and to
Page 23737
1 other SUPs.
2 Q. Were there any incidents involving looting by the terrorists,
3 robbery?
4 A. I have to, as they say, start from the beginning. From the
5 beginning of 1998 this was something that occurred on a daily basis,
6 cases of looting, robbery, by Albanians, since they made up most of the
7 population, and state-owned companies and other state bodies. For
8 example, the Feronikel company. They came there, they were armed, they
9 made threats, and they seized some construction equipment, machinery,
10 some lorries that they used to build trenches, bunkers, and so on and so
11 forth. Near Drenica, in the village of Krivovo, and I can be more
12 specific than that if you like in terms of where exactly this village is,
13 they came to a farm, seized all the livestock, the cattle, they seized a
14 weapon that one of the guards was using who was providing security
15 there -- and it wasn't just that. They went to the Gradin [phoen]
16 construction company, they went to construction site in Glogovac, and
17 they seized all the construction machinery they needed. They robbed the
18 guards guarding the construction site, they took away all their weapons
19 and other equipment. There were many cases such as this one. Right now
20 I'm relying on my memory, but it's all recorded in the diary of events
21 starting with 1997 and all the way up to the very end. Looting, robbery,
22 items and goods being seized, including murder, this was part of daily
23 life there.
24 Q. For the sake of the transcript at 68, line 19, the witness said
25 "Albanians" -- [Previous translation continues] ...
Page 23738
1 Sir, can you tell us if the KLA were in control of any territory
2 in Glogovac municipality in 1998?
3 A. Unfortunately, and because of the situation that prevailed at the
4 time, the KLA between March 1998 and July that same year were holding,
5 depending on how the situation developed, over 90 per cent of Glogovac
6 territory. This was particularly clear after the liquidation of
7 Adem Jashari on the 5th of March, 2008 [as interpreted], when the
8 terrorist clashes in the area escalated. They took virtually all the
9 roads starting with the Srbica-Glogovac main road and then down behind
10 Glogovac what we refer to as Gornje Drenica, Lipljan municipality,
11 Banjica, all the way up to Crnoljevo, mount Crnoljevo. And this road
12 that I mentioned, the Lipljan-Prizren road. And over here they were
13 occasionally in control of the Pristina-Pec main road, they carried out
14 daily acts of sabotage at locations of their choice, making the roads
15 impossible to travel. They would attack police officers. They were
16 killing citizens and attacking them. If you look at the diary you can
17 see all this happening and being recorded, and then deeper into the area
18 they had started fortifying, building trenches, connecting trenches.
19 They forced the locals to give them a hand with this, to dig trenches for
20 them. They made special fortifications. They established check-points
21 along virtually all of the main roads through the area. Therefore, at
22 the time and because we were too few, they were the masters in Glogovac
23 municipality.
24 Q. How many police officers did you have in the Glogovac OUP?
25 A. Unfortunately between 25 and 30 was all I had. Roughly speaking
Page 23739
1 that was the number of uniformed men in the Glogovac OUP. As our people
2 say there were precious few of us.
3 Q. Were the roads eventually cleared?
4 A. People were being killed. There were incidents involving
5 looting, robbery, attacks on state institutions, daily attacks on
6 whatever stood for Serbia's state; and what this led to in July
7 eventually was the launching of an anti-terrorist action, a joint action
8 by the army and the police. And for the first time between mid-July and
9 September all the roads were now cleared and all the strongholds of the
10 Siptar terrorists were crushed all throughout Drenica's territory. And
11 the area was finally liberated.
12 I would also like to say that eventually peace was restored among
13 the best part of the Albanian population as well. One could already feel
14 friendlier relations begin to arise between that portion of the Albanian
15 population and us, the police. They started returning weapons of their
16 own free will that they had been given by the KLA.
17 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Lukic, at line -- page 69, line 23, is that an
18 accurate reference, the reference to mount Crnoljevo?
19 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. Did you say mount Crnoljevo?
21 A. Yes, I said that, up until Drenica, mount Crnoljevo, because if
22 you allow me the Drenica area is surrounded by Crnoljevo mountains on
23 that side, that is, it has Crnoljevo mountains on that edge; and then on
24 the other side there goes the Vranes mountain all the way up to the
25 Kolasin Ibarski, Cicavica is on the other side towards Kosovo and that
Page 23740
1 sub-Metohija area. Drenica separates Kosovo and Metohija practically,
2 that's why they represent two entities not one as Albanian extremists
3 would have it, when they say that it's one single territory. Even
4 Lapusnik, as you see from this documentation, was treated in a peculiar
5 way in this period. It held the prison and all the rest. It -- Drenica,
6 that is, was a special part just as Lapusnik --
7 JUDGE BONOMY: You've answered my question long ago. I really
8 have Mr. Lukic to make best use of his time. I'm sorry, I won't
9 interrupt again because clearly this is not going to be of any
10 assistance.
11 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. Did there come a time after the terrorist, that is, the
13 anti-terrorist operations when the KLA again took control of the
14 territory and the roads?
15 A. Unfortunately, after all the actions taken by the army and the
16 police and after all the sacrifices made when peace was already on the
17 horizon and when it looked like the Albanian terrorists would be forever
18 gone from that area, the Milosevic-Holbrooke Agreement was signed, was
19 made, and after the 16th of October the OSCE mission numbering 20.000
20 came into our country, our homeland, and they covered with their
21 intelligence and all the other capacities that hold territory, including
22 Drenica, Srbica, et cetera, and that was a black day for the
23 autochthonous people.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: I will ask you, Mr. Lukic, rather than me to try
25 to clarify this, whether the witness means 20.000. They would outnumber
Page 23741
1 the Serb forces in that case.
2 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. We have 20.000 on record. What did you mean? Did you mean to
4 say 20 or 2.000 verifiers?
5 A. 2.000 they were, but I count all their personnel -- did I say
6 20.000? I mean to say 2.000, sorry, 2.000 verifiers.
7 Q. Thank you. Let's move on. Did the KLA again take control of the
8 territory, you didn't answer, just yes or no?
9 A. Yes, yes, because the agreement itself envisaged that all Serb
10 forces including the police and the army should go back to their
11 barracks, that is, their peacetime location and it was done. All our
12 forces were withdrawn and the empty space was again taken by terrorist
13 forces and they were even more aggressive than before. They took hold of
14 that territory, they forbade the international community from sending
15 their police patrol in that area, and my police force in Glogovac
16 municipality had a circle of 100 metres in diameter to move in.
17 Q. Did you have any knowledge of any contacts between the OSCE
18 mission with the terrorists; if you do have such knowledge, explain how.
19 A. Well, the agreement gave the mission the possibility to supervise
20 and control the implementation of the agreement, and our chief had to
21 communicate with the OSCE verifiers so that I had daily visits from
22 representatives of international community -- organizations, be it the
23 OSCE or the ICRC. And whenever I was able, I tried to be as helpful as I
24 could.
25 Q. We heard a lot of evidence about that. There were many witnesses
Page 23742
1 before you. I'm just asking you: Do you have any knowledge of any
2 contacts between the OSCE mission and the KLA?
3 A. I was coming to that. I'm sorry for this long introduction. I
4 had visits from OSCE verifiers who were located very near my own police
5 building and told me that they were in direct communication with
6 Sami Lushtaku, the commander of the Drenica zone and other local
7 commanders. And for that reason it was their recommendation, they didn't
8 want to use the term warning, to refrain from going near certain roads
9 and certain routes. If you want me, can I go on? This German, Gerhard,
10 I'm sorry I can't remember his last name, he's an old hand of the
11 intelligence, he even invited me to their office to see all the equipment
12 and everything they had. I accepted the invitation and noticed that
13 their security detail consists entirely of Albanians, extremist
14 Albanians, not to say KLA. I pointed that out to him even.
15 Q. Let us move on to the Feronikel factory. Did such a factory
16 operate in that area?
17 A. The Feronikel was one of the major projects of the former SFRY.
18 Q. Just answer, was it operative in Glogovac?
19 A. It was on constant strike from November 1997 until the month of
20 May 1998 when we started using it to accommodate some of the forces.
21 Q. What was the ethnicity of the personnel of this factory?
22 A. 90 per cent Albanian, Siptars, that is, 80 per cent. And in the
23 last few years about 20 per cent were Serbs who were sent from Kosovo
24 Polje, Obilic, and other places, experts mostly.
25 Q. When was the furnace closed down in this factory?
Page 23743
1 A. Well, it never worked as of November 1997 and even the SUP came
2 to investigate why their furnaces were not working, but it was because of
3 the political developments at that time. Let me digress a little. There
4 was a political organization in that factory Bali Kamptari [phoen], a
5 former Albanian collaborationist force from World War II in Kosovo.
6 Q. Did it suffer from air-strikes?
7 A. It was repeatedly, three times only in April and once in May.
8 Q. Did you make -- did you interrogate suspects in terrorist cases
9 and where?
10 A. All the questionings were done in one location, the official
11 premises of the department of internal affairs, that is, the police
12 station in Glogovac, nowhere else.
13 Q. I have to ask you to cross-check other information. Did you or
14 any other employees of your OUP question anyone on the premises of the
15 Feronikel factory?
16 A. The people in that factory, on the premises of that factory, had
17 their own supervisory bodies and we had different jobs. We were in
18 charge of regular police work and their job was to provide security for
19 certain installations, buildings, and roads. So we did not coordinate
20 mutually, and we did not use the premises of Feronikel for any official
21 procedures.
22 Q. Who was located in that factory and when?
23 A. As I said, I had only 25 to 30 policemen in an ethnically pure
24 and hostile environment when the conflict started and it was impossible
25 to maintain communication in this institution, as we call it, of
Page 23744
1 particular interest. And there occurred a moment when it became
2 necessary to ensure assistance from Serbia proper to prevent destruction
3 of socially owned and private property.
4 Q. Who was placed there?
5 A. Police from Serbia proper.
6 Q. Did Albanians ever come to OUP Glogovac? Did they contact with
7 you and how?
8 A. Albanians contacted OUP Glogovac on a daily basis, and they still
9 considered it as their own police station regardless of all the prejudice
10 that began to take hold, and that was true in 1997 and part of 1998.
11 However, with the escalation of terrorism and as they began to fear more
12 and more for their own safety and that of their families, there came a
13 time when they asked to be unable to be as discreet as possible whenever
14 they contact us and to contact us outside our premises and they always
15 wanted to meet with people they knew from before without forth modesty
16 since I was a native of Drenica a large number of them asked to talk to
17 me personally to discuss issues of security, safety, and the newly arisen
18 situation. All the other work, the normal police work, was done on the
19 premises in accordance with the Law on Criminal Procedure.
20 Q. Thank you. We know that sometimes the perpetrator of a crime is
21 unidentified, but it is suspected that it was committed by terrorists.
22 On what grounds did you believe sometimes that terrorists were
23 responsible for a killing without having a specific suspect?
24 A. That was an easy conclusion to come to. I never found a body
25 killed in the usual way by one bullet, with one stab wound, et cetera.
Page 23745
1 The bodies were butchered most of the time, literally butchered, and all
2 the evidence, the cartridges we found, the bullets, et cetera indicated
3 that the weapons used were Chinese made, unlike any in the possession of
4 the police and the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. So it was
5 an easy conclusion.
6 Q. Were there any Serbs living in that area?
7 A. The territory of Glogovac -- well, this home place of mine that
8 was taken away from me had 101 Serb houses before the Second World War.
9 There were 27 heads of households in total, patriarchs.
10 Q. Just tell me, at that time were there any Serbs living there?
11 A. Not a single Serb as of 1965 except for one family living close
12 to the railway station. Not a single Serb lived in the Drenica or the
13 Srbica municipality.
14 Q. OUP Glogovac belonged to which unit of the Serbian MUP?
15 A. The SUP of Pristina, and it's practically an organizational unit
16 of the Pristina SUP.
17 JUDGE BONOMY: The policemen who worked in your office, did they
18 not live in the area?
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, they did not.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you. That's all I want to know. Thank you.
21 Mr. Lukic.
22 MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. I think we need to clarify this. The policemen that worked with
24 you, where did they work?
25 A. There were no conditions in place for any Serbian policemen to
Page 23746
1 live in Glogovac, say for late Ivan Bulajic, he did live in Glogovac with
2 his family. The rest commuted from Pristina, Kosovo Polje, and
3 elsewhere. We had accommodation facilities for policemen and they would
4 be stationed in Glogovac for seven days at a time. Imagine a man, a
5 policeman, who does not leave his immediate work-place for seven days and
6 then we would have another shift come in.
7 Q. Thank you. What was the focus in terms of tasks of the uniformed
8 police in Glogovac?
9 A. The same as with the rest of the Ministry of the Interior. We
10 focused on suppressing crime when it comes to traffic, misdemeanour, and
11 ensuring proper functioning of work and life in the area. Those were our
12 focal tasks and you can find those in any police manual as well as the
13 Law on Internal Affairs as well as the Law on Criminal Procedure.
14 Q. Who was your immediate superior?
15 A. My immediate superior while I was there was Bosko Petric. When
16 he was absent, his deputy would be there, Bozidar Filic.
17 Q. Where did they work?
18 A. They worked and stayed in Pristina.
19 Q. What is the name of that organizational unit of the MUP?
20 A. It is the SUP of Pristina, which comprised the OUP in Lipljan,
21 Glogovac, Podujevo, and Obilic.
22 Q. Thank you. Certain sections within the OUP of Glogovac, did they
23 communicate directly with certain organizational units of the SUP of
24 Pristina?
25 A. As the head I was of course heading something, and that something
Page 23747
1 was the Glogovac OUP which inter alia had to take care of the functioning
2 of the people there. All organizational units within the OUP were linked
3 to the central point in Pristina, that is to say the uniformed part of
4 the police. If there is a need to according to their professional lines
5 of work, they were linked to the uniformed police of the Pristina SUP
6 administrative department were linked to the administrative department of
7 the SUP in Pristina. Apart from issuing IDs we also issued travel
8 documents and driver's licences, and travel documents could only be
9 issued with the approval of Pristina. We would issue them; however, they
10 would be produced in Pristina itself.
11 If I may continue, concerning crime in the Glogovac OUP we did
12 not have crime technicians. So we would have to ask for personnel from
13 the Pristina SUP to carry out any investigations of that sort.
14 Q. What about work orders, did you receive those from the Pristina
15 SUP?
16 A. As any organizational unit including the OUPs, we were autonomous
17 in a part of our activities. However, when it comes to certain things
18 such as administration and so on, we needed to cooperate to receive
19 orders, for example, from the central point of administration when it
20 comes to, say, processing of travel documents, IDs, et cetera.
21 Concerning the crime police, certain orders were received from Pristina
22 as well, especially so when we talk about the police and the engagement
23 of the PJP.
24 Q. Did you report to the Pristina SUP? Were you sending reports?
25 Were you sending reports to the Pristina SUP?
Page 23748
1 A. Daily. I would inform them of all important issues. I would
2 inform my superiors, to be more precise.
3 Q. Thank you. Did you ever indirectly inform the MUP staff in
4 Pristina?
5 A. Prior to answering that, I'll try to be precise in clarifying.
6 According to the line of reporting, we reported to the SUP head and
7 deputy head and we also communicated mutually between the OUPs. I was
8 not competent and there was no need for me to communicate with the staff.
9 Therefore, there was no need for me to inform them.
10 Q. Thank you. In terms of time-periods, can you tell us how you
11 reported to the SUP in Pristina, that is to say before the air-strikes
12 and afterwards?
13 A. Up until the moment of the NATO aggression, our communication was
14 regular and was adjusted to the technical conditions that were in place.
15 We used telephone lines, special telephone lines, the so-called specials,
16 dispatches, and everything that makes part and parcel of regular
17 communication in all SUPs in Kosovo and Metohija as well as in Serbia and
18 elsewhere. However, after the NATO aggression commenced and the repeater
19 stations were destroyed as well as due to the threats of being bombed and
20 they threatened to use any other means to respond to any kind of
21 electronic communication, we lacked any ability to communicate in that
22 way, excluding the only one that was viable at the time which was
23 couriers. You simply send a person, a member of the service, who sits in
24 a car, goes to Pristina, reports there, and goes back. That's it. I
25 hope I was clear enough. I tried to put it in as simple terms as
Page 23749
1 possible in order to try to paint the -- what the situation was like.
2 Q. Let us please go to 6D614 in e-court, page 6, item 7. We have it
3 here. If you found out that the perpetrators of a crime were policemen,
4 what would you do?
5 A. The Glogovac OUP acted professionally irrespective of the
6 conditions that we lived under. The Law on Criminal Procedure and other
7 regulation prescribing our work were put into force strictly. It didn't
8 matter who the person in question was. We never allowed anyone to act
9 illegally and to undermine the authority of the service. Should it be
10 established that a police member, since that was our competence,
11 committed any misdemeanour or a crime, measures were taken immediately.
12 In the example you asked me about, it had to do with a reserve group of
13 the secretariat of internal affairs in Pristina, they were deployed to
14 our field, they were called arsonists. A criminal report was submitted
15 against them. We also have the file number here beginning with KU. I
16 believe the -- that case was processed. They were prosecuted as part of
17 a report and charged with setting fire to eight family houses in the
18 village of Orlate whose owners were unknown.
19 Q. Although it says that the owners were unknown, is it known from
20 what ethnic group they came?
21 A. They were all Albanian since in that village there were only
22 Albanians. There was no Serbs there and no other ethnic groups. In the
23 entire area there is but a few people who are not Albanian, there are no
24 ethnic minorities there.
25 Q. While you headed the Glogovac OUP, and that was until the 1st of
Page 23750
1 May, 1999, were there any mass departures of civilians from the area of
2 your municipality?
3 A. I can state with full responsibility that there was no such a
4 thing and people didn't even think about it. I justified that by stating
5 a mere fact, that our police station is located in the settlement itself,
6 surrounded by houses of Albanians. Our closest neighbours 2 metres from
7 the entrance to the building were Albanians. They were our safety, we
8 shared the same fate, we cooperated in good and bad. In peacetime they
9 were good for cooperation. We used their wells to get water from since
10 there was no pipeline in the area, perhaps you don't know that. There
11 was no other water say for the water from one of the wells of the
12 Albanian houses there. When the NATO strikes began, we agreed with them
13 that if we were able to live together until that moment that we can
14 continue living together. Throughout my service in Glogovac the
15 situation was as such.
16 Q. Thank you. We have to stop working for today, and we'll see you
17 back tomorrow.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you, Mr. Lukic.
19 Mr. Damjanac, that brings our sitting for today to an end. We
20 shall resume at 9.00 tomorrow morning. Until then it is vital that you
21 have no communication with anyone about the evidence in this case, and
22 that means any aspect of the evidence in this case. You must refrain
23 from any discussion of any aspect of this case at all between now and
24 your return here, and we'll see you again at 9.00 tomorrow morning.
25 Could you now please leave the courtroom with the usher.
Page 23751
1 [The witness stands down]
2 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.46 p.m.,
3 to be reconvened on Thursday, the 6th day of
4 March, 2008, at 9.00 a.m.
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