1 Tuesday, 28 March 2000
2 [Open session]
3 [The witness entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.40 a.m.
5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Good
6 morning, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning,
7 technicians, interpreters; I believe they can hear me.
8 Yes, I can hear you too. Good morning, counsel for the
9 Prosecution; good morning, counsel for the Defence;
10 good morning, General Krstic. I gather that the
11 appearances are the same, and we will continue in
12 hearing the case, the Prosecutor versus General
13 Krstic. Mr. Cayley will resume his examination.
14 Good morning, Witness. Let me just remind
15 you that you are still under oath.
16 Mr. Cayley, you have the floor.
17 MR. CAYLEY: Thank you, Mr. President. Good
18 morning, Your Honours; good morning, counsel.
19 WITNESS: DAVID VAASEN [Resumed]
20 Examined by Mr. Cayley: [Cont'd]
21 Q. Corporal Vaasen, we finished yesterday on the
22 night of the 12th of July, 1995. You will recall you
23 gave evidence yesterday about discovering a rape of a
24 young woman in progress.
25 I want now to move ahead further on in that
1 evening. I believe you kept on patrolling in and
2 around the areas of the factories; is that correct?
3 A. Yes, sir.
4 Q. Can you describe to the Judges what else you
5 saw and heard that night, that night of the 12th of
6 July?
7 A. Well, that night was really awful because the
8 noise up there was very strange. You heard shooting
9 around; you heard people screaming. Another time, you
10 heard shooting and you heard just like cowboys or
11 wolves, people making noises like that. It was very
12 dark, and those refugees who were there were very
13 scared.
14 Q. Corporal Vaasen, the shots that you heard,
15 were they local shots or were they shots from far
16 away? Could you tell?
17 A. Well, they came from all around.
18 Q. Now, you're a professional soldier and you're
19 used to hearing shooting. Could you actually detect at
20 all from the sound where any of the firing was
21 happening?
22 A. Well, it was also in the hills, around our UN
23 compound. But you couldn't see anything.
24 Q. You said you heard shooting and then
25 screaming and then the sound of people howling or, I
1 think your exact words were, "just like cowboys or
2 wolves, people making noises like that." At the time,
3 what did you think was happening?
4 A. Well, when I heard that, I got a real strange
5 feeling that they were hunting people.
6 Q. When you say "hunting people," can you expand
7 on that? Can you explain to the Judges what you mean
8 by that?
9 A. I mean Serb people hunting Muslim people.
10 Q. When they were hunting them, when they found
11 them, what did you think they were doing to them at the
12 time? What were your thoughts at the time?
13 A. Well, after that you heard shots, so they
14 were probably basically killing those people.
15 Q. Now, I think you patrolled all that night.
16 Do you recall what you were wearing --
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. -- that night?
19 A. I was wearing my full armour; I had my weapon
20 with me, my helmet, my body armour, my ammunition, the
21 standard issue for a soldier. That's what I had.
22 Q. Were you wearing anything that was coloured
23 blue?
24 A. Yes, there was my helmet.
25 Q. Your helmet was coloured blue?
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Anything else?
3 A. No, sir.
4 Q. Did that equipment remain with you all night?
5 A. No, sir.
6 Q. What happened? Can you tell what happened to
7 the Judges?
8 A. Yes. Later that night, there were some Serb
9 soldiers and they took some equipment from my other
10 fellow soldiers. Later on, they approached me and they
11 asked me to give up my weapon, my body armour, my
12 helmet, and I said no. Later on, they asked again and
13 I said, again, no. Then there was a Serb soldier who
14 took his AK-47, he loaded his weapon, pointed it at my
15 head and asked me again to give up all my stuff, all my
16 equipment, otherwise I would be shot. So I gave him my
17 equipment, my weapon, my body armour, everything.
18 Q. Did that happen to anybody else that night?
19 A. Almost everybody who was staying out that
20 night.
21 Q. Do you remember, if you can, how many Dutch
22 soldiers that happened to?
23 A. Well, about 30 people, 30 soldiers.
24 Q. So 30 soldiers had all of their equipment
25 stolen --
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. -- by the Bosnian Serb army.
3 A. Yes, sir.
4 Q. Let's move on to the next day, to the 13th of
5 July of 1995. What did you do that day, first thing in
6 the morning; can you recall?
7 A. The first thing that I did was I went back to
8 the base to get some food, and then I went back to the
9 human barricade. Because I was unarmed, I tried to get
10 a weapon on the base. They gave me a sidearm, a
11 pistol. And when I went out of the base, I thought to
12 myself that I had better leave it on the base, because
13 if I went out, they would probably steal it again. So
14 I left it right in front of the gate with a colleague
15 of mine. So I went without weapons or anything outside
16 again.
17 Q. Now, you stated you went back to the human
18 barricade. Can you describe to the Judges what you saw
19 taking place from your location there that day?
20 A. Later that day, early in the morning, the
21 Serb soldiers were preparing to start the
22 transportation again. The buses and the trucks came,
23 and the whole thing started all over again, the same as
24 the day before.
25 Q. When you say "to start the transportation
1 again," can you explain to the Judges what you mean by
2 that?
3 A. I mean by that taking the women and children
4 away, separating the men from the women again and
5 children. That's what happened.
6 Q. Now, when you compared the speed of the
7 process that was happening on the 13th of July,
8 compared to the 12th of July, which was faster? Was it
9 faster on the 12th or on the 13th, or was it the same
10 speed?
11 A. No, on the 13th, it was faster. They rushed
12 through the whole thing.
13 Q. Now, did you see any VRS, members of the
14 Bosnian Serb army, that you recognised that day?
15 A. Yes. I showed yesterday a picture of a man
16 who was sitting next to General Mladic, that man was
17 also there.
18 MR. CAYLEY: For the sake of the record, if
19 the witness could just be shown tab 11, which is
20 Exhibit 28/13, 13.1, so that we can just be sure of
21 that individual.
22 Q. We'll carry on so as not to waste any time.
23 You were standing at a location, the human barricade,
24 you said yesterday, very close to the White House. Did
25 you look over to the White House at all that day?
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Can you tell the Judges what you saw?
3 A. Well, they also rushed out the men, so all
4 the men had to stay at the White House. Some of them
5 went also back inside the White House, Muslim
6 soldiers -- Muslim men with Serb soldiers. Some of
7 them came out also beaten up, scars on their face,
8 bruises on their face, on their arms. But it was as
9 extreme as the day before.
10 Q. Do you remember anything significant that you
11 saw that day by the White House? Did you hear anything
12 by the White House that was significant that day?
13 A. Yes. They took somebody outside, took him
14 around behind the White House, two Serb soldiers who
15 took a Muslim man outside the building, the White
16 House, took him behind the White House. Then I heard
17 one single shot, and only those two Serb soldiers came
18 back.
19 Q. If you could just look at the photograph
20 that's on the ELMO next to you. If the witness could
21 be shown that photograph very quickly. You mentioned a
22 moment ago that that morning, the 13th of July, you saw
23 a VRS officer, and I think you identified this
24 gentleman yesterday. Is this the same individual that
25 you saw on the 13th?
1 A. This is the man [indicates].
2 Q. So that's Exhibit 13.1, and it's the
3 individual on the right-hand side of General Mladic.
4 Now, in terms of transportation of
5 individuals, and you said you saw the transportation
6 continuing on the 13th, was it only women and children
7 that were transported on that day, or men, women, and
8 children? Do you recall?
9 A. Well, they took some buses from the normal
10 transportation. They took one or sometimes two buses.
11 They drove to the White House, they put the men inside,
12 and they drove away. And about 15, 20 minutes later,
13 they came back.
14 Q. When they came back, were the buses still
15 full or were they empty?
16 A. No, they were empty.
17 Q. Now, do you recall what direction the buses
18 drove in?
19 A. They went to Bratunac.
20 Q. Now, you saw these buses moving towards
21 Bratunac, and you say that they came back 15 to 20
22 minutes later. Did you make any conclusion at the time
23 about where those buses had been and stopped and
24 dropped off the men and then returned from?
25 A. Well, I had the feeling that they were
1 dropped off in Bratunac.
2 Q. Do you recall how many times that day that
3 process took place? And now I'm talking about the
4 movement of men from Potocari by bus. Do you recall
5 how many busloads?
6 A. Not exactly. I saw it a couple of times.
7 Q. When you say "a couple of times," do you mean
8 more than twice, more than three times?
9 A. No. More than three times, yes.
10 Q. But you can't recall now exactly how many?
11 A. No, sir.
12 Q. Do you recall approximately what time that
13 day the transportation process stopped?
14 A. It was already in the evening, it was about
15 9.00, 9.30.
16 Q. Would it be right to say that by that stage,
17 there were no refugees, men, women or children, left in
18 the Potocari area?
19 A. Well, I didn't see anybody anymore, no.
20 Q. Let's move to the next day, which is the 14th
21 of July, 1995, and I think on that day you were
22 assigned to go to Srebrenica to collect Dutch military
23 equipment from the B Company compound. Do you recall
24 that?
25 A. Yes, sir.
1 Q. Can you tell the Judges about that journey
2 from Potocari to Srebrenica?
3 A. Well, we had a new assignment that morning,
4 to escort some soldiers from the B Company back to
5 their own compound, to get their military stuff,
6 equipment. So we drove with them, and I saw some
7 horrible things on the way back.
8 Q. Can you describe to the Judges what you saw
9 on the road to Srebrenica?
10 A. It was -- I saw many bodies. It started
11 about 500, 600 metres, when we went out of the gate.
12 To the left and right of the road, we saw dead people.
13 They were already blue and purple because of the heat
14 the day before. Some of them were -- just died from
15 dehydration, and some of them were also shot, you could
16 see that. That was a real awful face.
17 Q. Do you recall how many bodies you saw 500 to
18 600 metres from the UN compound?
19 A. Well, it started with sometimes two,
20 sometimes four, and the further we approached
21 Srebrenica, the number of that went larger and larger.
22 Q. Do you remember how those bodies were
23 dressed? Were they in military clothing or in civilian
24 clothing?
25 A. No, they were dressed in civilian clothes.
1 Q. Were they men only, or were they a mixture of
2 men, women, and children? Do you recall? Do you have
3 any recollection?
4 A. Well, most of them were older people. Until
5 we approached Srebrenica, we also found men, women,
6 children, everything.
7 Q. So the bodies, as you were on the road to
8 Srebrenica, were mostly older people.
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. And as you approached Srebrenica, you say you
11 found men, women, and children who were dead.
12 I now just want to take to you the scene that
13 you saw when you got into the centre of Srebrenica.
14 Can you describe to the Judges what you saw when you
15 got into the centre of town, near to where Bravo
16 Company's compound was located?
17 A. When we approached the centre of Srebrenica,
18 we call it the blackmarket, the Muslim people had their
19 own blackmarket, it was full of bodies, body parts,
20 lying on each other. They were also blue, purple.
21 Most of them were totally -- I'm sorry. The face of it
22 was not so good.
23 Q. Do you recall approximately how many bodies
24 you saw in the centre of town?
25 A. About 40, 50 people.
1 Q. And, again, how were those bodies dressed, if
2 you recall?
3 A. In civilian.
4 Q. And do you recall the sex of those bodies?
5 Were they a mixture of men and women and children, or
6 were they --
7 A. Most of them were women and children, some of
8 them were older people, I saw also a few men.
9 Q. Now, after you'd collected the equipment from
10 B Company, where did you go next?
11 A. We went back to the UN base in Potocari, and
12 when we came back, they told us that we had to leave
13 also as soon as possible.
14 Q. Do you recall when you left?
15 A. No, I'm sorry. I forgot.
16 Q. How long after the 14th? Was it a week or
17 two weeks, approximately, or a few days?
18 A. Approximately a week.
19 Q. So approximately a week after the 14th --
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 Q. -- you left Potocari. And where did you go
22 after Potocari?
23 A. Well, we were the last group who went out
24 because we had an agreement that we had -- that we
25 could take our APCs, armoured personnel carriers, with
1 us, and those groups were the last ones to leave the
2 enclave, and that was no problem. And when we
3 approached the iron bridge, we stopped because we
4 couldn't drive any longer with those APCs because they
5 thought that we were doing some action against the Serb
6 army. The only thing we wanted was to go home.
7 Q. When you're talking about the iron bridge,
8 you're talking about the bridge over the River Drina
9 into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia?
10 A. Yes, sir.
11 Q. Well, to cut a long story short, I think you
12 eventually made your way back through the Federal
13 Republic, in to Croatia, and then to Zagreb; is that
14 right?
15 A. Yes, sir.
16 Q. Then you flew back to the Netherlands?
17 A. Yes, sir.
18 Q. Finally, Corporal Vaasen, I mean, it's clear
19 from your testimony that you were deeply affected by
20 these terrible things that you saw, and I just would
21 like to ask you if you could share with the Judges how
22 you felt when you immediately got back home to your
23 family and how you now deal with these images five
24 years later.
25 A. Well, when I arrived at the airport in
1 Holland, at Soesterberg, I was very happy in the first
2 place that I was home, because I saw my family, my
3 girlfriend back. And later on that day, when I was
4 home sitting with my parents, and everybody was gone,
5 my relatives and friends and everybody, you start
6 thinking about what you saw there. And gladly I had
7 some support of my father, because he's also a
8 professional soldier, and I started to cry. Later on,
9 I totally freaked out, started to throw things through
10 the house. Even my own girlfriend couldn't understand
11 what was going on up there. And now, these days, I
12 don't sleep that well. Some days I do, some days I
13 don't. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night,
14 totally in a sweat. And every time when I'm alone at
15 home, I always think about what I saw up there.
16 Sometimes I always speak with my colleagues, who also
17 went up there, because the help you get here in
18 Holland, well, they offer it, but it's not something
19 you can put behind your back and forget.
20 Q. Thank you very much, Corporal Vaasen.
21 MR. CAYLEY: Mr. President, I have no further
22 questions for the witness. I can now offer him to the
23 Defence for cross-examination.
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,
25 Mr. Cayley.
1 Now, Corporal Vaasen, you will answer
2 questions that will be -- that the Defence will ask
3 you, but perhaps you would like a break. Are you
4 ready? Do you wish a moment to recuperate, to regain
5 your strength, or would you rather proceed with the
6 cross-examination immediately?
7 THE WITNESS: I would like to proceed, Your
8 Honour.
9 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.
10 At any rate here, take your time, if need be.
11 Mr. Petrusic, I believe it is you who will
12 conduct the cross-examination. You have the floor.
13 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Good morning,
14 Your Honour, my learned friends from the Prosecution.
15 Cross-examined by Mr. Petrusic:
16 Q. Good morning, Corporal Vaasen. Before you
17 arrived in the protected area in January 1995, you
18 underwent special training here in the Netherlands,
19 didn't you?
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 Q. And were you told then what formation of the
22 army of the Republika Srpska was active, was present,
23 in the territory where you were to be posted, that is,
24 in Srebrenica?
25 A. Yes. They told me of all the Serb units.
1 Q. But were you specifically told which Bosnian
2 Serb army formation was holding that territory?
3 A. Well, first of all, we had training here in
4 Holland, they showed those badges, and we also carried
5 a small handpocket, a book, that if we saw Serb units
6 who we couldn't identify, we could look it up in the
7 book, and we always found it back.
8 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President,
9 I'm sorry, but I need to go back to this question
10 specifically.
11 Q. Was it said, were you told, which formation
12 of the Bosnian Serb army was holding the territory at
13 that time.
14 A. No, sir. They didn't tell us.
15 Q. Were you informed about the existence of the
16 Muslim units in that territory?
17 A. Yes, sir. Later on, when we were in the
18 enclave, we were informed that there was an 82nd Muslim
19 Brigade, and there were also other units in the
20 mountains who were under the command of a local
21 commander.
22 Q. As part of the 82nd Brigade, is it?
23 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. Would you know the name of the local
25 commander of the 82nd Brigade?
1 A. Well, I only knew the name of the local
2 commander where I was stationed at, at that location.
3 Q. Are you quite sure that it was the 82nd
4 Brigade, or perhaps could it be some other unit?
5 A. No, sir, because we -- every time when we
6 went on patrol, we also stopped Muslim soldiers who
7 carried weapons. We disarmed them, asked them which
8 unit they were and why we had to take their weapons.
9 Q. When you arrived in your area of
10 responsibility, were you aware that the area had been
11 demilitarised?
12 A. Well, that was the meaning.
13 Q. So it was not demilitarised then.
14 A. Well, it was demilitarised, but it was very
15 hard for us to find all the weapons of them.
16 Q. You, that is, your unit, how did you treat
17 armed Muslim formations? What was your attitude to
18 them?
19 A. We had our standard, normal procedure. We
20 stopped them. When they tried to run away, we went
21 after them. And it's just like in a police arrest; we
22 disarmed them, we searched them. After that, we take
23 every weapon, ammunition, other kind of weapons that
24 they carry, and later on they picked it up from the UN
25 base and went to a barricade in Srebrenica.
1 Q. I didn't quite understand. You said that
2 later on they picked it up and went to a barricade in
3 Srebrenica. I don't really understand what you mean.
4 What barricade?
5 A. I mean they had a weapon depot in Srebrenica,
6 the UN soldiers, they had a weapon depot up there, so
7 there were UN soldiers picking those weapons up, what
8 we took away from the Muslim soldiers, and those
9 soldiers, the UN soldiers, took those weapons to the
10 weapon depot in Srebrenica.
11 Q. But Corporal Vaasen, during your stay there,
12 or rather when -- during your stay there, how often did
13 it happen, how many times did you have to request that
14 they lay down their weapons?
15 A. Not many times.
16 Q. Could you be more specific, please? Once?
17 Twice?
18 A. My experience was only two times.
19 Q. You were at the observation point "M," OP-M.
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 Q. Beyond that OP, were there any fortified
22 Muslim positions?
23 A. Not that I can recall.
24 Q. You told us about Captain Enwer yesterday, in
25 yesterday's testimony.
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Was he a man from the area, from the village
3 of Jaglici perhaps?
4 A. Yes, he was one of the people who lived in
5 the village Jaglici.
6 Q. And the formations under his command were in
7 that village, weren't they?
8 A. Yes, sir.
9 Q. Did they have their own positions?
10 A. No. They always lived in the village, and
11 sometimes they went up to look at us.
12 Q. This Captain Enwer was an officer. Could you
13 tell us what was the formation that was under his
14 command?
15 A. Well, it was a local unit. It was not so
16 big; it was about approximately 15 or 20 men.
17 Q. Corporal Vaasen, you are a soldier, a
18 professional soldier. Do you think that a unit of 15
19 to 20 people, to be commanded by a captain -- after
20 all, a captain is a relatively high rank in every
21 army -- so don't you think that to have a captain
22 command such a small unit, which is not larger than a
23 platoon, perhaps, that it is not too much, to have a
24 captain?
25 A. Well, I don't know how they work in the
1 Muslim army, so I can't answer that.
2 Q. Do you have any knowledge that on the 10th of
3 July, in the vicinity of your OP, there was an armed
4 clash between the members of the Muslim army
5 themselves?
6 A. That was later on, when they started to
7 attack the enclave.
8 Q. But the attack on the enclave began on the
9 6th of July, didn't it?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. So the 10th of July came later, and I asked
12 you if it was the 10th of July or perhaps some other
13 date.
14 A. I don't remember it anymore.
15 Q. Would you know why did this clash break out
16 between the Muslim soldiers? Do you know the reason
17 for it?
18 A. Well, the only experience I had between those
19 groups was only when I was captured in Jaglici.
20 Q. Were there any fatalities in that
21 confrontation?
22 A. Yes, sir.
23 Q. Was there any pressure brought on you and
24 your colleagues by Muslim commanders to take their
25 families towards the base in Potocari?
1 A. No, there was no force. We had an agreement
2 with Captain Enwer, and we took those women and
3 children back to the base with us.
4 Q. And some members of the Muslim army wanted to
5 stay in Jaglici.
6 A. Yes, sir.
7 Q. Yesterday, you testified that there were
8 several hundred Muslim soldiers in Jaglici.
9 A. No, not in Jaglici. It was around the area.
10 Q. I apologise. Lehovici.
11 A. Yes, sir.
12 Q. Several hundred. Could you be more specific?
13 A. Well, I can't give you any numbers. I'm
14 sorry.
15 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President,
16 I should like to show this witness his statement of the
17 11th and 18th of November, 1999, which he gave to the
18 investigators of the International Tribunal.
19 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] This will be
20 Exhibit D5.
21 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. Corporal Vaasen, is this your signature on
23 the first page?
24 A. Yes, sir.
25 Q. And this is your statement?
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. On page 2, in the fifth paragraph on that
3 page, fifth paragraph from the top, the fourth sentence
4 says: "I saw 1.000 to 1.500 Muslim soldiers near the
5 village called Lehovici who were walking in the
6 northerly direction."
7 A. Yes, sir.
8 Q. So is that the figure, the number of soldiers
9 that you can't remember today?
10 A. Yes, sir.
11 Q. In your testimony yesterday, you said that
12 Muslims gathered in Jaglici and that they were short of
13 ammunition.
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. You knew about that?
16 A. I didn't know.
17 Q. I don't understand. You did not know whether
18 they had enough ammunition?
19 A. When we were captured, then they told us
20 about their weapons, their ammunition, and how much
21 they had.
22 Q. Your platoon was held in captivity for three
23 days, was it?
24 A. We were six members, and we were there for
25 three days.
1 Q. And why were you captured?
2 A. It's the same thing that I said yesterday,
3 because we were UN and, first of all, we were there for
4 their protection, and also as a kind of shield.
5 Q. Would you know -- were you aware of some
6 other cases of the capture of UN members by Muslim
7 forces?
8 A. I don't know.
9 Q. When your OP was shelled, or rather when fire
10 was opened on your OP, were there any -- did you suffer
11 any casualties?
12 A. No, we didn't.
13 Q. And was your OP damaged in any way, that is,
14 directly hit by a shell?
15 A. Yes, our OP was damaged. The first shell of
16 the mortar, it came in the defence wall of our OP.
17 Q. When you set off from Jaglici to Potocari,
18 with the local population fleeing, could you tell us
19 how many people were there all in all, that is, women,
20 children, and everybody all told? How many?
21 A. Well, we started with a small -- large
22 group -- a small group, and the further we got to
23 Potocari, the bigger the group went. And later, we had
24 some 900 or 1.000 [Realtime transcript read in error
25 "9.000"] people with us, maybe more.
1 Q. So on your way between Jaglici and Potocari,
2 you were being joined by more people, so that there
3 were 900, 1.000 people.
4 A. Yes, and maybe more.
5 Q. Can you tell us how many men were among them?
6 A. Not many men. Most of them were old.
7 JUDGE RIAD: Excuse me. In the transcript,
8 it said that there were 9.000 people with you. You
9 didn't say 9.000.
10 [Realtime transcript read in error "JUDGE
11 RODRIGUES:"]
12 THE WITNESS: No, I didn't say 9.000.
13 JUDGE RIAD: Then it has to be corrected in
14 the transcript. Thank you.
15 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation]
16 Q. On the 11th, you arrived in Potocari
17 sometime, in some hour of the night, didn't you?
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. On the night between the 11th and the 12th of
20 July, did you then know anything, have any information
21 about the situation in the base and outside it?
22 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me.
23 I have to interrupt you. It has to be corrected here
24 because Judge Riad was the one who intervened, not
25 Judge Rodrigues.
1 Yes, you may continue, Mr. Petrusic.
2 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 Q. Right. So we've arrived at the 12th of July
5 now, and I think I was not answered my previous
6 question, I'm afraid, and that is, the night between
7 the 11th and the 12th of the July, my question was
8 whether the witness had any information about that
9 night within and around the compound.
10 A. No, sir.
11 Q. On the 12th of July, when you came on duty or
12 when you started your day's work, you saw Serb
13 soldiers.
14 A. I don't know.
15 Q. Was it the first time that on the 12th of
16 July you spotted Serb soldiers in that area?
17 A. Well, they came later.
18 Q. When did they arrive?
19 A. They arrived about, well, 3.00.
20 Q. You testified yesterday that you had spotted
21 Arkan's Tigers there.
22 A. Yes, sir. When the Serb army entered the
23 enclave, there were also Arkan's Tigers.
24 Q. They had a typical insignia.
25 A. Yes, sir.
1 Q. With the following words, "Arkan's Tigers"
2 written on it; am I right?
3 A. That's what they told me.
4 Q. In addition to Arkan's Tigers, you testified
5 that there were also the Drina Wolves who were there.
6 Can you tell us anything about other soldiers? Judging
7 by their insignia, were they any different from these
8 two formations?
9 A. Yes, sir, because the Drina Wolves had a
10 badge with a wolf and there were also regular soldiers,
11 and they had regular badges.
12 Q. What do you mean by "regular badges"?
13 A. Well, we searched in our pocketbook, and it
14 was a normal sign.
15 Q. Could you be more precise?
16 A. Well, the Arkan's Tigers -- excuse me, the --
17 Q. Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt you. I'm
18 not referring to Arkan's Tigers or the Drina Wolves
19 here. I'm interested in other soldiers belonging to
20 other units. Could you be more precise as to the badge
21 they were wearing?
22 A. Yes. It was some kind of crown, and there
23 were also the letters "HVO" on it.
24 Q. What about the soldiers that came in with
25 dogs? Did you notice their badges?
1 A. No, sir.
2 Q. Were there any police units, uniformed police
3 units there?
4 A. I don't remember.
5 Q. Yesterday you stated in evidence that the two
6 formations we mentioned went from house to house,
7 looting them, taking property away, and so on and so
8 forth.
9 MR. CAYLEY: Objection, Mr. President. I
10 recall that's not what the witness said yesterday, and
11 I think it should be clear both for the purposes of the
12 record and the witness. The witness actually said
13 yesterday, and I have it written in my notes, I recall
14 from my notes, that it was the Drina Wolves who were
15 actually clearing houses above the road. I think the
16 witness can clarify that for the Court, but I do not
17 believe he said that Arkan's Tigers were clearing
18 houses above the road. But I think the witness can
19 probably answer that question.
20 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
21 Mr. Petrusic, how do you respond to this objection by
22 Mr. Cayley?
23 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Just a second,
24 Your Honour. Let me check it in my notes. I should
25 need probably more time for checking the record. But I
1 believe that Mr. Cayley is right. Yes.
2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
3 Mr. Petrusic.
4 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] In any case,
5 we can solve this dilemma with a question.
6 Q. So was it only the Drina Wolves who looted
7 the houses, or were there any other units in the area
8 as well.
9 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,
10 Mr. Petrusic, you can ask that question of the
11 witness. He was referring to Drina Wolves. You can
12 also ask him whether there was any other formations as
13 well.
14 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Yes.
15 Q. Corporal Vaasen, were there any other units
16 looting those houses?
17 A. Not that I can recall anymore.
18 Q. Corporal Vaasen, those units, that is, the
19 soldiers from those units, threw incendiary bullets and
20 grenades in those houses.
21 A. Not all of the houses.
22 Q. You're a professional soldier and I'm a
23 layperson in that respect, but I do have some knowledge
24 about it. As far as I know, when you throw an
25 incendiary grenade, the whole area catches fire. In
1 this case, it would be the whole house.
2 A. Yes, sir.
3 Q. You stated yesterday, while you were shown
4 Prosecutor's Exhibit 5/19, I should like to show you
5 the same exhibit again, the same document, 5/19, and
6 5/5.
7 Mr. Vaasen, are these the houses that were
8 broken into by Serb soldiers at the time?
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. I think we can conclude that there is not a
11 single burnt house here, in this particular area.
12 A. That is correct, but I don't know how old the
13 picture is.
14 Q. This picture is a Prosecutor's Exhibit, and
15 as far as I can tell, it was taken on the 7th of June,
16 1996.
17 A. It's possible.
18 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Could you
19 please put Exhibit 5/5 on the ELMO, please.
20 Q. We have a broader picture of the area on this
21 exhibit, but the locality is the same. We can once
22 again conclude that there are no burnt houses on this
23 photograph. Is that correct, Mr. Vaasen? Would you
24 agree with me?
25 A. That is correct, sir, but I don't know how
1 old this picture is.
2 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] The Defence
3 doesn't know either.
4 MR. CAYLEY: Mr. President, if I can perhaps
5 clarify a few matters.
6 We're going to find out the exact dates. I
7 do know that 5/5 is a helicopter shot that was taken
8 long, long, long after these events. Mr. Petrusic, I'm
9 sure, will also recall that when Mr. Ruez was
10 testifying, he stated that in a number of these
11 photographs that were taken where there is a date in
12 the bottom right-hand corner, that they couldn't
13 operate the date switches on the camera, and so that
14 date may also be wrong. And although this witness
15 cannot testify, Mr. Petrusic, I'm sure, is also well
16 aware that many buildings were rebuilt in all areas of
17 Bosnia long after the events with which we're
18 discussing have taken place.
19 So for the purposes of the record, these are
20 not contemporary photographs that were taken
21 immediately -- at the time of the event or immediately
22 thereafter, and I will find out from my colleagues the
23 exact date when these photographs were taken.
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well,
25 thank you, Mr. Cayley. We are not going to open a
1 debate here. We're just hearing the evidence at this
2 moment. The witness is merely answering questions.
3 But be that as it may, the Chamber is grateful for this
4 clarification from you, Mr. Cayley. There will be
5 questions by the Judges as well with the purpose of
6 elucidating the matter, this one and others. Thank you
7 very much, Mr. Cayley.
8 Mr. Petrusic, you may continue.
9 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 Q. Mr. Vaasen, speaking of the houses, the ones
12 that we have just seen on the ELMO, I should like to
13 know whether you saw any civilians on that day, that
14 is, before the incursion of Serb soldiers?
15 A. No, sir.
16 Q. Thank you. You told us that you had seen
17 Serb soldiers looting the houses, and you also said
18 that they were shooting and that you saw them taking
19 drugs, if I'm correct in understanding your evidence.
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 Q. Could you explain that to us a little bit?
22 Maybe the information I have is somewhat different.
23 Could you explain this particular situation to us?
24 They were breaking into these houses, they were
25 shooting, they were taking drugs, everything at the
1 same time, or ...
2 A. No, not at the same time. It was very
3 clearly that the men who went inside, they came out
4 with typewriters, telephones, and other stuff, I said
5 that already yesterday, and they also -- I saw them
6 take a lot of alcohol, we call it slivovitz. They also
7 offered that to some of us; we refused it. Sometimes
8 they took a break and started to drink and sniff
9 cocaine.
10 Q. And you were there, in their immediate
11 vicinity?
12 A. Yes, sir. Our orders were to observe them.
13 Q. Did you have any orders to prevent them from
14 engaging in these types of activities?
15 A. No, we didn't have any order like that.
16 Q. You testified that there had been several
17 wounded persons to whom you offered assistance when
18 Serb soldiers started shooting on the refugees, first
19 of all, above their heads and then on them, and you
20 told us that they sustained injuries on their limbs.
21 A. I saw two female persons; one of them was
22 shot in the leg and the other one was also shot in the
23 leg and in the stomach.
24 Q. At the UN base, there were some wounded
25 people.
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Did you perhaps suggest or do something about
3 the transport of these wounded persons to the base?
4 A. No, sir.
5 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President,
6 I think this is a convenient moment for a break.
7 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you
8 very much, Mr. Petrusic, for this suggestion. We are
9 now going to have a 20-minute break.
10 --- Recess taken at 10.49 a.m.
11 --- On resuming at 11.15 a.m.
12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
13 Mr. Petrusic, you may continue.
14 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. Corporal Vaasen, before the evacuation of
16 refugees from Potocari began, could you tell us how
17 many people were there, in your estimate?
18 A. When I returned to the UN compound, you
19 mean?
20 Q. You return to the base on the 11th of July.
21 So the evacuation started on the 12th of July, sometime
22 in the afternoon. And at that time, before the
23 evacuation.
24 A. There were many people, thousands of them.
25 Q. Could you tell us how many men were there? I
1 mean, between the ages of 18 onward.
2 A. I don't know anymore.
3 Q. Could you tell us how many men were separated
4 and taken to the White House, according to your
5 knowledge?
6 A. I don't recall it anymore.
7 Q. On the 12th and the 13th of July, General
8 Mladic visited that area, didn't he?
9 A. He arrived at -- actually, I saw him on the
10 12th of July, yes.
11 Q. Did you see him on the 13th as well?
12 A. I don't know anymore.
13 Q. And the officer that was shown on that
14 photograph yesterday and the day before yesterday, that
15 was Exhibit 28/13, so the officer sitting to the left
16 of General Mladic, we see it on the ELMO --
17 A. Yes, sir.
18 Q. -- did you also see him on the 12th and the
19 13th of July?
20 A. Both days.
21 Q. Could you tell us whether your impression was
22 that, in the absence of General Mladic, it was this
23 man, this officer, who played the main role, who had
24 the main say in that area?
25 A. Yes, sir.
1 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President,
2 I'm about to finish, but before I do so, I should like
3 to go back to the incident of the 12th of July, in the
4 evening, that is, the rape, as described by the
5 witness, the rape which took place behind the factory
6 compound.
7 Q. Corporal Vaasen, you're also a medical
8 worker, you're a paramedic, aren't you?
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. And it was dark, but when you switched on the
11 lamp, then you saw bruises on her thighs.
12 A. Yes, sir.
13 Q. Corporal Vaasen, do you -- would you think
14 that, from a medical point of view, some time must
15 elapse between receiving a blow until the emergence of
16 a bruise?
17 A. I don't understand.
18 Q. Well, if one concludes that that girl was
19 beaten, that she suffered a blow on her thighs, don't
20 you think that there is a certain time lag between the
21 blow and the bruise?
22 A. Well, if you hit somebody or forced somebody
23 to do things, then actually it started real fast, the
24 blue things on her legs, the bruises.
25 Q. Corporal Vaasen, how many hanged men did you
1 see?
2 A. Well, there were two persons; one was lying
3 on the girl and the other was standing guard.
4 Q. My question was about men who had hanged
5 themselves.
6 A. In the factory, yes, I saw a couple of men,
7 yes, who had hanged themselves.
8 Q. Could you be more specific?
9 A. Well, I saw three or four men hanging there.
10 Q. When the evacuation began, the men were being
11 separated on the basis of some criterion. Was it age?
12 A. Well, they started about the age of 16, 17
13 years old.
14 Q. And the others boarded the buses.
15 A. Yes. The men who got separated got boarded
16 on the buses.
17 Q. Do you know how many convoys were escorted by
18 members of UN forces?
19 A. I don't know.
20 Q. And to conclude, Corporal Vaasen, on the 14th
21 of July, when you went to Srebrenica, who were you with
22 on that occasion? Could you tell us?
23 A. Yes. We were mixed up with B Company, and I
24 don't know those soldiers by name.
25 Q. Thank you, Corporal Vaasen. I have no more
1 questions.
2 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,
3 Your Honours.
4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,
5 Mr. Petrusic.
6 Mr. Cayley.
7 MR. CAYLEY: Mr. President, I have no
8 questions for the witness.
9 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,
10 Mr. Cayley.
11 Judge Riad.
12 Questioned by the Court:
13 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Yes,
14 Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President.
15 [In English] Corporal Vaasen, good morning.
16 A. Good morning.
17 JUDGE RIAD: Do you hear me?
18 A. Yes, I hear you.
19 JUDGE RIAD: I have a few questions to
20 clarify some points, although you have been quite
21 clear. You mentioned that on the 12th of July, you saw
22 the Serb army, I'm almost quoting you, coming from
23 Bratunac, heavily armed with RPGs, with anti-tank
24 weapons, with Russian-type tanks. Is this a Serb army
25 or a Bosnian Serb army? What kind of army was it?
1 A. Well, they had the marks -- the badges from
2 the HVO, and the soldiers who were walking in front of
3 them were Arkan's Tigers.
4 JUDGE RIAD: Arkan's Tigers.
5 A. Yes, sir.
6 JUDGE RIAD: And was it -- you said it was
7 quite a substantial power, a substantial force. Was
8 there a situation -- did the situation require such a
9 force? Was there a real battle there? Were the
10 Bosnian forces equivalent to have all this military
11 force?
12 A. No, Your Honour.
13 JUDGE RIAD: It was not.
14 A. No.
15 JUDGE RIAD: Now that you mentioned the
16 Arkan's Tigers, you seem to be quite acquainted with
17 the insignias, you can know the insignia of the Arkan
18 Tigers, you know the insignia of the Drina Wolves, as
19 we saw --
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 JUDGE RIAD: -- and then you mentioned
22 something called regular soldiers.
23 A. Yes, your Honour.
24 JUDGE RIAD: Does it mean that the Drina
25 Wolves were not regular soldiers? Were they an
1 independent unity under independent command?
2 A. Yes, Your Honour.
3 JUDGE RIAD: You mean they were not subject
4 to the same higher command?
5 A. Not at the moment, sir.
6 JUDGE RIAD: They could have their own
7 policy.
8 A. Yes, Your Honour.
9 JUDGE RIAD: Yes. Now, in these events,
10 several events which you mentioned, for instance,
11 certain events which -- like the burning of the houses,
12 the plundering of the houses, throwing phosphorous
13 grenades, and the other one where you were stopped and
14 they told you that if they kill one or two more, it
15 doesn't make any difference, when you interfered and
16 told them to stop what they were doing, was it the
17 Drina Corps which was visible?
18 A. Yes, Your Honour.
19 JUDGE RIAD: And were you close enough to
20 know?
21 A. Yes, Your Honour.
22 JUDGE RIAD: Because in the case of the
23 people who you said stopped you and laughed at you and
24 threatened you not to interfere, you were close enough
25 in that case. But in the case of the plundering of the
1 houses and the phosphorus and so on, were you close
2 enough to know that they were the Drina Corps?
3 A. No, Your Honour.
4 JUDGE RIAD: You were not.
5 A. No, Your Honour.
6 JUDGE RIAD: Then how did you detect that it
7 was the Drina Corps?
8 A. Because the same group that went inside was
9 also the same group we stopped -- tried to stop.
10 JUDGE RIAD: And the group you tried to stop
11 was Drina.
12 A. Yes, Your Honour.
13 JUDGE RIAD: Now, these Drina Wolves, these
14 Drina Wolves, as you said, they were an independent
15 unit. Was it disciplined, as disciplined as the army?
16 Was it organised under very strict command, or just a
17 band of anarchic fighters?
18 A. Well, from my point of view, they looked like
19 bandits. They were just doing something.
20 JUDGE RIAD: I mean, everything can do what
21 he likes, or were they receiving orders?
22 A. Well, I haven't seen that they received
23 orders. I saw only that they went to those houses and
24 started plundering, shooting, throw grenades, and they
25 enjoyed themselves real good.
1 JUDGE RIAD: So it did not give you the
2 impression of a disciplined -- you are an army man --
3 of a disciplined unit of the army.
4 A. No, they were not so quite disciplined as the
5 rest of the army.
6 JUDGE RIAD: The Arkan Tigers were different?
7 A. Yes, Your Honour.
8 JUDGE RIAD: The Arkan Tigers were supposed
9 to be Bosnian Serbs or more or less Serbs?
10 A. What I can recall, Serbs.
11 JUDGE RIAD: Serbs. You mentioned also
12 something about hunting Muslim people and killing them
13 when they were found. These hunts, were also the Drina
14 Corps involved in it?
15 A. I don't remember it. I only heard the
16 screams and the noises, the shots, the sound of a wolf,
17 but I presumed it was the Drina Wolves.
18 JUDGE RIAD: In all these events, have you
19 had a glimpse of General Krstic?
20 A. No, sir.
21 JUDGE RIAD: You also mentioned that in the
22 centre -- I think, yes, it was yesterday -- in the
23 centre of Srebrenica, or perhaps today, the
24 blackmarket, what you called the blackmarket, was full
25 of bodies, 40 to 50 people, and they were civilians,
1 women, children, and old people.
2 A. Yes, Your Honour.
3 JUDGE RIAD: Have you found out what caused
4 this great mass murder?
5 A. Well, I knew that Bravo Company, who was
6 stationed in Srebrenica, had to withdraw back to the
7 blackmarket, to the square, and they had to stand there
8 and to help Muslim people, because they were scattered
9 around there. And I also -- I was also informed that
10 most of the people were killed during the retreat to
11 the UN base in Potocari.
12 JUDGE RIAD: I mean, this was in the
13 blackmarket.
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 JUDGE RIAD: I mean, women and children, what
16 is the relation between this and the retreat of the
17 army?
18 A. Well, Bravo Company had also suffered from
19 heavy fire, and when they --
20 JUDGE RIAD: Fire directed towards the
21 civilians.
22 A. Civilians, and also on UN soldiers.
23 JUDGE RIAD: From where? Who?
24 A. From the hills.
25 JUDGE RIAD: From the hills. And who was in
1 the hills?
2 A. The Serb army.
3 JUDGE RIAD: The Bosnian Serbs.
4 A. Yes, sir.
5 JUDGE RIAD: But not the Drina Corps, you
6 cannot --
7 A. No. No.
8 JUDGE RIAD: -- determine.
9 A. No, sir.
10 JUDGE RIAD: Now, you said every time you met
11 Muslim units, you disarmed them and took their
12 weapons. Was there any clash between your forces,
13 between the UN, and the Muslim fighters, or was it --
14 or did they comply with your orders?
15 A. Well, they weren't happy with those orders,
16 but we were very clear that they had to give up those
17 weapons. It's the agreement that we made with them, so
18 they couldn't do anything about it.
19 JUDGE RIAD: But you were not ordered to do
20 the same thing with the others, with the other Bosnian
21 Serbs.
22 A. No, Your Honour.
23 JUDGE RIAD: Thank you, Corporal Vaasen.
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you
25 very much, Judge Riad.
1 Judge Wald.
2 JUDGE WALD: Corporal, when you first came to
3 the Srebrenica area and you were at OP Mike, were you
4 aware of which part of the Bosnian Serb army was in
5 authority in that area? I mean, did somebody tell you
6 that it was this battalion or this corps, so that you
7 knew who you were dealing with?
8 A. No, Your Honour.
9 JUDGE WALD: They didn't tell you -- nobody
10 said that "This is such and such a battalion" or "such
11 and such a corps of the Bosnian Serb army that's in
12 control"?
13 A. No, Your Honour.
14 JUDGE WALD: But you did mention several
15 other times in your testimony that you knew somebody
16 was the Drina Corps, you mentioned in answering Judge
17 Riad's questions. So at what point did you become
18 aware that there were soldiers from the Drina Corps in
19 the area?
20 A. Well, it was very clear the day that they
21 arrived. They had the badges on their shoulders --
22 JUDGE WALD: You're talking the day you
23 arrived where, in Potocari or in the area of
24 Srebrenica?
25 A. I was standing at the human barricade when
1 they arrived.
2 JUDGE WALD: Okay. So before that, you had
3 no idea, for instance, that the soldiers who were
4 shelling the OP posts, et cetera, you didn't know to
5 what battalion or corps they belonged?
6 A. No, Your Honour.
7 JUDGE WALD: You mentioned that the people in
8 the Potocari compound got even more scared, I think you
9 said, when they found out that both the Arkan Tigers
10 and the Drina Wolves were there. What was there about
11 the Drina Wolves that would be likely to make the
12 refugees feel even more scared than other soldiers
13 being there?
14 A. Well, we -- the expression of their faces was
15 very clear, that when they arrived, they got more
16 scared and more nervous, and the tension -- the feeling
17 of them, you could feel it even also there.
18 JUDGE WALD: In your knowledge, to your
19 knowledge, had you heard things that would make you, if
20 you had been a refugee, to feel more apprehensive about
21 the Drina Wolves? Did they have a special reputation
22 of some sort?
23 A. Yes, Your Honour.
24 JUDGE WALD: What was that?
25 A. Ethnic cleansing.
1 JUDGE WALD: And were you aware when you saw
2 the Drina Wolves that the Drina Wolves were somehow
3 part of the Drina Corps?
4 A. Yes, Your Honour.
5 JUDGE WALD: You were aware of that.
6 My second question is when you went back to
7 Srebrenica, you told us you went back there, and when
8 you saw the terrible sight of all the bodies, who, to
9 your knowledge or in your observation, was left living
10 in Srebrenica? I mean, were there any Muslim civilians
11 left that you know about? Were there some Serbs left?
12 Who was left in the village of Srebrenica after the
13 evacuations from Potocari?
14 A. Well, after the evacuation of Potocari, it
15 was real fast, because when those Muslim refugees were
16 gone, the Serb people were standing -- yes, were
17 standing right in front of the gate to enter the
18 enclave.
19 JUDGE WALD: That was Potocari, right?
20 A. Yes, Potocari.
21 JUDGE WALD: How about Srebrenica? When you
22 went back to Srebrenica and saw all the dead bodies,
23 were there any living people around there still living
24 in Srebrenica?
25 A. No, Your Honour.
1 JUDGE WALD: It was an empty town, so far as
2 you could tell; is that right?
3 A. Yes, Your Honour.
4 JUDGE WALD: Okay. The same thing you
5 started to answer in Potocari. Once all the
6 evacuations were finished on the 14th, you were left in
7 Potocari for another week. To the best of your
8 observation, who else was left in Potocari, either in
9 the compound or in the houses or areas around the
10 compound?
11 A. Well, I'm sure that only the Dutch Battalion,
12 the UN Battalion, was there, and I also saw that Serb
13 people, civilians, were also going into the enclave,
14 plundering, and I saw them even go back -- they went in
15 with cars -- with empty cars, and they came back with
16 washing machines, VCRs, everything that they found on
17 the way.
18 JUDGE WALD: During that week that you were
19 left in the compound in Potocari, did you see any
20 Muslim civilians of any sort, men, women, children,
21 old, young, anybody?
22 A. No, Your Honour.
23 JUDGE WALD: Thank you, Corporal.
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you
25 very much, Judge Wald.
1 Corporal Vaasen, I also have a few questions
2 for you. You spoke about Arkan's Tigers, Drina Wolves,
3 dog handlers, and regular troops. When you mentioned
4 those regular troops, in answering one of
5 Mr. Petrusic's questions, you said that they had a
6 particular badge with a crown on it, and you also
7 stated that the letters "HVO" were on it. Are you
8 absolutely certain about that, that those were, indeed,
9 the letters "HVO" or rather could it have been some
10 other letters?
11 A. No, Your Honour, you could clearly see it.
12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] "HVO".
13 A. Yes, Your Honour.
14 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I do not
15 want to lead you in any manner, but let me just tell
16 you that the letters "HVO" are used in the context of
17 Croatian soldiers. Here, we are dealing with Bosnian
18 Serb soldiers. Having said that, I should like to know
19 whether you are still sure that the letters in question
20 were, indeed, "HVO".
21 A. Yes, Your Honour, because they had different
22 kinds of clothes. They also had our clothes already.
23 They had their regular uniforms and they also were
24 dressed in those uniforms.
25 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you
1 very much.
2 Mr. Usher, could you check whether Exhibit
3 5/19 is still on the ELMO, please.
4 As regards this particular photograph,
5 Corporal Vaasen, I should like to ask you the following
6 question: You see a number of houses here on the
7 photograph. Could you tell us whether the state of
8 repair of these houses is the same as the one that you
9 saw at the time, when houses were being torched, or do
10 you think that there is any difference between the
11 situation now and then?
12 A. I don't remember, Your Honour.
13 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.
14 Thank you anyway. I think that you have already said
15 this in response to my colleague's question, but let me
16 ask it once again. Do you know General Krstic?
17 A. No, Your Honour.
18 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] So you have
19 never seen General Krstic in the field, or anywhere
20 else.
21 A. No, Your Honour.
22 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you.
23 And my last question for you. You are a military man
24 and you are accustomed to functioning within an
25 organisation, and you respect discipline. If we take
1 these two elements into account, organisation and
2 discipline, and bearing in mind your experience and
3 what you were able to observe in the area at the
4 relevant time, in your opinion, was there any
5 organisation in the events you told us about? Was
6 there any discipline as well?
7 A. Well, during the deportation of the Muslim
8 refugees, there was some kind of discipline. But for
9 the rest of it, there was no discipline.
10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] What about
11 the level of organisation? Did you have an impression
12 that there, indeed, had been an organisation which was
13 behind this discipline?
14 A. I don't know.
15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you.
16 Thank you very much, Corporal Vaasen, for coming here
17 to testify before the International Tribunal. We know
18 you have just had to experience once again your
19 ordeal. Let me say once again that the Chamber is
20 thankful for your testimony, and I hope that you will
21 be able, one day, to find peace in this beautiful
22 country of yours. Thank you very much.
23 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Your Honour,
24 before we let the witness go, I should like to know the
25 status of Exhibit 57 and Defence Exhibit D5.
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,
2 Mr. Cayley.
3 MR. CAYLEY: Yes, Mr. President. Exhibit 57
4 is the patch which the witness identified as having
5 seen on the arm of a member of the Drina Wolves. If
6 there are no objections from the Defence, I'd like to
7 apply for that -- for admission into evidence of that
8 exhibit, please. And we certainly have no objections
9 in respect of Exhibit D5, which is the witness's
10 statement.
11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well,
12 Mr. Cayley.
13 Mr. Petrusic, are there any objections as
14 regards the admission of Exhibit 57? And do you wish
15 to tender D5 into evidence?
16 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,
17 we do not object to the exhibit tendered by
18 Mr. Cayley. However, I should -- could you please
19 repeat your second question, Your Honour, as regards
20 this other exhibit?
21 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes. I
22 thought you were going to ask for your exhibit, D5, to
23 be admitted into evidence.
24 MR. PETRUSIC: [Interpretation] Yes, that is
25 the case, Your Honour.
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Therefore,
2 Exhibits 57 and D5 will be admitted into evidence,
3 Mr. Dubuisson.
4 Very well, then. Corporal Vaasen, you have
5 heard a number of questions by the Prosecutor, by the
6 Defence, and by the Judges as well. At the end of your
7 testimony, I should like to know whether there is
8 anything else that you wish to add to what you have
9 said here in evidence.
10 THE WITNESS: No, Your Honour.
11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,
12 Corporal Vaasen, once again.
13 [The witness withdrew]
14 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Mr. Harmon
15 or Mr. Cayley.
16 MR. CAYLEY: We do have another witness,
17 Mr. President, but you might feel it's the appropriate
18 time to take a break because we have to rearrange
19 ourselves here. And rather than do that in front of
20 the Judges, it may be easier.
21 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
22 Mr. Dubuisson has drawn my attention to a particular
23 fact. For the purposes of the public principle of the
24 hearing, I should like to know whether your next
25 witness is a protected one.
1 MR. CAYLEY: He is a protected witness,
2 Mr. President, yes.
3 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Sorry to
4 insist, but I should like to know what the reasons for
5 his application are and what kind of protective
6 measures you're seeking.
7 MR. CAYLEY: Actually, I think my colleague
8 Mr. McCloskey will answer the question, but it might be
9 an idea that we go into closed session before he
10 actually discusses the reason for the protection.
11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] For the
12 public gallery, I should therefore stress that our next
13 witness will be testifying in closed session, and we
14 will now go into private session to discuss the reasons
15 for his seeking protective measures.
16 Are we in private session?
17 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
18 Honour, we are.
19 [Closed session]
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15 --- Recess taken at 11.57 a.m.
16 --- On resuming at 12.21 p.m.
17 [Open session]
18 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
19 Mr. McCloskey.
20 MR. McCLOSKEY: Yes, Mr. President. We're
21 ready for the next witness, who I believe will be
22 Witness F.
23 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Has it been
24 resolved yet?
25 Could you repeat, please, from the beginning,
1 Mr. McCloskey, because I was not getting the French
2 interpretation.
3 MR. McCLOSKEY: Yes, Your Honour. I believe
4 this is Witness F that we are ready for, and we are all
5 ready to go.
6 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Indeed, this
7 will be Witness F, and there is nobody in the public
8 gallery of this hearing. The debate can be followed on
9 the ground floor.
10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Will you
11 please bring the witness in.
12 [The witness entered court]
13 MR. McCLOSKEY: And, Mr. President, he will
14 be testifying in Dutch.
15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Just a
16 preliminary question. Mr. McCloskey, will you be
17 showing any exhibits on the ELMO?
18 MR. McCLOSKEY: Yes, Mr. President.
19 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Perhaps we
20 could move -- then perhaps the interpreter and the
21 witness could change places, so that the witness is
22 closer to the ELMO.
23 MR. McCLOSKEY: That's an excellent idea.
24 Could we try that out?
25 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Would you
1 please put your headsets on? Could you please switch
2 places? Will you put your earphones on, please?
3 MR. McCLOSKEY: He needs a headset.
4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Can you
5 hear me, Witness F? You can hear? Very well. Witness
6 F, that is what we shall call you, in view of the
7 protective measures that have been granted to you. You
8 will now read the solemn declaration which the usher
9 will give you.
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly
11 declare that I will speak the truth, the whole truth,
12 and nothing but the truth.
13 WITNESS: WITNESS F
14 [Witness answered through interpreter]
15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] And now the
16 interpretation for the interpreter.
17 THE INTERPRETER: [Interpretation] I solemnly
18 declare that I will perform my duty professionally and
19 with full respect for confidentiality.
20 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Witness F,
21 thank you for coming. The registrar will now show you
22 a piece of paper with your name on it. You will only
23 say if this is your name or not.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
25 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] So this is
1 your name. Very well. Now you will answer questions
2 which the Prosecutor, Mr. McCloskey, will be asking of
3 you.
4 Mr. McCloskey.
5 MR. McCLOSKEY: Thank you, Mr. President.
6 Examined by Mr. McCloskey:
7 Q. Witness F, you are currently a member of the
8 Dutch army; is that correct?
9 A. That's correct.
10 Q. And in 1995, were you assigned as a
11 peacekeeping mission in Bosnia as a Dutch soldier?
12 A. That's correct.
13 THE INTERPRETER: Could the witness please
14 come closer to the microphone or speak up.
15 MR. McCLOSKEY: Excuse me. Can the witness
16 please get a little closer to the microphone.
17 A. I left in January for Potocari, in
18 Srebrenica.
19 Q. What was your mission in Bosnia at that time?
20 A. Our mission was humanitarian, the disarming
21 of any Muslim fighters we might find, reconnaissance
22 duties, patrols along the border area and between the
23 OPs in the enclave.
24 Q. What OPs were you assigned to?
25 A. My main OPs were mainly OP Papa, at the main
1 entrance to the enclave, and later on OP ^ Sierra.
2 Q. Did you ever work with Corporal Vaasen on an
3 OP?
4 A. No, I have never been with Vaasen on an OP.
5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me,
6 Mr. McCloskey, the interpreters say that they did not
7 understand the question. So could you repeat it,
8 please?
9 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] I should --
10 and I should now like to seize the opportunity to say
11 that we have yet one more mediator in our chain of
12 interpretation and communication. So will you please
13 pause between every question and answer because we have
14 to take a number of relays. We now have a second relay
15 here.
16 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] In other
17 words, normally, we need to make a pause between the
18 question and answer, but in this case, according to
19 what Mr. Dubuisson tells us, we also have to make at
20 least two pauses. Thank you.
21 MR. McCLOSKEY:
22 Q. Did you work with Corporal Vaasen on any of
23 the OPs during your time in the Srebrenica enclave?
24 A. No, I have never been with Corporal Vaasen.
25 I've never worked with him on an OP. I've never worked
1 with Corporal Vaasen on an OP.
2 Q. And can you describe the kinds of military
3 weapons you saw that the Muslim army had at the various
4 times that you were working there?
5 A. The Muslim army consisted of mainly lightly
6 armed military, mortars, hand mortars, AK-47s of
7 Russian make, hand grenades, shell hand grenades, and
8 light machine-guns, and some pistols. They also had
9 self-made weapons, home-made weapons. They were very
10 creative, and most of those weapons were in the
11 compound in Srebrenica, on stock.
12 Q. Did you notice a change in the quantity or
13 quality of their weaponry as we get closer to July of
14 1995?
15 A. The more the situation of tension came near
16 by and the pressure in the area arose, we suspected
17 that there were helicopter droppings, and after that we
18 saw men in better military uniforms, they had better
19 arms, better weapons, they had new shoes, they had
20 better equipment, and certainly they were better
21 prepared.
22 Q. Did they have any large equipment?
23 A. Not so much. Most of the large material had
24 been confiscated by the 12th Battalion at the time, and
25 it was in the compound in Srebrenica.
1 Q. Did you ever see any armour in the hands of
2 the Muslim soldiers prior or during the fall of the
3 enclave.
4 A. One time, when I arrived at the beginning of
5 January, I saw one Muslim fighter with an AK, and he
6 ran off as fast as he could. That was the only thing I
7 saw.
8 Q. Did you ever see the Muslim army with a tank?
9 A. One time, one of my colleagues observed a
10 tank.
11 Q. Did you see it personally?
12 A. Negative.
13 Q. On July 11th, when the town of Potocari fell,
14 what was your assignment that day?
15 A. On that day, we were understaffed already.
16 We had worked hard, we were together, and we had to
17 take extra duties on the OP and in the compound. And
18 my place was a certain place in the building with a
19 machine-gun post, directed towards OP Papa.
20 Q. And where was that place?
21 A. That place was not in the large corridor, but
22 in a separate building, with a view to the northern
23 side of the enclave.
24 Q. And how high up were you?
25 A. On the second floor of the building. The
1 building only consisted of two floors.
2 MR. McCLOSKEY: Mr. President, at this time,
3 I would like to show the witness the Exhibit 5/2. If
4 you can put that on the ELMO.
5 Q. Witness, if you could look directly at the
6 exhibit as opposed to the ELMO, you may get a better
7 look at it. And if you could study it for a moment.
8 Do you recognise this photograph?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Is this the area outlined in yellow the UN
11 base, as it's marked?
12 A. That's correct.
13 Q. Now, do you see the area of the UN base where
14 you were actually located on the second floor?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Would you take the green marking pencil
17 that's in front of you and circle the area.
18 A. [Marks]
19 Q. And would you put your initials next to
20 that? Actually, strike that. Just put "F" next to it,
21 please.
22 A. [Marks]
23 Q. Now, about what time did you first go to that
24 lookout spot?
25 A. Early in the morning, after we had gotten the
1 orders, the weapons were distributed and the equipment,
2 and the task duties were given out.
3 Q. At some point in the day, did you notice
4 activity, military activity, in the area where you were
5 watching out?
6 A. That's correct. There was more and more
7 shooting in the area. We heard heavy engine sounds
8 from all directions, especially from the northern
9 direction. At the eastern side, there was heavy
10 battery sound, but on that day, they mostly came from
11 the northern side, ever more engine sounds, smoke,
12 shooting. From time to time, we saw Muslim fighters
13 with mortars. They just fired them and then they ran
14 back. And that's how it went for quite a while.
15 Q. Do you see the area on this exhibit where you
16 could see Muslim fighters with mortars?
17 A. I can't see the Muslim fighters, but I know
18 the area, of course. Yes, I can see it.
19 Q. Could you just point out the area where you
20 saw the Muslim fighters with mortars?
21 A. [Indicates]. Here and here and here.
22 MR. McCLOSKEY: The record should indicate
23 that he indicated he saw Muslim fighters on both sides
24 of the UN base, up in the hill area, as well as the
25 northern side of the UN base.
1 Q. Now, can you describe the scene as you
2 witnessed it that morning.
3 A. That morning, I was with my colleague, we
4 went to fetch water, and we saw more and more movements
5 of those Muslim fighters. They were grouping
6 themselves and redisappeared into the woods. From our
7 point, viewing point, we saw, towards the direction of
8 houses and OP Papa, we heard fighting coming from
9 there, fighting sounds. And later that day, and I
10 don't know the exact times, more Serbs started coming
11 in. We saw smoke arise around OP Papa and on both
12 sides of the hill, more shooting, more heavy engine
13 sounds, tank sounds. And the Muslim fighters were very
14 nervous, and they started to disappear into the woods,
15 they ran off.
16 On the eastern side, there were a couple of
17 Muslim fighters firing mortars at, I think, Serb
18 materiel, and they were taken under heavy machine-gun
19 fire.
20 Q. Did you have an opportunity to photograph the
21 smoke in the area of OP Papa that day?
22 A. Yes. My position was such that I had a good
23 view at the incoming materiel, the infantry, in such a
24 way that I also saw the houses at OP Papa's main
25 entrance. And indeed, I had a couple of pictures in my
1 camera, I took pictures of houses on fire and the smoke
2 of a tank, a Russian tank's oil fire -- I'm sorry, oil
3 smoke, very heavy smoke.
4 MR. McCLOSKEY: Could we present the witness
5 with Exhibit 63.
6 Q. Now, is this -- does this photograph depict
7 what you were able to photograph that day?
8 A. That's correct.
9 Q. Would you point at the various smoke plumes
10 that you see and tell us anything that you can about
11 them?
12 A. This was my position [indicates]. This was a
13 hill with mainly Serb positions. They also had cannons
14 which had been observed before --
15 Q. Excuse me. When you point to something, we
16 have to get it on the record, so please listen
17 carefully to the question and try to answer the
18 question as particularly as you can.
19 Could you first point to the smoke that you
20 noticed and tell us what you can about the various
21 smoke plumes?
22 A. These are smoke plumes arising from houses.
23 In this area -- there was OP Papa in this area. In
24 this area [indicates] we had an open field which was
25 behind OP Papa. Here on this hill, against this hill,
1 were Serb positions. We were told that there was a
2 minefield here [indicates], and later on it turned out
3 not to be true. This smoke plume came from a T-55
4 tank, a Russian tank --
5 MR. McCLOSKEY: Excuse me, again. Can the
6 record reflect that there is a dark smoke plume in the
7 middle of the photograph that the witness has described
8 as coming from a tank. And that the mountain behind
9 the smoke he earlier described is an area where there
10 were Serb positions.
11 Q. The other smoke in the area, can you describe
12 what you believe that to be from?
13 A. Those other smoke plumes came from houses in
14 that area. Most of them were set afire. It shows
15 clearly from the white smoke plumes, it was very dry in
16 that area, so those houses burnt with white smoke and
17 not with dark smoke. Dark smoke comes from oil. And
18 behind this tree line here [indicates], all those fires
19 were set ablaze. Sometimes we even saw the flames.
20 And those are the only pictures I took from this area.
21 MR. McCLOSKEY: Again, the witness was
22 pointing to the more whitish smoke plume on the right
23 side of the picture, and then going even more over to
24 the right, describing the smoke he was able to see and
25 sometimes flames.
1 Q. Can you describe what you saw shortly after
2 taking this photograph?
3 A. Well, what we observed was very nervous
4 Muslim fighters at the time, sounds -- the tank and
5 materiel sound coming closer. Along the tree line,
6 along the fields, there came a very well-organised
7 group of infantry units with a tank before them. This
8 tank which I showed you, the tank with the dark smoke,
9 it was indeed a Russian tank of the type T-55. And to
10 the left of the compound, there were organised military
11 men, and to the right, also organised military, and
12 they cleansed all the houses and looted everything that
13 they could take.
14 Q. Can you describe this first wave of what
15 you've described as organised soldiers, what they were
16 wearing, what they looked like?
17 A. This first wave of an organised army
18 consisted of well-disciplined infantry. They were
19 dressed with helmets, beautiful, good camouflage suits,
20 well-armed. They had several commanders, at least
21 NCOs, who gave orders. They had good liaison
22 materiel. The units were posted on both sides of the
23 enclave and they had contact. That is how they
24 advanced in line. And it was -- I had the impression
25 that they were very well-organised, and I think I have
1 enough experience to judge this after my time in
2 service.
3 Q. What colour were their camouflage uniforms?
4 A. On the right side of the compound from -- to
5 my right-hand side, most of them were dressed in
6 black. They were big, strong boys, strong guys,
7 lightly armed. They had very good liaison materiel,
8 carried on their backs mainly, and most of them were
9 dressed in black. They also cleansed all the houses
10 very thoroughly. And to the left, there was mainly
11 infantry. They advanced across the field. To the
12 left, there were fewer houses than to the right, so
13 there were infantry in camouflage suits, helmets. They
14 had machine-guns, AK-47s, grenades. It was an infantry
15 unit, an ordinary infantry unit.
16 JUDGE RIAD: Excuse me. You just mentioned
17 also that they cleansed all the houses very
18 thoroughly. I want to know the meaning of this word.
19 Thank you.
20 MR. McCLOSKEY: Thank you, Your Honour.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They cleansed
22 or cleared the houses in such a way that they could be
23 certain that there were no Muslim fighters or other
24 people left behind. Their task was cleaning or
25 cleansing out the whole area so that the units coming
1 after them could advance through this area.
2 Q. And what colour camouflage did the unit you'd
3 last described wear?
4 A. Black.
5 Q. So was this first wave of soldiers all
6 dressed in black?
7 A. To my right-hand side, yes, and they cleared
8 out all the houses. And to the other side, there was
9 infantry in camouflage and armed. To the right-hand
10 side, there was more fighting than to the left.
11 Q. But the soldiers on the left, they were also
12 dressed in black; is that right?
13 A. Some of them, yes.
14 Q. And what were the others dressed as?
15 A. Camouflage suits with helmets, and they were
16 under the direct command of a group commander,
17 sergeant, or a corporal, about that rank.
18 Q. Did you see any soldiers in green camouflage
19 together with the soldiers in black?
20 A. Not at first, until they had advanced halfway
21 towards the compound. If I could show it in a picture,
22 but I don't have a picture here --
23 Q. Again, we've gone back to Exhibit 5/2.
24 A. So at first, those men dressed in black came
25 along this line [indicates], they advanced along this
1 line, and they had several fighting incidents with the
2 Muslim fighters --
3 Q. Again, I'm sorry to interrupt, but for the
4 record I have to show you that you're talking about
5 from the bottom of the photo up towards the UN base,
6 that is where the black soldiers advanced.
7 A. So here were the soldiers dressed in black,
8 and here was the organised army advancing in this
9 direction as a corporal or a sergeant. Those black
10 military men also advanced, and they cleared or
11 cleansed out all the houses, and they organised
12 themselves, or regrouped, around this spot
13 [indicates] --
14 Q. Indicating right where the "UN base" words
15 are.
16 A. So they organised here [indicates], military
17 men in camouflage suits also advanced from this
18 direction, from this hill down [indicates], so this
19 whole area --
20 Q. Again, for the record, we have to say from
21 the hill on the left side of the photograph, military
22 people in camouflage are advancing down towards the UN
23 compound.
24 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
25 Mr. McCloskey, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but could
1 you please ask the witness where was the position and
2 the direction from which the photograph was taken, that
3 is, Exhibit 63, if you could do that, please.
4 MR. McCLOSKEY: Yes. Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 Q. Now, could you tell the Court where your
7 photograph was taken from and what direction the
8 photograph -- what direction you were pointing the
9 camera in when you took the photograph?
10 A. Towards this direction [indicates].
11 Q. I'm sorry. First can you tell us where you
12 were when you took the photograph. Is that inside the
13 little circle marked "F"?
14 A. That's correct, in this dark building, which
15 you see here [indicates].
16 Q. And could you take your pointer again and
17 point in the direction -- or just lay the pointer down
18 in the direction your photograph was?
19 A. [Indicates].
20 Q. And the record should indicate he's pointing
21 straight down to the bottom of the photograph. And
22 that's in the direction of Bratunac, is it not?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. Now, when you saw these soldiers going into
25 these houses, did you see them taking any property or
1 doing anything that you thought was not soldierly?
2 A. This first wave mostly cleared out the
3 houses, and they were certainly trained to do so.
4 Immediately afterwards, there were some people who
5 entered the houses and who took all their belongings,
6 everything that was valuable, they just carried
7 outside.
8 Q. Can you describe who those people were, how
9 they were dressed?
10 A. They were dressed in camouflage. They were
11 less well-organised. They were not under any direct
12 command. They had -- so after this first infantry line
13 had been through, they had to guard this area because
14 there might still be some resistance, and they
15 literally just spoiled themselves with other people's
16 property.
17 Q. Were both these units you've described
18 Bosnian Serb army units?
19 A. That's correct.
20 Q. Were you able to watch all of this from your
21 perch on the second floor?
22 A. That's correct. It was an ideal point,
23 looking towards the north and the east.
24 Q. Did you see other soldiers, other Bosnian
25 Serb soldiers, arrive in the area while you were still
1 up there?
2 A. Yes. The units were replenished, more
3 materiel was coming in, kind of replenishing units came
4 in to replenish the troops advancing towards
5 Srebrenica, bringing in more materiel. There were also
6 officers amongst them and higher ranks, because this
7 area was already cleared because the others had been
8 through. And those units mainly consisted of what I
9 would call Rambo-types, not disciplined units, and
10 perhaps some reserve people.
11 Q. And how were they dressed?
12 A. They were mainly dressed in camouflage and
13 also civilian, so most of them had camouflage trousers
14 and a civilian shirt. It was a hot day. And this type
15 of military were less well-trained physically. They
16 were a bit fatter, they had bellies. They were also
17 older than the first wave. They also had AK-47s with
18 wooden butts, pistols. They had bandannas. The men
19 with the machine-guns carried the machine-gun straps
20 diagonally across their chest. They were smoking, they
21 had cigarettes between their lips. So they were less
22 disciplined.
23 Q. Did you see other types of units come into
24 the area?
25 A. When the first wave had passed the compound
1 and the Rambo-types were around, were supposed to keep
2 the area safe, more vehicles came in, military and
3 civilian vehicles, also police vehicles, "police" was
4 written on those vehicles. And I saw a blue tank which
5 was very distinctive between all those blue -- between
6 all those green. There were military polices, also
7 some reporters, people in civilian clothes, et cetera.
8 Q. Now, this blue vehicle that you saw, was it a
9 tank or an armoured personnel carrier?
10 A. It was not a tank. It was a vehicle on
11 normal wheels, ordinary wheels. It's an armed vehicle
12 to transport personnel. About 15 men would be
13 transported with such a vehicle. Usually it's slightly
14 armed with a machine-gun, such a vehicle.
15 Q. Did you see any other blue vehicles in the
16 vicinity of Potocari that day of a military type?
17 A. Negative. Only the police cars. Most of
18 them were Gulfs, Volkswagen Gulfs, type 1.
19 Q. Did you see any soldiers in a blue
20 military-style outfit?
21 A. That's correct. They were dressed in blue
22 uniforms, or jumpsuits, overalls with a black belt and
23 pistol, and an AK. And some of them had an automatic
24 weapon of German origin.
25 Q. When did you first see these men in blue?
1 A. Later that day, after the first wave had
2 passed and the compound was surrounded, and most people
3 were there before, in front of the compound.
4 Q. And were these Bosnian Serb soldiers, these
5 people in blue?
6 A. They were certainly Serbian police, army
7 police, yes. They were subordinate to the government.
8 Q. Did you see how these Serb army police acted
9 throughout the day? Could you tell what role they
10 played in the events of this day?
11 A. They were present, mainly. Some of them
12 entered the compound in order to look at the refugees,
13 and my idea was that their task was mainly to secure
14 the higher ranking officers, to keep them safe. I
15 think a kind of military police, a kind of
16 anti-terrorist unit, who had to guard the higher
17 ranking people.
18 Q. All right. Now, is it true that you remember
19 these days as the first day, meaning the day that the
20 Bosnian Serb soldiers arrive, and the second day,
21 meaning the day that all the refugees were shipped out?
22 A. That's correct.
23 MR. McCLOSKEY: I may have misstated the
24 date, Mr. President, on this, but we will just refer to
25 this as the first day, then.
1 Q. How long did you stay up in your post on that
2 first day?
3 A. A couple of hours. And the day before that
4 first day, we were also already there. We were
5 understaffed, so I think -- I don't know the time
6 anymore, but perhaps till about noon, around that time,
7 we stopped.
8 Q. Okay. On that first day that the soldiers
9 arrived, what did you do after leaving the lookout
10 area?
11 A. After the Serbs had entered and the compound
12 had been surrounded, we got orders to lay down our arms
13 and to make ourselves visible, to show ourselves to the
14 Serb units, to show that we would not use any violence
15 against them, as a sign of that. We had to go out into
16 the open and just wait and see what was going to
17 happen.
18 Q. Who gave you the order to lay down your arms?
19 A. The order came from, at that time, my
20 commander, Major Otter, and he, of course, also gets
21 his orders from a higher hand, and it just filtered
22 down.
23 Q. After that, were you able to assist the
24 refugees?
25 A. Yes. We were already understaffed, and there
1 had been so many refugees that we had to give them
2 help.
3 Q. Can you describe how you personally helped
4 them?
5 A. The refugees had, of course, already arrived
6 on our compound, and during the night, we tended to
7 them, we comforted them. And the day when the arms
8 were laid down, everybody went their own way. There
9 was no direct chain of command anymore, and actually
10 everybody assisted as they could. I myself mainly --
11 well, it's probably not a proper expression, but what I
12 did was put people on the buses, on trucks, on
13 tractors. I was in command at the time, I was in the
14 rank of a commander, so I -- there was no direct chain
15 of command in this whole process, in this whole
16 situation. So I directed others.
17 Q. Did you help any refugees with their children
18 or problems they had with their children?
19 A. Correct. More and more refugees came into
20 the compound. If I could just show you on the map from
21 which direction. Our people had made a hole in the
22 gate, in the fence, and the refugees came from this
23 direction [indicates], onto the compound, and I was
24 positioned in this area at the time.
25 Q. Okay. May the record show that you're
1 speaking to an area just below the "Y" in "Blue
2 Factory" on the outline of the yellow border of the UN
3 compound.
4 A. Many women and children came, many babies,
5 mostly babies, with babies, babies who had swollen up.
6 It was save yourselves. Older people were left
7 behind. Everybody was just trying to get to safety,
8 onto the compound. And several times, I held babies in
9 my arms which were so swollen that they finally died.
10 Q. Can you give us any kind of an estimate of
11 how many deceased babies you had to take like that?
12 A. About between 5 and 15, and perhaps even
13 more. I didn't count at that moment.
14 Q. Were any of the babies alive that were given
15 you?
16 A. Yes, some of them were still alive, but they
17 were certainly undernourished. Usually the women would
18 give me the babies because they just didn't know
19 anymore what to do and what their future would bring.
20 Q. And were you able to care for some of the
21 babies that were still alive and get them some care?
22 A. I, in turn, gave those babies to our medical
23 staff, who at that point in time cared for the wounded,
24 for the refugees, and for babies and children. I
25 mainly was concerned with helping people into the
1 compound, and I gave the babies to the medical staff
2 and I referred them to the medical staff.
3 Q. Now, after that period where you were helping
4 refugees into the compound, did you eventually go over
5 to the area where people were being loaded on the
6 buses?
7 A. That's correct.
8 Q. And what did you see over there?
9 A. There was chaos on the compound. There were
10 several buses, trucks, tractors. There was nobody in
11 charge. It was a very hot day. There was no water, no
12 food. We ourselves had flasks with water, and I
13 ordered some of my colleagues and subordinates to get
14 water and to distribute it to the refugees. The Serb
15 soldiers just stood there, looking, and they just liked
16 what they saw. Some of them were robbing us, the
17 DutchBat soldiers, of our pistols, of our helmets.
18 They took away our watches, our clothing, just for a
19 souvenir. Those were mainly those Rambo-types which I
20 described coming in the second wave.
21 Q. Were you present when Muslims were actually
22 loaded onto buses?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Can you describe what you saw of that
25 process?
1 A. The people who were loaded into the buses and
2 onto the trucks were mainly the people outside the
3 compound. They wanted to get them away as fast as
4 possible. A separation was made between men between
5 the ages of 14, 15, up to 50. The men had to surrender
6 their belongings. And the women were transported in
7 the other direction, towards the buses. They had to
8 advance towards the first bus, and that is how they
9 filled all the buses. And as soon as a bus was full,
10 two or three buses left the enclave. Sometimes they
11 were escorted by a military vehicle.
12 Q. Now, when the men were separated, did you see
13 where they went?
14 A. Some buses, a couple of buses, were situated
15 towards the Srebrenica direction and some buses also
16 went towards Bratunac. That is how they left the
17 enclave. The men were separated. If I could just show
18 you in this picture.
19 Q. Again, referring to the same exhibit, 5/2.
20 A. So this is the area where the separation of
21 the men took place [indicates].
22 MR. McCLOSKEY: And for the record, it should
23 indicate the witness showed the area around the White
24 House.
25 Q. You mentioned the men's belongings. What
1 happened to the men's belongings?
2 A. They were searched at such a high pace that
3 all their belongings were taken away from them. The
4 older men were put onto the bus -- the distinction was
5 immediately made -- and the younger boys, around 15 up
6 to 30 years, were taken apart. Some of them were
7 interrogated, all their belongings were put onto one
8 big heap, and afterwards, of course, they were also
9 taken away, and it could be in both directions.
10 Q. Did you see where the men were taken for
11 interrogation?
12 A. Most or all of them -- let me show you here
13 in the picture -- were taken to the White House, across
14 from the compound. That was a very distinctive
15 location. Many military were around there.
16 Q. Where were their belongings accumulating
17 during this process?
18 A. Their belongings were put near the entrance
19 to this little house. Let me show you once more. Do
20 you see the white bus here? That is the main entrance
21 to the path leading to the White House, and that is
22 where the belongings of all those people were put
23 down. And in the end, it was such a big mound that
24 around the White House everywhere there were those
25 belongings, rucksacks, bags, shoes, passports, knives,
1 razors, whatever they had.
2 MR. McCLOSKEY: For the record, the witness
3 indicated a little white speck below the circle
4 marked "White House." It appears to be an area in
5 front of the White House.
6 Q. Now, earlier, you said that no one was in
7 charge. Did you mean that no one was in charge from
8 the Dutch or no one was in charge from the Serb side?
9 A. We were understaffed, and the higher-ranking
10 officers and NCOs were under such stress and so busy
11 with other things that we did not have any command.
12 Everybody did as they saw best, and we did what we
13 could.
14 On the Serb side, it was certainly very
15 well-organised.
16 Q. What leads you to belief that?
17 A. It was certainly the case that it was a
18 well-prepared stage. Everybody had been assigned a
19 task, everybody knew his position. There were people
20 who had to guard the compound, who had to guard the
21 surroundings. There were units who had to clear out
22 the houses, and there were other units who had to do
23 the interrogations. Those were older men; most of them
24 had a pistol. It was indeed well organised, and it was
25 perhaps a separate unit assigned to this task.
1 Q. Can you describe this unit that you think may
2 have been a separate unit, what the people looked like,
3 what they were wearing?
4 A. Around that White House, the interrogation
5 house, there were mainly armed military in camouflage,
6 and in the house, there were elder men with pistols.
7 They had more experience. And there was certainly a
8 good chain of command, who decided what was going to
9 happen to those people and which bus they were to
10 board. And, indeed, there was the police car, not the
11 armed vehicle, but those Volkswagen Golfs. They were
12 also present there.
13 Q. Now, this description you're giving us of
14 various units all doing various tasks, including
15 clearing out houses, guarding the compound, separating
16 the men from the women and children, interrogating men,
17 how would you describe the coordination between these
18 various groups, as you saw it?
19 A. From a military point of view, I would never
20 condone what happened, but it was a good operation. It
21 was well organised, well prepared, good command.
22 Everybody knew their task. Certainly it was planned
23 about how to go about this, and several units were
24 involved for this approach. It was a large-scale
25 approach in such a way that they did not know what
1 resistance to expect, but they knew that they would be
2 able to handle it as quickly as possible. There was
3 good communication, internal communication, good
4 liaison materiel, and it is well known, the Yugoslav
5 army is well known for their good liaison materiel. It
6 was very well organised. They had a sufficient chain
7 of command. There was new materiel brought in,
8 constantly new troops, new units, very well-oiled.
9 Q. Do you see anyone in this room today that you
10 saw out there at that time?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Could you point out where that person is and
13 what they're wearing?
14 A. [Indicates]. He's sitting behind that
15 gentleman. He has greying hair and he has a partition
16 to the left. He is wearing a black jacket and a white
17 shirt.
18 MR. McCLOSKEY: Can the record indicate that
19 he has identified General Krstic.
20 And, Mr. President, as you've indicated, it's
21 a good idea for a break.
22 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,
23 Mr. McCloskey. I think that we have another one hour
24 and five minutes to work, and I think we should split
25 the remaining time in two parts. As far as I can see,
1 there is an English interpreter who is working all the
2 time, so we're going to have a break, a 15-minute
3 break.
4 --- Recess taken at 1.27 p.m.
5 --- On resuming at 1.47 p.m.
6 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
7 Mr. McCloskey, you can continue.
8 MR. McCLOSKEY: Thank you, Mr. President.
9 Q. Witness F, prior to the break, you'd
10 identified General Krstic as a man that was present in
11 Potocari during this time frame. When was the first
12 time you saw General Krstic's face after seeing him in
13 Potocari during this time frame?
14 A. On the second day.
15 Q. Okay. That wasn't exactly my question, but
16 I'll go back to that. So the first day being the day
17 that the soldiers, the VRS soldiers, first arrived in
18 Potocari, again, which day did you actually see General
19 Krstic?
20 A. On the first day, the day of the fall of the
21 enclave.
22 Q. All right. So you saw him on the day that
23 soldiers first came into the enclave?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. How about the second day?
1 A. I also saw him once in front of the
2 compound. At the time, he was together with several
3 military, I think higher ranking ones.
4 Q. When you saw him in front of the compound
5 with other high-ranking military people, was that the
6 first day or the second day?
7 A. The first day.
8 Q. Did you ever see him on the second day?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Where did you see him on the second day?
11 A. Around the compound, in the vicinity, and the
12 White House, in that area.
13 Q. What was he doing when you saw him there on
14 the second day?
15 A. Mostly nothing. They didn't do much. They
16 just looked whether everything was going according to
17 plan. They didn't give any direct commands. It was
18 all led by officers, by NCOs. It was already
19 prepared.
20 Q. Now, the first day you saw him with officers
21 in the vicinity of the compound, what did you see that
22 time, on that first day?
23 A. The first day, they wanted to enter the
24 compound, to see how many men there were at that moment
25 in the compound, refugees who had been hiding in our
1 compound. So they were kind of consulting at the gate
2 whether they could enter or not.
3 Q. When you say "they," again, who do you mean?
4 A. The high-ranking military, security units who
5 had to secure the officers.
6 Q. And General Krstic was in that group?
7 A. The security was nervous because the compound
8 was not yet secured. They were nervous, they thought
9 there might be armed fighters inside. So they had not
10 yet personally secured the compound.
11 Q. I need to go back and clarify the record. I
12 didn't hear an answer to my question whether or not you
13 saw General Krstic in that group of officers outside
14 the compound.
15 A. Yes, he was also present.
16 Q. Now, going back to a question I asked a while
17 back, when was the -- after seeing General Krstic in
18 Potocari, how many days, weeks, or years later did you
19 next -- was it until you next saw his face?
20 A. I've never, ever seen his face again, after
21 those pictures.
22 Q. You were shown some pictures, weren't you?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. And when were you shown pictures of General
25 Krstic?
1 A. After I had been called to the Tribunal,
2 those photographs were put in front of me, and I was
3 asked whether I had ever seen this man before.
4 Q. That was within the last two or three days,
5 wasn't it?
6 A. That's correct.
7 Q. And I'm the person that showed you those
8 photographs.
9 A. That's totally correct.
10 Q. When I showed you those photographs, were you
11 able to recognise the person in the photographs?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Is that the same person that you see in court
14 today?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Is there any doubt in your mind that the
17 person you see in court today is the same person you
18 saw in Potocari during the time period we're talking
19 about?
20 A. No, I have no doubts.
21 Q. During the separation process, did you
22 witness any Serb troops using any violence against the
23 men?
24 A. When I was outside the compound, standing
25 outside the compound, the people were separated. It
1 had to happen fast. There were older people amongst
2 them and children, women with babies and with
3 belongings. It was a hot day. They didn't have any
4 water. If they didn't hurry, those people, sometimes
5 they were kicked, they were beaten, they were pushed.
6 Many people fell because of that, and some kind of
7 traffic jams resulted. And they panicked. The buses
8 were loaded so full that people were squashed inside
9 the buses. They didn't get any water for the way, no
10 food. The windows could not be opened. It was like a
11 hot tin oven, it was so hot. Yes, indeed, there was
12 kicking, beating, spitting, shouting.
13 Q. Were you able to recognise any other Bosnian
14 Serb officers present at Potocari on that first day?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And who was that?
17 A. General Mladic was present.
18 Q. What did you see Mladic doing?
19 A. He was in the vicinity of the refugees, with
20 lots of security guards. There was a camera crew
21 there. They distributed candy. They acted kindly
22 towards children and elderly people; they even patted
23 their heads in front of the camera's eye, and they
24 tried to act friendly, to be friendly. They said,
25 "Don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen, and you
1 will be taken away to safety."
2 Q. And then what happened?
3 A. After the camera crew stopped filming, the
4 General turned around, he laughed. The soldiers took
5 the candy back, took the cigarettes back. They spit at
6 the children and at the women, and they were taken away
7 directly.
8 Q. Besides Krstic and Mladic, did you recognise
9 any other Serb soldier or officer by name?
10 JUDGE RIAD: Excuse me. He said they were
11 taken away directly. Who was taken away, and where?
12 A. The refugees who at that point in time were
13 around the house, who had been given the candies, they
14 were taken away immediately.
15 JUDGE RIAD: Where? To where?
16 A. After the film crew had stopped, after the
17 film had been taken.
18 JUDGE RIAD: I just want to understand the
19 word "away." To the buses? To the White House?
20 Where?
21 A. Directly to the buses.
22 JUDGE RIAD: Thank you.
23 MR. McCLOSKEY: Thank you, Your Honour.
24 Q. Did you recognise any other Bosnian Serb
25 officer by name that was present in Potocari?
1 A. Not by name, not directly by name.
2 MR. McCLOSKEY: I'd like to show the witness
3 Exhibit 28-13.1.
4 Q. Do you recognise the person depicted in that
5 photograph?
6 A. That's correct, I recognise him.
7 Q. Where did you see him?
8 A. I saw him at OP Papa, at the time the convoys
9 were not allowed to go through, and we negotiated with
10 him, and I saw him on the day the enclave fell.
11 Q. Okay. To try to clear up -- you're talking
12 about two different time periods now. One time period
13 has to do with the convoys and convoys not being able
14 to get through; is that right?
15 A. That's correct. That was about halfway
16 through my time in Srebrenica.
17 Q. So at least some weeks prior to the fall of
18 the enclave.
19 A. That's right.
20 Q. And where did you next see this person in the
21 exhibit, 28-13.1?
22 A. In the vicinity of the compound and the
23 refugees.
24 Q. What day?
25 A. The first day.
1 Q. How about the second day?
2 A. He was also there.
3 Q. And what was he doing in the vicinity of the
4 refugees that first day?
5 A. Not much. This man was standing there. He
6 only talked to officers, not to subordinates. He was a
7 quiet man. He certainly had a lot of authority.
8 Q. And were you able to recognise any of the
9 officers or Bosnian Serb soldiers you saw him talking
10 to on that first day?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And who was that?
13 A. The gentleman in this courtroom.
14 Q. The person you've identified in this
15 courtroom previously?
16 A. That's right.
17 MR. McCLOSKEY: [Previous translation
18 continues] ... indicating General Krstic, for the
19 record.
20 Q. Can you describe what you saw with General
21 Krstic and this fellow, where they were, what they were
22 doing?
23 A. Those people had to laugh, and they found it
24 all very jolly, what happened, in my opinion, at
25 least. They were present in order to see that
1 everything was going according to plan, and sometimes
2 they gave commands, they gave orders, or they told
3 people what to do, or it was reported to them how the
4 situation was progressing. This group of persons
5 mainly consisted of officers who watched the situation
6 from the outside.
7 Q. Did you see General Mladic around these two
8 people, General Krstic and this person in this
9 photograph?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And was he involved in the discussions with
12 them in any way?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And did you see a major who you had become
15 familiar with prior to the fall of the enclave?
16 A. I don't understand the question.
17 Q. Do you recognise the name Nikolic?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And who's Major Nikolic?
20 A. He's a high-ranking officer with lots of
21 authority. Well, at first sight, he's a friendly man,
22 a fatherly type, also business-like type. Many
23 subordinates became very nervous when he was around.
24 Q. And how did you become familiar with Major
25 Nikolic?
1 A. I'm sorry.
2 THE INTERPRETER: I'm sorry. I didn't
3 understand what the witness said. The interpreter is
4 asking for the witness to start his statement again.
5 Could you please ask the witness to repeat.
6 MR. McCLOSKEY:
7 Q. Let me interrupt you for a minute. We have a
8 little translation glitch, so let me ask you again.
9 How did you know Major Nikolic? Where did
10 you know him from?
11 A. When I was at OP Papa, as an observer, we
12 often went to the enclave's border as a kind of --
13 there was a kind of guardhouse, there were guards.
14 Often we consulted about the convoys which were not
15 allowed through, the convoys with food, and he was
16 present often.
17 Q. And did you see Major Nikolic in Potocari on
18 the first day, the day that Serb soldiers came in?
19 A. Yes, he was present.
20 Q. And where did you see him?
21 A. In the vicinity of the compound.
22 Q. And do you know who he was with?
23 A. Mainly with the high-ranking officers, and he
24 had his own security guard. Mainly he drove in a blue
25 Golf.
1 Q. Okay. I'm going to take you away from that
2 first day and into the second day. Where did you spend
3 the night of that first day?
4 A. Where I spent the night is perhaps saying too
5 much. We just kept on working. Mainly I was on the
6 compound with the refugees, in the big hall.
7 Q. And did you ever find any dead Muslims in the
8 compound?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. When was that?
11 A. Mainly during the beginning of the evening,
12 on the compound itself.
13 Q. Was that the first day or the second day?
14 A. From the first to the second day.
15 Q. And can you describe what you saw?
16 A. The people on the compound were very
17 frightened, they didn't know what to expect. Some
18 people had hanged themselves. Actually, they had
19 been -- they had injured themselves. There were dead
20 babies lying, wrapped in clothes. There were bodies
21 around, visible, yes.
22 Q. And the next morning, what did you do, the
23 morning of the second day?
24 A. We continued our day with our duties, in
25 preparing the buses and trucks, to reconnoitre the
1 vicinity. Those were our duties.
2 Q. And did you make a specific reconnoitre for
3 some reason?
4 A. Several times I made a round of the compound,
5 mainly in the hall where the injured people were, and
6 indeed I was there several times and I saw a wounded
7 soldier whom I had met before.
8 Q. And did you talk to him?
9 A. I talked to that man.
10 Q. What language?
11 A. In English.
12 Q. And what did he say to you?
13 A. This soldier was about my age. We recognised
14 each other, we knew each other from OP Sierra. He
15 asked me what was going on outside and what was going
16 to happen to him. He had injured himself; his arm, his
17 leg, his head were injured. I asked, "What happened?"
18 And he said, "I was in a fight with Serb military." I
19 asked about his friend, because he had been with a
20 friend before. His friend had been killed in a fight,
21 and he had fled towards the compound. He asked me,
22 "What's going to happen to me?" and I couldn't give
23 him a direct answer to that. I mean, I could have done
24 so, but it's very difficult to tell him that he, being
25 a man, will be taken away, because separations are
1 taking place. So I didn't tell him much. He said to
2 me, "You don't have to tell me. I know what's going to
3 happen. I'm going to be taken away and killed." So I
4 just nodded my head and I saw the fear in his eyes.
5 There wasn't much I could do. I stood powerless. And
6 I haven't seen him since.
7 Q. On the second day, did you go outside the
8 compound on a patrol and find anything?
9 A. On the second day, I indeed continued with my
10 duties. Indeed, I walked around the compound, yes.
11 Q. And outside the compound, did you find
12 anything significant?
13 A. Outside the compound, many belongings were
14 lying around, things belonging to people who had left
15 their things people. I found passports, stuff, and
16 bodies, dead bodies.
17 Q. And where did you find the dead bodies?
18 A. Behind the White House, the interrogation
19 house.
20 Q. Did you find any bodies up by a creek
21 anywhere?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And where is that?
24 A. Behind the White House, about 700 metres from
25 the compound, there is a kind of electricity house. I
1 was very familiar with this route because I had
2 patrolled it many times.
3 Q. Now, when you say "behind the White House,"
4 are you referring to the bodies that you found in the
5 creek, or were they other bodies actually right behind
6 the White House?
7 A. Further away, behind the White House.
8 Q. So you just found one group of bodies.
9 A. Yes. I found nine -- I saw nine to ten
10 corpses.
11 Q. And were you able to photograph them?
12 A. Yes.
13 MR. McCLOSKEY: Mr. President, I'd like to
14 show the witness what has been marked OTP Exhibit
15 5/3A.
16 Q. Could you take the green pen that you have in
17 front of you and draw a circle around the area where
18 you photographed these bodies.
19 A. [Marks]
20 MR. McCLOSKEY: Could we put that on the ELMO
21 so that we can all see that.
22 Q. Is there a creek in the vicinity of the area
23 where you found the bodies, or a stream?
24 A. Yes, that's correct.
25 Q. And could you mark -- do you recall where the
1 stream was?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Can you mark with a green pen where you
4 recall the stream being?
5 A. [Marks]
6 Q. Okay. Could you also circle the White House,
7 as your recollection serves you, where it was on this
8 photograph?
9 A. [Marks]
10 Q. Okay. Thank you. Can you describe the
11 situation, how it was that you came and found these
12 bodies?
13 A. That day there had been rumours already,
14 rumours about it being possible that there might be
15 corpses in the vicinity. Shots had been heard in the
16 whole area. And those were just rumours, actually.
17 I had time to spare, and I just went into the
18 area. I thought, "I won't go too far because I'm
19 alone." Everybody else was busy, and anything could
20 happen. "So if anything goes wrong, they will miss me
21 straight away." And I met a colleague, he was higher
22 in rank than I, and we started talking. And he asked
23 me what I was doing there at that point in time, and I
24 said, "Well, I heard a rumour of corpses being around
25 here," and he said, "I also heard that."
1 So after this exchange, we went on together
2 and we took a path which went towards -- leading
3 towards the location I circled, and there is where I
4 found the bodies. So the rumour was true.
5 Q. And how close did you get to the bodies when
6 you photographed them?
7 A. I was on a hill, this brook or creek was
8 about 20 metres away, and there were the bodies. My
9 colleague was standing on guard because there were many
10 Serb soldiers in the vicinity, those Rambo-types.
11 Q. All right.
12 MR. McCLOSKEY: Could we show the witness
13 Exhibit 59.
14 Q. And is this -- number 59, is this one of the
15 photographs that you took?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. It doesn't come out very well on the ELMO,
18 but there is a figure that's outlined with two white
19 stripes. Were you the one that outlined that figure
20 and those two white stripes over the photograph? Were
21 you the one that outlined the figure with those two
22 white stripes, Witness?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. It doesn't come out on the ELMO at all, but
25 could you just give your best effort to point at the
1 photograph with your pointer and outline where you
2 believe a figure is.
3 A. [Indicates]. This is his head, this black
4 part is his hair, and this little white spot is his
5 face. This man was wearing a blue vest over his white
6 shirt. This is his blue vest. And this is his arm and
7 a white shirt. This white part, this is the colour of
8 his white shirt. Here is the creek, and this was the
9 first man who was lying there, and the others were
10 lying along that line here [indicates], downwards.
11 MR. McCLOSKEY: For the record, he indicated
12 that the creek was below the figure of the person and
13 that the line where the other bodies were lying was
14 going from the figure left towards the right of the
15 photograph.
16 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
17 Mr. McCloskey, sorry to interrupt you, but we are
18 talking about the 12th of July. That is when the
19 photograph was taken. I should like to know, when was
20 this photograph taken?
21 MR. McCLOSKEY:
22 Q. Can we clear up the actual date that this
23 photograph was taken? If you don't know the date, was
24 it the first day the soldiers came in or the second
25 day?
1 A. The second day. The first day, we were too
2 busy with helping the refugees and there weren't many
3 people walking around in the vicinity.
4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I do
5 apologise for insisting, but could you give us the
6 date?
7 MR. McCLOSKEY:
8 Q. Do you know the actual date that this
9 occurred? Excuse me. That you saw this.
10 A. The 12th.
11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you.
12 MR. McCLOSKEY:
13 Q. Now, were you able to take photographs of
14 other bodies in the area, near this body?
15 A. I took several pictures of corpses which were
16 lying there. These men were in a line, lying in a
17 line, but as you can see yourselves, the foliage was
18 very heavy and, to repeat again, I was on the ridge of
19 the hill and there were many soldiers around. So I
20 almost risked my own life in order to take these
21 pictures, but, indeed, I took several pictures.
22 Q. And you're not a photographer, I take it.
23 A. As you can see from these pictures.
24 MR. McCLOSKEY: Could we show the witness
25 Exhibit 60, and 61 shortly after that.
1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]
2 Mr. McCloskey, I think that we perhaps could adjourn
3 after we see those photographs.
4 MR. McCLOSKEY: Yes, Mr. President.
5 Q. Now, again, prior to coming into court today,
6 did you have a chance to study this photograph and mark
7 certain outlines with white stripes?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And is this one of the photographs you took,
10 this number 60?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And does seeing it help refresh your
13 recollection about where the bodies were lying?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. It's really impossible to tell from the
16 photographs any bodies from this photograph, but have
17 you attempted to outline your recollection of where the
18 bodies were, from what you could see in the photograph?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. And can you explain it?
21 A. Here is the first victim [indicates], in our
22 first picture. The second victim is lying here
23 [indicates]; this man was wearing black clothes; here
24 is where he was lying. Here is another victim
25 [indicates]. This man is wearing white trousers.
1 These are his legs and this is his face.
2 To repeat, this is the direction of the
3 stream, downwards.
4 MR. McCLOSKEY: And, for the record, the
5 witness spoke of the first victim on the far left; the
6 next he spoke of was in the middle; and the next was to
7 the right of the middle person. And the stream is at
8 the -- below the white markings.
9 Q. And could you also now look at number 61.
10 Does the same hold true for 61? Is this a photograph
11 that you previously looked at and had a chance to mark?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And this is one of the photographs you took
14 that day?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Can you describe what you can about this
17 photograph?
18 A. Just to give you a picture, this is where the
19 creek is running [indicates]. Here was a body, with
20 his -- facing the creek, and here [indicates] another
21 body. That's the first body in the first picture, the
22 man wearing a blue vest, white sleeves, and black
23 hair.
24 MR. McCLOSKEY: The record should indicate
25 the first -- the body you discussed first on this
1 photograph is to the left; the next body you discussed
2 is to the right; and you pointed that the creek was
3 down below both these bodies.
4 Mr. President, this may be a good time to
5 take the break or adjourn for the day.
6 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,
7 Mr. McCloskey. We shall therefore adjourn, and
8 tomorrow at half past nine, we shall be resuming.
9 Until tomorrow, then.
10 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned
11 at 2.35 p.m., to be reconvened on
12 Wednesday, the 29th day of March,
13 2000, at 9.30 a.m.
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