Page 6872
1 Tuesday, 22 August 2006
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The witness entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9.06 a.m.
6 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Witness, as always, I'm going to remind you
7 that you are still bound by the declaration you made at the beginning of
8 your testimony to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing else but the
9 truth. Do you remember?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I do, Your Honour.
11 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
12 WITNESS: WITNESS MM-096 [Resumed]
13 [Witness answered through interpreter]
14 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic.
15 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
16 Examination by Mr. Milovancevic: [Continued]
17 Q. Good morning, Witness.
18 A. Good morning.
19 Q. We are about to resume your examination-in-chief. Once again, I
20 have to ask you that we both try not to overlap. Furthermore, it would be
21 useful as far as possible to take into account the protective measures you
22 were granted, especially in terms of your position, your job at the time,
23 or anything else that might reveal your identity as a protected witness.
24 Whenever necessary, we shall be going into private session.
25 (redacted)
Page 6873
1 (redacted)
2 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I'm afraid we'll need to redact
3 this question. I just warned the witness and I was the first transgressor
4 today. My apologies.
5 JUDGE MOLOTO: It happens to the best of us, Mr. Milovancevic.
6 Okay. Can we please redact line 25 of page 1 and line 1 of page 2.
7 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Your
8 Honour.
9 Q. Yesterday we talked about your arrival in the public security
10 station in Benkovac early in April 1991. You described the situation on
11 the ground as a war. Do you remember that?
12 A. Yes, I do.
13 Q. Do you know when the decision was taken to send in the blue
14 helmets, I mean UN troops, to the former Yugoslavia, the force usually
15 referred to as UNPROFOR?
16 A. I can't remember the specific date when the decision was adopted
17 by the UN Security Council, when the decision was adopted to send
18 peacekeeping troops to the former Yugoslavia. I do know, however, that
19 these units comprised a military component as well as a number of civilian
20 police. They arrived sometime early in April 1992.
21 Q. Thank you. Do you perhaps know what the basic condition was for
22 UN deployment in the area? What sort of situation on the ground did that
23 require for the UN troops to arrive?
24 A. As far as I remember, the principal condition for the arrival of
25 the UN troops was a cease-fire between the warring parties. That is the
Page 6874
1 JNA and the Croatian army.
2 Q. Do you know anything about how the clashes continued? Who was
3 attacking whom? You said there was a war on. Obviously there were
4 clashes. So, in short, who was attacking whom?
5 A. At the time I arrived in Benkovac municipality and just after,
6 which means sometime in April and May 1992, positions were attacked that
7 were being held by the JNA. These positions were being attacked by the
8 Croatian army. I'm talking about positions around Zemunik airport, Kotik
9 [phoen], Babin Dub and several other elevations in the area.
10 JUDGE MOLOTO: May I just interrupt a little bit,
11 Mr. Milovancevic?
12 Sorry, Witness, is your headphone okay? Can you hear well?
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes, I can. Thank you very
14 much, Your Honour.
15 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
16 You may proceed.
17 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
18 Q. You have described the situation you found when you arrived in the
19 Benkovac public security station. You say the situation was difficult.
20 Can you provide more detail? Can you describe more specifically the
21 situation you found in the station or in the area covered by that police
22 station?
23 A. When I said the situation in the station itself as well as in
24 Benkovac municipality was difficult, first and foremost what I had in mind
25 was the situation concerning daily combat throughout the municipality.
Page 6875
1 Settled areas were being shelled as well as the town of Benkovac itself.
2 What made the situation even more difficult was the large number of
3 refugees who found refuge in Benkovac municipality.
4 Q. Can you tell us who it was that was shelling the settled areas and
5 which refugees are you talking about?
6 A. The shelling of the town of Benkovac itself and those settled
7 areas was being done by the Croatian army. As for the refugees, those
8 were Serbs who fled from a range of coastal towns, Zadar, Biograd, the
9 area around Biograd, where a great number of Serbs used to live, but now
10 in 1991 and 1992, they fled to Benkovac municipality.
11 Q. Who had been chief of the Benkovac public security station prior
12 to your arrival? Is this something you remember?
13 A. Bosko Drazic.
14 Q. Can we please go into private session for a moment, Your Honour,
15 due to the nature of some of the questions to follow?
16 JUDGE MOLOTO: May the Chamber please move into private session.
17 [Private session]
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 (redacted)
23 (redacted)
24 (redacted)
25 (redacted)
Page 6876
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11 Pages 6876-6877 redacted. Private session.
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Page 6878
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 (redacted)
5 [Open session]
6 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
7 Q. In one of your previous --
8 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Sorry, I think I'm going too
9 fast.
10 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, we are already in open session.
11 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you so much.
12 Yes, Mr. Milovancevic. You may proceed.
13 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
14 Q. In one of your previous answers, Witness, you said that sometime
15 around April or May the UN troops arrived as well as a number of UN
16 civilian police. Did that bring about any changes in the way the public
17 security station in Benkovac was organised, was structured, in the work of
18 the local SUP, the Krajina SUP?
19 A. More throughout May and June 1992. That was when the military
20 component of the UN started deploying with greater intensity and the
21 clashes abated. The civilian police had just reorganised in Benkovac
22 itself somewhat earlier. We then started to work with them, especially
23 with the civilian police, since due to the nature of our work we had
24 closer ties with them, whereas the military was cooperating more with the
25 military component of the UN troops.
Page 6879
1 Q. You said that it was for the most part in May and June that the UN
2 troops deployed in the area. What's happening to the JNA at this time?
3 A. Well, at that time, the decision was made for the Yugoslav
4 People's Army to withdraw towards the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and
5 from there, to go on withdrawing to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
6 That meant that all active-duty troops who were not natives of Croatia
7 were leaving, together with a great number of officers who were not
8 natives of Croatia. All of them would be leaving the area, taking with
9 them the greatest part of the military equipment and materiel, the
10 logistical support and documentation.
11 Q. Do you know what was going on with the weapons of the Territorial
12 Defence of the SAO Krajina, which had by then become the Republic of
13 Serbian Krajina?
14 A. At that time, the remaining weapons were being removed from the
15 positions and placed in depots and military installations that already
16 existed by that time, and they were placed under so-called double key,
17 under the supervision of the United Nations.
18 Q. The arrival of the UNPROFOR, of the blue helmets, did it
19 automatically mean an end to the war?
20 A. Like all the citizens of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, I too
21 hoped that the arrival of UN troops would bring peace to the area and a
22 resolution of the political situation but that didn't happen. Raids,
23 clashes, skirmishes continued, and we could say the aggression against
24 that territory known already as the Republic of Serbian Krajina continued.
25 Q. Can you tell us of an instance of aggression that you are familiar
Page 6880
1 with in 1992?
2 A. Although it did not happen in the area that I was directly
3 responsible for, it happened in an adjacent area, the municipality of
4 Drnis. The Croatian army raided a UN protected area, UNPA, called the
5 Miljevac plateau, just next to Benkovac municipality. They raided that
6 municipality, captured a certain territory, and in that operation they
7 killed around 50 members of the army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.
8 Q. In that situation, when UN troops called UNPROFOR had already been
9 deployed together with the civilian police, what was the relationship
10 between your public security station and the police of the RSK, on the one
11 hand, to the UNPROFOR and the civilian police of the UN?
12 A. With the CIVPOL and the UNPROFOR, our relations were good, they
13 were welcomed very cordially, and we expected their assistance and help in
14 ending the war and we also expected their protection from the Croatian
15 army. At any rate, we expected an end to the war and a solution for the
16 whole situation. The UNPROFOR was made up of parts of the French
17 Battalion and the Kenyan Battalion, whereas members of the CIVPOL were of
18 various nationalities but most of them at the time were from Norway.
19 Q. The Vance Plan, on the basis of which UN troops were deployed in
20 that area, did it envisage some sort of cooperation between the local
21 police and the civilian police of the United Nations?
22 A. Of course it did. It envisaged cooperation in regulating the
23 situation, protecting the whole population, supervision of the whole
24 territory, patrolling, all these were supposed to be joint activities.
25 Q. Can you tell us about your area, the area of Benkovac
Page 6881
1 municipality? How good was the cooperation of your local police with the
2 civilian police of the United Nations?
3 A. From the moment the UN civilian police station was established,
4 our relationship with them was good. We had a good cooperation and we
5 informed each other, although it was rather us who informed them, about
6 the assignments we completed and activities and events that were taking
7 place. We met at least once a week, I mean representatives of the police
8 in Benkovac and the CIVPOL in Benkovac and once a week we submitted a
9 report to the CIVPOL listing all events and developments for the past
10 week, and if some serious crimes were involved, we would go further back
11 than one week. We also listed our assignments and our performance in
12 accomplishing these assignments.
13 That section of the UNPROFOR covered Lika and Northern Dalmatia.
14 In Sector South, we had meetings with the CIVPOL for Lika and Northern
15 Dalmatia and we met in a different place every time to discuss the overall
16 situation in the sector, and all chiefs of the civilian police, local
17 police and all chiefs of the Sector South CIVPOL attended those meetings.
18 Q. Can you tell us the name of any chief of CIVPOL from that area,
19 from that sector, that you remember?
20 A. When they arrived, members of the CIVPOL set up a number of those
21 stations and later on, they streamlined a little but they had a permanent
22 station in Knin, Kistanje, Benkovac, Obrovac, Drnis, Vrlika, and of course
23 in the area of Lika, in places like Lapac, Korenica, Gracac and so on.
24 Q. Thank you. You have explained that you informed the civilian
25 police of the United Nations on a regular basis. Did the UN civilian
Page 6882
1 police have any obligations to notify or report to you? Was it a mutual
2 thing?
3 A. As for their obligations towards us, their only obligation was to
4 pass information to us if anybody reported a crime to them, so that we
5 would be able to take action. They sometimes got hold of information that
6 was not available to us, and that happened mostly with reports made by
7 Croatian citizens who would report incidents to them when they were on
8 patrol. They had no other obligations towards us.
9 Q. Did the UN civilian police force have powers to conduct their own
10 investigations on the ground, if you know?
11 A. I don't know what powers they had. They never told us. But I
12 know that they usually asked us for information about various cases, what
13 happened, what action was taken, whether that action was sufficient to
14 detect the perpetrator. We always shared that information and always of
15 course the ultimate objective was to apprehend the perpetrator, and all
16 our work was geared at that. However, it was not always successful.
17 Q. When you describe your relationship with the civilian police of
18 the UN and the UNPROFOR, and when I say "your," I mean the Benkovac public
19 security station, was that relationship driven by your own personal
20 attitude and approach, or did you have specific instructions on how to
21 treat them?
22 A. We had orders to establish cooperation with them, and I don't
23 think it is my personal achievement in that area. It is a result of what
24 we were asked to do, what we were instructed to do. The entire police of
25 the Republic of Serbian Krajina had the same instructions, to cooperate
Page 6883
1 with the UN force.
2 Q. Did they ask you to build up measures for protecting the Croat
3 population in your area of responsibility?
4 A. At the meetings we had together and while analysing the situation
5 in such areas and settlements, they asked us to strengthen controls and
6 check-points. Yes, they often asked for that and we complied. We took
7 such measures and we increased our presence in those settlements to
8 protect the population.
9 Q. To protect that population from what? Can you tell us about
10 specific villages and settlements where you did that?
11 A. Like in every war, at that time, in the territory of Krajina,
12 there were a lot of armed people, and discipline is weakened by the war.
13 Individuals and groups would act on their own initiative, raiding,
14 looting, even killing. Those were people, individuals, who were
15 renegades, outlaws, people who thought that everything was permitted, and
16 they took advantage of the situation when the police was not able to be
17 everywhere and do everything. So they took law into their own hands,
18 mostly for personal profits. They were mostly bandits and robbers.
19 At that time, in the area of Benkovac municipality, we often had
20 to protect people in Sopot, Dobropoljci, Perusic, both Gornji and
21 Donji Perusic, Rodaljice, and later some smaller population centres where
22 we set up check-points and built up patrols and increased our presence.
23 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: Mr. Milovancevic, before you proceed with the
24 witness, and lest I forget, at page 10, line 20, you had posed this
25 question to the witness: "Can you tell us the name of any chief of police
Page 6884
1 from that area, from that sector, that you remember?"
2 I believe the question was addressed in relation to Sector South.
3 In addressing his answer, he said: "When they arrived, the
4 members of CIVPOL set up a number of those stations" and later on he went
5 on to list the stations involved. But he did not tell you the name of any
6 chief. So I wondered if we could just deal with that answer which he
7 overlooked to address specifically before you move on any further. Might
8 I at this stage? Thank you.
9 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour. I
10 didn't notice that such a question was recorded in the transcript. The
11 witness, in fact, answered the question that I actually asked. I asked
12 him about the places where police stations were set up. It must be a
13 misinterpretation, if that's what is recorded in the transcript. The
14 witness anyway answered exactly what I asked. If you want me to ask him a
15 question about chiefs, I can do that.
16 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: No, not at all. I was just addressing the
17 question that was on the record. I am grateful for the opportunity to
18 place the correct question on the record, on the transcript.
19 Thank you very much, Mr. Milovancevic.
20 JUDGE HOEPFEL: So that means there was no question asked about
21 any chief of CIVPOL?
22 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, you understood
23 correctly. At no point in time did I ask a question about the name of the
24 chief of a UN civilian police station. What I did want to know is if the
25 witness could tell us about the places where these stations were set up,
Page 6885
1 to list the places for me, and I believe the witness has answered the
2 question.
3 JUDGE MOLOTO: So are you saying that what is mentioned at
4 page 10, line 20, that question is incorrect -- is incorrectly recorded?
5 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That's right, Your Honour.
6 JUDGE MOLOTO: What was the correct question? Names of police
7 stations?
8 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That's right. That's right.
9 The question was the names of the police stations.
10 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
11 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Your
12 Honour.
13 Q. What about these cases you've mentioned, renegades from law,
14 bandits was the word you used, who for their own profit were attacking
15 civilians? Did you look into such cases in your capacity as a police
16 officer? Did you try to tackle any such incidents?
17 A. It's in the very description of our work as police officers that
18 we have to investigate incidents and crimes like those. We acted in the
19 spirit of those laws. We did our work as police officers all over the
20 world do. There would be a report, the crime would be reported, we would
21 go to the scene of crime, there would be an inspection, and whenever it
22 was ascertained that a crime had been committed we would take steps to
23 shed light on the circumstances and find the perpetrators as well as study
24 the consequences of any crime.
25 It was in fact the case that we had a number of serious crimes,
Page 6886
1 murder more specifically, in Benkovac municipality. Civilians were
2 murdered. Just after my arrival in Benkovac, sometime in April, in the
3 village of Perusic Gornji, a woman named Peka [phoen] was murdered. I
4 can't remember her family name. She read people's palms. That's what she
5 was famous for. She was killed in her own home.
6 Just after the crime became known, we took steps to inspect the
7 crime scene and interview any witnesses. During our investigation, we
8 found out that two young men, one from that village and one from the
9 neighbouring village, had committed that crime. We started a pursuit and
10 caught the perpetrators over the next two days. We brought them in,
11 interviewed them, confiscated evidence such as a hunting rifle that they
12 carried, and a pistol. We submitted this evidence to the relevant court
13 for further processing. I know that they were later tried for this crime.
14 Further, concerning more serious crimes, I remember that sometime
15 in June 1992, a group of three perpetrators committed a quadruple murder
16 of Croatian citizens in the village of Rodaljice. One lady survived,
17 although they tried to kill her too but she survived. Having found out
18 about that incident, we took appropriate steps and interviewed the
19 surviving lady right away. She was able to identify one of the
20 perpetrators. She gave us his name, and then we found another
21 perpetrator, arrested them both, and brought them before an investigating
22 magistrate. While this surviving lady was in hospital later on, she
23 enjoyed full protection by the police, until the UN military component
24 arrived in her village.
25 Q. Witness, in response to one of my previous questions you said you
Page 6887
1 were upholding public law and order, and you were trying to tackle all the
2 cases that came your way. Was this in fact more difficult due to the war
3 that was on and how did the war make your work more difficult?
4 A. It was more difficult to --
5 MR. WHITING: Objection. The question is, once again, leading.
6 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic? Was this in fact more difficult
7 due to the war that was on and how did the war make your war more
8 difficult? You're telling him the answer. You are testifying.
9 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, that wasn't the
10 way I understood my own question. The witness previously answered that
11 they had tried to tackle cases but this was made more difficult by the
12 war, and I'm asking him why, to explain why.
13 JUDGE MOLOTO: I'm quoting exactly what you said. Just look at
14 page 15, line 24. I beg your pardon, line -- page 16, line 1. Was this
15 in fact more difficult due to the war that was on and how did the war make
16 your work more difficult? What better example of testifying can one get?
17 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That is true. That is true,
18 Your Honour. It's true. That's what it says. But I was referring to the
19 witness's previous answer. He said that in as far as that was the case it
20 was made more difficult, which is something the witness has said earlier.
21 But I can rephrase my question, or perhaps I may as well give up the
22 question so that it could not be construed as leading. I shall be asking
23 further questions that I may be able to use in order to answer this one.
24 My purpose was not to lead the witness but to take as some sort of a point
25 of departure one of the witness's previous answers but this may be
Page 6888
1 construed as leading and therefore I withdraw the question.
2 JUDGE MOLOTO: Particularly when you don't say, "You told us
3 previously A, B, C," you know, then we don't know where you come from.
4 But we understand that may not have been your intention but it's the
5 effect, you know.
6 Yes, Mr. Whiting.
7 MR. WHITING: Your Honour, I wonder if we could have a cite to the
8 answer that the counsel is referring to, when he says that the witness
9 previously testified about this. I just would be interested in the cite
10 to that.
11 JUDGE MOLOTO: Would you like to show us that, Mr. Milovancevic?
12 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I have just
13 withdrawn the question. I see no point in pressing this matter any
14 further. But if you insist, we can look at one of the previous questions
15 or we can simply ask the witness to share that with us.
16 JUDGE MOLOTO: Let's look at it. Just show it to us. Because we
17 want to see what is on the record, not what the witness is now going to
18 say. We want to see what he has already said. Can you show us?
19 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I don't seem to be
20 able to locate the exact point right now. I think that must have been
21 about 15 minutes ago.
22 JUDGE MOLOTO: That's all the more important for you to link your
23 question or your statement to what he said earlier, you know. Otherwise
24 you sound like you're leading, and until we can find that, you are
25 leading. Until we can find that previous statement, you really are
Page 6889
1 leading, Mr. Milovancevic.
2 You see, if you can just try to remind yourself all the time, not
3 make statements, put a question: What happened, who did this, where did
4 it happen, how did it happen? But once you start with any other word that
5 is not why, who, when, how, you're likely to be asking -- making a --
6 asking a leading question.
7 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I do agree with that, Your
8 Honour.
9 JUDGE MOLOTO: Okay. Let the record then show that you have not
10 been able to show us that portion where he previously talked about the
11 difficulty from the war. And you may proceed.
12 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I do have a request to make,
13 Your Honour. I would like to be given an opportunity after break to
14 locate the exact point in the transcript for you.
15 (redacted)
16 (redacted)
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 (redacted)
23 (redacted)
24 (redacted)
25 (redacted)
Page 6890
1 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That is precisely what I will
2 do, Your Honour.
3 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]
4 JUDGE MOLOTO: I'm sorry, what I've just been referring to,
5 apparently, was said during private session so I violated a whole lot of
6 things. May we just make sure that we edit away all of what I've just
7 been saying right now. Thank you very much.
8 You may proceed, Mr. Milovancevic.
9 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Can we please have Exhibit 617
10 brought up on our screens?
11 Q. Before the document appears, Witness, I can tell you that this is
12 a summary report produced by the Benkovac public security station in
13 relation to the period between the 10th of December and the 24th of
14 December, 1991.
15 You now have the document in front of you. What about the upper
16 right corner of the document? Who submitted this report? What does it
17 say?
18 A. What I can see in the heading is that the document was produced in
19 the Benkovac public security station. It's about the area covered by the
20 public security station between the 10th of December and the 24th of
21 December, 1991.
22 Q. Can we please for a moment look at page 2 of the document, the
23 next page? The document only has two pages. Can you see who signed the
24 document and what does the stamp tell you?
25 A. The document was signed by Djuro Vukasinovic. At the time he was
Page 6891
1 assistant chief in the crime department of the Benkovac public security
2 station. The stamp reads: "Public security station, Ministry of Internal
3 Affairs."
4 Q. Can we please now go back to page 1? There is reference there to
5 a number of events, or, rather, crimes reported to the Benkovac public
6 security station in this period, the first of these occurring on the 12th
7 of December, 1991, and onwards. Do you see that report in front of you,
8 Witness?
9 A. Yes, I do.
10 Q. This document has been used before in these proceedings. If you
11 look at the following date, the 21st of December, 1991, can you tell us
12 what the report is about in relation to that particular date?
13 MR. WHITING: Your Honour, I'm going to object. I think there is
14 a lack of foundation for these questions. The witness has testified that
15 he was not in Benkovac at this time period. So aside from just reading
16 the document, which is already in evidence, I'm not sure if we have any
17 basis for believing that the witness can contribute anything, if he has
18 any knowledge that would elucidate this document beyond just reading it.
19 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic.
20 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, we shall only be
21 able to ascertain that once we have heard the witness's answer. The
22 objection would be a logical one but only in case the Prosecutor knew
23 already what I had in mind and what sort of question I would be asking.
24 What I want to know is precisely what this document speaks about, what
25 this document tells us about the situation that prevailed on the ground.
Page 6892
1 JUDGE MOLOTO: The objection is that this document is already in
2 evidence. This witness was not in Benkovac around the dates of these
3 events. He cannot speak to them other than to tell us what's already in
4 the document, you know. Unless you say he drew this report and he was in
5 Benkovac at the time --
6 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, we will ask --
7 I'm sorry if I interrupted.
8 We will ask the witness what he knows about what is written in the
9 document, if anything. I do not understand the misgivings of our
10 colleague, Mr. Whiting, that there could be some prejudice.
11 MR. WHITING: Your Honour, I'm not -- just to respond to that, I'm
12 not concerned so much about prejudice as about relevance. And perhaps if
13 the -- if the foundational questions were asked first; that is, do you
14 know anything about what's written in this document; yes, I do; how do you
15 know that -- or no, I don't. If yes, then how -- then how do you know it,
16 and then proceed from there rather than skipping those questions and going
17 right to asking him to comment. That's all that I'm asking.
18 JUDGE MOLOTO: Are you with him now? You understand now his
19 misgivings?
20 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] No, I don't, not at all,
21 because the objection of my learned friend makes no sense. The witness
22 did not write this document and I'm not going to ask him what's in the
23 document because he's not the author, but I will ask him -- or, rather, I
24 want to ask him if he knows anything about what -- about the events
25 described in the document, the time when all that happened, about the war
Page 6893
1 situation in that entire area.
2 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic, you can't want to have your cake
3 and eat it. You're telling us -- listen to what you say. "The witness
4 did not write this document and I'm not going to ask him what is in the
5 document because he is not the author." Okay. Then you say: "But I will
6 ask him -- or, rather, I want to ask him if he knows anything about what
7 events -- about the events described in the document."
8 Why do you -- you're contradicting yourself in the same sentence.
9 Now, the objection is no foundation has been laid for the question
10 that you want to ask, and the ruling is that, indeed, the objection is
11 upheld.
12 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the objection
13 concerned the massacre in Bruska. With your leave, I would like to ask a
14 different question related to this document. That's why I asked for it to
15 be displayed on the screen, a different question, and I can lay the
16 foundation for it.
17 JUDGE MOLOTO: Well, lay the foundation. Let's hear it.
18 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. Witness, when describing the end of 1991, you talked about the
20 situation both in Knin and in Benkovac. Can you remind us once again what
21 was that situation like?
22 A. At that time, in the area of Knin, Benkovac and Obrovac, fighting
23 was going on between the Yugoslav People's Army and the Croatian army, and
24 the situation was very difficult. As for towns and villages on the front
25 line itself and close to the front line, they were exposed to fire, both
Page 6894
1 infantry fire and mortar fire, and artillery fire sometimes. As for towns
2 like Benkovac, Obrovac and Knin, they were exposed to a large extent to
3 artillery fire from tanks, rockets, mortars, multiple rocket launchers.
4 Q. Who -- where did that fire mostly come from?
5 A. The Croatian army.
6 Q. Could you please read three lines, the fourth, fifth and the sixth
7 date, the 21st, the 14th and the 22nd of December, 1991 in this report?
8 A. The 21st of December, 1991, around 2115 hours, an attack launched
9 on Benkovac, shelling from a multiple rocket launcher. In -- later on on
10 the same day, Stabanj fired upon by mortars. 14th of December, 1991 in
11 the afternoon and evening --
12 JUDGE MOLOTO: There must be something that I'm missing here or --
13 I really don't know. You have asked this witness to testify for the last
14 couple of minutes about what he knew happening in Knin, Benkovac and
15 Obrovac, and from there you just straight go into this document without
16 laying foundation for asking questions on this document, and there is an
17 objection standing on that.
18 You've got to lay a foundation for using this document. What you
19 were asking this person, this witness, has nothing to do with this
20 document. Examples were given to you by the Prosecution: Do you know
21 anything about these documents? If you do, how did you come to know?
22 That's how you lay the foundation, Mr. Milovancevic. But you don't just
23 get a witness who has nothing to do with this document to start talking
24 about it and want to link what he has just been saying to this when there
25 is no foundation for using this document. He's not the author of this
Page 6895
1 document.
2 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, the reason why I
3 asked those questions is the reply the witness gave me when I showed him
4 the document, when he said he knew it, that it's from the public security
5 of Benkovac, it bore the stamp, a signature, it's that it's the public
6 security of Benkovac that made this report in end 1991 so he recognised
7 the document. He acknowledged it. I went on to ask him if he were
8 familiar with the general situation in that area. And now I want to
9 compare that general situation with the description given in this
10 document. And the witness is precisely reading sections from this
11 document that tell us about the situation as it was in December 1992 --
12 1991.
13 MR. WHITING: I'm sorry, Your Honour, but I believe that misstates
14 the evidence. The witness did not recognise the document. He read that
15 the document was -- he recognised it as appearing to be a document from
16 the public security section of Benkovac as it having the stamp from the
17 public security section of Benkovac and being signed by an individual whom
18 he described. All fine. But that's different from recognising the
19 document.
20 JUDGE MOLOTO: That's what I was going to try and say. All of us
21 can read what's written there and the witness could -- that's what he did.
22 He just read what's on the document, you know. And I don't know why
23 Mr. Milovancevic is just refusing to ask these very basic questions that
24 would lay the foundation for him to use this document. And I think I've
25 given you examples of those questions. Mr. Whiting has also given those
Page 6896
1 examples. Either you put that -- you made that foundation. If you don't
2 make the foundation, I'm afraid, Mr. Milovancevic, we can't let you put
3 questions about this document. Just lay the foundation, please.
4 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
5 Q. Witness, you said that you see a stamp of the public security
6 station on this document. Can you tell us whether public security
7 stations in the Republic of Serbian Krajina or maybe SAO Krajina had the
8 obligation to report all incidents and events that happened in the area
9 that they covered?
10 A. Public security stations were duty-bound and they had orders to
11 report all major events that had a bearing on the security station to the
12 SUP or a MUP of Krajina.
13 Q. Artillery fire on a town or any shooting that would happen in the
14 area of responsibility of a public security station, was or was not an
15 incident that had to be reported to a superior authority, the MUP?
16 A. Bombing and shelling of population centres was always reported to
17 superior command, and later on, such incidents were included in weekly or
18 monthly reports that also made an analysis of the frequency, the incidence
19 of such events and they were also submitted to the superior command. It
20 was our obligation to do that.
21 Q. You read a report from the 21st of December about the shelling of
22 Benkovac. You have another item concerning the 14th of December. Could
23 you read that one, please? And that -- we'll finish with it.
24 A. On the 14th of December, 1991, in the afternoon and evening,
25 mortars fired upon the area of Smilcici, Kasici, Zemunik Gornji, and
Page 6897
1 Smokovic. All these are in the municipality of Benkovac, which is our
2 territory.
3 Q. These reports about artillery activities in the territory of your
4 municipality, what do they tell you? What was the situation like in the
5 territory covered by the public security station of Benkovac?
6 A. These reports tell us that the situation was very difficult.
7 Normal life was impossible. And normal work was impossible for members of
8 the police force. Can you imagine members of the Ministry of the Interior
9 who had to perform their jobs in Smilcici, Kasici and places like that,
10 ten kilometres from the closest positions of the Croatian army, who were
11 exposed to shelling while performing their daily duties? This was -- this
12 had a bearing on their jobs and the tactics they employed in interviews
13 aimed at detecting perpetrators.
14 In the area of Benkovac municipality, as far as Croats are
15 concerned, it was mainly the elderly people who remained in their homes.
16 Younger members of their families had left for Zadar, Biograd and other
17 places, and as the police performed their regular duties aimed at
18 protecting the lives of the population, all the citizens of Benkovac, they
19 would run into individual soldiers who quarrelled with them, who
20 said, "Look at you, you are protecting Croats who live here, whereas other
21 Croats at the other end of the front line keep shooting and shelling us."
22 That's what I mean when I say that the job of a policeman was very
23 difficult at that time. There were constant conflicts and the threat of a
24 major conflict between the police and the army in the RSK, because the
25 police was constantly subject to accusations that they were not
Page 6898
1 sufficiently involved militarily and that they were protecting Croats,
2 although they were just doing their job.
3 Q. Thank you.
4 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I think, Your Honour, that this
5 is a good time for a break.
6 JUDGE MOLOTO: We will take a short break and come back at quarter
7 to 11.00.
8 Court adjourned.
9 --- Recess taken at 10.17 a.m.
10 --- On resuming at 10.54 a.m.
11 JUDGE HOEPFEL: Witness, may I ask you some questions first?
12 How was that when you arrived in Benkovac police station in April
13 1992 did you learn -- were you instructed about cases of serious crimes
14 which happened before your arrival? And if yes, how were you instructed?
15 How learned you about these cases? Especially cases where investigation
16 had not been yet concluded.
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, when I arrived at
18 Benkovac, the then chief of the public security station did not hand over
19 his duties to me in the regular manner because he was on sick leave,
20 absent from work, so I took over my duties with the help of other
21 employees, other staff. They informed me about past events and incidents.
22 I studied the archive of current case files that were in the police
23 station. It was the duty of internal affairs organs, including the police
24 station in Benkovac, to continuously work on investigation of crimes that
25 have no statute of limitations, and war crimes and serious crimes like
Page 6899
1 murder have no statute of limitations. So I familiarised myself with
2 those cases with the help of my underlings. Some of those case files from
3 the past period were resolved and closed. Some of them were pending, and
4 I don't remember a particular case that we elucidated upon my arrival that
5 had been pending from the past. But it is certain that a great number of
6 crimes were elucidated.
7 JUDGE HOEPFEL: What, according to your memory, was the most
8 prominent cases? Do you not remember single cases from the couple of
9 months before your arrival?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, in that area before I arrived,
11 there were several major crimes that I remember. For instance, one case
12 when 10 inhabitants of a place called Bruska were killed. That happened
13 in end 1991. I also remember a case when four or five people were killed
14 in a place called Gornji Zemunik. That also happened a couple of months
15 before my arrival. That perpetrator was found. And there were some other
16 individual cases that my staff informed me about and we later established
17 a link with other cases.
18 JUDGE HOEPFEL: Thank you. Just shortly about this case from
19 Gornji Zemunik, who was the perpetrator who was found? Was that a single
20 perpetrator, and who was it, of which ethnicity especially or was he or
21 she?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] As for Gornji Zemunik, I remember
23 that the victims were also from Gornji Zemunik. There were three or four
24 elderly persons and the perpetrator was also a local, an ethnic Serb. I
25 don't remember his name and surname, but I know that this was reported on
Page 6900
1 TV, Krajina TV.
2 JUDGE HOEPFEL: And the victims also were Serbs?
3 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I believe I mentioned
4 that the victims were Croats, and the perpetrator was an ethnic Serb from
5 the same village.
6 JUDGE HOEPFEL: Thank you. And now about Bruska, these 10
7 inhabitants, were they also elderly persons, these victims? And also of
8 Croatian ethnicity?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] As far as I know, that happened one
10 night in a house in Bruska. There was a total of 10 victims, nine of them
11 Croats and one was a Serb. I think, if I can recall that now, that they
12 were of differing age groups. I seem to remember that from the case file.
13 JUDGE HOEPFEL: Thank you. Thank you very much.
14 Did you see also this report which we are having on our screen, or
15 was this addressed to somebody else? Do you know that personally from
16 your experience, after you arrived in Benkovac? Do you know this
17 document?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The document that I was looking at a
19 while ago is one of many documents that were being sent to Knin on a
20 weekly basis. I had probably seen it in the archive in Benkovac at some
21 point when I was going through the files to familiarise myself with the
22 overall situation in Benkovac municipality. At the time, I could not
23 really go into the substance of the report or whether it was truthful.
24 This was a weekly report and there were many of those, most of which I
25 went through at some time or another.
Page 6901
1 JUDGE HOEPFEL: Thank you. Could you please tell us how the
2 investigation about this case of the massacre in Bruska went on under your
3 guidance?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I arrived in Benkovac
5 about four or five months after this event had occurred. The distribution
6 of forces on the ground I found was as follows: In Bruska there was a
7 police station which was under the authority of the Benkovac public
8 security station. This station was supposed to guard the remaining
9 population in the area and to keep the situation under control. There was
10 information to indicate that the massacre at Bruska had been committed by
11 mistake by a Croatian sabotage forces that had been infiltrated into the
12 area. There were all sorts of information circulating. Sometimes I would
13 pass through the area and go to the Bruska station to see what was going
14 on. The case was still open. And all the new information and new facts
15 were being gathered and made up the relevant case file.
16 Many things kept happening, new situations were emerging all the
17 time. Some territories were falling, some were being taken by the
18 Croatian forces in Benkovac municipality. There were a lot of things
19 happening and I could not afford to focus on one thing alone. Rather, I
20 worked on the most urgent cases. Whenever new information emerged from
21 the previous period, cases could always be reopened. Had we had any kind
22 of information at the time about the possible perpetrators, we certainly
23 would have taken steps to shed light on that crime, whoever the
24 perpetrators might have been. This was after all a crime where a large
25 number of inhabitants from the same village had been killed in the same
Page 6902
1 night, and that was a serious crime.
2 I can also tell you about the problems we faced when some people
3 were killed in the village of Dobropoljci, which is part of Benkovac
4 municipality.
5 JUDGE HOEPFEL: No, thank you. I was just focusing on this case.
6 Thank you very much for now.
7 Please.
8 JUDGE MOLOTO: Would the cases mentioned in this document on the
9 screen be the kind of cases that you probably got familiar with as you
10 arrived on the scene in -- at your new job in Benkovac?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, when I arrived in
12 Benkovac, what I had to do was to survey the overall situation that I now
13 found myself in and to consider the steps that were to be taken. On a
14 daily basis, our soldiers and civilians were being killed on the ground.
15 We tried to do our duty.
16 JUDGE MOLOTO: Can I stop you? Could you please just concentrate
17 on the question I put to you?
18 Would the cases that you see mentioned on this document on the
19 screen be the kind of cases that you became familiar with when you got to
20 Benkovac? I think you can just say either yes or no.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, cases such as the one I
22 have on my screen right now are the kind of cases that I first encountered
23 when I came to work in Benkovac.
24 JUDGE MOLOTO: And the document that is on the screen is the kind
25 of document that constituted the reports that your police station
Page 6903
1 generated?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the document that
3 you're looking at speaks about a 15-day period of time. The report was
4 submitted to the superior command about events that had occurred over the
5 previous period of time. This is a summary of those 15 days of that
6 month.
7 JUDGE MOLOTO: Once again, just listen to my question. Is the
8 document that you see on the screen the kind of document that was
9 generated by your police station by way of reports that you had to make
10 periodically?
11 See, we don't have much time to hear a long story. When I ask you
12 a question where you can answer either by yes or no, please just say yes
13 or no.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] We would later send documents of
15 this kind to our command. We would produce such documents and submit them
16 to our command. These are summaries, but we would make special detailed
17 files in relation to each of the crimes and incidents that occurred.
18 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
19 Mr. Milovancevic.
20 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
21 Q. Witness, in one of your previous answers you mentioned an act of
22 aggression around the Miljevac plateau, which was an area adjacent to
23 yours, to the area in which you worked. During your time at the Benkovac
24 public security station, were there any acts of aggression against your
25 own area?
Page 6904
1 (redacted)
2 (redacted)
3 (redacted)
4 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] My apologies, I have to
5 interrupt you now.
6 Your Honours, we might want to redact the first part of the
7 sentence, the beginning of the witness's answer, where the witness
8 identifies himself. (redacted)
9 (redacted)
10 JUDGE MOLOTO: We must strike off what you've just said too.
11 Page 32, line 22, 11 or whatever that is, can that please be
12 deleted, as well as page 33, line 3, 11.09.15.
13 Mr. Milovancevic, I think -- I thought Judge Hoepfel was trying to
14 lay the foundation for you to use this document. Are you going to go back
15 to this document or are you done with it, this document that's on the
16 screen?
17 JUDGE HOEPFEL: That in fact was the sense of my questions.
18 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, in addition to
19 all the answers we have received, the Defence has no need to go back to
20 this document since it has already been tendered and admitted. That is
21 the reason why I chose not to dwell on the matter.
22 I believe Your Honour, Judge Hoepfel, has shed sufficient light on
23 all the facts surrounding this document. That's our position, and that's
24 why I chose not to go back to the document. Thank you very much.
25 JUDGE MOLOTO: Then we can get it off the screen.
Page 6905
1 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.
2 Q. You started explaining about the situation in Benkovac itself.
3 Will you please repeat your answer, since we had to interrupt the
4 proceedings in order to protect your identity.
5 A. On the 22nd of January, 1993 an act of aggression was committed
6 against Benkovac municipality, more specifically the following villages:
7 Islam, Grcki, Hasic, Smokovic, by the Croatian forces.
8 Q. Thank you. Were there any UN troops deployed in the area and how
9 long did the aggression last? How long did it go on for?
10 A. There was a UN presence in the area, more specifically the
11 military component. Part of the UN French Battalion were deployed in that
12 area.
13 Q. Can you tell us more about the impact of that attack? What
14 exactly happened in Benkovac and its surroundings?
15 A. The beginning of the attack was quite sudden. In the morning
16 hours on January 22nd, just after daybreak, at about half past 6.00 or
17 quarter to 7.00 in the morning. At first there was shelling of these
18 villages by artillery fire and then the Croatian infantry forces moved in.
19 The population was not enjoying any protection from its own army.
20 There was some UNPROFOR check-points in the area but the population
21 remained unprotected. They suffered a lot of casualties. They arose from
22 their beds and tried to escape and flee to Benkovac in a bid to save their
23 lives.
24 As for the town itself, a great confusion and panic reigned. It
25 was necessary to mobilise new forces and send them immediately to the
Page 6906
1 front line. People and refugees were already arriving in the town, the
2 inhabitants of those surrounding villages. Horrible news spread of many
3 killed and the situation was becoming increasingly difficult.
4 Q. When you talk about refugees and civilians, can you tell us which
5 ethnic group these people belonged to and where they came from?
6 A. The refugees arriving from those villages were ethnic Serbs
7 because those villages were ethnically Serb villages, and all the refugees
8 were Serbs who had been attacked by the Croatian army.
9 Q. Regarding this situation that arose in January 1993, did you
10 receive any orders from Mr. Martic, the then Minister of the Interior of
11 the Republic of Serbian Krajina?
12 A. The first order I received at the time from the military command
13 based in Benkovac was to use our police forces to defend the
14 Pridraga-Novi Grad axis which is near a place called Karin, the reason
15 being the army did not have sufficient forces at its disposal to cover the
16 entire length of the front line so we sent all of our police to that area,
17 with very few police officers remaining in town for various emergencies.
18 At the time, I remember receiving a phone call from Minister
19 Martic asking me to get in touch with the Kenya Battalion and try to work
20 with them to evacuate some UNPROFOR soldiers left behind in Karin and
21 Zemunik Gornji. Karin is a sea-coast settlement near a Catholic
22 monastery. There was a rather small unit of UNPROFOR's FrenchBat
23 stationed there. Amid all the fighting, several Croat shells landed on
24 the French camp, killing three French soldiers. The remaining soldiers
25 there were now blocked and could not leave the area. My order was to help
Page 6907
1 lift the blockade and help them leave the area, in cooperation with the
2 commander of the Kenya Battalion, an interpreter and a number of other
3 people that I'm unable to specify right now, some people from his escort,
4 some of his associates, we left in the evening and helped to evacuate the
5 remaining elements of the unit alongside with their equipment from that
6 camp. They withdrew to their own headquarters in Gracac.
7 Q. May I interrupt you for a while? You said you helped get the rest
8 of the unit evacuated. Whose unit was this? Who were you helping?
9 A. As I've mentioned before, I was helping members of UNPROFOR's
10 FrenchBat.
11 Q. Thank you very much.
12 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, in order to
13 identify the area in which all of this is taking place and since there has
14 been mention of a great number of villages and settlements, I think it
15 might be useful for the witness to show us on the ELMO, on page 25 of the
16 atlas. Mine is marked so if the usher could please give me a hand with
17 this, if there is a blank copy of the atlas, an unmarked copy of the atlas
18 maybe that could be handed to the witness so he can show us where these
19 villages are. I'm talking about page 25.
20 MR. WHITING: Your Honour, I think this is loaded in e-court, so I
21 think actually it can be accessed by e-court and marked that way.
22 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
23 May we please have it coming up on the screen then from
24 the e-court?
25 JUDGE HOEPFEL: It's document 23, isn't it?
Page 6908
1 JUDGE MOLOTO: The exhibit.
2 MR. WHITING: I think because it's such a big document it takes a
3 few seconds for it to come up but I believe it will.
4 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. Before this document appears on our screens, not to waste time,
6 Witness, let me ask you about this instruction you received from
7 Mr. Martic regarding the rescue of UNPROFOR troops. What was the
8 situation with the civilian police in that area? What were your duties
9 regarding them?
10 A. As for the civilian police of the United Nations, in this
11 aggression against Ravni Kotari, which is the name of that area in
12 Benkovac, they were taken by surprise, too, and they found themselves in a
13 difficult situation. There was a great inflow of refugees from afflicted
14 villages, and those refugees were very aggressive because their friends
15 and family had been killed and because they were driven out without being
16 able to take any belongings and they were very aggressive also because
17 they believed that under the resolution UN troops were supposed to protect
18 those UNPAs and there were rumours that members of the French Battalion
19 cooperated with Croatian forces and had helped them mount this operation
20 by removing mines and pointing out the minefields that stood between
21 Croatian forces and these areas. So as I said, these refugees were very
22 angry and aggressive and they -- there was an attack against the station
23 of the CIVPOL, so I sent my men to protect that station because UN
24 civilian police were not armed and some of the attackers were armed. And
25 they urged each other to shoot. That's why I asked the deputy of the
Page 6909
1 police station in Benkovac to help this, to help in this operation.
2 Q. Can I stop you here, Witness? Did Mr. Martic give you any orders
3 regarding the position of the civilian police at that time?
4 A. As for orders given at that time, it was said in a telephone
5 conversation that members of the United Nations, both of the military
6 mission and the CIVPOL must be kept absolutely safe because they were not
7 responsible for the aggression. And I was asked to evacuate UN
8 representatives from Karin and Zemunik and to protect CIVPOL.
9 Q. And did you evacuate them and did you protect them?
10 A. In conjunction with them, because I went immediately to their
11 hotel to see them, we decided on a course of action because they didn't
12 have any instructions from their superiors on what to do and how to
13 behave. Some of them had private accommodation, some of them were living
14 in the hotel, and I told them that they should all move to the hotel where
15 I would give them police and military security so that nobody could come
16 near them to endanger them, and they would have 24-hour security from the
17 MUP of the Serbian Krajina, and if they needed to go to their apartments
18 to fetch something, they would get police escort until they returned to
19 the hotel. And they continued to live in the hotel and to be fed there
20 and have normal communications with their command.
21 JUDGE MOLOTO: Sorry, Witness, were these UNPROFOR people in a
22 hotel or in a Catholic monastery? I thought I heard you earlier talk of a
23 Catholic monastery, unless I misheard it.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, when I spoke about the
25 Catholic monastery, I meant members of the military mission of the French
Page 6910
1 Battalion. That monastery was in Donji Karin, a place where three members
2 of the UNPROFOR were killed. But that was the military component of the
3 UN mission, French people. And my second answer, the second part of my
4 answer, referred to the civilian police of the UNPROFOR, and those are two
5 different cases.
6 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you so much.
7 Thank you, Mr. Milovancevic.
8 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour. Can we
9 zoom in on quadrant 2 on the monitor? Raise the document a little to see
10 Zadar and the hinterland of Zadar. Further up, please. I don't know if
11 I'm clear. Scroll in the other direction. Good. Good. We can leave it
12 this way.
13 JUDGE MOLOTO: You want Zadar or Knin? I see Zadar has
14 disappeared from --
15 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, that's why it
16 would have been better perhaps to put the atlas on the ELMO before the
17 witness. Because Zadar is on page 24, and in the electronic system the
18 atlas is divided into pages, so you can't see two pages at the same time,
19 although those are adjacent areas, or maybe we can. Yes, perfect. Leave
20 it like this.
21 Q. Can you use the pencil that the usher will give you now to show us
22 what places were attacked, their juxtaposition to Benkovac, which villages
23 were in danger.
24 A. On the 22nd of January, 1993, the following places were attacked:
25 Latinski Islam.
Page 6911
1 Q. Can you underline these places? Just underline or make a little
2 circle.
3 A. Islam Grcki. We can't see Kasic village, which is here. And
4 there is another place, Gornji Zemunik. And Smokovic, just below the
5 airport, Smokovic village. Those were the villages that were attacked on
6 the 22nd January 1993.
7 Q. Where were the members of the French Battalion to whom you
8 extended assistance?
9 A. Donji Karin was here, and the Croat forces, attacking along this
10 axis, soon emerged at Novi Grad and the Novi Grad sea.
11 Q. Can you encircle Novi Grad?
12 A. And here in Gornji Zemunik there were also members of the UNPROFOR
13 whom we pulled out.
14 Q. Could you also encircle Benkovac to see where you were located?
15 Thank you.
16 From what villages did refugees come to Benkovac? Can you show
17 us?
18 A. The same morning, and that continued until noon, a large number of
19 refugees arrived from Latinski Islam, although fewer of them because that
20 village had been destroyed in previous operations and it was a mixed -- it
21 used to be a mixed village. And the Croats had fled in the first part of
22 the war, and now Serbs had to pull out. In Grcki Islam, the population
23 was purely Serb. In Kasic village, the population also fled to Benkovac.
24 And of course, the population of Smokovic village and some from
25 Gornji Zemunik.
Page 6912
1 Q. Thank you.
2 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, maybe this is too
3 early. Can I leave this map on the monitor for the time being, if we need
4 the witness to show some more locations, and I will tender it later.
5 JUDGE MOLOTO: The Chamber is in your hands, Mr. Milovancevic.
6 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
7 Q. Can you tell us how long these combat operations lasted? Was it
8 just on the 22nd January?
9 A. The combat operations in that area lasted intensively for about
10 two and a half months on a daily basis. There was a great number of
11 casualties, and I can say that every day on the Serb side we had 10 to 15
12 dead, mostly soldiers but some civilians as well, who got killed in the
13 shelling of both military and civilian targets.
14 Q. Can I ask you, did you mean every day during those two and a half
15 months while the combat lasted?
16 A. Yes. For that entire period. I remember well some conversations
17 when I arrived at Benkovac, at that time there were around 100 of
18 inhabitants of Benkovac who had been killed in combat, in which they were
19 involved on the side of the JNA and the Territorial Defence. During this
20 operation that was called Maslenica 3, there were about 420 or 430 dead,
21 including the hundred from the past period, and a large number of the
22 casualties were natives of other parts of Serbian Krajina and volunteers.
23 Q. When you mentioned this figure, 420 or 430, what is that figure?
24 I don't think it's clear from the record. I don't think it's clear from
25 your answer. What does that figure represent?
Page 6913
1 A. That figure, 420, is the number of army troops who were killed
2 from the beginning of the war until April 1993.
3 Q. You have explained that the Croatian attack was sudden, that the
4 army gave you an assignment to mobilise police officers who would help out
5 on the front line. Do you remember that?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. How did you organise yourselves to maintain public order and law?
8 A. Well, at that time, law and order was not a -- the priority. The
9 priority was to preserve our territory, to preserve as much of the
10 territory as we could and to stop the Croatian forces from advancing.
11 That was our priority task, and everything else was -- came second.
12 Mobilisation of policemen and everything else came later. Those were all
13 assignments that we had to perform.
14 Q. Were there any volunteers in that territory at the time?
15 A. Yes. There were various units of volunteers in that area.
16 Q. Can you tell us how the fighting stopped? Who stopped this
17 Croatian attack?
18 A. At first, the Croatian attack was stopped by the army of Serbian
19 Krajina. And then a line was established, a line of clash, of fighting,
20 and fighting continued every day. This conflict was terminated, thanks to
21 an agreement whose name I don't remember now. I think it was the Zagreb
22 agreement. But it was an agreement between the warring parties under the
23 aegis of the UNPROFOR. A cease-fire was agreed along with a number of
24 other things, such as withdrawal of the Croatian troops from territories
25 they had captured, return of refugees to those territories, et cetera, and
Page 6914
1 that agreement had a number of others provisions.
2 Q. What happened with these villages that the Croatian attack was
3 directed at in this Maslenica 3 operation? Do you remember?
4 A. Several months later, in April or May 1993, and even later, the
5 inhabitants of those villages would occasionally go to visit their homes
6 in that area. I, too, visited occasionally. And I can say that all the
7 houses and property were destroyed and burned, and the houses were no
8 longer fit to live in, and due to a large number of mines and unexploded
9 devices, it was unsafe to live there, and there were many cases,
10 accidents, that happened when people came to visit their homes.
11 Q. In all that time, while the fighting lasted, how did the
12 population of Benkovac live and behave, including the refugees?
13 A. The Serb refugees from those villages that I just mentioned found
14 accommodation in Benkovac and the surrounding area, whereas another part
15 went on to Knin and the Knin area, where they resettled. They were
16 unhappy, extremely unhappy, and they threatened to fight and use their
17 weapons. They blamed UN troops for all that had happened to them and they
18 also blamed our military command in Benkovac, who put their trust in the
19 UNPROFOR and agreed to withdraw into their barracks and place their
20 weaponry under double lock. They were furious over all that had happened
21 to them.
22 Q. What about the native Croatian population in Benkovac and other
23 areas? Did they experience any difficulty in the course of this
24 operation, in the course of Operation Maslenica?
25 A. The ethnic Croats who remained in Benkovac itself and its
Page 6915
1 surroundings, and I later heard that this was the case in Knin and other
2 villages around Knin such as Vrpolje, were experiencing some degree of
3 difficulty because Serb refugees would come to their homes and take their
4 homes by force, move in by force, in order to have somewhere to stay, a
5 roof over their heads. In both Benkovac and Knin, there were very few
6 police officers remaining in the area to uphold law and order and to deal
7 with the sort of problems that the police usually have to deal with, that
8 constitute usual police work. There were problems along the front near
9 Pridraga and Novi Grad. Our priority was to protect our territory.
10 Internal trouble was less important since we believed to have the
11 protection of our territory as our upper most priority.
12 Q. Did you try to deal with the problem with the existing forces, the
13 forces that you had? How did you go about that.
14 A. We had few people and the problems were mounting which made our
15 work very difficult, needless to say, especially in view of the fact that
16 we had been asked and there had been an order from the military command in
17 Benkovac to help the military police with mobilising new soldiers. We had
18 to tour all the villages in a bid to mobilise all able-bodied men in order
19 to get them to join the army. We were facing the difficulty with
20 accommodating all the refugees. The town was being shelled on a daily
21 basis by artillery fire, by multiple rocket launchers.
22 Another problem was the fact that we had to protect the Croats
23 living in the area, lest they be subjected to acts of revenge by
24 individuals or people who might have had some hidden intentions. All of
25 this had to be done. We had a Crisis Staff set up in Benkovac for these
Page 6916
1 purposes. Their aim was to help with putting up refugees who were being
2 put up in kindergarten, school buildings and other public institutions.
3 Some Croats came, most of them elderly people. They were afraid for their
4 lives, and they said that they would rather move out of the Benkovci area
5 and go to Zadar and they needed help with this. They applied to the
6 Red Cross to move out of the Benkovac area and to be sent to Zadar where
7 some younger members of their own families were staying. The Crisis Staff
8 drew up a list and organised a convoy for these people.
9 Most of the remaining Croats left the Benkovac area after
10 Maslenica 93 operation. Very few Croats remained, a mere handful of them.
11 Certainly less than were present in the area before the operation. They
12 left on that convoy. I remember that because I assigned some escort to
13 that convoy to keep any loose cannons from committing acts of massacre
14 against the civilian population. The escort followed them as far as the
15 Zemunik airport which was the confrontation line and that was where they
16 crossed to the other side and that's how the situation ended.
17 Q. In connection with your last reply, if I may just ask you
18 something, is this some sort of understated expulsion, if I may put it
19 that way, or secret expulsion or covert expulsion? Do you think this
20 operation could be termed an act of covert expulsion by the Krajina
21 Police?
22 A. There is no way that anyone could describe this as an organised
23 way of expelling people from Benkovac municipality. There can be no talk
24 of that. I would even go as for as to say that we helped these people,
25 because many of them could have fallen prey to bandits and gangs roaming
Page 6917
1 the area because this is precisely the sort of situation that is quite
2 common in a war. All the systems of state control are weakened and such
3 individuals, rampaging individuals, enjoy a greater degree of freedom.
4 I'm sure that we -- or I managed to save a great many lives by
5 evacuating those people. We took all the steps necessary, although we
6 were facing a great deal of pressure along the front line and elsewhere,
7 but we assigned forces to this mission in order to have it successfully
8 implemented and in order to get these people out alive and perhaps make a
9 future return for them possible, which later proved to be the case.
10 Q. While describing this situation about the Croatian aggression
11 early in 1993, you described how you treated the civilian police. During
12 this trial we have heard evidence and we have seen documents that could
13 lead us to conclude that the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of
14 Serbian Krajina was making the work of the civilian police impossible. Do
15 you know anything to indicate such a conclusion, and can you draw a link
16 between what I've just told you and the situation as you knew it?
17 A. This is the first time I hear of any such reports, such as the
18 ones you've mentioned. At no point in time, not even after work resumed
19 at the civilian police station did we hear any such reports from them.
20 Once the situation was normalised in the area, they returned and we
21 resumed work and we picked up where we had left off. We used to meet a
22 lot. We used to talk about things, and I never heard anything being said
23 by them about their work being made difficult or impossible.
24 I will tell you about a situation that I faced myself, when I
25 helped protect and preserve members of the civilian police in Benkovac on
Page 6918
1 the 22nd of January, 1993. They had spent several days in a hotel there
2 until they were ordered to go back to their headquarters in Knin. There
3 was a news flash on CNN that the local police chief had taken hostage a
4 number of UNPROFOR civilian police officers. I'm not sure who was the
5 first to break the news or for what reason, but I know that two or three
6 days later, Cedric Thornberry arrived in Benkovac, who at the time was a
7 high-ranking UNPROFOR official in Yugoslavia. He came to see for himself
8 what was going on. He talked to members of the civilian police who told
9 him that they were never held hostage, they were merely arrested for a
10 short while, and they thanked him for coming. Most of the UN civilian
11 police returned to Benkovac later on and they resumed work as usual until
12 the very end of their mandate.
13 Q. How long did you remain at the Benkovac public security station
14 for?
15 A. I continued to work there until the 1st of May, 1994.
16 Q. Where did you go next?
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 Q. Do you know when it was that Mr. Martic became president of the
21 Republic of Serbian Krajina?
22 A. Mr. Martic became president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina in
23 April 1994, as far as I remember.
24 Q. At the time, you say you were still at the Knin public security
25 station. Do you know anything about the position taken by Mr. Martic as
Page 6919
1 president of the republic, his position on the crimes committed and their
2 perpetrators?
3 A. I was all the time in touch with Mr. Martic, and whenever we met
4 at meetings, and whenever police work was discussed, especially whenever
5 there were any celebrations such as the Krajina Police day on the 4th of
6 July or the 5th of July. The 5th of July was security day in Krajina.
7 Mr. Martic would address police officers and citizens to express his best
8 wishes, and he always remained adamant that we should act in accordance
9 with the laws and that we should try to be as successful as possible and
10 get the best possible results in our work. This was not mere lip service
11 in his case. His support meant more in purely practical terms, where he
12 clearly demonstrated that he meant what he was saying. I can't be
13 specific about the date, but I know that this happened after Maslenica 93
14 operation.
15 Martic once ordered that all perpetrators of serious crimes be
16 arrested, particularly murderers. These perpetrators were then tried, but
17 for a variety of reasons these people were not detained in prison but were
18 eventually released. The fact that such people were being released caused
19 shock among the honest people of Krajina. They asked that these persons
20 be isolated and be sent where they belonged, but the judicial bodies, for
21 all sorts of reasons, both objective and subjective, neglected their
22 duties and failed to carry out their tasks, which left Mr. Martic with no
23 choice but to issue an order to that effect. I remember we were in
24 Benkovac municipality, and our mission was to arrest such people and take
25 them to be locked up in prisons near Stara Gradiska and Okucani.
Page 6920
1 Q. What about the name of Sameer Bino; does that ring a bell?
2 A. Sameer Bino. Yes, I do remember that name. He's an ethnic
3 Jordanian. He was the chief of police at the Amman airport. I think that
4 is the capital of Jordan. And he was also the head of CIVPOL Sector
5 South. I think he was their first head ever. I even remember his face.
6 Q. Do you know about the fact that the UN civilian police submitted
7 reports to their superior command?
8 A. I never saw any such reports, but it seems very likely to me that
9 they did send reports to their superior commands. I did not myself see
10 any such report, but I would have expected them to produce and submit such
11 reports.
12 Q. Can we please have Exhibit 732 brought up on our screens?
13 This is a report from the UN civilian police Sector South. The
14 date is the 22nd of May, 1992.
15 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I forgot to tender the map with
16 all the places marked into evidence but I believe the markings are now
17 lost or have not been saved, or have they?
18 JUDGE MOLOTO: Yes, because you said you were going to return to
19 the map so now --
20 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That was an omission on my
21 part, Your Honour. If we still have the map in the system with all the
22 markings, may that now please be admitted into evidence?
23 JUDGE MOLOTO: The map with the markings on it --
24 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]
25 JUDGE MOLOTO: The map is -- as marked is admitted into evidence.
Page 6921
1 May it please be given an exhibit number.
2 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, this will become Exhibit number 892.
3 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much.
4 Now, Mr. Milovancevic, do you want to start with this document
5 that has just come up on the screen or are you putting it there, ready to
6 have your ducks in a row for the next session?
7 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That's for after the break,
8 yes, please. That would be appropriate.
9 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much. We will take a short break
10 and come back at half past 12.00.
11 Court adjourned.
12 --- Recess taken at 12.00 p.m.
13 --- On resuming at 12.32 p.m.
14 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic.
15 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
16 Q. Witness, before we proceed with this document that's on the
17 screen, I forgot to ask you something about Maslenica 3 operation, that
18 period of January and the few following months of 1993. Does the name
19 Arkan mean anything to you?
20 A. To all the citizens of the former Yugoslavia, Arkan is a familiar
21 name. It's the name of the man who was really called Zeljko Raznjatovic.
22 As for the situation around Benkovac, I remember that at that time
23 of the aggression and Maslenica 3 operation, Arkan was in Benkovac leading
24 some of the armed units. He was at that part of the front line.
25 Q. Do you know under whose command he was?
Page 6922
1 A. Just after the war broke out, after the 22nd January, 1993,
2 several days into the conflict, Arkan arrived in the area of Benkovac with
3 his unit. I cannot tell you precisely how large that unit was --
4 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: Excuse me, but there was a specific question.
5 Do you know under whose command he was? Please address that question,
6 Mr. Witness. Thank you.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I was going to give a
8 broader explanation but if you want me to come to the point, I can say
9 that to the extent I used to see Arkan at the time, he was under the
10 command of the army of Serbian Krajina.
11 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation].
12 Q. Thank you. How long did he stay in Benkovac, until the end?
13 JUDGE MOLOTO: Just a second, Mr. Milovancevic. I thought you
14 said who. Under whose command? I'm sure you're looking for the name of a
15 person. To say he's under the command of the JNA doesn't seem to be the
16 answer.
17 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the point of my
18 question was whether the man was under somebody's command or not. That's
19 the part I'm interested in. I wasn't looking for a name. I was looking
20 for the name of the person or the officer under whose command Arkan was.
21 The witness said he was under the command of the army of Serbian Krajina
22 and that answer was sufficient to me. That's why I didn't insist any
23 further but if -- but only if you accept this explanation.
24 JUDGE MOLOTO: Go ahead, Mr. Milovancevic.
25 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: Before he goes ahead, with respect, might I ask
Page 6923
1 the next question because I'm interested in knowing.
2 Do you know which officer of the army he was under the command of,
3 which particular officer? Because I would like to know this. If you're
4 able to say, please tell us. If not, please tell us that you don't know.
5 Because it is important and I would like to know for the purposes of these
6 proceedings.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] At that time, I visited the army
8 command several times, in view of my duties and my line of work, and I saw
9 Mr. Raznjatovic, also known as Arkan, talking to officers. I know that he
10 and his unit were active in operations and he received his assignments
11 from the garrison in Benkovac. At that time, the army commander in
12 Benkovac was Lieutenant Colonel Bogunovic. He was the commander of the
13 army of Serbian Krajina in Benkovac.
14 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: And are you saying that therefore Arkan was
15 under his command? Is that what the Chamber should understand?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, Lieutenant Colonel
17 Bogunovic was then commander of the barracks and the army in that area.
18 And on those occasions when I was present, Arkan received his assignments
19 from the Lieutenant Colonel. I don't know the details of their
20 conversation and the details of the orders because that was not within my
21 field of competence, nor was I there to supervise either the army or
22 Arkan. But from what I know, Arkan was involved in coordinated action
23 with the army and he received his assignments from Lieutenant Colonel
24 Bogunovic.
25 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: I want to thank you, Mr. Witness. But if I may
Page 6924
1 make the observation, sometimes in these proceedings less is more. If you
2 understand the saying "less is more," if you can answer with a sentence,
3 it's better for your case that you do not answer with ten or five
4 sentences, so you need to bear that in mind. But I don't wish to delimit
5 what you have to tell us in any way but I just place that on the record.
6 Thank you so much.
7 Thank you, Mr. Milovancevic.
8 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
9 Q. Did the said Arkan remain in the area of Benkovac until the end of
10 combat operations?
11 A. He did not.
12 I have to explain for you to get a picture of the situation. From
13 the time he arrived in Benkovac, Arkan turned up at the hotel and demanded
14 that the hotel in Benkovac be vacated for him to place there his troops,
15 his headquarters and his logistics. At that time, the mission of the
16 civilian police of the UNPROFOR was leaving for their headquarters in Knin
17 following orders from their command, and among other people staying at the
18 hotel was I, plus another man who was involved in political work, late
19 Boro, his last name eludes me for the moment. So the two of us were
20 staying at the hotel and Arkan wanted us to leave, too, because he wanted
21 to be on his own. As I had no other place to live, because I'm not from
22 that area and there were no available apartments, I called up Mr. Martic
23 in Knin immediately to settle that conflict between Arkan and me. Mr.
24 Martic told me on the phone to stay at the hotel, that there is no reason
25 why I should leave because I had no other place to live or work and I had
Page 6925
1 to be there. And after that telephone call, Arkan consented to leave me
2 there at the hotel, and all the time while he was in Benkovac, I was there
3 too. And I saw him occasionally.
4 Q. Can I interrupt you, Witness? You gave us a very long answer.
5 Did he stay there until the end of combat operations? Give us the
6 briefest answer you can.
7 A. I was just coming to that. He didn't stay there until the end of
8 combat operations, and I don't know in fact how long he stayed. I think
9 about 15 days before the decision was made that Arkan should leave
10 Benkovac municipality, together with all the men he had brought with him.
11 JUDGE MOLOTO: I think that's enough. Thanks. You have answered
12 the question.
13 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. Just tell us briefly who made that decision and why?
15 A. As time passed, Arkan's presence in Benkovac boiled down to the
16 fact that he was instituting his own order in Benkovac while everybody
17 else was going to the front line.
18 JUDGE MOLOTO: Who made the order?
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That day I was at the hotel and
20 sometime around 12.00, I saw the news bulletin of the Knin television and
21 the first piece of news was a communique that said that the army
22 commander, Mile Novakovic, and Minister of Interior, Milan Martic, issued
23 the order for Zeljko Raznjatovic, Arkan, and his troops to leave the
24 Republic of Krajina and that the decision was effective immediately. Soon
25 after that decision, Arkan and his unit left Krajina.
Page 6926
1 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Thank you. We will now come back to this document that we placed
3 on the monitor before the break. It is a document of the Sector South of
4 the civilian police of the United Nations. Can you see from this paper
5 who the author is? Can we see that from the front page?
6 A. Yes. We can see that this report was made by the civilian police
7 headquarters of Sector South, and it is addressed to the force commander,
8 Nambiar.
9 Q. From this introductory part, can you read who wrote the report
10 under the subheading "sent by"?
11 A. We can see that it's Bino, Sameer, commander of the civilian
12 police. That's commander of the CIVPOL south at the time.
13 Q. Is that somebody new?
14 A. Yes. It's a person I knew and I could recognise him even now.
15 Q. Tell us again who he was. Bino Sameer was who?
16 A. From the conversations I had with him, I know that before coming
17 to this mission he used to be chief of police at the airport in Amman,
18 Jordan.
19 Q. Witness, I meant his position in the territory of the UNPA.
20 A. He was chief of the civilian police in Sector South of the
21 UNPROFOR.
22 Q. Can we look at page 2? In the English translation it's also
23 page 2. In this passage that you see, we see a subheading, "expulsion of
24 Croats." Can you read it out to us?
25 A. "Members of the civilian police have done all in their power to
Page 6927
1 provide security in Sector South in the area under UN protection.
2 Pursuant to all reports sent to officers of the civilian police,
3 investigations are under way and are being successful in establishing
4 order and confidence among UNPROFOR forces. Despite attempts of the
5 civilian police to provide for the security of the population, local
6 members of the police continue to disrupt and scare the people. The local
7 population refuses to share information with UNPROFOR representatives
8 fearing possible retaliation by local police members."
9 Q. This is a report made on the 22nd. Does it faithfully reflect the
10 situation in your area?
11 A. At the time when this report was drawn up, I was in Benkovac.
12 When this report was made on the 29th of May, the CIVPOL of the UNPROFOR
13 was just getting fully developed. I see from this that they had 11
14 vehicles and 120 members in seven stations. I believe that with this
15 number of vehicles and men, they could not have successfully covered the
16 entire Sector South, and it doesn't look to me like this report reflects
17 faithfully the situation at the time when it was written.
18 Q. I'm interested in this sentence: "Despite attempts by the
19 civilian police to provide for the security of the population, local
20 police members continue to disrupt and scare the people and intimidate the
21 people."
22 What do you say about this?
23 A. I don't know to what extent the civilian police, meaning the
24 civilian police of the UNPROFOR, was able to provide for the security of
25 the population with the number of men and vehicles they had. On the other
Page 6928
1 hand, the -- this assertion that the civilian police of Serbian Krajina
2 disrupted their work and intimidated people, I don't know. I don't
3 understand why he never presented or shared this problem with us in the
4 meetings that we have had, why he didn't tell us about specific incidents,
5 what happened, when, when it was that the policemen of Serbian Krajina
6 intimidated people or disrupted their work. I'm honestly astonished at
7 this report.
8 Q. Can we look at page 3 of this document in B/C/S? We see a list of
9 incidents -- incident reports, rather. I would like to know about this
10 one that concerns Benkovac, 24th of May, 1992, and the one concerning
11 Obrovac. So that the next three reports. Can you tell us if you know
12 anything about the things described here?
13 A. On the 24th of May, between 1530 hours and 1930 hours, shells were
14 fired on the town as well as 12 missiles. A lady was wounded and taken to
15 the hospital. A building was damaged too.
16 Q. What does the report say about the whereabouts of this incident?
17 A. The report refers to the town of Benkovac itself and specifies the
18 time period in which shells and missiles were fired on the town.
19 Q. What does the report say about the date in relation to Obrovac?
20 A. On the 24th of May at about 0730 hours, shells were fired on the
21 town as well as 12 missiles. There was insignificant damage to the
22 buildings and there were no casualties.
23 Q. What I want to know is whether this information in relation to the
24 shelling represent facts as you know them.
25 A. Indeed they do. The incidents described here really happened. I
Page 6929
1 can't claim to remember the exact date when these things happened but this
2 is the sort of thing that used to happen a lot at the time. There was a
3 great deal of shelling. This is a report written by someone who was on
4 the ground. The Sector South command receives a report from Benkovac
5 CIVPOL and from Obrovac CIVPOL.
6 Q. On the same page, there are a number of other items speaking about
7 what happened in Benkovac and Obrovac in relation to specific crimes,
8 specifically the murder of two people at Zitnic and about what happened in
9 the Obrovac area. How come the UN civilian police know about these
10 things? How could they possibly have found out about these things?
11 A. The civilian police could only have learned about these incidents
12 in two ways. Firstly, by receiving a report from one of the damaged
13 parties or third parties, reports were submitted to them directly. Or
14 alternatively, reports were submitted to the Benkovac public security
15 station and then by rote, as it were, we would in turn inform them about
16 any incidents that had occurred. That was the agreement we had.
17 Q. Can we please look at page 4 of the B/C/S which is also the last
18 page of the document? I'm talking about the page in reference to Knin.
19 Can you please read that bit out to us?
20 It might be faster if I just read the relevant portion and you can
21 tell me if that accurately reflects the text that is about to appear. The
22 page says: "Knin, the 28th of May at about 1700 hours. Police observers
23 from Knin went to the village of Potkonje inhabited by between 60 and 70
24 Croats in order to carry out investigation. Upon their departure from the
25 village, members of the local police returned to the village and started
Page 6930
1 disturbing those people who had previously spoken to the civilian police
2 observers and ordered them to report to the local police station on the
3 29th of May. One of them, Slavko Maricic, was interviewed by the police
4 and later decided to call the UN civilian police station in Knin."
5 Is that what you see in front of you right now, Witness? Where is
6 this village located exactly, the village of Potkonje?
7 A. It's near Knin.
8 Q. Thank you. That's quite sufficient.
9 Is this the village you spoke about earlier when you talked about
10 the operation to disarm those people who were found to be in possession of
11 illegal weapons? You remember that village?
12 A. Yes. I mentioned the village yesterday for the first time when we
13 talked about disarming activities in May 1991.
14 Q. This report indicates that UN civilian police observers carried
15 out an investigation in that village. Is it possible for them to be
16 acting independently in carrying out an investigation?
17 A. That would certainly not be established procedure. I mean, for
18 the civilian police to carry out their own investigations. An incident
19 does not exist before it has been reported to the civilian police and the
20 police of the Republic of Serbian Krajina. That was the agreement we had.
21 They were informing us about damage. That strikes me as slightly strange
22 to say the least. I mean for the civilian police to be carrying
23 out investigation.
24 Even stranger is the fact that there is reference here to Slavko
25 Maricic, who was a person I used to know. We go back to my arrival in the
Page 6931
1 area, back in 1990. I believe he mentioned this. I forgot this at the
2 time, but I think he was HDZ president in Potkonje, the village of
3 Potkonje, back in 1990. I believe he's mentioned in those reports as the
4 person who was in charge of organising the arming of the Croats living in
5 the village of Potkonje. I tried to gather information on him by asking
6 around while I was working in Knin, and apparently a criminal report had
7 been filed against him at some stage earlier. I believe he was working
8 for the Elektrodistribucija company in Knin at the time.
9 Q. Thank you. Thank you, Witness. That's quite sufficient.
10 Can we please now have a different document displayed? This is
11 Exhibit 726. This is an UNCIVPOL report in relation to the period between
12 August 1992 and May 1993. The date is the 27th of July, 1993.
13 You have the title page of the document in front of you, the 27th
14 of July. That's what I mentioned. Can you please tell us who the sender
15 is, who produced this document?
16 A. The sender is John McElligott.
17 Q. What is the position of this person?
18 A. It says "deputy commissioner."
19 Q. Thank you very much. The title is underlined. Can you tell us
20 what it says, please?
21 A. The title is "crimes committed against Croats in sector south."
22 Q. Can we please pull the document up a little? Thank you. Let's
23 look at the first passage, the last sentence. It reads: "Men in military
24 or police uniforms are suspected of having committed 120 out of the total
25 of 497 crimes committed."
Page 6932
1 Have you ever seen a report like this?
2 A. I have never seen a report like this or anything similar in
3 relation to the period between August 1992 and the 31st of May, 1993.
4 I've never seen a report like this, or indeed this one.
5 JUDGE MOLOTO: Excuse me -- oh, I beg your pardon.
6 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
7 Q. Can we please go to page 4 of the B/C/S? The title is the 1st of
8 June, 1993. It says "UNCIVPOL Sector South." This is a table with 29
9 items. The designation is crimes committed against Croats between August
10 1992 and May 1993. You have that in front of you, sir. If we could
11 please have the list and the vertical column in its entirety, with all of
12 its 29 items, if we could have that blown up a little, please?
13 Can you have a look, please, sir? We have here a list of crimes,
14 as the report claims. Does this information mean anything to you?
15 A. This report indicates that it was produced in relation to the
16 previous nine-month period.
17 What I find a little strange is that a report was made about
18 crimes committed against Croats. I happen to believe that there were
19 other people living in the area in addition to the area's Croats. There
20 were Serbs in the area, too, and members of other ethnic groups as well.
21 If a report was being drafted, they could as well have produced a more
22 summary report about the entire population of an area, Sector South or a
23 different area. I'm not sure whose idea it was to produce a report like
24 this about Croats alone and none of the others.
25 The first item is arson. In the first months you have arson, 48
Page 6933
1 cases of arson, buildings probably. When I spoke a while ago about
2 Maslenica 93 police operation, in the course of that operation, one might
3 say that in those villages, over 700 or 800 Serb houses were set fire to.
4 I don't see any reference to that in this report. But these 48 cases of
5 arson are stated here in relation to those ten months. Between 700 and
6 800 Serb houses that were damaged in the course of that operation are not
7 referenced but here we see these 48 cases of arson being mentioned.
8 Destruction, expulsion, five cases of expulsion. How did that
9 define this? What constitutes an expulsion? I think this requires a
10 whole range of other documents for the sake of clarification to shed more
11 light on this sort of information that's being used here.
12 Illegal border crossing, that's item 11. I can't see a single
13 case being mentioned there throughout this period.
14 One thing I can share with you is that throughout my time in
15 Benkovac, after the first part of the conflict ended and the arrival of
16 UNPROFOR in June 1992 and the Maslenica operation on the 22nd of January,
17 1993, I remember that my area of responsibility was entered by Croats
18 illegally 13 times. 13 illegal border crossings by Croats into our area,
19 in other words. There were soldiers who had strayed and got lost at some
20 point but most of those were Croats who had previously been residing in
21 the area and then went to Croatia. They used the cease-fire to return to
22 the Benkovac area. 13 such border crossings. All 13 citizens were sent
23 back to Croatia. They are alive and well. This was done in cooperation
24 with the UN civilian police. I wish we could have some of the documents
25 on the work of the Benkovac UN civilian police, documents talking about
Page 6934
1 these border crossings.
2 I remember this one case when an ethnic Serb was driving a cart
3 down a very poor road and he strayed into a minefield. There was an
4 explosion that killed his horse on the spot. I'm not sure if his wife was
5 killed, too, on the occasion. Nevertheless, he survived and he was taken
6 to Zadar. We tried to step in and do something through the UN civilian
7 police --
8 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic, do you see that screen and
9 beyond, still one answer to the question that you put. I'm not quite sure
10 whether that's the answer that you wanted, all that story.
11 May I ask to you try and please control your witness? It's your
12 responsibility to make sure that your witness answers your questions as
13 you put them, concisely and very succinctly.
14 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, I'm trying to
15 keep all of that in mind. I do believe that --
16 JUDGE MOLOTO: [Microphone not activated].
17 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Please allow the witness to
18 finish this answer.
19 JUDGE MOLOTO: Look, I would like him to finish but you must
20 control him. Take him to where you want him to go. He mustn't just go
21 loosely. I'm not against him telling his story. Let him tell his story
22 but under your control.
23 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you. Thank you for the
24 guidance.
25 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much, Mr. Milovancevic.
Page 6935
1 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Witness, you explained about the fact that between June and the
3 end of 1992 there were 13 illegal border crossings by Croats over to your
4 side, but you also spoke about this one ethnic Serb who crossed to the
5 Croatian side. You started telling us about what became of that person.
6 Can you just please tell us briefly, what was returned?
7 A. His body was returned. The explanation provided being that he had
8 hanged himself in the Zadar prison. But when we conducted a post-mortem
9 in Knin with UN civilian police members in attendance and a doctor being
10 brought there to supervise the proceedings, it was established that death
11 had been due to a lung haemorrhage because one of his ribs had been
12 crushed or pierced causing him to suffocate. So this spelled murder.
13 Q. You were trying to show that there were illegal border crossings.
14 I suppose that's what your explanation was about, illegal border
15 crossings, addressed in item 11 of this report.
16 The report mentions no such cases, does it?
17 A. No, it doesn't, none at all. That's why I'm saying, these
18 figures, this report, it's all relative.
19 Q. Another thing, this report indicates that the perpetrators of
20 these incidents are men in military or police uniforms who are suspected
21 of over 120 different crimes. What does that mean? What does the fact
22 mean that somebody, a potential perpetrator, is wearing a police or
23 military uniform? What does that mean to you?
24 A. At the time, all able-bodied men were walking around in uniforms,
25 be it military uniforms, those more commonly used in the first part of the
Page 6936
1 war, up until June 1992, or later on police uniforms. One could also say
2 that we had a lot of refugees in our area at the time, a large number of
3 refugees with no property and nothing to wear. So they borrowed clothes
4 or were given clothes, sometimes uniforms belonging to certain military
5 units. They wore those because they had nothing else to wear, not because
6 they close to wear military uniforms. It is that simple.
7 Q. Thank you very much. What about the fact that the report
8 indicates that the perpetrators were wearing military --
9 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: I'm sorry to intervene, but are you saying that
10 the able-bodied men walking around in uniforms, that they were in fact
11 civilians, members of the civilian population?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, when I speak about that
13 time, what I want to say is that all able-bodied men were involved in some
14 way in the army, mobilised or not. Sometimes some of the units did not
15 have proper uniforms. Sometimes a soldier was given a police uniform by
16 someone else and they just put that on. Despite this, during the
17 cease-fire, we tried to make sure that nobody who wasn't entitled to wear
18 a uniform wore a uniform.
19 JUDGE MOLOTO: Let me understand very clearly: So these people in
20 uniform may very well have been soldiers as is alleged in the report, they
21 could very well have been civilian people who had been conscripted into
22 the army. Based from this answer that you have just given, sometimes some
23 of the units did not have proper uniforms, and you say all able-bodied men
24 were involved in some way in the army, mobilised or not. So it could very
25 well have been civilian people who were involved in the army, mobilised or
Page 6937
1 not?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They could have been people involved
3 with the army who at this point in time happened to be wearing --
4 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. A person who is suspected of a crime. It has been established
6 that this person was wearing a police or military uniform. I want to know
7 how you feel about this. Would this not seem to indicate that the
8 perpetrator was a police officer or a soldier?
9 A. No. He is wearing --
10 JUDGE MOLOTO: There is an objection.
11 MR. WHITING: Isn't this just pure speculation? And I mean how
12 could this -- how could this witness possibly know about all of these
13 incidents and what was happening? It seems like pure speculation, and I
14 didn't object to a number of these previous lengthy answers but they also
15 really are just argument. They aren't really evidence. It's just arguing
16 about this document.
17 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic.
18 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I have finished
19 with the document. In my previous question, I elicited from the
20 witness --
21 JUDGE MOLOTO: There is an objection. Deal with the objection,
22 please.
23 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] That's precisely what I'm
24 trying to do, Your Honour. I asked the witness about his opinion, his
25 informed opinion, whether a person wearing a military or a police uniform
Page 6938
1 automatically meant that the perpetrator was a soldier or a policeman.
2 JUDGE MOLOTO: The question -- the objection is that that question
3 is speculative. Now, deal with that before you repeat the question. Just
4 let's observe rules of procedure here. Deal with the objection.
5 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour. I'll
6 do the same. We have finished with this document. Thank you.
7 Let us look at --
8 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Milovancevic, deal with the objection, please.
9 The objection is you've asked a speculative question. The Chamber must
10 rule on that objection before you go to this document.
11 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I was not quite clear, Your
12 Honour. You're right, I quite forgot to deal with the objection. My
13 concentration is reduced, and I was just about to go on with the
14 questioning.
15 I don't think my question is speculative is the answer to the
16 objection. The question is based on the report which one could also deem
17 to be speculative. The report does not name a single perpetrator. It
18 only says the perpetrators were wearing uniforms. If the report is
19 speculative, then my question is indeed speculative because we didn't see
20 a single perpetrator named. The witness just explained that many people,
21 civilians having nothing else to wear, wore all kinds of uniforms,
22 military and police uniforms. I went on to ask him whether that
23 automatically meant that people wearing uniforms were either soldiers or
24 policemen. That was the drift of my question.
25 JUDGE MOLOTO: But coming from the very explanation that he gave
Page 6939
1 earlier, isn't that irrelevant? He's told you that people have no clothes
2 and they borrowed clothes and some are mobilised or not mobilised but they
3 are involved in the army. Can the point really be taken much further than
4 that by a person who didn't witness the crime itself? Can he take it any
5 further? And what is the value of his opinion? He's not an expert
6 witness.
7 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, Mr. McElligott is
8 not an eyewitness either. He just summed up various other reports, and he
9 submitted a report to the United Nations saying that the military and
10 policemen were perpetrators and he didn't stop at that. He said it was
11 planned and systematic deportation. That is why I started this topic.
12 This report is not scripture. That's what I was trying to say. A
13 report can be truthful or untruthful, precise or imprecise. I was just
14 trying to establish to what extent this report is reliable and relevant.
15 But in view of the suggestion you gave me and in view of the objection, I
16 will withdraw this question because we have many other topics to deal with
17 and many other documents, if you believe that that is a good way out.
18 JUDGE MOLOTO: [Previous translation continues] ... you may
19 proceed.
20 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.
21 Q. Please, let us have a look at Exhibit 601. Before this document
22 [Microphone not activated].
23 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for counsel, please.
24 JUDGE MOLOTO: Microphone, Mr. Milovancevic.
25 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 6940
1 Q. Before we get this document on our screens, you'll see it's a
2 document created by the Ministry of the Interior. Let us just show the
3 entire heading in the left top corner. Whose document is it? Yes.
4 That's what I meant.
5 A. This is a document developed by the Ministry of the Interior of
6 the Republic of Serbian Krajina.
7 Q. Can we see the bottom right-hand corner to see the signature?
8 A. It is signed Milan Martic, at that time Minister of the Interior
9 of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.
10 Q. Thank you. Can we now look at the very beginning of the document
11 and have the witness read to us the first paragraph of this order,
12 including the two lines above the word "order"?
13 A. "Pursuant to Article 7 of the Law on the Organs of Internal
14 Affairs of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, we hereby issue the order to
15 all persons who do not belong to the police force of Krajina to take off
16 or remove all insignia of the police of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
17 and to take off the uniforms off all people who do not belong to the legal
18 military formation of the Republic of Serbian Krajina or the JNA."
19 Q. Thank you. What kind of situation is this order meant to deal
20 with?
21 A. This order was meant to deal with the problem of abuse of uniforms
22 of the police of RSK by people who wore that uniform without being
23 authorised to do so. They were invited to take off all insignia and
24 uniforms, lest they be removed from them.
25 Q. Does the order refer to people wearing both military and police
Page 6941
1 uniforms? Can we see that from the document?
2 A. We can see from the document that it refers to both police and
3 military uniforms of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and of the JNA.
4 Q. This is a document dated 13 January 1991 and we just saw a report
5 from the United Nations civilian police related to August 1992, May 1993,
6 where it says that 190 perpetrators of crime wore police or military
7 uniforms. Do you remember that, Witness?
8 A. I do. I remember that figure.
9 Q. Now, in relation to this document, and the previous one, my
10 question is: Does the fact alone that the alleged perpetrator at the time
11 of perpetrating the crime, wore a military or a police uniform mean that
12 the perpetrator was a soldier or a policeman?
13 A. No, it doesn't mean that the person is a member of the police if
14 he was wearing a police uniform, or of the army if he was wearing a
15 military uniform.
16 In the former Yugoslavia, under all regimes, and I'll just tell
17 you what the situation was like before. To identify policemen in old
18 Yugoslavia, policemen had to wear a belt with a number because the uniform
19 alone did not identify them enough, and this belt with a number enabled
20 checks to be made.
21 Q. Thank you. Let us look at another document. I believe this one
22 has already been exhibited and we can remove it from the screen.
23 Let us now look at a document from the 65 ter list of the OTP,
24 number 332.
25 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: Please, Mr. Milovancevic, before you go on, I'd
Page 6942
1 like to pose a question to the witness, if he knows.
2 This order that was issued for persons not entitled to wear the
3 uniform or insignia to cease, where would it have been published so that
4 it might come to the attention of those persons who were in offence of the
5 order, so that they could now obey the order and carry out its terms?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Under the Law on the Organs of
7 Internal Affairs, both of the Republic of Croatia, the Socialist Republic
8 of Croatia, and the Republic of Serbian Krajina, and I'm saying this
9 because most people in both entities originated in the past regime of the
10 Republic of Croatia, only authorised officers were entitled to wear a
11 uniform. It was a matter of common knowledge. Before the war, if
12 somebody were to put on a police uniform, they would end up in prison
13 because of that offence, and the uniform would be automatically removed
14 from them. That position continued to hold. If we encountered a
15 situation where due to the war, due to poverty, or due to their refugee
16 status, somebody wore a military uniform, that was more or less tolerated
17 but we did not tolerate the wearing of police uniforms which carried a
18 special meaning.
19 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: I'm sorry, there is something lost in the
20 communication of my question. The order that is being referred to is
21 dated the 13th of January, is it, 1992? Am I right? So this order was
22 made, was it not, so it could be acted upon? So what I'm asking is how
23 was communication made to reach the persons or audience that this order
24 was intended for?
25 Do you comprehend what I'm saying, the question I'm trying to get
Page 6943
1 you to ask -- to answer, rather, which you have not done as yet?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, if we are talking about
3 this order, 44/6, I cannot tell you anything specific about it because it
4 does not pertain to me or to my unit. It deals with a specific case
5 naming the person who is supposed to comply. So that particular person is
6 entrusted with an assignment in a specific area. That area is far from
7 anything I know. It's Sector North.
8 JUDGE NOSWORTHY: Very well. Thank you.
9 Mr. Milovancevic, I thank you. Please continue.
10 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. Can we now look at this document from the 65 ter list, number 332?
12 And before the document appears on the screen, it is a report of the
13 UN civilian police, Sector South. The author is Viktor Andreev.
14 You see this front page of the document? Can you, in the upper
15 left corner, make out the date and the author?
16 A. Is this the 13th of September, 1992? And the author is Viktor
17 Andreev, Sector South, Knin, and it is addressed to Cedric Thornberry in
18 Zagreb.
19 Q. Thank you. Now, let's look at page 3 in English.
20 At this moment, we have the English original only, and I will read
21 out this passage to you. "The recent torchings of houses and the attack
22 in the Catholic area of Drnis were sudden. It seems" --
23 THE INTERPRETER: Could counsel please give a reference?
24 JUDGE MOLOTO: Tell us where you are reading from,
25 Mr. Milovancevic? You said page 3 of the English and we are at page 3.
Page 6944
1 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] The first paragraph, Your
2 Honour. I seem to have said so. Yes, the first paragraph of page 3 in
3 English. The last digits of the ERN number should be 068.
4 Q. So: "Recent house burnings and attacks on Catholic churches in
5 the pink zone area of Drnis have increased sharply. It appears that news
6 about the restoration of Croatian authority in the area triggers these
7 actions as people seem to be taking the law into their own hands, trying
8 to discourage the return of Croatians to the areas or making it as
9 difficult as possible."
10 Yes, making it as difficult as possible. That's how I would
11 translate it to the witness.
12 Now, Witness, this report pertains to Sector South in the month of
13 September.
14 I see the interpreters seem to have problems. Is it necessary to
15 repeat? If not, I shall continue.
16 Are you familiar with these problems, cases of arson, houses being
17 burned and churches as well, in Drnis area which is adjacent to your
18 area? And we are looking at September 1992, an area referred to as the
19 pink area. You've heard the report, haven't you?
20 A. Drnis is another town with its own area. It also belonged to
21 Sector South and was relatively near my own area and the Benkovac public
22 security station. There is reference here to acts of arson in the pink
23 zone, the pink area.
24 One thing I can say is that pursuant to the agreement that was
25 reached, the arrival of the UN and the establishment of the civilian
Page 6945
1 police, so-called pink zones were established.
2 Q. Thank you. That's quite sufficient. Do you know anything about
3 these houses being burned, or churches, explosives being laid to blow up
4 houses or churches in the area? You've heard what the report says about
5 this. Do you know anything from your own personal knowledge?
6 A. No, nothing. I know nothing about this.
7 Q. What about the policies implemented by the government of the
8 Republic of Serbian Krajina? Were their policies aimed at burning or
9 destroying everything that belonged to Croats, all different kinds of
10 property owned by Croats, such as houses, farms, churches and so on and so
11 forth? Was there any official policy along these lines?
12 A. I never received any orders, any reports, throughout my time
13 there, nothing at all to indicate that anyone on behalf of the official
14 authorities had proposed or ordered the destruction of Croat-owned
15 property or their expulsion from the area. I never heard or saw anything
16 like that.
17 Q. You have this report in front of you. I've read out a passage to
18 you. It talks about the local population taking the law into their own
19 hands and deciding to burn down houses and wreak havoc. Do you have
20 anything to indicate that?
21 A. No, nothing about this specifically.
22 Q. In relation to this previous report, the crimes committed between
23 August 1992 and May 1993, you remember that it was signed by
24 Mr. McElligott. In relation to that report, Mr. McElligott stated before
25 a Trial Chamber about the time period that this report is in reference to,
Page 6946
1 and this was, after all, a summary, that in the territory of the Republic
2 of Serbian Krajina throughout this time, there was a planned and
3 systematic activity aimed at destroying all Croat-owned property, private
4 property, public institutions, churches, places of worship, private
5 buildings that the population was being mistreated and killed. Based on
6 what you know, is that a truthful account or not?
7 JUDGE MOLOTO: Mr. Whiting.
8 MR. WHITING: Objection on a number of grounds. The first is that
9 this is -- this question, and for the very reason that is in the last
10 sentence, I believe, is in contravention of the order of the Court, I
11 believe, with respect to the conduct of the proceedings. It's my
12 recollection that that order instructs counsel not to put these sorts of
13 questions to witnesses, identifying the testimony of other witnesses and
14 to comment on their veracity. I may be mistaken but I believe that's in
15 the order.
16 Secondly, I think this has been asked and answered. The witness
17 can give his evidence on these topics. He has to the extent he knows this
18 information or doesn't know this information, but then to take it a step
19 further and ask him to comment on the veracity of another witness's
20 testimony I think is both irrelevant and improper.
21 Yes. It's paragraph 13. My speedy co-counsel has found it. It's
22 paragraph 13 of the order of the 19th of May, 2006, which says: "The
23 parties are reminded that while they may ask the witness whether or not he
24 agrees or disagrees with the evidence of the previous testimony, the
25 parties should not ask witnesses to comment on the credibility of other
Page 6947
1 witnesses."
2 I really think that that's what's going on here. And, in
3 addition, as I said, I think it's -- I think the witness has addressed
4 these matters. It's really been asked and answered.
5 JUDGE MOLOTO: Can you see that paragraph, Mr. Milovancevic, and
6 do you have any answer?
7 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I did not wish to
8 comment on the credibility of a previous witness but I do accept in good
9 part what the Prosecutor has just said. I will try to rephrase my
10 question in one way particularly, if you allow. And in as far as this
11 objection has been dealt with, my colleague is right.
12 JUDGE MOLOTO: Well, if he is right, you either withdraw or I
13 rule.
14 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] I withdraw. I withdraw my
15 question. Thank you.
16 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you, Mr. Milovancevic.
17 But I just want to -- you see, the problem, Mr. Milovancevic, is
18 that you make speeches yourself before you put questions. You know, if
19 you look at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 lines before you put your
20 question, and not only are you inviting the witness to comment on the
21 credibility of other witnesses, you are yourself commenting on this. Of
22 course you are not barred from doing so but this is not the time. When
23 you argue, that will be the time. So just confine your questions to
24 questions, not speeches. Okay? Thank you.
25 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.
Page 6948
1 Q. A question in relation to the summary report, the period between
2 August 1992 and May 1993, more specifically in relation to this time
3 period: What about you at the public security station or through your
4 contacts with the Ministry of the Interior, did you ever receive an order
5 to distinguish between people along ethnic, religious or political lines
6 while exercising your duties as a police officer?
7 A. I am saying this not just in relation to the period specified but
8 in relation to what was happening throughout the Republic of Serbian
9 Krajina. There was never any such order that was issued.
10 Q. Thank you. What about the Ministry of the Interior of the
11 SAO Krajina previous to this? Did they ever take any steps or measures to
12 ensure that their police officers got proper training?
13 A. Yes. There was a training camp in Golubic.
14 Q. Thank you. Can we please look at Exhibit 682?
15 The document has just appeared. It's difficult to read. Can you
16 tell us what it's about? What is the subject of this document? Who is
17 the sender? You don't have to read the name. The person submitting this
18 is a citizen. In the upper right-hand corner, we can see his first and
19 last name, Drnis, the 16th of June, 1993. Isn't that what the face of the
20 document appears to reflect?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Who is this being sent to?
23 A. It's an application being sent to the Republic of Serbian Krajina
24 MUP in Knin.
25 Q. What happens to be the subject of this application?
Page 6949
1 A. This is an application to be accepted to a school for police
2 officers established by the Ministry of the Interior.
3 Q. Is the location specified?
4 A. This is an application to be accepted based on a public tender,
5 and the location referred in the letter is Banja Luka.
6 Q. Can we just look at the bottom of this document? Was the document
7 in fact signed by the sender? Can you see a signature there?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Can we please go to page 04006946 in B/C/S? In English that's
10 page 3. Just in order to look at the very beginning of this document, the
11 upper left-hand corner, the beginning of the page. Who produced this
12 report? What does it say in the upper left-hand corner?
13 A. According to what I can see here, this was produced by the Drnis
14 public security station.
15 Q. Can you please read out the second passage of this report? We
16 could just pull it up a little so we can see the second passage. Can you
17 please read out the second passage to us?
18 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Or would it perhaps be a good
19 idea to leave this for tomorrow morning, Your Honours? I'm watching the
20 time. I'm not sure if the Chamber has any immediate commitments.
21 JUDGE MOLOTO: The Chamber -- well, not the Chamber but one of the
22 members of the Chamber does have immediate commitments. Is it convenient
23 for you to stop at this point?
24 MR. MILOVANCEVIC: [Interpretation] Indeed it is, Your Honour. We
25 can continue tomorrow.
Page 6950
1 JUDGE MOLOTO: Thank you very much. Then the matter stands
2 adjourned to tomorrow morning at 9.00.
3 Court adjourned.
4 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.48 p.m.,
5 to be reconvened on Wednesday, the 23rd day of
6 August, 2006, at 9.00 a.m.
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