Page 906
1 Wednesday, 9 July 2003
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The witness entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 2.18 p.m.
6 JUDGE LIU: Call the case, please, Madam Registrar.
7 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon. Case Number IT-02-60-T, The
8 Prosecutor versus Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic.
9 JUDGE LIU: Good afternoon, Witness. Did you have a good rest?
10 THE WITNESS: Thank you.
11 JUDGE LIU: Are you ready to proceed?
12 THE WITNESS: Yes.
13 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Waespi, you may proceed.
14 MR. WAESPI: Thank you, Mr. President.
15 WITNESS: PIETER BOERING [Resumed]
16 [Witness answered through interpreter]
17 Examined by Mr. Waespi: [Continued]
18 Q. Major Boering, yesterday you had said that you had an initial
19 meeting in January 1995 with various people, including General Zivanovic
20 whom you had said that he was the command of the Drina Corps. Now, do you
21 recall whether he was present at the Hotel Fontana meeting, any of those,
22 on the 11th of July?
23 A. As far as I remember, he was not present. General Krstic was
24 present. And General Mladic introduced him as the commander of the Drina
25 Corps.
Page 907
1 Q. And I think I asked you that yesterday. Do you recall which of
2 the two meetings on the 11th of July Mr. Krstic was present?
3 A. It was the second meeting.
4 Q. Now, turning to the issue we had left off last night, the third
5 meeting Hotel Fontana on the 12th of July, 1995. Now, I'd like you and
6 the others present in the courtroom to see a clip which again was already
7 shown.
8 MR. WAESPI: I'm not sure whether we see it on our screens.
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can't see anything yet.
10 Yes.
11 MR. WAESPI: Yes, if we could start again from the beginning.
12 Thank you, Ms. Stewart.
13 [Videotape played]
14 MR. WAESPI: Perhaps if we could stop at this point.
15 Q. Now the people you have seen so far, can you tell us a little bit
16 who they were.
17 A. The three people stepping out of the Mercedes Benz in civilian
18 clothes, I was the driver. They were the three representatives of the
19 Muslim population. They were Mandzic, the other was Camila Osmanovic, and
20 I don't recall the name of the third man, but that was the father of an
21 interpreter. And I also noticed the interpreter Petar in civilian
22 clothes. At the entrance you can see Mladic's bodyguard.
23 [Videotape played]
24 MR. WAESPI: Now we have another clip, video, from that meeting,
25 if that could be shown.
Page 908
1 Q. Do you recall this scene?
2 A. Yes, I remember them.
3 Q. And can you tell us who these people are as far as you can recall?
4 A. Yes, from left to right, in civilian clothes you see Mandzic, the
5 father of an interpreter, Camila, myself, and at the head of the table is
6 seated Colonel Jankovic. The next person is somebody I do not know, next
7 to him. Across is a man in civilian clothes, and he was designated for
8 screening operations, particularly for Muslim men ages 14 to 60 or 70.
9 And the man with the moustache in between them appears to be Colonel
10 Kosovic.
11 MR. WAESPI: If the next still could be shown.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There you see General Mladic as well
13 as somebody wearing a white shirt who was also involved in inspecting the
14 staff, screening.
15 MR. WAESPI:
16 Q. And by "screening," what do you mean?
17 A. General Mladic indicated that if men were found among the
18 population, that they needed to be inspected for their conduct in the
19 warfare, as to whether they had perpetrated war crimes. And this man in
20 the white shirt served this purpose.
21 Q. Now, did General Mladic indicate the age range of the people who
22 needed to be screened?
23 A. From 16 to 60 or 65 years of age.
24 Q. Do you recall other issues which were discussed at this meeting?
25 A. Especially with respect to removal of staff, the idea was that the
Page 909
1 fuel would need to be supplied by DutchBat if it could not be supplied
2 through vehicles. And the sequence of removal of staff, Muslims, first
3 the injured, then the elderly, then the more healthy individuals. As well
4 as a certain security for the DutchBat vehicles, there was personnel to
5 secure them.
6 Q. Thank you, Major Boering. Now, over the weekend when you were in
7 the Office of the Prosecutor, you have been shown a transcript of about
8 six, seven pages of this video which carried the scenes of this third
9 Fontana meeting. Now, do you recall that you have read in this transcript
10 General Mladic's comment about screening war criminals?
11 A. General Mladic indicated there that it needed to happen and that
12 once it had happened, the staff would be returned to the enclave.
13 Q. And the comment you just made, were these comments contained in
14 that transcript you have read? Or you don't recall.
15 A. At this time, I do not recall.
16 Q. Now, you mentioned a few people who were present at this meeting,
17 and you have seen the people who had entered that Hotel Fontana, getting
18 out of the car. From DutchBat, who was present apart from you?
19 A. Colonel Karremans was also present at that meeting, or rather
20 Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans.
21 Q. Thank you, Mr. Boering. Now, what did you do after the meeting
22 finished? And perhaps you could start with telling us at what time you
23 recall the end of that meeting.
24 A. The meeting started around 11.00, and ended around noon -- excuse
25 me, around 12.00. We drove back to our compound at Potocari, spoke
Page 910
1 briefly with Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans about commitments or the
2 contents of the discussion. At any rate, there was some misunderstanding
3 as to whether or not personnel would be evacuated as well as commitments
4 about fuel, commitments by Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans, and that's why I
5 returned to check matters again. I drove back to Fontana and contacted
6 Nikolic and the Commander Kosovic again.
7 Q. And what were they doing when you met them?
8 A. They said they were having lunch, but they were clearly in the
9 midst of planning operations. They were irritated that I had returned and
10 made it very clear that they had made their commitments and that
11 transports had already been arranged. They urged me to depart quickly
12 because I had no business being there.
13 Q. Was somebody else with you at that time?
14 A. Only a driver.
15 Q. Did Mr. Kosovic and Nikolic indicate to you a time when the
16 transports would be initiated?
17 A. It might be in the course of the day, considerably later. But
18 upon the drive back toward the enclave, it was clear when we overtook a
19 convoy that the operations had already begun. And both Kosovic and
20 Nikolic were already in vehicles headed in that direction.
21 Q. How many vehicles were part of that convoy which you said you
22 overtook on your way from Bratunac to Potocari?
23 A. 30, 40.
24 Q. And what kind of vehicles would those be?
25 A. Some were buses for public transport; others were lorries with --
Page 911
1 covered by cloths for normal transport.
2 Q. At what time did you arrive in Potocari?
3 A. I believe it was around 2.00 in the afternoon.
4 Q. And how was the situation as it appeared to you?
5 A. At the entrance to our compound, General Mladic was busily
6 convincing the personnel, the Muslims, that they would need to be
7 evacuated, and there were camera crews to record the scenes. It was not
8 as agreed, first the injured and the elderly. They were clearly trying to
9 get people into the vehicles quickly.
10 Q. Now, how many people did you see at Potocari? Can you give a
11 rough estimate?
12 A. Around the vehicles, it was thousands, two or three thousand.
13 Q. And these people, were these women, children, men?
14 A. It was a combination of people. Most were women and children, but
15 there were also some boys and occasionally there was a man among them.
16 Q. Now, what happened to the men?
17 A. The men were selected and gathered in a building across from the
18 compound. I watched that taking place. Then I went to the building to
19 check things out there. And the elite troops of the VRS were present
20 there. They had several dogs to guard or screen. I briefly entered the
21 building. I saw some passports and things and clothes on the ground
22 there. And then I was hastily removed from the building. There were dogs
23 and there were also machine-guns pointed at me.
24 Q. Did you actually see these men, the Muslim men? Did you look into
25 their faces?
Page 912
1 A. Yes, I saw a few of them. I looked at them. But there was no
2 interpreter, so I couldn't really contact them through speaking. But I
3 could see clearly that they were very frightened.
4 Q. What was the age group of these men you just described?
5 A. About 12 to 80 or so. It's difficult to guess the ages when
6 people look like they're in such bad shape.
7 Q. Now, at that time, did you make a connection between the comment
8 you just made about General Mladic's words during the meeting?
9 A. Yes, I reported this to Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans as well. He
10 was still at his command post, and then he left his command post to check
11 the site.
12 Q. Just a clarification: You said that the General Mladic made a
13 comment about the screening of war criminals between 16 and 60. And you
14 told us that today. And now, a few hours later, you saw, in fact, men of
15 that age group. Now, at that time, did you make a connection that these
16 two events could be linked or not?
17 A. If there was any connection, it certainly wasn't a standard
18 interrogation since there were some elite troops standing ready outside
19 the building, a possible execution battalion, a possible execution squad
20 that were ready to march people off behind the building. And there was no
21 opportunity to walk past. There were obstacles. You couldn't pass
22 because there were dogs there and there were soldiers who wouldn't allow
23 you to pass. And we heard some shooting behind the building.
24 Q. Now, you said that you had reported that to your superior. Did
25 you do something else to ascertain what happened in that building?
Page 913
1 A. To ask the UNMOs on site to stay at the building. At any rate, to
2 count how many people were entering. I stayed at the building up to that
3 point.
4 Q. Can you tell us what an UNMO is.
5 A. The military observers from the United Nations.
6 Q. How many UNMOs were in the enclave?
7 A. It varied. Usually four to six.
8 Q. And do you recall the name of this UNMO whom you had contacted at
9 that time?
10 A. Yes, I believe the name was Kingori. The other UNMO in the
11 neighbourhood was de Haan, who was Dutch.
12 Q. Now, you said these men were led to a house. In relation to the
13 entry of the Potocari UN Compound, how far away was that house?
14 A. It was visible, about three or four hundred metres away.
15 Q. Now, at what time were the buses leaving?
16 A. About 4.00 in the afternoon.
17 Q. And what did you do?
18 A. I rode along on one of the vehicles with a coworker of mine to see
19 what would happen. And Colonel Kosovic, who escorted the transport
20 authorised this.
21 Q. In what car did you accompany the convoy?
22 A. A Mercedes Benz belonging to our own battalion.
23 Q. And what was the purpose of you accompanying this convoy?
24 A. At any rate, to be a witness to what happened to this convoy and
25 to be able to report it in any way possible. It was unclear to me what
Page 914
1 was going to happen. And it had not been communicated clearly by the
2 Serbs either.
3 Q. Was the issue of escorts of these convoys discussed before?
4 A. Yes, this had been discussed at the third meeting with General
5 Mladic because one man from our battalion would be present per vehicle.
6 It was not the case. I was the only vehicle for the entire convoy.
7 Q. Of how many vehicles did this convoy consist of?
8 A. 30, 40.
9 Q. Major Boering, if you could tell us on the map the route which you
10 took out of Potocari.
11 A. Yes, I'll be happy to do that for you.
12 Q. Perhaps if you could blow up the sort of section, come back
13 towards Kladanj to the left. The middle part of it to the left, yes.
14 That's perfect.
15 A. The route we took was from Potocari toward Bratunac. And then in
16 Bratunac, left to Glogova. And ultimately, at the next fork, we took to
17 left to Milici. And then we travelled west toward Vlasenica, and then we
18 headed toward Tisca. And about there, the convoy stopped.
19 Q. Now, Major Boering, on the way, what did you see, did you observe,
20 between Potocari and Tisca?
21 A. In Bratunac, we took a left and headed west. And along the way
22 after a few kilometres, the convoy was stopped. And the police escorting
23 us, they were very nervous. We had to go under cover because there were
24 outbreak attempts from the enclave. And there was indeed a type of prison
25 vehicle where people were busy loading something. It was difficult to
Page 915
1 see. And at a certain point, that operation ended, and the vehicle headed
2 off toward Bratunac. And we were authorised to continue on.
3 Q. Now, you said that around Tisca, the convoy stopped. Why did you
4 stop there?
5 A. We stopped there. It was made clear we encountered Major Sarkic,
6 who I knew from the past. He explained to me that from that point onward,
7 we would need to walk about 6 or 7 kilometres through no-man's-land to
8 escort the population toward Luke Kladanj. And the route was not entirely
9 safe. It needed to be demined first. And after a brief wait, I was
10 invited to come along with the first population group because it was too
11 dangerous for the Serbs themselves to cross no-man's-land.
12 Q. Now, you said that you had met Major Sarkic before. Can you tell
13 us when that was and what his function was or is.
14 A. That was upon the transfer of DutchBat II to III in early January.
15 And at that point, he was presented -- introduced by General Zivanovic as
16 the contact from the Milici Brigade. So he was our contact if there were
17 any problems or operations.
18 Q. Now, did Major Sarkic tell you under which orders he was acting?
19 A. Yes, he mentioned that. He indicated that he took his orders
20 directly from the Drina Corps.
21 Q. Now, did the men who were part of your convoy join you to walk
22 towards the free territory?
23 A. Again, they performed a selection to see whether there were any
24 men left among them. They were removed and taken off to the forest.
25 Q. And they were taken off by whom?
Page 916
1 A. By VRS troops. We couldn't see where they were going. There was
2 no way that they would have allowed us to do that. They would have
3 threatened us with armed force, would have told us we had no business
4 there.
5 Q. At what time in the day was that when you had met Major Sarkic?
6 A. I believe it was around 6.00.
7 Q. The same day you had left Potocari.
8 A. Yes, between 5.00 and 6.00.
9 Q. Now, on the way between Potocari and Tisca, did you see any people
10 wearing UN uniforms or parts of uniforms or helmets?
11 A. Certainly parts of DutchBat uniforms, and you could see those
12 between -- you could see those among the Serb troops, a few.
13 Q. So are you saying that these DutchBat uniforms at that time were
14 not worn by Dutch people or people under the authority of DutchBat, but by
15 somebody else?
16 A. Yes, they were worn by the VRS soldiers. You could tell by the
17 people in charge and their positions.
18 Q. Now, how come the VRS got hold of these uniforms?
19 A. Possibly through the hostagings of our soldiers.
20 Q. And do you know the reason why the VRS was wearing or members of
21 the VRS were wearing these uniforms?
22 A. It was possible to cultivate trust so that this would indicate to
23 the Muslim population fleeing that they were safe, and then they could
24 surrender.
25 Q. Now, to finish, I would like to show you a brief clip again.
Page 917
1 [Videotape played]
2 MR. WAESPI:
3 Q. If you could comment on what you're seeing.
4 A. This is at the end of the route that we walked. On the right
5 is -- you see a BH soldier. They walked toward us.
6 Q. I'm sorry.
7 MR. WAESPI: Can you please go back.
8 Q. I think we shall freeze it at one point so you can identify the
9 people on it. But you can continue to explain, Major Boering.
10 A. The last section through the no-man's-land, and we were met there
11 by the BH soldiers. They disarmed us and took us off as virtual prisoners
12 of war for interrogation. In the centre, you see me and my colleague to
13 the right is Voorman, and to the left is a BH soldier.
14 Q. And is it fair to say that after you arrived in the Muslim
15 territory, you did not go back to Potocari?
16 A. No, that did not happen.
17 Q. Did you eventually return to Holland?
18 A. Next, I travelled back to Germany via Tuzla.
19 MR. WAESPI: Thank you, Mr. President. I have no more questions.
20 JUDGE LIU: Thank you.
21 Any cross-examination? Yes, Mr. Karnavas.
22 MR. KARNAVAS: Thank you, Your Honour.
23 Cross-examined by Mr. Karnavas:
24 Q. Good afternoon. Is it still Major?
25 A. [No Interpretation]
Page 918
1 Q. Before I go into your background, I just wanted to get one thing
2 clear. This wasn't the first time that you had seen folks that were not
3 part of DutchBat in UN uniforms. Isn't that a fact?
4 A. Yes, but not really in a war area.
5 Q. Okay. Now, you testified in the previous trial, did you not,
6 during the Krstic trial?
7 A. I acted as a witness in the Krstic trial.
8 Q. And during that trial, you were read, and later on you were shown,
9 a document from the Dutch Institute whereby in that report, it notes, and
10 it's marked as Defence Exhibit 1 in that particular case, that "Soldiers
11 of the BH army fully dressed with blue helmets or blue caps have arrived
12 to the area within 15 metres of one of the observation posts acting as UN
13 personnel. They opened fire from this position into the direction of the
14 position of the VRS. Therefore, it seemed as if the United Nations had
15 opened fire. In this way, they attempted to provoke the fire of the VRS
16 on the observation post, and by doing so, embroil the Dutch Battalion into
17 combat activities."
18 Now, do you recall being shown and being read that report that was
19 prepared by the Dutch Institute?
20 A. I remember the previous trial, and also that your colleague Hansel
21 came up with this text, and that it was unclear at the time what the
22 status of this paper was. And I myself have no information about this.
23 Q. Okay. But you did indicate during that trial that there were
24 complaints by Major Nikolic.
25 A. There have been complaints from Major Nikolic, that's true. But
Page 919
1 when you say about the specific case you're referring to, I cannot recall
2 that at all.
3 Q. Okay. But you're not challenging today that report from the Dutch
4 Institute, are you?
5 A. No, I'm witnessing about what I've seen.
6 Q. Exactly, all right. So you're not saying that it is, in fact,
7 false that, in fact, the Dutch Institute would present and prepare a false
8 document noting that Muslim soldiers where you were supposed to be in a
9 demilitarised area protected by DutchBat were, in fact, impersonating
10 themselves as DutchBat firing onto the VRS in order to provoke an incident
11 so that the UN forces, the DutchBat forces, would get involved?
12 A. No, I do not endorse this report.
13 Q. Okay. Now, as I listened to your background yesterday, you
14 indicated that you went to a military academy. So I take it the military
15 is your career.
16 A. Yeah.
17 Q. And back then, in 1995, you're a major, and today in 2003 you
18 still hold that rank as major. Is that correct?
19 A. That's correct.
20 Q. And yesterday, there was an indication you were a G3. Not being a
21 military man, maybe you can explain that to us, what that means.
22 A. In my previous function, I was responsible for operations and
23 trainings in an artillery unit. And that is how I went to Kosovo. And
24 during the period six years before, that I was part of a brigade staff.
25 And on this brigade staff, I was in the G3 section, trainings and
Page 920
1 exercise.
2 Q. Okay. So that's what that refers to.
3 A. Yeah.
4 Q. All right. And if I get -- if I have it right, you are an
5 artillery man. That's what your specialty is.
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Now, you went to Srebrenica as part of the DutchBat unit, and I
8 understand that you arrived sometime in January 1995.
9 A. Yes, in January.
10 Q. And as I understand it, when you got there, there was sort of an
11 eight-hour welcoming, you know, welcoming you folks and sort of saying
12 good-bye to the folks that were leaving, and that was prepared by the VRS.
13 A. Yes, in Bratunac, the Drina Corps.
14 Q. I take it, it took place at the Hotel Fontana?
15 A. Yeah.
16 Q. And that's when you met for the first time General Zivanovic who
17 had introduced himself, and indeed, from reading your testimony, had even
18 made an impression on you as a soldier's soldier. He introduced himself
19 as the head of the Drina Corps.
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And there was some other officers, including Major Nikolic.
22 A. Yeah.
23 Q. And you would over the period of six months become quite
24 acquainted with Major Nikolic in your capacity as liaison between the
25 DutchBat and the VRS.
Page 921
1 A. Yeah.
2 Q. And in fact, if I have it right, you had weekly meetings -- at
3 least weekly meetings. I believe they were on Tuesdays. Mondays was
4 reserved for the Muslims; Tuesdays for the Serbs; Wednesday was for the
5 civilians in Srebrenica; and then Thursday, Friday for observation. I
6 take it Saturday, Sunday was for rest?
7 A. That was the schedule, but when times of tension arose, then quite
8 regularly, we had no contact with Major Nikolic for several weeks, even
9 though we wanted to have contact.
10 Q. Exactly. And there were sometimes, there were sometimes, at least
11 a couple that I can glean from the testimony, where there were some
12 surprise meetings would be invited, and all of a sudden Nikolic and maybe
13 a guest would arrive with Mr. Nikolic.
14 A. Yeah.
15 Q. All right. Now since we're on Mr. Nikolic, we'll stay on this
16 topic if that's okay with you, Major, and then we'll get back to your
17 mission. It was your understanding at the time, in your capacity as the
18 liaison officer, and might I say in that capacity you acted more or less
19 as the eyes and ears for the colonel or the lieutenant-colonel?
20 A. Yeah.
21 Q. It sounds to me from reading it, and again I'm not a military man,
22 it sounds to me you were acting more or less like a security intelligence
23 officer, in that capacity. I mean, you're liaisoning, but you're also
24 trying to get information at the same time. Right?
25 A. Of course one gathers information, but my duty, as for duties
Page 922
1 regarding security and intelligence, that was certainly not the main
2 thing.
3 Q. Okay. I agree with you on that one. And as I understand it
4 correctly, you reported directly to the lieutenant-colonel. In other
5 words, you had almost like a, for lack of a better term, a separate chain
6 of command. That's who you worked for. Right? And you were charge for
7 the civic aspect, and as I understand it, there was an individual that was
8 responsible for the military aspect, and then you had the major sergeant
9 or sergeant-major, one of those two.
10 A. Sergeant-major.
11 Q. And the sergeant-major was sort of in between, kind of assisting
12 both of you. That was initially?
13 A. Yes, originally.
14 Q. And then at some point, due to attrition, you know, one of them
15 had left. That's what I mean by attrition. Basically you and the
16 sergeant-major, the sergeant-major took over both those aspects.
17 A. Yeah.
18 Q. The civil and the -- okay.
19 A. Yes, within as well as outside the enclave.
20 Q. Right, right. And so -- all right, now, let's get back to
21 Major Nikolic. You had been there six months, up until the time of the
22 fall of Srebrenica. And as I read the statements that you gave after the
23 fall of Srebrenica and your testimony, perhaps you hold this opinion
24 today, throughout this period, you thought that Major Nikolic was the
25 assistant commander of the Bratunac Brigade. Is that correct?
Page 923
1 A. The position of Major Nikolic was very unclear. And he didn't
2 want to indicate that. When we addressed him as deputy commander, he was
3 reasonably upset about that. And after that, for a brief while, we had no
4 contact with him.
5 Q. Okay. You mean he objected to being called that, that was your
6 impression?
7 A. He did not want it to be clear to us what his position was.
8 Q. Right. In fact, you had asked him a couple of times, and on one
9 occasion, he had indicated to you that you were not stupid and that you
10 knew what he was doing.
11 A. Yes, I recall that.
12 Q. Right. Could we say -- I mean I take it you have been around
13 military people. You can judge a character as well as I can, we're lay
14 people. Could we say that Mr. Nikolic had a particular aura about him?
15 You know, he demonstrated an aura of, say, lack of a better term,
16 arrogance?
17 A. He made it clear that he was the boss, and he had absolutely no
18 problem keeping us waiting for a couple of hours.
19 Q. And of course, at times, when you would meet with Major Nikolic,
20 you would have to meet another individual, and he was a colonel, I
21 believe. And that was Colonel Vukotic am I getting it right?
22 A. Yes, you're right. But I didn't deal with him very much.
23 Q. But in your dealings when they were both together, it was clear to
24 you, was it not, that Major Nikolic was sort of disparagingly addressing
25 and behaving towards Mr. Vukotic or Colonel Vukotic?
Page 924
1 A. Yes, you might say so.
2 Q. You're saying it, not me.
3 A. Yeah, yeah.
4 Q. All right. But there was one individual that when Mr. Nikolic was
5 with, all the airs and the pretensions of being arrogant and being a
6 person of authority were more or less gone. Right? You know who I'm
7 talking about?
8 A. That was, for example, with Zivanovic.
9 Q. All right. That's a general now. Now, but can you think of
10 another -- do you recall meeting him with Colonel Beara?
11 A. Oh, yes, I remember that.
12 Q. Okay.
13 A. That was during Serb Easter.
14 Q. Right. But as I indicate from reading your reports, when he was
15 in front of Colonel Beara, he was more like a, as they say in that part of
16 the world, wet chicken. Very subservient and very quiet.
17 A. Yes, but the situation was very unsafe at the time. And I was in
18 a no-man's-land.
19 Q. No, I'm not saying about your behaviour; I'm saying about
20 Nikolic's behaviour. Nikolic's behaviour in front of Beara. In your
21 reports, it was clear that he was subservient when he was with
22 Colonel Beara. That's what I glean from your testimony and statements.
23 A. You're absolutely right.
24 Q. In fact, on one occasion, you had been invited to a meeting, and
25 there was an ambush.
Page 925
1 A. That's right.
2 Q. And Nikolic more or less kind of laughed about it.
3 A. Yeah.
4 Q. And of course when Beara shows up, Nikolic is like a little
5 schoolboy hiding behind the skirts of Colonel Beara. Would that be
6 correct?
7 A. That's the impression I got, yes.
8 Q. Now, let me stay with Mr. Nikolic just a little bit longer. I
9 want to fast forward a little bit. And I want to talk about the days on
10 the 11th, 12th, and so on. During the meeting, the first meeting, as I
11 recall, you indicated that Nikolic was there front and centre.
12 A. Yeah.
13 Q. One would think he never saw a camera he didn't like because he
14 seems to be in all the footage?
15 A. Yes, he was quite handy in handling those.
16 Q. Right. Now, as I understand your testimony from the previous case
17 and from your statements and from -- we touched upon a little bit today
18 here in your direct examination, during the evacuation process, I'll leave
19 it up to the Trial Chamber to determine whether it was a forcible transfer
20 or deportation, so we'll just call it evacuation, if that's okay with you.
21 During that period, you had some extensive dealings, or at least you
22 were able to observe Mr. Nikolic being somewhat -- quite involved in that
23 process along with another gentleman by -- I believe he was Kosovic?
24 A. Kosovic, yes.
25 Q. And you noticed that they were sort of together, almost glued
Page 926
1 together, making arrangements with the buses. And in fact, if I
2 understand it correctly, it was quite visible at the time that Nikolic was
3 working side by side along with Kosovic during that process?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. During the meetings, and if I understand it correctly, you were at
6 all three meetings?
7 A. Yeah.
8 Q. It was quite visible to you also that Nikolic was sort of part of
9 that -- at least present during those meetings.
10 A. He was present at the meetings, perhaps there was one where he was
11 briefly absent.
12 Q. Right. And in fact, I believe you noted - I can't recall whether
13 it's in the statement or your testimony - that he left suddenly, and that
14 caught your eye. I take it you're a man of detail.
15 A. Yeah.
16 Q. Okay. Now, let me -- let's move on to another topic, if that's
17 okay with you. And I want to talk a little bit about the DutchBat
18 mission. First, we're going to go to the general. I know you touched on
19 it a little bit more, if you can bear with me, and then we'll go from
20 there. Okay? Is that all right with you?
21 A. Yeah, yeah.
22 Q. Okay. Now, as I remember yesterday, you indicated that there
23 was -- there were three parts to the mission of DutchBat in Srebrenica
24 during that period.
25 A. You're right.
Page 927
1 Q. Okay. And I had it written here someplace. Let me get it here.
2 One was to secure a safe area.
3 A. Yeah.
4 Q. Another one was to demilitarise the enclave.
5 A. Mm-hmm.
6 Q. And the other one was humanitarian assistance. Is that right?
7 A. Yeah.
8 Q. Okay. Now when we say secure a safe area, I take it what you mean
9 by that was to secure the people that are inside the enclave. Right?
10 A. As I said yesterday, also for going outside, try to prevent it.
11 Q. That was my next question. See, now you're doing my job. You're
12 anticipating. That's okay.
13 So part of it was to secure inside because you want to protect the
14 people that are inside the enclave, but also secure the people that are
15 outside the enclave because they were being attacked by the military that
16 was within the enclave. Right? Is that a yes?
17 A. At any rate, there were complaints from Major Nikolic, so that's
18 what we were to take care of.
19 Q. I know that there were complaints. But certainly, you're not
20 trying to suggest that those complaints were unfounded; certainly you're
21 not saying that?
22 A. No, I didn't say that.
23 Q. Right, exactly. And I just want to make sure that I was clear.
24 Because at least in the Krstic judgement, on paragraph 30 of that
25 judgement, because of testimony taken in that case, they describe an
Page 928
1 incident that took place about the time that you were there. I was
2 wondering whether you knew anything about that incident, whether it was
3 investigated, and it had to do -- it was a relatively small incident, they
4 burned down a few houses and killed just a few people - they were all
5 Serbs by the way - and this was, I believe, early in the morning of June
6 26, 1995.
7 A. Mm-hmm.
8 Q. Right. Were you aware of that incident?
9 A. At this point in time, I don't remember exactly. But there
10 happened several incidents that made it clear to us that we had this role
11 to play.
12 Q. Right. Okay. But I take it if we find it in that judgement, that
13 there was testimony with respect to an attack on June 26, which is only,
14 what, two weeks before the attack on Srebrenica, that that incident did,
15 in fact, occur?
16 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Waespi.
17 MR. WAESPI: I think the witness just said that he doesn't
18 remember exactly. And second, it's doubtful whether it makes sense to
19 refer to a judgement rather than specific witness statements or parts of
20 testimony.
21 JUDGE LIU: Well, I understand that the witness did not remember
22 the particular incidents, but he said that there are several incidents
23 that happened around that time. And I see no problem by the Defence
24 counsel using the judgement of another case.
25 You may proceed, Mr. Karnavas.
Page 929
1 MR. KARNAVAS: Thank you, Your Honour.
2 Q. Now, the second aspect of your mission was the demilitarisation of
3 the enclave. Help me out here. Srebrenica was declared an enclave back
4 in, what was it, 1993?
5 A. Within the military structure that existed within the BH, there
6 was light armour present. And somewhat heavier armour had been collected
7 in a weapons collection point and was managed by DutchBat. And in
8 particular, the light armour still present should not have been there; and
9 therefore, we had the duty to try and trace it. And when we got a hold of
10 it, to store it at the weapon collection point.
11 Q. Okay. So getting back to what I was trying to suggest, here we
12 are in 1995 when you come in. Srebrenica is declared an enclave under the
13 protection of the UN, and one of the mandates or one of the requirements,
14 I should say, for it being an enclave was that it be demilitarised. So at
15 this point when you arrive and throughout the period that you were there,
16 the enclave was still not demilitarised. Isn't that a fact?
17 A. As regards the armour still present, if that is part of the
18 definition, then it was not demilitarised. And I do not mean armour, but
19 light arms.
20 Q. Okay. But light arms kill, do they not?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. And soldiers carry light arms, do they not?
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. Okay. So from that aspect, soldiers in -- let me back up. Were
25 there soldiers in Srebrenica during that period of time? Yes or no.
Page 930
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Okay. And those soldiers had arms. Right? Not heavy arms, but
3 they had arms; right?
4 A. When we saw them carrying arms, then we were supposed to
5 confiscate them.
6 Q. I didn't ask whether you saw and confiscated. I'm sure you were
7 doing your job. But you're surely not trying to suggest here today that
8 the soldiers that were in the enclave at the time did not have arms.
9 A. They had arms, yes.
10 Q. In fact, they had held you hostage for four days.
11 A. That's correct.
12 Q. And they held other Dutch soldiers hostages over there at that
13 period; right?
14 A. Yes, but whether these were soldiers or farmers...
15 Q. Well, come, come, Major, you were in a particular area, were you
16 not?
17 A. What are you referring to?
18 Q. Well, when -- well, I would like to talk about when you were
19 kidnapped or when you were held hostage, when you were a prisoner of war;
20 right? Or were you AWOL? Do you know what I mean by AWOL?
21 A. No, we were, one might say, hostaged.
22 Q. When -- one might say. Were you able to leave at your own free
23 will, or did Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans have to negotiate your release?
24 Yes or no.
25 A. It was not Karremans who had to negotiate; it was Ramic who had to
Page 931
1 negotiate.
2 Q. Who's Ramic?
3 A. He was the chief of staff of the army.
4 Q. Which army?
5 A. He's the one who had to negotiate. Of the army of the soldiers of
6 BH. He was to negotiate with Zulfo.
7 Q. All right. Well, we're going to get to that. We're going to get
8 to that. But I'm a little confused here from your statement, okay. Now,
9 you gave a statement back on 6 May -- I'm sorry, 28 September, 1995. Do
10 you recall that, giving a statement?
11 A. Go ahead. I have made several statements.
12 Q. I'm just asking if you remember giving the statement. That's all.
13 A. I made the statement, but specifically on what date and what
14 statement it was...
15 Q. All right. Did you have a chance to review your statements when
16 you met with the Prosecutor - I don't know how long you were meeting with
17 him - to go over your testimony, but did they show you your statements?
18 A. I read a number of statements. That's correct.
19 Q. Okay. Did they actually let you have them so you could hold on to
20 them, read them at your leisure, or did they just show them and take them
21 back?
22 A. I read them properly.
23 Q. Does that mean -- did they physical let you have them? In other
24 words, do you have your statement with you today?
25 A. I have my statement with me from the previous trial.
Page 932
1 Q. Your testimony.
2 A. Yeah.
3 Q. Okay, but not your statement that you gave, I take it, back on 28
4 September 1995.
5 MR. KARNAVAS: If I could, I have enough copies, Your Honour, I
6 hope.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, this is a statement that I'm
8 aware of.
9 MR. KARNAVAS:
10 Q. Okay. And just to make sure, I take it you had an opportunity to
11 read it before. I don't have a signed statement with me. Can I assume or
12 can -- not me, but can the Trial Chamber assume that you read it carefully
13 after it was completed to make sure that it was true, accurate, and
14 complete?
15 A. I signed a Dutch version, I remember.
16 Q. Okay. But -- I take it you do read English.
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. So it wouldn't be a problem for you to look at a portion if I were
19 to direct you in the right direction. It would be page 3, and it would be
20 the second-to-last paragraph.
21 MR. KARNAVAS: And for the record, there's a number on that page,
22 and it's 00443269.
23 Q. Okay, he said: "I saw Ramic, Naser Oric, and a man I later
24 understood to be Zulfo standing there." We'll get to Zulfo later. "Zulfo
25 told us to stay and join the other Dutch troops." From that, I gather
Page 933
1 there were other Dutch troops being held hostage, too.
2 A. I had to go there to negotiate for their liberation. And the
3 result was that I could join them.
4 Q. So the negotiator of the hostages became a hostage himself.
5 A. Yeah.
6 Q. Okay. How many Dutch troops were being held hostage there?
7 A. About 10.
8 Q. About 10. And these were the folks that were there to make sure
9 that the place was demilitarised?
10 A. Yes, it was by order of the UN that we had to patrol that area in
11 particular, especially for demilitarisation and the freedom of movement.
12 Q. Right. And so as part of their duty, they went into this area.
13 Do you recall the name of that area?
14 A. The Bandera triangle.
15 Q. It was more like the other triangle where ships and planes
16 disappear.
17 A. No, but I'm still here.
18 Q. Okay. Well, then it says: "We were held there for four days."
19 And by that I take it you were not free to go. You were captive.
20 A. Yes, but I wasn't threatened with armed violence.
21 Q. I didn't say that you were threatened with armed violence, now did
22 I? You can be held hostage without being threatened with armed violence.
23 A. Mm-hmm.
24 Q. Okay. "Eventually Karremans went to talk to Naser Oric, and
25 others came from Tuzla to let us go."
Page 934
1 A. Mm-hmm.
2 Q. So from this I understand it was Karremans, and that's why I said
3 Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans had to come rescue you. By that I meant he
4 had to go and negotiate with an individual by the name of Naser Oric. And
5 then apparently he had his higher-ups in Tuzla, and then they had to
6 intervene in order for you to be released, you and your colleagues,
7 because you were in an area where the Muslim army within the enclave was
8 operating, and they did not want you or other DutchBats around seeing what
9 they were up to and how heavily militarily they were armed at that
10 location. Is that a fair characterisation?
11 A. It was an area we were not allowed to enter. And it was --
12 pertained to Zulfo, and whether that was because of the military or
13 smuggling operations, or whatever type of operations, I was never able to
14 ascertain.
15 Q. Right. But when you say, sir, that you were not allowed to enter,
16 that area was part of your mandate, wasn't it?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And when you say you were not allowed --
19 A. We were allowed to -- we were allowed access to certain areas
20 along the roadside, but we weren't allowed to actually enter the area.
21 Q. Right. And I take it when they won't let you in, they don't want
22 you in those areas?
23 A. Mm-hmm.
24 Q. Is that a yes?
25 A. There were areas where we were not welcome, and Karremans
Page 935
1 determined whether or not those areas needed to be patrolled. And I did
2 not always witness what happened in practice over there. Obviously there
3 were patrols in those areas.
4 Q. Okay. Now you say "we were not allowed" --
5 JUDGE LIU: Mr. Karnavas, it's time for a break.
6 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour.
7 JUDGE LIU: I think during the break, the witness can have a
8 chance to read his statement.
9 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour. And I can provide him with
10 other statements so that he can be up to speed.
11 JUDGE LIU: Yes, please. We'll resume at 4.00.
12 --- Recess taken at 3.34 p.m.
13 --- On resuming at 4.03 p.m.
14 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Karnavas, please proceed.
15 MR. KARNAVAS: Thank you, Your Honour.
16 Q. Major, I take it --
17 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the counsel, please.
18 A. Yes, I read it again.
19 MR. KARNAVAS:
20 Q. So you -- now just one point of clarification, and it was an
21 oversight on my part. When you were held captive as a result of wandering
22 into the region called the Bandera triangle, what period are we talking
23 about, what months if you recall?
24 A. February.
25 Q. So you just arrived?
Page 936
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Were the soldiers that were there already that you went to
3 negotiate, had they arrived with you at the same time, in January?
4 A. Yes. They were part of our battalion, too.
5 Q. Okay. Now, as I understand part of your duty, as we talked about
6 earlier, was to have these meetings. Mondays you would meet with the
7 Muslim military of Srebrenica. Is that right?
8 A. Yes, there was a certain sequence, but that's perfectly possible.
9 Q. Right. I'm going by what you had testified earlier. But it
10 doesn't matter whether it was Monday or Tuesday; that's not the important
11 part. But what's important is I take it during that period, you would
12 meet with the commander of the military, and here you describe it as
13 "Operational Group 8." And I take it that was Naser Oric. Is that
14 correct?
15 A. Yes, it was Naser Oric.
16 Q. And that Group 8, do you know or are you aware of the fact that it
17 was later renamed the 28th Division?
18 A. Yes, my memory goes back that far.
19 Q. Okay. Now, in your report, in fact, you give a little outline of
20 all these individuals. You speak a little bit about Mr. Oric, his chief
21 of staff Ramic. Is that the same Ramic that was injured, by the way, when
22 they were trying to helicopter in, into the enclave?
23 A. Yes, it's the same person.
24 Q. Right. And just so everybody understands, during that period
25 while you were there, the BiH army was -- the Muslim army was
Page 937
1 helicoptering in military hardware while at the same time you were trying
2 to keep the hardware out of the enclave. Isn't that correct?
3 A. At the end of our period in the enclave, there was more helicopter
4 activity.
5 Q. Right. But that helicopter activity wasn't sort of a mode of
6 transportation, like we would take the bus or the trolley here to go from
7 point A to point B. It was a means of transporting military hardware,
8 perhaps military individuals, soldiers or commanders.
9 A. It's perfectly possible. I didn't see it myself.
10 Q. Okay. But you were aware of it?
11 A. Yes, it was being watched.
12 Q. And in your capacity as the liaison officer, did you sort of bring
13 it up with Mr. Oric and say "What's happening, commander? You know you're
14 not supposed to have these flights. You know you're not supposed to have
15 all this equipment." Did you bring it up with him in your weekly Monday
16 morning meetings?
17 A. Specifically about the helicopter activity at the end of the
18 period, Oric was not in the enclave at that time, but we definitely made
19 clear that that would not be tolerated.
20 Q. But it was tolerated.
21 A. We tried to avoid doing so.
22 Q. But my -- I guess my statement is or my question, it was in fact
23 tolerated because DutchBat didn't do anything about the flights, they kept
24 coming in. And isn't it a fact -- and this is a compound question, so why
25 don't I just stop at that. You didn't stop the flights from coming in.
Page 938
1 Right?
2 A. They kept continuing.
3 Q. They kept continuing, right. And would it be fair to say, in fact
4 you've already said it in your previous testimony, that Srebrenica was
5 becoming more militarised during this period than it had been when you
6 arrived?
7 A. In any case, around the last month, the last months.
8 Q. June, May, June; right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And we talked about the incident in June 26 when there was the
11 raid on the Serb village where they killed the Serb villagers there and
12 burned their houses. That was during your watch as a DutchBat in
13 Srebrenica when it was supposed to be demilitarised, and it was in fact
14 getting militarised. Right?
15 A. I don't remember that incident.
16 Q. Okay. Now, yesterday you were asked a specific question
17 dealing -- comparing actually the VRS with the Bosnian army, if we could
18 refer to it as an army, which is what you said yesterday. Those were your
19 terms, meaning the BH army. Now, you indicated yesterday that it was your
20 opinion that the Drina Corps was fairly well organised. Is that correct?
21 A. Yes, correct.
22 Q. And then you were asked about the Bratunac Brigade. Do you recall
23 that question?
24 A. Yes, I do.
25 Q. And you had a particular opinion about the Bratunac Brigade
Page 939
1 yesterday, did you not?
2 A. That they were organised.
3 Q. Well, okay. Let me go back to what you stated. I have
4 yesterday's transcript. Okay, and this is on page 67, for the record.
5 It's the unofficial version of the transcript, but I think it will help us
6 here. It says, on line 15, you answer: "The organisation was in fact an
7 organised Drina Corps with clear, rigid system of command. What I saw of
8 the Bratunac Brigade, it was a clear structure with sufficient staff and
9 arms in the sense of artillery and tanks." And then you were asked about
10 making an observation of the BH army, as it was described, and you did so.
11 You indicated that "It was lightly armed, primarily hand firearms and
12 machine-guns and limited other arms." And of course, earlier on the page
13 on line 9 you indicate, as I stated earlier, when asked about the BH army,
14 you stated "To the extent that we could refer to that as an army."
15 So my question to you, sir, is with respect to the Bratunac
16 Brigade. Obviously, you had some contacts with an individual,
17 Mr. Nikolic, Major Nikolic, over a period of six months during which
18 period, or even up until today, you weren't clear what exact function he
19 carried out, other than he was a point of contact with you as being the
20 representative of DutchBat and he being from the Bratunac Brigade. Is
21 that correct?
22 A. I was not aware of his exact function.
23 Q. Right.
24 A. He was more than a liaison officer and behaved like a chief of
25 staff or a deputy commander with sufficient mandate.
Page 940
1 Q. Right. Now you never met, and you state this in your statement,
2 in fact. You never met the commander of the Bratunac Brigade?
3 A. No, I never met him.
4 Q. So during your period as a liaison officer, you would make
5 periodic trips to Bratunac?
6 A. Only to Fontana, the hotel there, with limited freedom of
7 movement. And I used that occasionally to turn off and try to recognise
8 some units.
9 Q. You mean do some spying while you're there? Observation.
10 A. Observation, yeah. Yes, observation.
11 Q. All right. Gathering of evidence. Collecting information.
12 A. Yeah.
13 Q. Okay. All right. Now, the Fontana Hotel is in Bratunac, is it
14 not?
15 A. Yeah.
16 Q. Okay, while you were in Bratunac on those many occasions, and from
17 what I read, you visited quite often there, did you ever request to meet
18 with the commander of the Bratunac Brigade? Yes or no. If you can
19 recall.
20 A. I remember a request. Whether it was the Bratunac Brigade or the
21 Drina Corps, it was unclear. But after certain incidents, meetings were
22 requested. There was no affirmative response to those requests.
23 Q. You never made a request, sir. Isn't it a fact you and Colonel
24 Karremans have a meeting with the commander of the Bratunac Brigade?
25 Isn't that a fact?
Page 941
1 A. I don't know.
2 Q. You never went to the Bratunac Brigade headquarters. Is that
3 correct?
4 A. We weren't allowed there.
5 Q. I didn't ask you whether you were allowed. I'm asking if you
6 went. I'm trying to be precise.
7 A. Yes, so am I.
8 Q. Now, did you make a request, and they said "You're not allowed"?
9 A. Major Nikolic indicated that we were not allowed in the vicinity.
10 Q. Okay. So to the extent that you had any contact with the
11 higher-ups of the Bratunac Brigade, it was through Mr. Nikolic,
12 Major Nikolic?
13 A. Yeah.
14 Q. Right. And so you don't know today for a fact whether Mr. Nikolic
15 was communicating your wishes, your desires, your expectations, to his
16 commander whom you never met in the Bratunac Brigade?
17 A. That's correct.
18 Q. All right. And might I add you never met the commander of the
19 Bratunac Brigade?
20 A. No, I did not meet him.
21 Q. He was never at those crosspoint meetings that you had when
22 Nikolic would show up with Beara?
23 A. No, that's correct.
24 Q. Now, yesterday, and I need you to work with me on this one, help
25 me out here, please, you indicated that -- you know, you gave a
Page 942
1 description as to the strength and operational capabilities of the
2 Bratunac Brigade. Today, you tell us you had limited access in Bratunac
3 once you got to Bratunac, though you kept a watchful eye.
4 May I ask, may I ask how many tanks did the Bratunac Brigade have?
5 A. All I know about that is that the enclave was under fire from
6 strong calibre -- high calibre weapons from the mountains, from Bratunac,
7 and that Major Nikolic occasionally stopped by there on patrol, according
8 to what he told me. And whether they were tanks or artillery or tanks
9 firing indirectly, I can't judge that.
10 Q. All right. Let me get this straight now. I'm a little confused.
11 You drew a conclusion yesterday that the Bratunac Brigade had tanks
12 because in your opinion, expert opinion, might I add, as somebody who is
13 an artillery man, indicated that there was firing coming from the Bratunac
14 area.
15 A. Mm-hmm.
16 Q. And from that, you concluded that it must have been or it is, in
17 fact, the case that the firing was done by the Bratunac Brigade, one; and
18 number two, that the Bratunac Brigade had the tanks. Am I correct in
19 making that assumption?
20 A. Yes, and also based on conversations I had at the observation
21 posts with soldiers from the Bratunac Brigade, I often came there and
22 talked extensively with the soldiers there or who had served there.
23 Q. Okay.
24 A. And you get more information that way.
25 Q. All right. So you weren't just relying on Nikolic; you were going
Page 943
1 to the soldiers and seeing if you could pry some information out of them.
2 A. We were waiting for Major Nikolic. He didn't show up. And we
3 waited there, and if you spend an hour or two waiting there...
4 Q. You're trying to pry some information out. That's your job. And
5 I take it these soldiers were telling you that the Bratunac Brigade had
6 tanks. Is that your testimony here today?
7 A. They certainly spoke about artillery.
8 Q. Did that mean -- can you equate one with the other? I mean, help
9 me out here. I'm not a military man.
10 Are you posing a question to me? Do you want me to rephrase the
11 question?
12 A. Mm-hmm.
13 Q. Okay. Mm-hmm means yes, I take it.
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. All right. So when they were saying to you about artillery, you
16 took that to mean automatically, exclusively, axiomatically that that
17 meant tanks. Is that correct?
18 A. We can get into technical details about artillery and tanks.
19 Q. Well, I'm not trying to get into any technical details because you
20 are far more a superior expert than I am. But here today, or yesterday,
21 you made an observation to this Honourable Trial Chamber that the Bratunac
22 Brigade had tanks. Now today, I'm trying to figure out whether that was
23 just a misunderstanding on your part; in other words, you assumed that
24 since there may have been volleys from tanks coming from the Bratunac
25 area, that those were from the Bratunac Brigade, or whether in fact you
Page 944
1 know, having seen, observed, or have documentation showing that the
2 Bratunac Brigade did, in fact, have tanks?
3 A. In the Bratunac Brigade area, when the enclave fell, we were on
4 our way to Fontana. In that neighbourhood, there were enough tanks there.
5 Also along the path before that, through information from UNHCR convoy
6 reported to me that tanks were indeed being delivered to the neighbourhood
7 of Bratunac.
8 Q. Okay, all right. I don't want to seem as if I'm trying to be
9 argumentative, but I'm trying to be specific here. Let's agree that tanks
10 were there, in the area in which you're describing. Can we assume today
11 that the assumption that you are making, because of the location of those
12 tanks, that automatically and exclusively those tanks were from the
13 Bratunac Brigade? Do you know that for a fact?
14 A. No, you don't know that as a fact.
15 Q. Okay. Do you know for a fact how many other units of the VRS were
16 operating in that vicinity? Do you know for a fact?
17 A. Only based on what was reported to me, but not through my personal
18 inspection.
19 Q. When you say reported to you, does that mean afterwards? You
20 know, weeks later, months later, or reported to you at that particular
21 period?
22 A. At that point in time, around that point in time, yes. I have a
23 lot of sources of information.
24 Q. And did those sources of information tell you, sir, that those
25 tanks belonged to the Bratunac Brigade? That's what I'm trying to get at.
Page 945
1 A. I'm not a specialist in that field, so I cannot give you an
2 affirmative answer.
3 Q. Well, you said yesterday that the Bratunac Brigade, okay, it was a
4 clear structure with sufficient staff and arms in the sense of artillery
5 and tanks. I'm just trying to figure this one out.
6 A. In the area of the Bratunac Brigade, I'm assuming that according
7 to the structure, the Bratunac commander was in charge.
8 Q. So you're making an assumption now? Or yesterday, you made the
9 assumption?
10 A. Yeah.
11 Q. Okay, all right. We're moving along, then. So if I can
12 understand you correctly, based on your observation of the Drina Corps,
13 you, then, deduced that obviously, if the Drina Corps is structured, the
14 Bratunac Brigade must be structured in a like manner, organised in a like
15 manner, staffed in a like manner, and have artillery and tanks in a like
16 manner, for a brigade; not for a corps but for a brigade. Is that
17 correct?
18 A. Yes, you might say that.
19 Q. Okay, so it's an assumption and not a fact that you can tell us
20 with any degree of certainty.
21 A. On my limited perceptions, I cannot judge that 100 per cent.
22 Q. Exactly, nor could you judge with your limited perceptions - and I
23 don't mean this in a despairingly manner - but whether the troops that
24 were firing in Srebrenica or were engaged in battle at that period were,
25 in fact, from the Bratunac Brigade and not from other units, from the main
Page 946
1 staff or from the Drina Corps --
2 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel please not move away from his
3 microphone. Thank you.
4 THE WITNESS: Would you please. It's a little bit mixed up now
5 for me.
6 MR. KARNAVAS:
7 Q. Okay, all right.
8 A. Because I hear the interpreter.
9 Q. With your limited perceptions, could you tell which units belong
10 to -- which soldiers belong to which units at that period of time?
11 A. At the moment the enclave fell, I saw some of the soldiers from
12 the Bratunac Brigade at the observation post that I came to. I saw them
13 operating in the enclave.
14 Q. Okay. Did you see any of them on tanks?
15 A. I did not see them on tanks.
16 Q. All right. I'm going to move on from this section, and we'll go
17 to the BH army, if we could refer to it as an "army" as you've indicated.
18 Can you please give us a rough approximation of how many soldiers were in
19 this particular army in Srebrenica during that period?
20 A. That was not my expertise, in the first place. And secondly, that
21 estimate was often -- our battalion tried to make, and let us say that it
22 was a few hundred.
23 Q. Okay. So in your opinion, it was only a few hundred, which would
24 mean to me less than a thousand.
25 A. Let's say yes, a few hundred, yes.
Page 947
1 Q. Okay. Now would it be less than 500 or more than 500?
2 A. Well, I never counted them. And let's say a thousand.
3 Q. Okay. But you were there six months, sir, were you not, and you
4 were having regular meetings with Naser Oric and some of his colleagues?
5 A. Mm-hmm.
6 Q. Did you ever ask them, "Tell us how many soldiers you have"?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Okay. Was Zulfo, the individual you referred to in your report,
9 and the one that kept you hostage, was he a soldier or was he just one of
10 these renegades running around doing as he wished in these enclaves?
11 A. I think Zulfo can be characterised as one who was the boss, fully
12 the boss in a limited area.
13 Q. In that area, he would be over Naser Oric. Is that correct?
14 A. Yes. Certainly in the period when we were there.
15 Q. All right. Now, Naser Oric was the commander, was he not?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And you had several meetings with him?
18 A. Not so often. Perhaps twice.
19 Q. Perhaps twice. In living in Srebrenica area, did you get an
20 opportunity to form an opinion based on information that you had been
21 gathering regarding the character of Naser Oric?
22 A. He's a commander.
23 Q. Okay.
24 A. And likes being a commander.
25 Q. All right. Okay. Was that -- that's the extent of the
Page 948
1 information that you gathered?
2 A. Of course, there is more information about him.
3 Q. I'm asking you what information -- what did you receive about him,
4 how would you characterise him, what was he up to?
5 A. Someone who was difficult to fathom and it was unclear whether he
6 was concerned with military matters only, that money matters were also
7 involved.
8 Q. In the sense of black marketeering?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Siphoning off the humanitarian aid that was being provided to the
11 residents of Srebrenica so he could sell it on the black market for his
12 own gains?
13 A. I couldn't tell.
14 Q. I beg your pardon?
15 A. I cannot tell.
16 Q. Okay. During this period, Naser Oric wasn't there; right?
17 A. During a specific period at the end, he was no longer there.
18 That's right.
19 Q. And who were you dealing with with respect to the BH army?
20 A. Especially Ramic, and when he wasn't there, it was Ekrem.
21 Q. That's the security and intelligence captain. Right?
22 A. Yeah.
23 Q. Okay. Very well.
24 I have some documents here I'd like to share with you. And
25 perhaps you can help me out. We received these from the Office of the
Page 949
1 Prosecution. If you can take a look at that, sir, for a second, I'd
2 appreciate it. And if you can look -- it's pretty short. Just give it a
3 quick look, and then I'll go section by section.
4 MR. KARNAVAS: For the record, the number on the top is R0050415.
5 Q. Have you ever seen this document before, sir?
6 A. No, I don't remember this document. But UNMO does make reports
7 that I have seen from time to time.
8 Q. Right. And you indicated that UNMO were the military observers?
9 A. They were actually present within the enclave, a number of them.
10 Q. And they were there to observe and gather intelligence or
11 information?
12 A. Yes, inside as well as outside the enclave. But outside, they
13 were not welcome.
14 Q. Right. Well, they weren't really welcomed inside either.
15 A. They could move around freely there.
16 Q. They can go to the Bandera area freely while DutchBat could not.
17 Is that what you're suggesting?
18 A. They had a little more freedom there.
19 Q. Okay. So I take it they were never taken hostage?
20 A. I don't remember.
21 Q. Okay. Now, under -- in the first page, at least -- it would be
22 the second page of this, it's dated, as you note, 7 July, 1995. And at
23 the last page, page 5, it's signed by a PHD Wright, MIO, SNE, whatever
24 that stands for. On number 2, it talks about the ABiH corps. Now, says
25 the 2nd Corps. 28th Division was part of the 2nd corps, was it not?
Page 950
1 A. I don't know.
2 Q. Okay. Well, it does make a description here. It says: "It is
3 worthy of note that the ABiH within Srebrenica and Zepa, although poorly
4 armed and probably not that much less in number than the total number of
5 infantry in the Drina Corps." "Probably not much less in number."
6 Now, let me ask you, before I ask you whether you agree or
7 disagree with this, the UNMO, are they a reliable bunch? Can we trust
8 their observations?
9 A. Yes, and their reports, too.
10 Q. Okay. So they have a certain amount of credibility to be tested,
11 at least, in this trial.
12 A. Yeah.
13 Q. Okay. Now, would you agree or disagree with this statement:
14 "That the ABiH within Srebrenica and Zepa, although poorly armed are
15 probably not that much less in number than the total number of infantry in
16 the Drina Corps"?
17 A. I know nothing at all about Zepa. So without getting Zepa
18 involved, and this is a report to Tuzla with information also from outside
19 the enclave concerning other infantry units of the Drina Corps, so I can't
20 say anything at all about this.
21 Q. Okay. Well, let's go down to number 6. Maybe you can help us
22 there on that one. It says: "Naser Oric, commander of the 28th division,
23 was reported to be in Tuzla last week and being prevented from returning
24 to the enclave by ABiH" and it gives the following reasons. "A, Oric
25 treats Srebrenica as his personal fief, does not follow the orders of
Page 951
1 either the government or the army if it conflicts with his personal
2 interests. He is reputed to have made a fortune through his control of
3 the economy and must -- and this must involve dealings with the BSA,
4 that's the VRS, the Serb army. It is, therefore, in the interests -- it
5 is therefore in his interest to keep the enclave quiet." "B, he's an
6 embarrassment of the BiH government, and he is suspected of being a war
7 criminal."
8 Having lived in Srebrenica for six months, having met with
9 Mr. Oric, having been part of that community, having been watchful and
10 observant and engaging in trying to gather information in your capacity as
11 a liaison officer, is this -- what do you think of this? Is this correct?
12 A. These are possibilities.
13 Q. Okay. Okay, now I want to take you back -- I'll go through just a
14 little bit more of this. It does talk about the purpose of the attack.
15 And there are two options. Right?
16 A. What paragraph are you referring to?
17 Q. I'm referring to paragraph 10. I apologise. Option 1, conquer
18 Srebrenica enclave; option 2, neutralise Srebrenica enclave. Okay.
19 A. Mm-hmm.
20 Q. And then it says that option 2 would be more logical choice in
21 military -- for political, military, and personal terms. Okay. Then I
22 want to go to the conclusion, paragraph 18. It says: "ABiH will be happy
23 for enclave to be shelled as it gives media coverage and
24 replaces `Sarajevo, the marred city'. To this end, the 28th Division can
25 expect to be ordered to carry out patrols and provoke the BSA; however,
Page 952
1 Oric's whereabouts will continue to provide a clue to ABiH policy."
2 What is your opinion of that, sir?
3 A. To me, this is an unknown conclusion, and I cannot endorse it just
4 like that.
5 Q. All right. Well I'm not asking you to endorse it, but am I
6 correct to assume from your previous answer that the UNMO had more access
7 to information than you did, and from your own indication, I could rely or
8 we could rely, to some extent, on their reports? In other words, we just
9 cannot outright dismiss their reports.
10 A. Mm-hmm.
11 Q. Okay. Now, I want to show you another report. That was from --
12 this is from July 9th. The interpreters may want a copy.
13 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Ms. Sinatra.
14 MS. SINATRA: Yes, Your Honour, I was just wondering whether
15 Mr. Karnavas has any copies in B/C/S of this evidence that has been in his
16 possession, I suppose, for a while, or if the Prosecution has B/C/S
17 copies.
18 MR. KARNAVAS: Your Honour, these documents were disclosed to me
19 as they were disclosed to Ms. Sinatra.
20 MS. SINATRA: I'm not arguing about that. I'm just asking if
21 there are any B/C/S copies available.
22 MR. KARNAVAS: The Prosecutor would know about that.
23 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Waespi.
24 MR. WAESPI: Mr. President, it's very unlikely because we are not
25 required to translate these documents into B/C/S, and there are literally
Page 953
1 tens of thousands of these UN situation reports. So we can certainly
2 check, but it's extremely unlikely that we have it in B/C/S.
3 JUDGE LIU: Well, all those documents were disclosed to the
4 Defence team. Right?
5 MS. SINATRA: Yes, Your Honour.
6 MR. KARNAVAS:
7 Q. If you could take a look at that, and I want to apologise to the
8 French booth. Apparently we did not make enough copies.
9 I want to focus your attention particularly to page 5 and page 6.
10 And for the record, the numbers of the document begin with R0037477 and
11 they end with R0037490.
12 Do you -- have you had a chance to look at it? Would you like
13 some more time?
14 A. I've found the page.
15 Q. Okay. If I could direct your attention to the page 5, the top of
16 it you'll see page 5 of 12.
17 A. Yes, I've found it.
18 Q. At the bottom it states, it has a number R0037483.
19 A. Yes, sir.
20 Q. If you could look where it says "military assessment," just read
21 that very quickly, first, second, third, and fourth paragraphs, and then
22 we'll go to the next page. We'll go page by page. When you're ready, let
23 me know.
24 A. I read it quickly.
25 Q. Okay. Now, just for the record, do you know what this document
Page 954
1 is? Or do you have an idea? Look at the front page; that might help you.
2 A. It is a Sitrep, only I don't know from whom. It's from General
3 Janvier.
4 Q. How did you characterise it again?
5 A. A situation report.
6 Q. Okay, all right. Okay. A situation report. Now -- and this has,
7 it says on top of it, UNPF. Do you know what that stands for, United
8 Nations Peacekeeping Force?
9 A. Mm-hmm.
10 Q. And it says HQ, that means headquarter?
11 A. Yeah.
12 Q. And Zagreb, that's where the headquarters were?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Okay, so this is a UN-generated document?
15 A. But the page you were referring to is a Sitrep, and at the top it
16 says "From UNPROFOR, internal distribution."
17 Q. Okay.
18 A. So I think it was meant for internal use only.
19 Q. Okay.
20 A. For G2.
21 Q. Okay. And I see they used a G3. Is that similar to the G3 you
22 were talking about earlier?
23 A. It says G2 here, to that's reconnaissance, intelligence.
24 Q. Okay, intelligence. And in your opinion, this was generated by
25 UNPROFOR?
Page 955
1 A. A Sitrep from UNPROFOR.
2 Q. And who are UNPROFOR, just so I'm clear on this?
3 A. That was the military boss, so to speak, in all of Bosnia.
4 Q. And that was -- and you were --
5 A. And Croatia. In Yugoslavia, let me put it that way.
6 Q. And I take it the DutchBat were subordinated to them?
7 A. Yes, we were, through a structure.
8 Q. Very well. Thank you. Now, it says military assessment. And it
9 gives an assessment, and it says: "Reduce the size of the enclave in
10 order to be able to free assets for use in other conflict areas,
11 north-east Sarajevo, et cetera, this can be achieved by capturing key
12 terrain along the perimeter of the enclave." That's what it says. That's
13 what they believed at the time; right? And the date is 9 July 1995.
14 And further down, it says: "Eliminate the threat of BiH
15 harassment, patrols, ambushes, from the enclave and increase the control
16 over the enclave." Is that correct?
17 A. That's what it says.
18 Q. Now, if you flip the next page, that would be page 6, and I'm
19 referring to the third paragraph from the top, it says: "The Bosnian
20 Serbs could halt their advance pending a number of conditions, a complete
21 demilitarisation of the enclave will probably be their highest priority.
22 This would serve the primary goal of freeing troops from around the
23 enclave." All right, so I think here the UN acknowledges that the enclave
24 is not demilitarised, as you've indicated to us from your own
25 observations. And then it says: "The BiH will continue to try to block
Page 956
1 DutchBat in their OPs," I take it that means operations, "or in positions
2 in front of the BiH. It would involve the use of force, they can colocate
3 within UN positions to use them as human shields. This might provoke a
4 reaction from the BSA with a risk for UN personnel to get caught in
5 crossfire between both factions. The BiH is likely to attempt to capture
6 weapons and vehicles from DutchBat to compensate for their lack of
7 armament." So that was an assessment that was made by your colleagues
8 within the intelligence community of the UN on the ground in
9 Bosnia-Herzegovina at the time. Is that correct?
10 A. As you say.
11 Q. Okay. Do you have an opinion with respect to that?
12 A. That last part didn't happen. They didn't capture weapons and
13 vehicles from us.
14 Q. Right. But nonetheless, that was a concern.
15 A. I just give you a fact that it didn't happen. I said it didn't
16 happen.
17 Q. I understand it didn't happen. And my retort was, but that was a
18 concern. Right? Something else happened, if I may, you know, move ahead
19 a little bit or jump ahead, and that was the killing of a Dutch soldier by
20 the Muslim army in Srebrenica. Right?
21 A. I remember that incident.
22 Q. Okay, well, we'll talk about that. But further down, it says, not
23 the next paragraph but the following one: "Similar to what happened in
24 Gorazde, spring 1994, BiH can attempt to draw UNPROFOR, including the RRF,
25 or NATO, into the conflict on BH side. Sudden abandoning of positions
Page 957
1 along the confrontation line, the simulation of the collapse of the
2 enclave or alarming reports from the Bosnian side on the situation in the
3 enclave will be indicators for this. Stronger involvement of
4 international community could be interpreted by the BSA as an incentive to
5 step up operations and try to eliminate the enclave as well as retaliate
6 against UN forces."
7 Do you have an opinion about that, sir?
8 A. It is a possibility.
9 Q. Now, at some point, because of the rules of engagement, it was
10 necessary to ensure that the VRS was actually shooting at the DutchBat, or
11 in order to activate the airstrikes. Is that correct, or am I getting it
12 wrong a little bit? Close air protection, that's what I mean by that.
13 A. It was one of the possibilities of air support.
14 Q. Right. In order to get air support, or close air support, a
15 number of things had to happen. Right?
16 A. Yeah.
17 Q. Okay. In fact, Colonel Karremans had promised the army that was
18 in Srebrenica that there would be close air support or airstrikes -- and
19 incidentally, they more or less look the same, don't they, when you're on
20 the ground? When you're on the receiving end?
21 A. Yeah.
22 Q. And so from the ground where you were, you had to indicate to your
23 higher-ups that that you're under fire, and therefore you could get the
24 close air support.
25 A. Yes, there was such a relationship.
Page 958
1 Q. Right. And in fact, you testified in the previous trial that on
2 one occasion, in order to create a provocation or in order to get the air
3 support, you coordinated with members of the Muslim army to drive up to an
4 area where they would be shot at in order to give the pretext of placing
5 the call to get the airstrikes. Do you recall that?
6 A. What you're referring to is not quite correct.
7 Q. Okay.
8 A. If it was really an attack within the enclave by Serbian troops,
9 these troops had to be recognised, and their intentions had to be
10 recognised as being aggressive.
11 Q. Right.
12 A. And therefore, another verification had to take place, and that's
13 an entirely different word than "provocation".
14 Q. Okay. Let me rephrase it, then, and correct me if I'm wrong.
15 There were some conditions necessary in order to get air support, right,
16 in order to get NATO, whoever it was, to come over and bomb the positions
17 of the Serbs. Is that correct?
18 A. Yes, there were.
19 JUDGE LIU: Mr. Waespi.
20 MR. WAESPI: Yes, Mr. President. If counsel is referring to the
21 transcript of his Krstic testimony, I think it would be fair to show it to
22 the witness, perhaps quote it word by word, since he already said that it
23 wasn't correct what he had put to him.
24 JUDGE LIU: Yes, I think that's a reasonable request.
25 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour. If I may have a moment.
Page 959
1 Your Honour, I must apologise for not having an extra copy, but I would be
2 more than happy to share my copy through the usher. It's even underlined.
3 It's convenient for the witness to read, if he could look at it. You may
4 need to flip through the previous page to get the whole context.
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I've read it.
6 MR. KARNAVAS:
7 Q. Do you still need the transcript?
8 A. Do you have any additional questions about it?
9 Q. I do. But let me see if I can get a hold of... In fact, I can
10 get the page -- the relevant page for you. I have it right here.
11 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Ms. Sinatra, you want to help?
12 MS. SINATRA: Yes, Your Honour, I have an extra copy he can use
13 until our next break if he would like.
14 MR. KARNAVAS: I have it right here, Your Honour. I'm trying to
15 catch my staff unprepared.
16 Q. Now, I'm referring to page 1.156. I don't know if our colleagues
17 from the Prosecution have it handy, but...
18 It says on line 4 that there was a question. It says -- this was
19 a question posed by the Prosecutor to you. I think it was by the
20 Prosecutor. Yes. It says: "So Colonel Karremans guaranteed to the
21 Muslims that there would be close air support. Was there any condition
22 placed on that air support being" --
23 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel slow down when reading,
24 please.
25 MR. KARNAVAS:
Page 960
1 Q. "Was there any condition placed on that air support actually
2 being provided to the enclave?" And the answer is: "Would you please
3 repeat the question." Question: "Did Colonel Karremans say that anything
4 had to happen before the air support would be given?" Answer: "Must be
5 clear at that moment that we were, we or the Muslim enclave, should be
6 attacked by Serbs, and there must be a kind of visible contact with them.
7 For that reason, we must first be on the spot." Question: "Did you or
8 any Dutch officer take action to ensure that an actual contact took place
9 between Bosnian Serb army and DutchBat, or Muslims within the enclave?"
10 Answer: "Yes, I did. I contacted military men, the Muslims, and he
11 himself drove, say, into the Serb position. He came back, and he was shot
12 at. His car was shot at. I remember." You were asked: "How did you
13 feel sending the man -- sending the Muslim male in a vehicle to be shot at
14 by the Bosnian Serb army?" And of course, your answer was: "Of course it
15 was not comfortable to do that." "Was he armed at all, this man?"
16 Answer: "When he drove in his car to that position, I didn't see him step
17 into his car and driving, so I don't know." Question: "Now, you say that
18 he was shot at. Did anything actually happen to him? Was he injured?"
19 Answer: "He himself was not injured."
20 So my question to you now that we've refreshed your memory with
21 what you stated under oath at the Krstic trial, you needed to have
22 contact. Right? And so -- and you needed to be on the spot.
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. And we've already indicated that at least -- when we first started
25 I showed you or I read to you a report that came from the Dutch Institute
Page 961
1 that Muslims dressed in UN uniforms would pose and shoot at -- would pose
2 as DutchBat and shoot at the VRS in order to provoke an attack. In this
3 instance, in essence, you're trying to do the same, are you not? Sending
4 someone to the front line to be shot at so you can look at it, observe it,
5 see that there's contact, so then you can call in to your bosses and say
6 "Send in the planes, strike the VRS forces on the ground." Is that a
7 correct characterisation?
8 A. No, that is not a correct account.
9 Q. Okay. Is there anything that you stated during the Krstic trial
10 that I read from inaccurate?
11 A. No, you did not do that.
12 Q. Okay. Well, I know -- well, I tried not to be inaccurate in
13 reading it --
14 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Waespi.
15 MR. WAESPI: I think the witness was just pausing to explain what
16 he --
17 MR. KARNAVAS: I apologise.
18 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Witness, if you want to explain to us, please do
19 so.
20 MR. KARNAVAS: It's very difficult, Your Honour, from this angle.
21 I don't mean to be disrespectful to the witness.
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] What I wanted to add was that Ramic
23 indicated on several occasions in this case as far as I can remember that
24 he said "Hey, we have been attacked," that the battalion indicated once
25 again there's got to be proof. And that this should be the ultimate proof
Page 962
1 for air support was one of the reasons for demonstrating that there were
2 troops in the enclave.
3 MR. KARNAVAS:
4 Q. But in this instance, the conclusion that I draw from your own
5 words, that you placed yourself in a location and had the Muslim soldier
6 drive up to the line to be shot at. Because later on, you're asked a
7 question by none other than the Prosecution, who I assume briefed you in
8 advance and knew of the incident in order to ask you the question, and
9 they asked you "How did you feel?" Because obviously, as a human being
10 and as a professional soldier, it must have been a very difficult decision
11 for you to ask someone, albeit not a Dutch soldier, but to ask someone to
12 drive up to be shot at so later on you can contact the headquarters and
13 say "There has been contact, and let's get the close air support."
14 A. The last part, "let's get close air support" --
15 Q. That's the part you disagree?
16 A. Yes, that's one. And second, did I actually said it's not
17 indicated in the Krstic report because there was indeed one person who was
18 seriously injured and who was transported to the hospital. I do remember
19 that.
20 Q. Okay. All right. If we could move on to another area --
21 JUDGE LIU: Mr. Karnavas, it's time for a break.
22 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour.
23 JUDGE LIU: If you are moving to another area, we better take the
24 break right now. But before that, could you indicate how much time are
25 you going to need to finish your cross-examination. It's just with
Page 963
1 arrangements of the next witness.
2 MR. KARNAVAS: I understand, Your Honour. I can -- I'm going as
3 fast as I can.
4 JUDGE LIU: Of course.
5 MR. KARNAVAS: And in light of yesterday where I was caught a
6 little bit off guard and not being as diligent as I should have been, I'm
7 trying to be a little more thorough today. I can safely that the
8 gentleman should not check out of his hospital room tonight if he doesn't
9 live in The Hague because I think I'm going to need the rest of the
10 period. It may be a little bit tomorrow, Your Honour, because there were
11 some doors opened by the Prosecution. I'm trying to make it all relevant.
12 And of course, throughout the proceedings, you will see that all of this
13 will be tied in.
14 JUDGE LIU: I just hope you could make the best use of your time.
15 We'll resume at quarter to 6.00.
16 --- Recess taken at 5.16 p.m.
17 --- On resuming at 5.49 p.m.
18 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Karnavas, please continue.
19 MR. KARNAVAS: Thank you, Your Honour.
20 Q. Major, I would now like to show you a letter that was provided
21 from Mr. Akashi to Mr. Annan. And if you could take a quick look at it.
22 MR. KARNAVAS: For the record, it's numbered R0080307, and it ends
23 with R0080309. It's dated 12 July, 1995. It was provided to us by the
24 Office of the Prosecution.
25 Q. If you could take a look at that.
Page 964
1 MR. WAESPI: Mr. President.
2 JUDGE LIU: Yes.
3 MR. WAESPI: Just for clarification purposes, is the Defence
4 proposing those as trial exhibits, Defence exhibits, and I think for ease
5 of reference it would be good to mark them so we can discuss it, perhaps
6 identify, mark them for identification.
7 JUDGE LIU: Yes, I think that's a good idea. If the Defence
8 counsel introduces a lot of documents, we better have a mark on them, and
9 then later on it's easy for us to consider whether it should be admitted
10 into evidence or not.
11 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour.
12 JUDGE LIU: And we also instructed both parties to provide a list
13 of the documents you might use during the direct examination and the
14 cross-examination. Of course, we understand it is a little bit difficult
15 for the Defence to provide us with a list of the documents used in their
16 cross-examination because you could not anticipate what kind of documents
17 you are going to use. But anyway, to facilitate the work, we are
18 expecting that a list of the documents you are going to use.
19 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour. I do apologise. Normally,
20 I wouldn't mark it for identification purposes. And again, I apologise.
21 It won't reoccur. The question is where do we go from here for the rest
22 of the day? Do I -- should I just go ahead and then at the end of the day
23 perhaps meet with Madam Registrar here?
24 JUDGE LIU: Yes, it's a very good idea.
25 MR. KARNAVAS: Okay. Again, I apologise to everyone, and I thank
Page 965
1 the Prosecution for bringing it to my attention.
2 Q. If you could look, sir, to the first paragraph, paragraph number
3 1, again, this is dated July 12th. It says: "Under the circumstances,
4 you may wish to consider the merit of the Secretary-General addressing a
5 letter to the Council which would warn of the dangers of raising
6 unrealistic expectations and remind the Council of those serious issues
7 which he has drawn their attention in the past which events in Srebrenica
8 have again brought into focus."
9 If we flip to the following page, under paragraph number 3, in
10 particular, 3(b), and then 3(c), 3(b) states -- okay, well 3 starts with:
11 "In his report, the Secretary-General has drawn attention to the problems
12 of the safe area regime in the following areas: (b), use of the safe
13 areas by the Bosnian government for military purposes." By that I take
14 it, sir, Major, what they mean is that the Bosnian military, the BiH
15 military or the Muslim military - and I don't mean that in any derogatory
16 sense, but that military that was in Srebrenica - was using the enclave as
17 a staging ground or as a basis from which to launch military operations.
18 I think that's what they're referring to. Would that be a correct
19 assessment of what they mean by this?
20 A. A safe area, a place where they could be as military safe.
21 Q. Well, it says "Use the safe areas by the Bosnian government for,"
22 for, for, and I underscore "for military purposes."
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. So you agree with my interpretation, they are using the enclave as
25 a basis as an area from which they can operate, which would mean outside,
Page 966
1 you know, going outwards, not inwards?
2 A. It's a problem. Draw attention to, it's a problem.
3 Q. Okay. And then "(c), provocation and attacks from within the safe
4 areas." Okay, so in other words, if I understand this correct,
5 Mr. Akashi, and you do know who Mr. Akashi was at the time?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Who was he just for the record?
8 A. Akashi was in charge of UNPROFOR.
9 Q. He was the head -- he was the head of the UN mission basically
10 dealing with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
11 A. Mm-hmm.
12 Q. And he was out of Zagreb; right?
13 A. Yeah.
14 Q. And where it says "Annan," do you know who we're talking about,
15 which Annan?
16 A. He's in New York.
17 Q. Well, it says New York here. Do you know who he is?
18 A. Yeah.
19 Q. Who might that be?
20 A. The Secretary-General.
21 Q. Okay. Of the United Nations?
22 A. Yes, sir.
23 Q. And so then if we go to number 4, it says: "As for the
24 demilitarisation of safe areas, the Secretary-General should remind the
25 Security Council that it took a year following events in Gorazde for the
Page 967
1 consul to refer to `mutually agreed demilitarisation of the safe areas and
2 their surroundings' in SCR998." I suspect that means Security Council
3 Resolution 998. Right?
4 A. For me rather difficult English to read. It's difficult to
5 understand, and I don't ordinarily encounter such technical language. No
6 comment.
7 Q. Okay. Well, if I could then show you something that was generated
8 by UNMO headquarters on July 26th, 1995, maybe it's more in military terms
9 and more akin to what you're used to reading, albeit in English and not
10 Dutch. For the record, the first page has a number on it, R0050422, and
11 the entire package goes all the way through R0050433.
12 I want to direct your attention - I'll walk you through this -
13 first part is paragraph 6 on the first page. It says: "ABiH
14 leadership" --
15 A. Would you tell me the origins and status of this document.
16 Q. Well, this is a document given to me from the Office of the
17 Prosecution. And this is the manner in which I received it. And it says
18 up here: "UNMO headquarters, SNE." I don't know what that is?
19 A. Sector North-East maybe.
20 Q. Well, you would know more so than I would. But at page 6, sir, it
21 seems that our friend that we encountered earlier, PHD Wright, and I take
22 it he's a major, same rank as you, UNMO, MIO, SNE. Okay, so if you could
23 help me out a little bit.
24 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreters are having a little bit of
25 trouble following without documents.
Page 968
1 MR. KARNAVAS: Okay.
2 Q. Let me go through the first page. It talks about ABiH leadership.
3 And it says that Oric was a charismatic commander of Srebrenica, and he
4 was not allowed to return by either the BiH government or the 2nd Corps.
5 Then it says: "By reasoning in reference A that's above, it maybe false
6 and it was instead a deliberate attempt to weaken the 28th division.
7 Whatever the reasons, it certainly succeeded in doing so according to UN
8 reports which claim that the local commanders seemed incapable of taking
9 any decisive action."
10 From this, we could gather that Naser Oric was a major component
11 of the 28th Division, as its commander, and that 28th Division was, in
12 fact, operating from within the enclave during the period while you were
13 there. Is that correct?
14 A. Yes. Yes, you could read it that way.
15 Q. Could you read it that way, too? I know I'm reading it this way.
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Okay. Okay. So you agree with me?
18 A. Mm-hmm.
19 Q. That means yes?
20 A. Yes, sir.
21 Q. All right. Now, if we could go -- if we could go to the second
22 page, I guess. Now we are at paragraph A, talks about the strength of the
23 BSA. In paragraph B, talks about the strength of the ABiH. And here,
24 their assessment is "Not known, however, the usual estimate of 10 per cent
25 of population would give a force of approximately 4.000. It was not clear
Page 969
1 before the attack whether all were armed, but it was believed that at
2 least half had SA." What does SA mean? "As well as HMG, LTMOR, anti-tank
3 weapons including RPGs and more modern ones. (Certainly all capable of
4 destroying the tanks against them). There are reports that many of these
5 weapons were thrown away during the march of friendly lines because of the
6 weight." And then it has a comment: "This suggests a collapse of
7 discipline and little control not least because such weapons could have
8 been cached for future use by guerrilla parties." And then the comment
9 ends.
10 Now, would that be a correct assessment based on your six months
11 in Srebrenica, that they had a force of approximately, if the estimate was
12 10 per cent, 4.000?
13 A. Not so long ago, I said about 1.000. And if it reads 4.000 here,
14 then that's his estimate.
15 Q. Well, if I may, and I don't want to dispute with you here, but as
16 I recall, you said in the hundreds. And then wanting to make you a little
17 more precise, I said could it be, you know, less than 500, more than 500.
18 And as I recall --
19 JUDGE LIU: Yes, Mr. Waespi.
20 MR. WAESPI: I think the witness clearly answered and said
21 thousand. And he also answered the second question saying that the 4.000
22 number was the estimate of whoever wrote this report.
23 JUDGE LIU: Yes, I don't think there's any dispute about that.
24 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour. I apologise.
25 Q. All right. If we could go to paragraph 11, paragraph 11 says:
Page 970
1 "ABiH withdrawal." Okay, are you there?
2 A. I'm there.
3 Q. "Rumours of the ABiH fighting their way out began to be reported
4 by 11 July with the final meeting between Ramiz and UN the night before."
5 I take it you're the UN that they're talking about.
6 A. Yeah.
7 Q. And Ramiz is who, again?
8 A. At the time, he was the military leader.
9 Q. You mean he had replaced Naser Oric?
10 A. And when Naser was there, he was chief of staff.
11 Q. Okay. And then it says: "However the town of Srebrenica was only
12 entered that day. For a large body of men from all the over the enclave
13 to start such an operation, the planning and forming up must have started
14 sometime earlier." And then it gives two possibilities. Possibility 1:
15 "ABiH was planning to withdraw long before the situation necessitated it,
16 and it's supported by the seemingly poor resistance put up by the ABiH."
17 And then B, "The breakup was not planned, but rather carried out by small
18 groups resulting in fighting, ambushes in the west and northwest as troops
19 from the east side tried to get through."
20 And then it goes on, and this is something I'm kind of curious,
21 perhaps you can help us out here with: "An interesting footnote to this
22 withdrawal is a well-sourced report from Hakija, chief of police, Oric's
23 henchman, and possible war criminal, escaped with 56 of his men leaving
24 some who volunteered to stay and fight." So from this, can I conclude
25 that the chief of police --
Page 971
1 JUDGE ARGIBAY: Sorry, Mr. Karnavas, may I interrupt you a minute.
2 In the paper you send us, it says "Is a well-sourced report that Hakija,"
3 not from Hakija.
4 MR. KARNAVAS: I apologise, Your Honour. "Is a well-sourced
5 report that..."
6 JUDGE ARGIBAY: It's different.
7 MR. KARNAVAS: Because we're talking about Hakija himself.
8 Q. "That he escaped with 56 of his men, leaving some who volunteered
9 to stay and fight." And then it goes on: "This seems a large percentage
10 from an approximate total of 120 who, considering they were meant to be
11 keeping law and order." The question I'm asking is was the police in
12 Srebrenica also armed like a military? Or were they merely police
13 officers carrying their usual weapon, if you are aware?
14 A. I can't remember that. I believe they were allowed to have only
15 very limited arms, and they had to perform their duties as policemen.
16 Q. Okay. Did you ever have any contact with this gentleman Hakija?
17 A. Not directly.
18 Q. Does that mean that you had contact with him indirectly?
19 A. My colleague was there for the initial contacts. He was also a
20 liaison officer. He did meet with Hakija on a few occasions. And at a
21 certain point, the military police took over.
22 Q. Okay, but he was not military police; he was regular police?
23 A. The UN, the military police that supervised him.
24 Q. Right. And it says here "Oric's henchman." You know what a
25 henchman is?
Page 972
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. If you could give us your definition of a henchman, so we have at
3 least a standard by which to go by.
4 A. Somebody who does somebody else's dirty work.
5 Q. All right. And it says "war criminal." So from this could we at
6 least assume that the author of this was led to believe that Hakija,
7 Oric's henchman, was involved in war crimes?
8 A. It reads here "possible".
9 Q. Well, that's what I -- yeah. Finally, on paragraph 12, it has the
10 conclusion. And it says: "The advantages militarily seem to have been
11 with the defenders, they at least hold out for rather longer and have
12 inflicted greater losses on the BSA than believed. However, the ABiH
13 leadership seems to have actually acted against their own interests to
14 carry out a successful defence with little coordination, except possibly
15 in withdrawal and no attempt to seize any heavy weapons held by the UN
16 whilst more junior individuals have been allowed to make their own
17 decisions and run."
18 Now, it's this conclusion that I'm rather interested in. Having
19 been there on the ground, you will know perhaps --
20 THE INTERPRETER: Excuse me, please. Could I just finish
21 translating this for the witness.
22 JUDGE LIU: Yes, please.
23 MR. KARNAVAS:
24 Q. Okay. Now, in the conclusion, it says "The advantages militarily
25 seem to have been with the defenders..." I take it by "defenders" they
Page 973
1 mean the ABiH army was in the enclave at the time it was supposed to be
2 demilitarised. Right?
3 A. Yeah.
4 Q. So it was a fairly large force that was inside?
5 A. It says "defenders" here. There's nothing about the size.
6 Q. Okay. They had the advantage militarily.
7 A. Yes, they had -- the advantage of the terrain when you're
8 defending.
9 Q. All right. So from that, you cannot conclude that the size, but
10 merely they had a geographical advantage?
11 A. Yes, the terrain is a very important element there.
12 Q. Of course. And from there, because they had the advantage of the
13 terrain, a smaller force could pin down a much larger force like the Drina
14 Corps. And with the UN protection, can raid Serb villages, burn down Serb
15 houses, kill Serb civilians in order to provoke; and then run back in
16 under the protection of the UN and also have this physical or geographical
17 advantage given the terrain. Do you understand my question?
18 A. I don't see that mentioned here under item 12.
19 Q. I didn't say it was in item 12.
20 A. I don't see what you're heading for.
21 Q. Okay. Let me help you out here, then. You've indicated that
22 based on this conclusion, what you can conclude from it that when they say
23 that they had the advantage, the defenders had the advantage, by that, you
24 understand it to mean because of the geographical position, the terrain, a
25 smaller force could, in fact, have an advantage over a larger force. Is
Page 974
1 that correct?
2 A. Yeah, so far.
3 Q. Okay, so far. So far so good. Now, we add the element of the UN
4 protecting this enclave. And what I am suggesting is that another
5 conclusion could also be drawn, and that is that from this enclave where
6 you have UN protection, a smaller force could use it as a staging ground
7 of going out, committing war crimes, committing atrocities, committing
8 crimes against humanity, and then run in under the safety of the UN flag,
9 and also having the advantage of the physical terrain.
10 A. What do you mean by that?
11 Q. Okay. What do I mean by that? Well, what I'm suggesting, sir, is
12 that while you were there, there was a significant -- there was a
13 significant Muslim, Bosnian army presence in Srebrenica.
14 A. As I said before, about a thousand men.
15 Q. Well, that's your interpretation, and we have another one that
16 could be as high as 4.000 from here.
17 A. But you're asking for my interpretation.
18 Q. I understand. But as you indicated earlier, and correct me if I'm
19 wrong as you did earlier, this report was generated by the military
20 observers who had access to information and access to terrain that you did
21 not have. Right?
22 A. Yes, but they had not been into the enclave, those who made this
23 report.
24 Q. You know this gentleman in particular, so are you discrediting his
25 report entirely, the report that he sent to his superiors?
Page 975
1 A. I'm telling you what my opinion is about it.
2 Q. All right. So you differ with his opinion.
3 A. I mentioned a thousand men.
4 Q. Okay. Now, but we can agree that the physical terrain gave the
5 advantage to those men that were in, whatever the number may be, gave the
6 advantage to them.
7 A. Yeah.
8 Q. Okay. Now, I take it if it was an advantage to defend, it must
9 also have been an advantage to go out, commit crimes, provoke, and then
10 run back in under the protection of the terrain, the same terrain that
11 gave them the defensive advantage?
12 A. No, I would not confirm that conclusion.
13 Q. Okay. Then perhaps you can explain why is it that they were going
14 out repeatedly, committing crimes as late as June 26, 1995, and then
15 running back into the enclave under the protection of the UN flag when
16 this entire area was supposed to be demilitarised as of 1993, and we're
17 talking middle of 1995. What is your explanation for that?
18 A. According to me, I already gave you that explanation.
19 Q. Very well. You're not denying the fact that there was a large
20 presence, military presence, in the enclave at that time.
21 A. I told you already.
22 Q. Okay. And it's your understanding that they just had very few
23 weapons, these folks that were in there, very light?
24 A. No, I said they had arms, but no heavy arms.
25 Q. No heavy arms.
Page 976
1 A. Particularly tanks and artillery.
2 Q. Okay.
3 A. I already told you so.
4 Q. Now, if we could go to the -- I would like to cover with you as
5 the last part of this area some conclusions that were drawn from the
6 Krstic trial. And I have copies of the paragraphs that I'm going to be
7 referring to. I have an extra copy if you need.
8 MR. KARNAVAS: There's enough for the interpreters. We have some
9 extra copies.
10 For the record, I'm referring to the Krstic judgement, and they
11 are paragraphs 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.
12 Q. If you could just give it a quick look, sir, and then let us know.
13 A. I've read it.
14 Q. Okay. If we could go through it very quickly, paragraph 21, it
15 states that there were between a thousand to 2.000 soldiers from three
16 Drina Corps Brigades were deployed around the enclave. Would that be your
17 estimation?
18 A. The number, we already discussed. And the units I already
19 indicated.
20 Q. I'm talking about -- it says -- this is talking about the VRS.
21 A. The VRS with the tanks and the artillery.
22 Q. Now, it says that "Some extended supports, which you've indicated
23 earlier, that the unit of the ABiH, 28th Division, was not well organised
24 or equipped." It goes on to say: "A firm command structure and
25 communication system was lacking. The Trial Chamber, however, said that
Page 977
1 it heard evidence that the 28th Division was not as weak as they had been
2 portrayed in some quarters. Certainly, the number of men in the 28th
3 Division outnumbered those in the Drina Corps, and reconnaissance and
4 sabotage activities were carried out on a regular basis against the VRS
5 forces in the area." This would seem to contradict what you indicated
6 yesterday when you described the sizes of the two armies, and in
7 particular, in your remark as you indicated "if we could call it that,"
8 that is, the --
9 A. It all depends what you call a soldier. When it's a farmer
10 carrying a weapon or someone in a nice uniform and having a good weapon,
11 that's decisive for how you count them. And I base myself on a thousand,
12 well-armed and well-addressed personnel.
13 Q. Okay. Now those --
14 A. Possibly another 3.000, if they existed, may have been of the
15 other type.
16 Q. Okay. Paragraph 22, I think we all agree it says "Both parties to
17 the conflict violated the safe area agreement." You would agree with
18 that. Right?
19 A. Yes, at least from within the enclave, there has also been a
20 problem with a possible Serbian attack. But there is no clear evidence.
21 Q. Well, it says here "both parties" meaning both the Serbian side
22 and the Muslim side. Right?
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. But today, we have been primarily talking about the Muslim side,
25 you know, and their violating the agreement by maintaining a militarised
Page 978
1 enclave.
2 Now, in paragraph 23, the Court apparently heard testimony from
3 General Halilovic. Have you ever heard of this individual?
4 A. I never met him. And my remembrance is not that big, but I think
5 he's one of the leaders.
6 Q. So you've heard of him?
7 A. Yeah.
8 Q. And he testified, and he indicated that he ordered members of ABiH
9 in Srebrenica to pull all armoured personnel and military equipment out of
10 the newly established demilitarised zone, but that he also ordered that no
11 serviceable weapons or ammunitions be handed over to UNPROFOR. So in
12 other words, if the weapon was operational, it shouldn't be turned over.
13 Right?
14 A. That's what it says.
15 Q. Okay. Well, that's what he testified to.
16 A. Yeah.
17 Q. Okay. And I take it from your observations you were able to see
18 serviceable weapons by the Muslim army within the enclave?
19 A. As soon as we saw them, we were supposed to seize them. That was
20 our policy.
21 Q. Right.
22 A. So large quantities of arms of sufficient quality, I have not
23 seen, I have not witnessed.
24 Q. Okay. There was a cache, though, there was a place where they
25 were store weapons, was there not?
Page 979
1 A. Yeah. On the compound of the bravo company.
2 Q. Were those nice and shiny out of the box kind of weapons, or were
3 they more antiques, not serviceable as General Halilovic seems to
4 indicate?
5 A. Partially, partially antique, and partially usable. Arms that we
6 seized also went there.
7 Q. Okay. Now, in paragraph 24, it says that "The Trial Chamber had
8 credible and largely uncontested evidence of a consistent refusal by the
9 Bosnian Muslims to abide by the agreement to demilitarise the safe area."
10 I take it you would not disagree with that conclusion that was reached by
11 the Trial Chamber in the Krstic judgement.
12 A. Just a moment, please. I understand, yeah.
13 Q. Okay. And further into the paragraph, it describes the ways they
14 were violating the safe area. Then it goes on to say that "To the Bosnian
15 Serbs, it appeared that Bosnian Muslim forces in Srebrenica were using the
16 safe area as a convenient base from which to launch offensives against the
17 VRS, and that UNPROFOR was failing to take any action to prevent it."
18 This is their conclusion.
19 A. No, it says that it was the conclusion of the Bosnian Serbs.
20 Q. Well, the Court concluded that to the Bosnian Serbs, it appeared.
21 Right? This is a finding of fact by the Trial Chamber that at least from
22 their observation it appeared to the Bosnian Serbs, it was a state of mind
23 on the Bosnian Serb side. Right? So I go back to my earlier question to
24 you --
25 A. It's their opinion.
Page 980
1 Q. It's their opinion, of course. But it ties into my earlier
2 question when I pointed out the conclusion, and you indicated -- and you
3 corrected me when you indicated that the advantage was with the defenders
4 given the terrain. And then I went on to a very lengthy question
5 indicating that that advantage also applied for offensive purposes as well
6 particularly the UN was there offering safe haven and safe harbour and
7 sanctuary to Muslim fighters by using the enclave as a staging ground to
8 commit crimes outside the enclave.
9 A. That's an interpretation, as it says here, by the Bosnian Serbs.
10 Q. Okay. Very well.
11 I want to switch topics, and I want to go to the 11th of July,
12 1995. If I understand you correctly, yesterday, as well as in some of
13 your previous testimony, and I believe it might be also in your
14 statements, you've indicated that it was the Serb side, the VRS, that had
15 contacted DutchBat requesting a meeting or demanding a meeting?
16 A. Yeah, that's right.
17 Q. Now, is that your -- do you know that for a fact? Is that an
18 opinion? Is that a supposition, an assumption, a presumption? What
19 exactly is that?
20 A. It is a memory which is present very strongly in my mind.
21 Q. Okay. Well, does that mean that the memory is correct, or could
22 you be wrong? Because it might be somewhat critical as to who initiated
23 this meeting.
24 A. That meeting was requested by -- from the part of the BSA.
25 Q. BSA meaning the VRS or the Bosnian Serbs?
Page 981
1 A. Yeah.
2 Q. Okay.
3 MR. KARNAVAS: If I could have some assistance here with the
4 usher.
5 If I could interrupt for a second, I'm only going to be referring
6 to paragraph number 2. And there's another document that I'll give you.
7 It will save us some time.
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Okay, I've read the document.
9 MR. KARNAVAS:
10 Q. Okay, for the record, the document -- the numbers on the document
11 are R0015489, and R0015490. This document, sir, what do you recognise it
12 to be?
13 A. This is a report drafted by Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans, but I
14 have not seen this report. The contents appear familiar, however.
15 Q. Okay, now who is the letter addressed to, sir?
16 A. It says to the various officials.
17 Q. It says at the top, it says "To force commander"; right?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And Lieutenant-Colonel Janvier. Is that it?
20 A. We've already discussed that he was the commander in Zagreb.
21 Q. Okay. And in paragraph number 2, Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans
22 says: "I have been ordered by HQ" that's headquarters, right, "UNPROFOR
23 Sarajevo to enter into local negotiations with BSA forces for immediate
24 cease-fire. It says see appendix. And then it says: "I had two meetings
25 with General Mladic." Now, from this document it would appear that
Page 982
1 Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans had a conversation apparently with
2 headquarters in Sarajevo, perhaps outside your presence, whereby he was
3 ordered to initiate contact with the VRS in order to enter into
4 negotiations. Would that be correct?
5 A. Yes, that would be a possible interpretation. Another one might
6 be that we -- that we met. And what I remember is that after the first
7 meeting, Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans requested instructions in Sarajevo
8 as to whether he would be receiving support or had to arrange matters
9 himself. But I'm more inclined to believe the latter.
10 Q. Just a couple of more matters -- couple of more pieces of evidence
11 on this, on July 18th, there was a letter sent by Mr. Akashi to
12 Justice Goldstone who at the time was the Prosecutor of the ICTY, of the
13 Tribunal here. I'm not so much interested in the letter itself, but in
14 the second page -- and this, by the way, for the record, the numbers are
15 R0050215, and it goes all the way through 218. Now, there's a -- and then
16 you will see the third page is similar to the document that I have just
17 shown you, that is the one that was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel
18 Karremans. Now, could you look at this particular document, sir, this
19 page 2 --
20 A. Yes, I do.
21 Q. Okay. And if you could look at it, take your time. And please
22 tell us what it is, first, who generated it, and then I'll proceed from
23 there.
24 A. Yes, I've read it.
25 Q. Okay. Now, if you could help us out here a little bit. It says,
Page 983
1 the top part: "HQ, UNPROFOR, Sarajevo."
2 A. Mm-hmm.
3 Q. It says: "Outgoing fax." On the left side, it says: "To:
4 Sector North-East info, Company DutchBat." That would be you?
5 A. Yeah.
6 Q. You are on the receiving end of this document?
7 A. You get this for your information.
8 Q. Right, okay. But I guess you're the receiver of this. Can I
9 conclude that, or am I wrong?
10 A. The person supposed to take action is the Sector North-East, and
11 DutchBat is only receiving it for information purposes. That's the
12 military hierarchy.
13 Q. Okay. Thank you for clarifying that. But I guess what I'm --
14 well, let me go to the right side, then. It says: "From, headquarters,
15 UNPROFOR, acting commander" and I guess there's a correction here, must be
16 a Major-General.
17 A. Yeah.
18 Q. And it appears to be Major-General Gobillard. Had you heard of
19 this individual?
20 A. Yes, but I did not meet him.
21 Q. Okay, but you heard of him?
22 A. Yes, I did.
23 Q. So he's actually sending this message, and DutchBat at least is
24 getting the information of this?
25 A. Yes. He's sent it to Tuzla, Sector North-East.
Page 984
1 Q. Okay. And one -- it says in here under paragraph A, although
2 there's a handwritten 1 circled, it says: "Enter into local negotiations
3 with BSA forces for immediate cease-fire. Giving up any weapons and
4 military equipment is not authorised and is not a point of discussion."
5 Now, from that, it seems to appear that what he's suggesting is
6 that someone, DutchBat or the higher-ups in Tuzla are to enter into
7 negotiations, but DutchBat or the UN is not to give up its own weapons.
8 Is that how I am to interpret this?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. In other words, they weren't suggesting for the Muslim army not to
11 give up their weapons, but for the DutchBat or the UN forces, peacekeeping
12 forces, not to give up their weapons?
13 A. These are instructions toward DutchBat. I assume they mean the
14 arms of the battalion.
15 Q. Okay. So somebody in Sarajevo, this acting commander, that's a
16 pretty high position, don't you think?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. He's below the commander, I guess the commander is not there, so
19 he's acting as the commander and he's giving the order. And he's not
20 saying, please, maybe, or think about it, this is basically an order for
21 DutchBat to enter into local negotiations with BSA forces. Right?
22 A. They are instructions to Sector North-East to interpret this, and
23 we receive it for our information. And I remember that Lieutenant-Colonel
24 Karremans telephoned Tuzla about this.
25 Q. Right.
Page 985
1 A. But I don't remember the true contents from this.
2 Q. Okay. The meeting that you had with the folks -- the first
3 meeting took place about what time, sir, if you recall?
4 A. It was at any rate after this telegram was sent, or at least
5 signed. But I don't remember whether we did it before and/or afterwards.
6 I do remember a phone conversation between Lieutenant-Colonel Karremans
7 and Tuzla as to whether there were actual instructions and what he should
8 observe.
9 Q. Okay. But nonetheless, if you look at -- if you look at this
10 piece of document, it seems to at least indicate at the top corner of it
11 that it was faxed at 3.40 --
12 A. Yes, but the question is whether the fax actually arrived. There
13 were not that many that worked properly where we were, at least not in
14 time. The phone worked.
15 Q. Okay, all right. Well, somehow, when I look at this fax, it seems
16 to me that there's a meeting of the minds between Sarajevo, Tuzla, and
17 Srebrenica because when you look at the next page, which is the document
18 that I've shown you earlier, which was generated by your commander, okay,
19 he says: "I have been ordered by HQ UNPROFOR Sarajevo." And HQ UNPROFOR
20 Sarajevo are the folks that have sent this fax or called or whatever. But
21 this is a document that we received.
22 A. Mm-hmm. Could have been in the evening following the first
23 meeting.
24 Q. All right. Well, then, why don't we take a look at the video,
25 because maybe the video will help us where we can see and hear Lieutenant
Page 986
1 Karremans himself. And Your Honour, I queued it up. It will take about 2
2 minutes.
3 JUDGE LIU: Well --
4 MR. KARNAVAS: Maybe 2 minutes after that, and I'll be through.
5 JUDGE LIU: Well, it's passed 7.00.
6 MR. KARNAVAS: All right, Your Honour.
7 JUDGE LIU: Can you do it tomorrow afternoon?
8 MR. KARNAVAS: I certainly can, Your Honour. And I will be
9 through with the witness tomorrow, I would say, 15 minutes.
10 JUDGE LIU: Yes. Well, I hope that, you know, after this sitting
11 you could discuss with the court deputy about the numbering of those
12 documents.
13 MR. KARNAVAS: I will, Your Honour.
14 JUDGE LIU: And before we start tomorrow afternoon, we hope we
15 could receive a list of those documents.
16 MR. KARNAVAS: Very well, Your Honour. We will do -- well, we
17 will do more than our best to comply with the order, although you must
18 understand I have a rowing boat versus an armada on the other side. So
19 we're rowing as hard as we can, and we're trying our best, but we will
20 endeavour to comply with the Court's wishes, Your Honour.
21 JUDGE LIU: Well, drawing up a list does not need an armada.
22 We'll resume tomorrow afternoon.
23 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at
24 7.02 p.m., to be reconvened on Thursday,
25 the 10th day of July, 2003, at 2.15 p.m.