Page 4606
1 Thursday, 9 May 2002
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The witness entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9.00 a.m.
6 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Saxon.
7 MR. SAXON: Thank you, Your Honours. Good morning. As promised
8 yesterday, we have the copies of the statement of Mr. Abullah Salihu and,
9 pursuant to Rule 92 bis, we would now offer that into admission, please,
10 into evidence.
11 And I would again ask the Honourable Judges and the
12 other parties to please make note of the correction by the witness
13 yesterday on the second page where it says "200.000 people." It should
14 say "20.000."
15 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, this will be marked Prosecutor's
16 Exhibit 142.
17 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Before I begin, I'd like to make an
19 objection and say that we didn't get a summary yesterday that was provided
20 for this witness yesterday, but let me move on to my questions.
21 WITNESS: ABDULLAH SALIHU [Resumed]
22 [Witness answered through interpreter]
23 Cross-examined by Mr. Milosevic:
24 Q. [Interpretation] In your statement, you say that you finished your
25 primary school in Cirez; is that correct?
Page 4607
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. All eight years of schooling there?
3 A. Yes. I finished the eight years school in Cirez, the high school
4 in another place, and the university in Prishtina.
5 Q. What did you study in Pristina?
6 A. Nothing. I didn't study anything. I did only the high school,
7 I'm sorry.
8 Q. A moment ago I understood when you said you attended the
9 university of Pristina that you actually did. Were you at the university
10 or not?
11 A. No, no, no. I did -- I did the primary school in Cirez, the high
12 school in Prishtina. It is called Medresa. That is the high school.
13 Q. Is that a religious school?
14 A. Yes, it is.
15 Q. May we then conclude that you know the village of Cirez very well
16 and its inhabitants too?
17 A. Yes, I do.
18 Q. What did you do between 1986 until September 1998?
19 A. Until then, I worked in the construction field. I did a course on
20 construction, and I worked as a construction worker then. Until four
21 years ago, I worked as imam in Baks village. As a Muslim priest.
22 Q. Yes. I understand. So you worked in the field of construction,
23 and you also worked as a hodza, a Muslim priest, at the same time; is that
24 right?
25 A. At that time, I did not work as hoxha, but I did a construction
Page 4608
1 course and worked as a construction worker until four years ago.
2 Q. And you worked in the village of Baks as a hodza. Did you work as
3 a hodza anywhere else, apart from the village of Baks?
4 A. I worked also in Jashanica village, '74/'75.
5 Q. Also as a hodza; right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. And how long did you work as hodza in the village of Baks? From
8 when until when?
9 A. I worked as hoxha for 25 years in the month of Ramadan. It's only
10 one month a year. Now I work as imam, because now we have built a mosque
11 in the Baks village, and this is where I work now.
12 Q. In your statement, you say that 80 per cent of the population left
13 the village of Baks and that only a few people remained - and they were
14 men - to look after the cattle; is that right?
15 A. Yes, that is right.
16 Q. How many men stayed on?
17 A. Several men. I couldn't say how many exactly, but during the
18 first offensive in September of 1998, the Serb rebellion, that is the
19 onslaught which came from Gllogoc-Skenderaj, has driven the population out
20 to Cicavica mountain where over 20.000 people were gathered in those
21 places. The Baks village was totally burnt, or if not exactly 100 per
22 cent, 90 per cent of the houses were burnt.
23 So that offensive ended, which lasted for two days. After that,
24 we received some aid from the OSCE. I don't --
25 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone. Microphone.
Page 4609
1 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Salihu, I'm going to interrupt you. If you just
2 listen to the questions and just answer them, we'll get on more quickly.
3 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
4 Q. As we were saying, how many men stayed on in the village when, as
5 you say, the population left the village? Men to tend to the livestock,
6 that is.
7 JUDGE MAY: He said that he couldn't say exactly.
8 Can you give us a rough idea, Mr. Salihu?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] About 20, 30, because there was no
10 place where the population could go to. I told you, 90 per cent of the
11 houses were burned down.
12 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. All right. I'm asking you how many remained in the village,
14 because you said that the men stayed on to tend to the livestock.
15 A. Yes. I'm saying 20, 30 men.
16 Q. All right. Very well. Now, those men, were they armed?
17 A. No, they were not.
18 Q. Well, if they weren't armed, how can you talk about an attack on
19 the village?
20 JUDGE MAY: What does that question mean? Just a moment. Let's
21 see if we can understand the question.
22 What does the question mean, Mr. Milosevic?
23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, in the village, there were 20
24 to 30 people who were not armed, and the witness claims that an attack was
25 launched on the village which was empty except for a few unarmed people.
Page 4610
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Is that right?
3 A. I told you the offensive was launched in October 1998, and they
4 burned all the houses. The population had no place where to go.
5 Therefore, only 20, 30 people could stay, could put their heads somewhere,
6 could find some shelter. And these people were unarmed.
7 Q. Please. You said that 80 per cent of the villagers had left the
8 village of Baks and that the people -- some people stayed on to tend to
9 the livestock, and then you said that an offensive followed. Is that
10 right? Is that what you said?
11 A. Yes. I'm talking about the offensive of 1998. Then after that,
12 the houses were burned down. I don't know what you don't understand
13 here.
14 Q. I don't want anything. I'm just asking you in connection with
15 your statement.
16 JUDGE MAY: This is at complete cross-purposes. Now, I suggest
17 you move on to another question.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. You say that between 180 and 190 people were killed in the area.
21 On the basis of what do you base this assertion?
22 A. On the Cicavica offensive. It is true.
23 Q. So you're talking about the fighting that went on at Cicavica;
24 right?
25 A. There was no fighting. There was only an offensive mounted on it
Page 4611
1 by the Serb army. It was shelling from a distance of 10, 15 kilometres,
2 so that when we returned there, there was no house standing almost. As I
3 said, it came from Gllogoc-Skenderaj. They had shelled Cicavica.
4 Q. Mr. Salihu, let's clear something up. You said a moment ago an
5 offensive at Mount Cicavica; is that right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Now, do you know that on the Cicavica mountain there were strong
8 forces of the KLA? Are you aware of that?
9 A. This is not true that there were KLA forces in the Cicavica
10 mountain at that time.
11 Q. All right. Then we can move on because, according to you, there
12 were no forces of the KLA on Cicavica.
13 Now, who were your sources of information with respect to what you
14 say and what you say went on on Mount Cicavica?
15 A. I was one of those who fled with my family, with my neighbours,
16 with my nephews and nieces. We all together went there to that place. I
17 experienced that myself.
18 Q. All right. So this confirms once again, unless I'm mistaken, that
19 you're a very well-informed man about all the events that were taking
20 place. Can we draw that conclusion?
21 A. I am well-informed about what I have stated in my statement,
22 because I went through it myself, and I am certain of what I'm saying.
23 Q. All right.
24 JUDGE MAY: Help us about this: The figure of 180 to 190 people
25 killed at this time, what is that based on?
Page 4612
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4613
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Because at least 30, 40 people I
2 helped myself to bury with my own hands.
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] May we proceed?
4 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
5 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
6 Q. Do you happen to know, then, that the KLA terrorists were
7 especially dangerous in their attacks day and night, especially in the
8 village of Cirez? Do you know about that?
9 A. I don't know about the terrorists. I know the KLA was not
10 dangerous. I know that the KLA defended the people as much as they could
11 and were capable of.
12 Q. All right. That is your description of the character of their
13 activities. Now, I'm asking you whether you know about that particular
14 activity of theirs.
15 A. I said the KLA defended the people, stood up for the people.
16 JUDGE MAY: Well, help us with this: In the period we're dealing
17 with, which is the autumn of 1998, September and October, were the KLA in
18 Cirez or not?
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There -- there was in Cirez, in
20 Pelez, but the KLA, and I'm sure of what I'm saying, that the KLA was not
21 a terrorist organisation. It defended the people. That was our only
22 support.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. All right. I'm not asking you actually about the character or in
25 your opinion what their activities were like, but I asked you whether they
Page 4614
1 were there, and you said yes. Now, does the name Muj Krasniqi Kapuci mean
2 anything to you? Do you know the name?
3 A. I've heard about him, but I don't know him personally.
4 Q. All right. If you've heard of him, even if you don't know him
5 personally, do you know that, in the area, he killed policemen, for
6 example? Do you know about that?
7 A. This I don't know. That was probably a secret of the KLA.
8 Q. [Previous translation continues]... move on. And do you know who
9 Ramush Haradinaj is?
10 A. I know. He is from Gjakove, and I am from Drenica. It's about 70
11 to 80 kilometres away. And I have heard his voice on television.
12 Q. And do you know that this man, Muj Krasniqi Kapuci, whom you've
13 heard of, together with Ramush Haradinaj, was active in the area, in that
14 region, in the district, and that they perpetrated a series of actions in
15 which many people were killed or kidnapped? Do you know anything about
16 that?
17 A. No, I don't. I don't have any information on this.
18 Q. And did you perhaps see a book of his, a dialogue, in fact --
19 JUDGE MAY: He has no information on this. Now, let's move on.
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. Let's stick to what he
21 does have information about.
22 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. You said in Cirez, in the surrounding villages, that the KLA was
24 there. Now, what were they doing in concrete terms there? What were they
25 doing specifically?
Page 4615
1 A. The people were relying on them. And this was the only support we
2 had. We didn't have any protection but the KLA.
3 Q. Please. I'm asking you what they did. I'm asking you what they
4 did physically speaking.
5 A. And I'm telling you: They were defending the people.
6 Q. All right. Describe how they were defending the people, then.
7 A. If there was any need. But there wasn't even any -- there wasn't
8 even any opportunity, because the shelling was from a distance. They
9 didn't even have a chance to defend us. Because the KLA was not situated
10 inside the village. It was always five, six kilometres away, therefore,
11 it did not have any real link with the civilian population.
12 Q. All right. A moment ago, you said that in Cirez, and you
13 mentioned another village which is in the transcript here but I can't
14 remember its name just now, that the KLA was there. Now you say that they
15 were outside the village. Were they in the village or were they outside
16 the village?
17 A. The KLA was always at a distance from people, and it didn't have
18 contact with people. It was five or six kilometres away. It kept at a
19 distance from the civilians.
20 Q. All right. That's a little different from what you said a moment
21 ago.
22 Now, in your statement, you say that nobody from your village was
23 killed; is that correct?
24 A. What? I didn't understand the question. At that time, nobody was
25 killed.
Page 4616
1 Q. And where do you get these 180 and 190 people who were allegedly
2 killed that you referred to?
3 JUDGE MAY: He's already answered that. He said he buried 40 of
4 them himself.
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There were at least 40 villagers at
6 that time in the offensive, villagers who had gathered in Cirez from Klina
7 to Gllogoc. All the villages from Cicavica -- all the villages roundabout
8 had gathered on Cicavica.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Salihu, those whom you buried, did you bury
10 as part of your duties as imam?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. There were groups of villagers,
12 and we buried the bodies together.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you.
14 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. You buried KLA members who had been killed at Cicavica. Is that
16 right or not?
17 A. That's not true. I buried civilians and also Les Gradica [as
18 interpreted], a doctor, who was one of the people massacred at Cicavica
19 and mutilated. He had a hand cut off. I didn't bury any of the soldiers
20 of the KLA because none were killed. There were only civilians.
21 Q. So there were no KLA soldiers who had died?
22 A. No, there weren't any killed.
23 Q. So in all those villages, the KLA was there, there was an
24 offensive, but none of the KLA members were killed. So the offensive was
25 not against the KLA, it was against the civilians. Is that what you're
Page 4617
1 saying?
2 A. That's true.
3 Q. And in which places were these people killed?
4 A. These people were killed in the village of Grabofc and also in
5 Dubofc. Cicavica is about 13 kilometres long, and this was the area where
6 this happened.
7 Q. Did you see it? Did you see them being killed?
8 A. I told you that I buried them. I couldn't see them all being
9 killed. This would have been impossible. I might have seen three or
10 four, but I saw one person from Kozhnice when a shell hit a tree, and a
11 father and son were killed when the tree fell on them.
12 Q. So that's what you saw with your own eyes: You saw those two
13 people killed when a tree fell on top of them. Is that it?
14 A. It was the matter of the shell cutting the tree, and it wasn't the
15 matter of the tree. It was a father and a son. The father got killed and
16 the son is still alive.
17 Q. I understand. So that's what you saw personally yourself.
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. A moment ago, you said that the KLA did not have occasion to
20 defend the people, because our forces were shooting from a distance; is
21 that right?
22 A. Of course. The shelling was from 10, 15 kilometres away. Gllogoc
23 and Skenderaj.
24 Q. So are you saying that the members of the KLA didn't shoot at all
25 because they didn't have anybody to shoot at? Is that it?
Page 4618
1 A. There was no KLA there. Please, Mr. Milosevic, don't mix up my
2 statement. The KLA was to defend the people. I -- there was no KLA
3 there. I told you. There were only civilians, and the shelling was aimed
4 at Cicavica, and they even dug holes on the ground. Everything was
5 destroyed.
6 JUDGE MAY: Did the KLA at this period, as far as you could see,
7 did they fire any shots? Did you see any firing from the KLA?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. Fire was not opened.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. That means that they had no one to shoot at, because our forces
11 were operating from a distance. Is that what you said? Is that your
12 explanation?
13 A. I -- I'm saying that we -- all these people were gathered on the
14 mountains of Cicavica, and they came from -- with tanks towards all the
15 people gathered there.
16 Q. A little while ago, you mentioned trenches that they had dug. Who
17 was it that had dug the trenches?
18 A. It's not true that this is what I said. I said that after the
19 offensive, two days later, we buried people.
20 Q. I asked you about the trenches that you referred to a short while
21 ago. Who had dug these trenches?
22 A. I didn't say that. There were no trenches. I replied that after
23 the offensive, we buried people. We were not able to leave them just
24 lying on the ground. And I mentioned one man whom I saw myself mutilated,
25 Dr. Lesi [phoen] from Gradica.
Page 4619
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4620
1 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Salihu, do you know of any occasion in that
2 period when there was any fight between the KLA and the Serb forces; any
3 occasion in which the KLA and the Serb forces were engaged in a fight?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. In that period, there was not.
5 In that period, there was a KLA, but they were unable to fight. And after
6 the offensive, they were shattered. No, there was no -- there were no
7 clashes at this time.
8 JUDGE MAY: Now, Mr. Milosevic, you've been cross-examining for
9 half an hour. We have not got beyond the first page of his statement, the
10 witness's statement. As you know, it contains the most serious
11 allegations of mistreatment. He was present at an execution. All of that
12 he describes. If you're going to challenge that, you should do so in the
13 next half hour rather than dealing with these preliminary matters.
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I fully challenge that, because this
15 is certainly not true. However, I do not expect the witness to say that
16 this is not true, because the witnesses who come here, some of them, say
17 such untruths that somebody probably had to instruct them to behave that
18 way. You don't really think that --
19 JUDGE MAY: You don't -- you don't make a speech now. If you're
20 going to challenge that this witness is telling untruths, then you must
21 put it to him so he's got a chance to answer. And if you're making
22 suggestions about instructions of how witnesses should give evidence, then
23 you must put them to the witnesses so they can answer. It's no good
24 making wild allegations to us.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. All right. A short
Page 4621
1 while ago, the witness said that after the offensive, the KLA had been
2 broken.
3 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
4 Q. Is that correct?
5 A. That's right.
6 Q. And before that, you said that in that -- that the KLA did not
7 even participate in that offensive. How could it be shattered in an
8 offensive in which it did not even participate?
9 A. It is possible because of the shelling by the Serbian army. The
10 KLA had no -- was not able to confront this. The KLA kept up its morale
11 and tried to strengthen itself after the offensive. I have never been a
12 member of the KLA myself, but I regret it now that I wasn't a member. And
13 I kindly ask you to read my statement to see that if I had a gun myself --
14 Q. I didn't ask you that, whether you were sorry that you were not a
15 member of the KLA. I didn't ask you that.
16 JUDGE MAY: One at a time. Now, what's the next question?
17 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
18 Q. Do you know, do you know that in 1998 there were very intensive
19 actions launched by the KLA terrorists against the police and against
20 other citizens precisely in your area; Selimi Sulltan, Zoltarasahi [phoen]
21 Jashari from Donji Prekazi, Sabit Geci from Lausa? They figured the most
22 prominently. As a matter of fact, he was wounded and he found shelter in
23 Baks, in your village. Do you know them and do you know about these
24 events in view of the role of your village in that? Do you
25 know about that?
Page 4622
1 A. That is not true that Shabit Geci came to Baks village. That is
2 untrue. And he was not injured in Baks village. And I have not heard
3 that Sulltan Selimi, as you call him, has attacked anyone. Or Jashari, I
4 didn't get well the name you mentioned; I have not heard of them attacking
5 the police. I have no information about that.
6 Q. All right. You don't know anything about this.
7 A. No.
8 Q. Let's not waste any time since you don't know anything about this.
9 And do you remember, for example, as far as back as 1994 --
10 A. You should ask me about what I know and what I have testified.
11 Q. I'm asking you because you're a very informed person. You worked
12 as a hodza, and you know everybody in the area.
13 As far as back as 1994, do you know Shefqet Dibrani, a forest
14 keeper who was maltreated and afterwards killed by the KLA? Have you
15 heard of him?
16 A. Shefqet Dibrani was killed by your offspring, not by the KLA. He
17 was killed in Skenderaj. And you know very well who killed him, Mr.
18 Milosevic.
19 Q. All right. So you do know of the killing of Shefqet Dibrani, a
20 forestkeeper employed by the state.
21 JUDGE MAY: He's given his answer. Don't -- there's no need to go
22 on. Yes, let's move on.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. And do you remember when these same terrorists maltreated Halim
25 Halil and his father Hasan, a farmer from Cirez? Do you know about that?
Page 4623
1 A. Yes, I know.
2 Q. And can you tell me how many young men the KLA recruited in the
3 village of Baks and Cirez?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. How many were recruited?
6 A. In Baks, there were seven, and four in Cirez, as far as I know.
7 Q. Only those 11?
8 A. Those are the ones I know.
9 Q. All right. They were recruited forcibly by the KLA; is that
10 right or is that not right?
11 A. Not forcibly. As I said, I would have wished to have been a
12 member of the KLA, looking back today, but I didn't have that luck.
13 Q. All right. But I'm not asking you about that. You claim that
14 they were not forcibly recruited. And now, is it correct that as a hodza
15 -- as a hodza, you convoyed messages from Allah about a jihad, a holy war,
16 to these same soldiers? Is that right or is that not right?
17 A. No, that's not true.
18 Q. And is it true -- is it true that in 1994, among the hodzas an
19 agreement was reached to say to the faithful that they can take false
20 oaths before the authorities and that that is the agreement that was
21 reached among the hodzas? Is that right?
22 A. No, that's not true. I have -- I can say that what is in my
23 statement is absolutely true, everything that I said. But Mr. Milosevic
24 is not asking me about my statement, because when I was taken prisoner --
25 JUDGE MAY: Just try and answer the questions, if you would.
Page 4624
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. All right. In your statement, do you not know actually about a
3 single element about this, that the hodzas agreed that the faithful can
4 take false oaths? You don't know nothing about that?
5 JUDGE MAY: He said it's not true, so there's no point arguing
6 about it.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. All right. In your statement, you do not explain at all the
10 period between September 1998 to March 1999. Where were you in that
11 period and what did you do?
12 A. As I said before, 20 and 25 of us went back to the village with
13 the USA and I was there in my village, and we had some tents and
14 improvised shelters in my village, and that's where we were up to 29th,
15 30th April, when the second offensive came, I can say one of the toughest
16 offensives that ever took place in Kosova in what is known as Fusha e
17 Molles.
18 Q. All right. So you were in the village all that time. All right.
19 But in the statement, you say that you were arrested in the forest on the
20 29th of April, between Baks, Vrbovac, and Cirez, in that triangle.
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You say that 11 persons were arrested with you and that all of
23 them were your relatives. Is that right?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. If they are your relatives, how come you don't know the three --
Page 4625
1 three -- the names of three of them?
2 A. These names were not mentioned because they were not from my
3 village. So I didn't mention the names. I only mentioned the names of
4 the people from my village. Because on that day when we were captured in
5 Fusha e Molles, which is surrounded by the villages of Baks, Cirez,
6 Trstenik, Glogar, Studica, Gllogofc, this place is known as Fusha e
7 Molles, and on that day --
8 JUDGE MAY: Don't go on for a minute.
9 Yes, Mr. Milosevic, the next question.
10 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. So you were arrested in the village or were you arrested in the
12 forest? You said that you were arrested in the forest, and now you said
13 that you were arrested in the village. So where were you arrested; in the
14 forest or in the village?
15 A. I didn't say in the village but in the place called Fusha e
16 Molles. We had -- all those villages that I mentioned, people had been
17 expelled from them. And we were gathered - men, women, children, the
18 elderly, young people - on Fusha e Molles.
19 Q. All right. You've answered my question. When you were arrested,
20 where did they take you?
21 A. They took us to the mosque at the village of Cirez, which is now
22 being demolished.
23 Q. All right. If you were arrested and if you were taken to the
24 mosque in the village of Cirez, how did you know what was happening on the
25 29th of April when you were arrested?
Page 4626
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4627
1 JUDGE MAY: I don't follow that question. What do you mean?
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The question is the following: If
3 he was arrested and taken to the mosque, how could he know what was
4 happening on that day when he was not there?
5 JUDGE MAY: Which passage in the statement are you referring to?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can say that --
7 JUDGE MAY: Let's see what the question is.
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I can see the paragraph now. He has
9 two statements here. He speaks about events --
10 JUDGE MAY: Is this the passage you have in mind: "On Friday, the
11 29th of April, a new, very big Serb offensive started against the entire
12 area. The offensive lasted for three days. Area after area was attacked
13 day by day."
14 Now, the question is: If you were in the mosque, how did you know
15 what was going on elsewhere?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] When they captured us that day, it
17 was 29th of April, and they took us to the mosque, and that night, we
18 stayed in the mosque. On the next day, we saw them attacking again the
19 place where we had been captured. And in the morning, about three jeeps
20 came, three or four, belonging to the Serbian military, and they took out
21 176 people who had been in the mosque, and they took us to Gllogoc.
22 Before taking us to Gllogoc, in the place known as Shavari, three trucks
23 came, and although there were people still remaining at the mosque, about
24 32 people were taken off the trucks at Shavari, and I saw with my own
25 eyes, I saw them being shot.
Page 4628
1 JUDGE MAY: That's what you yourself saw and experienced.
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. I was present myself.
3 JUDGE MAY: Is there anything else or any other knowledge which
4 you have? You say, "The offensive lasted for three days," and, "Area
5 after area was attacked day by day."
6 Now, what is that based on?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is what I heard, going to
8 Shavarina. And after I went to Gllogoc, they kept us in the cinema, and
9 then they brought another group from there to Gllogoc, and then they told
10 us that they were still fighting, the offensive was still continuing.
11 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
12 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. Who was fighting? Well, thank you that my turn has finally come.
14 So who was fighting?
15 A. It wasn't fighting, it was civilians. A child of nine was killed,
16 a five-month-old child was killed. Elderly people were killed.
17 Q. Please. You said only a minute ago, "They were still fighting."
18 "They were still fighting," and then when I ask you who, and then you say
19 there was no fighting. So were they fighting or were they not fighting?
20 Yes or no. Let's not waste any time.
21 A. I said it was not fighting, it was fighting against civilians. I
22 said that we were there with our members of our families.
23 Q. All right. All right. I know about that explanation. According
24 to that explanation, the KLA was not fighting at all. Please. You say
25 that they took you to --
Page 4629
1 A. It fought when the need arose.
2 Q. All right. So then you claim that there was no need for them to
3 struggle --
4 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreters note that it is impossible to
5 interpret two speakers at a time.
6 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Salihu, would you wait, please, until the
7 interpretation is finished. Otherwise, there is difficulty for the
8 interpreters.
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, there is a problem. He knows
10 Serbian and he wants to answer straightaway. He can't wait for all this
11 stage management.
12 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. You say that they took you to some field, that they beat you in
14 the process and that they had the intention -- you claim that they had the
15 intention to kill you by a tank, by trampling over you with a tank. And
16 then since NATO aeroplanes were flying above, they did not start the tank.
17 They fled from NATO aircraft. That is to say that you were free then,
18 because our soldiers had fled from you. Is that right or is that not
19 right?
20 You say that the Serb soldiers fled to the woods, including --
21 JUDGE MAY: Let him answer what's being put.
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] When they captured us, we were 65
23 people. They laid us out on the ground. They beat us. And one of the
24 leaders of the military gave the order to push us back.
25 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 4630
1 Q. Please. That was not my question.
2 A. That is in my statement, sir.
3 JUDGE MAY: Let him explain. Now, what happened? What happened
4 when the aircraft came?
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] He ordered us -- the tank to trample
6 over us, our bodies, but at that moment, thanks to God and NATO, the tank
7 changed its direction and we were safe. Then they took us to the mosque.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. You said that the soldiers fled into the woods. You stayed in
10 that meadow by yourselves.
11 A. I didn't mention that. The army, soldiers were around us. They
12 were guarding us with their guns, automatic. And then they took us to the
13 mosque.
14 Q. Please. Let us clear this up. They wanted to kill you with a
15 tank, and since they did not kill you with a tank, they fled into the
16 woods and then you were free. Does that mean that they returned yet again
17 and arrested you again?
18 A. Mr. Milosevic, don't mix up my statement, please. I said that the
19 tank changed its direction, but army was there. It was very close to us;
20 maybe three, four metres away.
21 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Salihu, in fairness to what the accused is
22 putting, let me read out what it says in your statement.
23 "The man in charge for the paramilitary unit ordered the driver of
24 a tank to start the engine and run over us. We were in two lines, and the
25 tank manoeuvred in direction to us. At the same time, NATO aeroplanes
Page 4631
1 came and were circled over the area. All the Serb forces ran away into
2 the woods, including the driver of the tank. The NATO aeroplanes stayed
3 in the air for ten minutes. When the planes left, we were ordered to
4 march in the direction of Cirez. The tank left in the direction of
5 Studica. We had to march with our hands behind our heads."
6 Now, the question was: How was it, if the Serb forces ran into
7 the woods, that you came to be ordered to march in the direction of Cirez?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They only went away, let's say three
9 metres or five metres, not more. They wanted to hide the tank from NATO
10 planes, but the army troops were there, were very close to us. We were
11 prisoners at that moment.
12 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. Was that in the morning?
14 A. It was about 1.00, 2.00; midday.
15 Q. Around noon then, midday. In broad daylight Serbian tanks are
16 moving and NATO aircraft are flying, and they did not manage to notice
17 Serb tanks that were moving. Are you trying to say that?
18 A. Yes. I don't know whether the NATO planes saw the tanks or not.
19 This I can't say. I know only this: Thanks to NATO, we managed to
20 escape.
21 Q. All right. Well, obviously they couldn't see him. And you claim
22 that they could not see a tank in broad daylight, at midday.
23 JUDGE MAY: It's not a matter for him. He's given his evidence.
24 There's nothing more he can say.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I don't know what military experts
Page 4632
1 would say about this particular statement.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. From that place to the place of Shavarina, how long did that
4 journey of yours take?
5 A. From there, it is about five kilometres where the mosque of Cirez
6 is situated. This is where they took us. We spent the night there. The
7 mosque was destroyed. It was burned. Only the walls were still standing.
8 Q. All right. That's not what I'm asking you. As we have to save
9 time, let me ask you this: Did you travel in trucks or on foot?
10 A. [Previous translation continues]... telling you how they went
11 there. From Fusha e Molles to the mosque, we walked on foot. From the
12 mosque to Shavarina, we went there by trucks.
13 Q. Afterwards?
14 A. From Shavarina, again by trucks to Gllogoc.
15 Q. All right. Now we've come to the question that I asked you to
16 begin with and I didn't get an answer to. Shavarina and Glogovac, you
17 went on your way in trucks; is that right?
18 A. That's right.
19 Q. Did those trucks have tarpaulins?
20 A. No.
21 Q. So they were open trucks, were they?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And in addition to yourself, how many other people were in the
24 truck?
25 A. There were about 22 besides me. That is we were, altogether, 23
Page 4633
1 persons. And I think that the same can be said of other -- the other
2 three trucks.
3 Q. And how many trucks were there in all?
4 A. There were three. When they first took us from Cirez to Shavarina
5 in the first crowd, the first group. But there were still people left
6 behind, at the mosque. One of the trucks, as I said, the people on that
7 truck were executed. I think they were about 32 people. They shot them.
8 I saw them being shot at with my own eyes.
9 The second truck and the third truck, they went to Gllogoc. Then
10 a jeep came from Gllogoc, they said something among themselves, and then
11 from there, the two other trucks were sent to Gllogoc, to the cinema.
12 JUDGE MAY: Time is limited so perhaps you could just keep the
13 answers fairly short. Yes.
14 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. How far were the trucks spaced out, one away from the other?
16 A. As the case is usually with trucks driving one behind another. I
17 didn't have a metre to measure. They may be 10, 15 metres away from one
18 another.
19 Q. And in which truck in line were you?
20 A. I was on the third truck.
21 Q. And you say that in every truck there were about 20 people and
22 that all the trucks were open. Is that it?
23 A. I say that there were from 20 to 30 people in every truck, and
24 they were open, without any tarpaulin.
25 Q. Why did they use so many trucks if there were only 20 people in
Page 4634
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4635
1 each truck?
2 A. There were 176 persons, sir. Some people were still left behind
3 in the mosque. I told you. We were about 65 people who left.
4 Q. I'm talking about the people in the trucks. Now, from which truck
5 were these people taken down whom you claim were shot?
6 A. From the first truck. They ordered them to get down, and they
7 were lined up in three rows. Three Serb soldiers with mortars and
8 automatic rifles shot them one by one. I saw them being shot at with my
9 own eyes.
10 Q. Mr. Abdullah, you don't wish to say that they were shot by
11 mortars. Surely they weren't shot that way. And from a truck where there
12 were 20 to 30, surely they did just not take down 30-odd people. Do you
13 realise what you're saying?
14 A. I understand very well, but I think you don't understand me. I
15 went through that myself.
16 JUDGE MAY: Just a moment. Did you say "mortars"? That was the
17 way it was translated.
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I said mortar at the end. Yes, when
19 they were shot, they threw also a mortar -- a hand grenade, actually. I
20 haven't spoken about that yet. It is at the end of my statement.
21 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, your time is now up. You can ask two
22 or three more questions.
23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, after this, I don't know
24 whether I need ask any more questions.
25 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 4636
1 Q. But can you tell me the names of the people who were executed?
2 They were all people from your village.
3 A. I could tell you. Some of them I don't remember. There were
4 three -- the first three who were killed, their bodies were burned. Now,
5 Xhevat Osmani, Sejdi Osmani, Hysen Zaqiri, they were burned.
6 Q. Now, that's a new fact. Please. In your statement, you claim
7 that people were killed with three --
8 A. I didn't mention them in my statement, but he asked me about the
9 village. Thirty-eight people were killed in my village, but I didn't note
10 these people in my statement, but he asked me about my village, and I'm
11 giving details about how many were killed in my village.
12 Q. Out of 34 people killed from your village, how many of them were
13 members of the KLA of those 38? Thirty-eight people killed, sorry.
14 A. There were no members of the KLA. Five-year-old children,
15 infants, elderly people of 80 or 90, how can they be members of the KLA?
16 Q. All right. Very well. I -- now with respect to the execution
17 that you've been talking about, you claim in your statement -- let me
18 refresh your memory -- you say that people were killed with three, four
19 individual bullets. Is that right? Is that what you're saying?
20 A. That's right.
21 Q. And a moment ago, you said that they were all killed from a
22 machine-gun, a mortar, and so on and so forth, and now you've added that
23 they were burnt too, that they burnt.
24 A. I would ask this gentleman -- I said they were killed by
25 individual shots, not by a volley of shots. And after the execution was
Page 4637
1 finished, they threw a grenade on top of them. This is what I saw with my
2 own eyes. This is a hundred per cent true.
3 JUDGE MAY: That will conclude the examination.
4 Mr. Kay, is there anything you want to ask?
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
6 MR. KAY: Yes. Thank you, Your Honour.
7 Questioned by Mr. Kay:
8 Q. Mr. Salihu, you told the Court that on the 29th of April, as a
9 result of a Serb offensive, that was when you moved from your area; is
10 that right? Just say yes or no.
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. I want to ask you about what happened the day before that, as in
13 your statement you've told this account, that on Thursday, the 28th of
14 April, NATO aeroplanes attacked Ferronikel factories in Gllogoc.
15 A. Yes, uh-huh. There were Serbs there and, for that reason, NATO
16 attacked it.
17 Q. Were you in your village of Baks at that time?
18 A. No. I was at Fusha e Molles. It's nearby, about two or three
19 kilometres away. Two or three kilometres away, Fusha e Molles, from Baks.
20 Q. Were you able to see NATO planes bombing the factories?
21 A. Yes. We only saw the vapour in the air because we were in a kind
22 of valley. And this was about seven or eight or nine kilometres away from
23 us. Ferronikel is quite a distance away.
24 Q. The Ferronikel factories, are they close to the centre of the town
25 of Gllogoc, near the railway station?
Page 4638
1 A. No, further north. Fairly nearby.
2 Q. Were you able to see the effects of this bombing, what damage was
3 caused to the town?
4 A. No, because we were in a valley. We only saw the smoke rising
5 when there was bombing.
6 Q. Did you travel near that area after you moved from the 29th of
7 April?
8 A. That time I was travelling in a truck, when we were taken from
9 Fusha e Molles to the mosque and then from the mosque onwards.
10 MR. KAY: Thank you. No further questions.
11 Re-examined by Mr. Saxon:
12 Q. Mr. Salihu, Mr. Kay asked you some questions about the 28th of
13 April when NATO planes attacked the Ferronikel factory, and you made a
14 comment that I'd like you to clarify, if you can. You mentioned that
15 there were Serbs there - that's what you said - at that factory. What did
16 you mean by that, that there were Serbs there?
17 A. There were tanks, Serbian artillery, and the heaviest artillery
18 that they had, which they kept in various places, at large buildings.
19 Q. These tanks and artillery were located at the Ferronikel factory
20 that was bombed by NATO?
21 A. When NATO bombed, I can't tell what there was inside, but
22 certainly before the NATO bombing, there were tanks there.
23 Q. Thank you.
24 MR. SAXON: I'd like to ask the assistance of the usher and of the
25 Registrar if Exhibit 17, a photo collage, could be placed on the ELMO,
Page 4639
1 please. I'd like to ask the witness a question about it.
2 Q. While that's being done, Mr. Salihu, the accused asked you about
3 the events of the 30th of April when you witnessed men being executed at
4 Shavarina. You mentioned how three trucks came to the mosque, and the
5 three trucks carried men to Shavarina, and over 30 men were taken off the
6 truck --
7 A. Yes.
8 MR. SAXON: I'd like, Mr. Usher, if you could place that photo
9 collage on the ELMO so the witness can take a look at those photographs.
10 Q. Mr. Salihu, could you please take a look at the pages with
11 photographs that are to your left. Take a look at the photographs
12 themselves, Mr. Salihu. And if you could, please, tell us if you see on
13 those photographs a vehicle that resembles the trucks on which the men
14 were transported to Shavarina on that day. There's several pages there, so
15 you may need to flip through the pages.
16 A. This one.
17 Q. What number is that, Mr. Salihu? What number photograph?
18 A. Number 8.
19 Q. Thank you.
20 MR. SAXON: I have nothing further, Your Honour.
21 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Salihu, that concludes your evidence. Thank you
22 for coming to the International Tribunal to give it. You are free to go.
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you for inviting me here to
24 say what I went through myself.
25 [The witness withdrew]
Page 4640
1 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Ryneveld.
2 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you, Your Honours. The next witness that we
3 have scheduled is presently listed as Witness K4. I believe you have been
4 advised by my colleague that this witness no longer seeks protective
5 measures, and accordingly, will be proposing to give evidence live, as it
6 were, without protective measures subject to, of course, our application
7 before the court to have the evidence by way of 92 bis. Having said that,
8 to this point, I'm not aware if the Court has had an opportunity to rule
9 on our application to have his evidence go in the way of 92 bis, and so
10 before I actually call him, I wonder whether perhaps that could be
11 clarified.
12 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Kay.
13 MR. KAY: Yes, Your Honour. We received last night by fax a
14 memorandum from the Registry, saying that this particular witness would be
15 subject to attestation under the 92 bis procedure, and he is within the
16 document filed by the Prosecution on the 2nd of May in which there's an
17 attachment A, I believe Your Honours will be familiar with it, in which
18 there is a large number of witnesses, the remaining witnesses within the
19 Prosecution case, concerning this part of the joined indictment in which
20 he features in that schedule as a witness that they would like to be
21 included within the 92 bis procedure.
22 The amici, at this moment, are still dealing with this motion as
23 it involves a great deal of work for us to assess and evaluate the
24 witnesses and make our own judgement about whether that would be
25 appropriate or not in our view.
Page 4641
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4642
1 I've been able to read the statement of this witness, K4. He is
2 one of the insiders, a military man giving a great deal of detail, as he
3 says, from what happened in Kosovo at this time as an insider within the
4 military. It may well be that the Court has not had a chance to read his
5 statement. I don't know.
6 JUDGE MAY: We have. We have.
7 MR. KAY: Good.
8 JUDGE MAY: And it's true that there is detail. Most of it is
9 related to one municipality and the activities there, and of course, one
10 particular execution and massacre, it deals with that. It does deal with
11 other matters.
12 MR. KAY: There is generality about the involvement of
13 paramilitaries, the involvement of others within what took place in that
14 particular region. If the Court permits the 92 bis procedure in relation
15 to this witness, if I can put it that way, certainly there may well be a
16 great deal of questioning from the accused which would exceed the normal
17 hour with which he is allotted. One can see many issues.
18 JUDGE MAY: That's something we would have to consider.
19 MR. KAY: But again, I raise this flag whether this Court would
20 want this witness to go under the 92 bis procedure itself, because he is a
21 witness of perhaps greater substance in relation to allegations within the
22 indictment against the accused; whether that would be appropriate, we
23 raise with the Court, because there would be concerns about it.
24 [Trial Chamber confers]
25 JUDGE MAY: We will admit this witness's statement under Rule 92
Page 4643
1 bis since it is concerned with one municipality in the main. And although
2 it is true it deals with some matters to do with the organisation of the
3 VJ and the like, the evidence is cumulative in the sense that other
4 witnesses give evidence about it, and it's cumulative in relation to
5 Djakovica, the municipality involved.
6 However, I think it right to say, Mr. Ryneveld, that we will look
7 carefully, when it comes to these insider witnesses, as to whether Rule 92
8 bis is appropriate, and perhaps you would do the same. Perhaps you could
9 reconsider the matter. I know there's a need for expedition, but we've
10 got to balance the two.
11 MR. RYNEVELD: Absolutely, Your Honour. You must appreciate that
12 the Prosecution is prepared to proceed with live witnesses wherever
13 necessary, but time constraints and expedition, we just propose, in order
14 to attempt to meet the schedule, we must take whatever appropriate attempt
15 that we can to put the evidence fairly before the Court in the most
16 efficient manner, and for this witness, we felt that that was appropriate,
17 to submit him for 92 bis. It may be that for the others, we will have to
18 reconsider.
19 JUDGE MAY: Yes. The other point is that we will reconsider the
20 time limits on the cross-examination, given the scope of the witness's
21 statement.
22 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes, and I may ask for the Court's indulgence with
23 respect to this witness, for some indulgence on the five minutes that I
24 need for preliminary questions, because some of the exhibits -- the Court
25 may well benefit from a few questions about some of the exhibits that were
Page 4644
1 attached to his statements in order to get some explanations as to how
2 they came into being, because without a couple of words of explanation,
3 that may be of some problem for the Court in understanding their
4 significance.
5 [Trial Chamber confers]
6 MR. RYNEVELD: I'm only talking about the two maps.
7 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Some explanation of the maps.
8 The other point is we're not -- just one moment. We're not
9 sitting -- we're not sitting in this case tomorrow.
10 MR. RYNEVELD: No. I'm aware of that.
11 JUDGE MAY: So is the witness available for Monday, if need be?
12 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes, I believe so.
13 JUDGE MAY: Thank you. Yes.
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I should like to draw your attention
15 to the fact that this is not the first time that the other side over there
16 holds a secret witness and then, on the day when that witness is to be
17 examined, they explain that he is no longer a secret witness but a public
18 witness. And everyone is aware of the fact how limited the possibilities
19 are of amassing any kind of information about a secret witness.
20 The same thing happened with the witness Veton Surroi, who was
21 assigned a number K-something until the day he appeared to testify here
22 and then he testified quite normally as a live witness and without any
23 restrictions or limitations. Now we're faced with the same situation.
24 As this is a repeat of the first situation -- that is to say, the
25 first time, I thought it was just a mistake. Now as it's repeated itself,
Page 4645
1 I don't think it is a mistake, I think it is ill-intentioned because it
2 limits the possibility of collecting information about the secret witness,
3 and then when he comes to be examined, he is proclaimed to be a public
4 witness.
5 At the same time, this witness is being introduced before the
6 witness that was supposed to testify - Isuf Loku - and not him. So we
7 thought that he would be -- it was stated that he would be on Thursday,
8 and Thursday is a full working day. So why are we skipping a witness
9 again?
10 So once again, there is a change in the order of witnesses. I
11 insist upon having a strict list and order for the witnesses at least for
12 a week in advance and not to allow that order to be disturbed in any way
13 and changed. If the other side is incapable of respecting the order and
14 list of witnesses at least for a week, then it should be at its detriment
15 and not at the detriment of the elementary functioning of even an illegal
16 Tribunal of this nature.
17 JUDGE MAY: We have dealt already with the Prosecution with the
18 problems of the order of the list and required them where, unless it's
19 absolutely essential, to stick to the list.
20 Your allegation that there is ill-intention is one without
21 substance. If we thought there was any question of motive or anything of
22 that sort, we would not allow the Prosecution to do it. There is none.
23 The witness has changed his mind about the protection, as I understand
24 it.
25 Mr. Ryneveld, is that the position?
Page 4646
1 MR. RYNEVELD: Absolutely, Your Honour. If I may just make a
2 couple of comments about the allegation that's totally improper, the
3 suggestion that the Prosecution is somehow making this witness public for
4 some improper motive.
5 The fact -- the fact is he's not been a secret witness to this
6 accused. He's not been a secret witness to the amici. They have known
7 his identity. The only issue was whether or not, when he testified,
8 whether he would be testifying with a pseudonym and facial protection or
9 not. This witness has indicated to the Prosecution that he now feels that
10 he wants to testify openly. And in the interests of a public and
11 transparent trial, we would encourage that wherever possible, and that is
12 the reason and no other. But the accused has known this witness's
13 identity, his real identity, it's not been secret to him.
14 Secondly, we have also indicated that this particular witness will
15 be been to testify on the 9th of May in the letters we have provided. We
16 have always indicated that that was the date we intended to call the
17 witness. If, because the scheduling and witnesses taking longer, we
18 didn't get to Mr. Loku prior to today, that is a matter that's totally out
19 of our hands, but we've always indicated that Witness K4 would be
20 testifying today.
21 And so with respect, the allegations are -- have no basis in fact.
22 JUDGE MAY: It's now --
23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Just one question.
24 JUDGE MAY: No. The matter is now concluded.
25 It is now time for the adjournment. We will adjourn for 20
Page 4647
1 minutes.
2 --- Recess taken at 10.30 a.m.
3 --- On resuming at 10.50 a.m.
4 [The witness entered court]
5 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Let the witness take the declaration.
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will speak
7 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
8 JUDGE MAY: Yes. If you'd like to take a seat.
9 WITNESS: NIKE PERAJ
10 [Witness answered through interpreter]
11 Examined by Mr. Ryneveld:
12 Q. Mr. Peraj, would you give your full name to the Court, please.
13 A. My name is Nike Peraj.
14 Q. And Mr. Peraj, I understand, sir, that you are 55 years old, and
15 you're a former teacher, and that you then became a captain in the
16 Yugoslav army. Is that correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And you remained a captain until sometime in June of 1999, just
19 three days prior to NATO troops entering Kosovo; is that correct?
20 A. Yes, a First Class Captain.
21 Q. Yes. And I understand, sir, that when you left the Yugoslav army,
22 you were subsequently convicted in absentia by a military court for
23 desertion; is that correct?
24 A. Yes. That's what I've heard. But I have not received any
25 document officially.
Page 4648
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4649
1 Q. You've heard that that's what happened, and you were tried and
2 convicted and sentenced for desertion from the army?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. I understand, sir, that your ethnicity is Albanian and that you
5 are an ethnic Albanian, born in Kosovo; correct?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. But you belong to the Catholic faith. You're not Muslim.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And I understand, sir, that you're married, with three children.
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Now, sir, did you give various statements to members of the Office
12 of the Prosecutor of this Tribunal, the first of which was on the 18th of
13 April of the year 2000? Did you provide a statement at that time?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And subsequently, did you provide a second statement in February
16 of 2001, also to members of the Office of the Prosecutor?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And at that time, sir, did you provide some maps to attach as --
19 to attach to that second statement?
20 A. Yes, that's true.
21 Q. Now, sir, I understand that subsequent to that, you arrived at the
22 Tribunal and that yesterday, the 8th of May, you had an opportunity to
23 review those statements in a language known to you and that you appeared
24 before a presiding officer and made a solemn declaration that the
25 statements you gave, as amended by you, were true to the best of your
Page 4650
1 information and belief. Is that correct?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Now, at the time that you reviewed those statements, did you make
4 some corrections to them before you gave your solemn declaration?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And were those corrections recorded on -- on paper, and did you
7 also solemnly declare that those corrections were true?
8 A. Yes.
9 MR. RYNEVELD: Your Honours, at this point I would like to tender
10 a package, if I may, of the 92 bis procedure. And there are copies.
11 Those passages would include all three, if I can call it that, statements,
12 which included yesterday's corrections and the maps which are attached to
13 the second statement. And I want to make this observation: That on the
14 documents with the corrections yesterday, most of the cover pages, et
15 cetera, all have the correct date, i.e., the 8th of May, 2002. However,
16 the cover page of the corrections say the 18th of April. So that was just
17 something that was missed off the cover page. That would be at ERN number
18 that you have in the package, K0223426. That cover page has the date of
19 the 18th of April because, when it was used as a precedent, they didn't
20 change the date. But all other references show the 8th of May, 2002.
21 Before I read the summary, I wonder whether -- I'm sorry.
22 THE REGISTRAR: Okay. Your Honours, that will be marked
23 Prosecutor's Exhibit number 143.
24 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you, Madam Registrar.
25 I would propose before reading a very brief summary of these
Page 4651
1 statements, Your Honour, if this would be an appropriate time for me to
2 ask the witness to clarify for the benefit of the Court these maps, just
3 so that the Court can make some sense of them.
4 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you. First I would ask that this large map
6 be put on the ELMO, and perhaps Mr. Usher can assist.
7 Unfortunately, Your Honours, the copy that I have has two colours
8 on it, green and blue, but the copies that Your Honours would have are
9 photocopies and, therefore, only show up in black. But there are three
10 -- do we have three colour copies? We have the original and two copies in
11 colour. Both the amici and the accused would have received these by
12 disclosure a long time ago, with the appropriate colours, in the coloured
13 version.
14 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Let it be put on the ELMO and be given a
15 separate exhibit number in a moment.
16 MR. RYNEVELD:
17 Q. Now, Witness, first of all, I would like you to look at the map
18 that is presently on the ELMO. First of all, do you recognise that
19 document as a document that you made some notations on during the course
20 of the taking of your second statement?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. And the colour that -- the map that you're looking at, does it
23 have some markings in green pen and some markings in blue pen?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. And what were you attempting to describe in making these markings
Page 4652
1 on this map? If we could start looking at the top of the map, if I can
2 call it that, there is a marking --
3 A. The buildings marked and ringed in green are positions of places
4 where the commands were stationed, garrison commanders, in Gjakove, and
5 part of the command of the Pristina Corps at different times, also noted
6 there. And in blue, I show where members of the police, i.e., police
7 commands, were placed.
8 Q. All right. So the green represents the VJ or the military, the
9 army; is that correct?
10 A. The army, yes.
11 Q. And blue signifies the MUP; is that correct?
12 A. Yes, that's right.
13 Q. Now, very briefly, sir, because time is of the essence and Their
14 Honours will have had the benefit of reading your statement, perhaps you
15 could simply outline for us, if we start at the top of the map at -- where
16 I see at the end it's K2.4, do you know what that -- do you see the
17 reference I'm making? Yes. Just put your pointer, so we're all clear
18 what I'm talking about. No, to the right. To the right. Yes, right
19 there. The green -- yes, right there.
20 There are some things between two streets?
21 A. That was a private house, and in the cellar, the military police
22 was stationed with soldiers and guards.
23 Q. Okay. Then to your left, just moving down the map, if we can. At
24 sort of the bottom of a curve, just to the left. Yes. What is that?
25 A. This was a building with -- also with a cellar where the command
Page 4653
1 of the Gjakove brigade was.
2 Q. All right. And there's both green and blue there. What does the
3 green signify?
4 A. Green signifies the institute for social security in Gjakove, and
5 this is where the police, the MUP, were sighted.
6 Q. And there's also blue there in that location.
7 A. Green. And blue again. And this was part of the Pristina Corps,
8 but the number 1 here shows that there was a police team here. There was
9 part of the police here too.
10 Q. All right. Perhaps you could indicate to us, just down below
11 that, we see numbers where there is K2.3. What is that?
12 A. They stayed here two to three days.
13 Q. I'm sorry, I --
14 A. They stayed here two to three days, but I haven't noted here in
15 which month.
16 Q. All right. No, I'm just actually using the 2.3 as being a
17 location. What was located there, sir, where you have the green circle?
18 I'm just using those numbers to identify the location on the map for the
19 record.
20 A. 2.3 was the command of the brigade here in Gjakove, in a private
21 house, in the cellar.
22 Q. All right. Sir, I'm going to try to speed this up a little bit by
23 asking you, can you point out on this map for us the location of the
24 Pristina Corps, if it is in fact on this map. The Pristina Corps
25 garrison.
Page 4654
1 A. This was near the Lajci Cafe, on what was called Marsal Tito
2 Street, now Mother Theresa Street. And in front of it there was an old
3 barracks in -- here, in Gjakove.
4 Q. All right. And just for the record, you pointed to --
5 A. This is marked with Roman I, 2.5.
6 Q. And just so that we're clear where you're pointing, you're now
7 pointing off --
8 A. Was --
9 Q. -- to the left of the map, near the legend; is that correct?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. All right. You were earlier referring to a location where we see
12 Roman numeral III under the letters "ARBR." What is that? Down.
13 A. Point III --
14 Q. Yes.
15 A. Where the command went to take shelter. This was the command.
16 Q. All right. And finally, can you indicate to us where the 52nd
17 Rocket Artillery Brigade was located that's referred to in the statement?
18 A. The ARBR -- in all the places where there is ARBR are places where
19 the anti-aircraft artillery had its command.
20 Q. ARBR means the Rocket Artillery Brigade, that's the way to shorten
21 that?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. I see. And finally, there is some blue at the bottom, right-hand
24 corner of the map where it says "Mustafa Bakia" and there's the words
25 "MUP." What is that big circle? What does that signify?
Page 4655
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4656
1 A. From the MUP building, everybody moved over to the new part of the
2 Mustafa Bakia school and also the old Mustafa Bakia school. There are two
3 schools here, but the small blue circles here are all private houses where
4 policemen lived.
5 Q. All right. I want to move on to another map, if I may, now, and
6 that is also --
7 JUDGE MAY: Before you do, that should have an exhibit number.
8 THE REGISTRAR: Yes, Your Honours. This will be marked
9 Prosecutor's Exhibit number 143.1.
10 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you, Your Honour.
11 Q. Moving to a second map - and I'll do this as quickly as I can -
12 you also made some markings on a -- a map of the Gjakove area during the
13 course of the interview. Do you recall doing that? The second map.
14 A. Yes.
15 MR. RYNEVELD: And this is an A4 size piece of paper, Your
16 Honours. It looks like that, and it should be attached to the 92 bis
17 package.
18 Now, it's this map in particular that's extremely hard to read,
19 and I have discussed with the amici the fact that the Court may well be
20 assisted by a computer-generated map, and I will ask some questions about
21 that. And you don't have that yet, but I propose to make some sense of
22 this by using a computer-generated improvement.
23 Q. First of all, sir, this map that you now have with -- bearing ERN
24 number K0223471, you see that map?
25 A. Yes.
Page 4657
1 Q. What is that a map of?
2 A. This is a map of Gjakove.
3 Q. All right. And did you, during the course of the interview, make
4 some markings, some handwritten markings, on this map; draw some circles,
5 draw some dates, draw some arrows?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. All right. And have you, during the course of the interview
8 yesterday been shown some computer-generated documents and compared them
9 to the markings you made on this map? Were you shown some documents?
10 MR. RYNEVELD: Perhaps we could distribute those. I'm going to be
11 asking that the Court accept them, but -- with my friend's permission.
12 But the accused, although it's been disclosed to them in the past, they
13 haven't been marked as an exhibit, but they would certainly assist the
14 Court in understanding his evidence.
15 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
16 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you. I would like a copy of each of these
17 maps, please, placed on the ELMO. The first one is the one with the red
18 sort of orangey circle, which is a photocopy of the map that was attached
19 to the 92 bis.
20 Q. Very briefly, sir. This is a copy of the same map upon which you
21 made markings earlier; is that correct?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And the area circled in red on this map, is that the area of
24 Decani that you were trying to describe in the course of your statement?
25 A. Yes. Yes, entirely. Yes.
Page 4658
1 MR. RYNEVELD: Might the witness now be shown a second map with
2 some markings on it?
3 Q. Witness, I'm now asking you to now look at the map now placed on
4 the ELMO. This is again an enlarged portion of the map that you drew your
5 personal markings on. Have you, yesterday, had an opportunity to compare
6 the notations you made with the computer-generated markings on this
7 particular map?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. What can you tell the Court about whether or not this map
10 accurately depicts what you were trying to draw on the map produced into
11 evidence earlier? How does it compare?
12 A. Entirely the same.
13 Q. With reference to the --
14 JUDGE MAY: These should have separate exhibit numbers.
15 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you.
16 JUDGE MAY: Let's deal with that now. First of all, I take it you
17 want to deal with the photocopy of the whole municipality with the various
18 figures on it which is illegible but no doubt you would like it exhibited.
19 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes, I would. Thank you, Your Honour.
20 JUDGE MAY: That would have the next exhibit number, please.
21 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honour, that map is actually included in the
22 92 bis package.
23 JUDGE MAY: Well, no, but give it a separate number now.
24 THE REGISTRAR: That would be marked Prosecutor's Exhibit 143.2.
25 JUDGE MAY: And next, the map with the red on it.
Page 4659
1 THE REGISTRAR: Prosecutor's Exhibit 143.3.
2 JUDGE MAY: And finally, the one with the various markings on it.
3 THE REGISTRAR: That will be, Your Honour, Prosecutor's Exhibit
4 143.4.
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you.
6 Q. Now, Witness, in the course of your statement, you made some
7 markings on Exhibit 143.4, the one that is before you on the ELMO. Can
8 you describe for us, if you would, please, very briefly, what the red
9 arrows signify.
10 A. The red arrows mark the displacement of the population and their
11 movements in the direction of Gjakove from the valley of Carragojs and
12 from the village of Korenica towards Gjakove.
13 Q. All right. And maybe you could use your pointer because there are
14 two red arrows, tell us which red arrow refers to which. You are now
15 talking about the one starting near the stop and working down towards the
16 bottom. Yes. Diagonal line.
17 A. The longest red arrow shows the movement of the population from
18 the Carragojs Valley, as it's called, towards the village of Meja and to
19 Gjakove. And on the left, the curved red arrow shows the --
20 Q. [Previous translation continues]...
21 A. -- displacement of the population towards Gjakove.
22 Q. The blue arrow, which seems to be parallel to the first of the two
23 red arrows, which -- what does that signify?
24 A. The blue arrow shows the direction of the attack of the special
25 forces of the MUP, and alongside it, there's another arrow in green which
Page 4660
1 shows the direction of the attack of the military forces belonging to the
2 63rd Parachute Brigade from Nis. And on the right and on the left, these
3 green lines, thick green lines, show the blockade of the entire territory
4 by military forces.
5 Q. And you've described that in your statement, have you, sir?
6 A. Yes. And these circles --
7 Q. Yes. First of all --
8 A. -- in green --
9 Q. -- the green circle where there is a black box indicating an arrow
10 to it, what does that circle mean?
11 A. The command of the operation consisting of officers of the army,
12 which commanded operations in the field, was sited here in the place
13 called Qafa e Osekut. That's the name of the hill. And from here, you
14 can see the entire territory in which this operation was conducted.
15 Q. I'm going to stop you there for a minute and ask you this
16 question: Where were you on the 27th of April, 1999, when you indicated
17 in your statement that you saw these things happening? Where were you
18 located, physically located in order to be able to draw these arrows?
19 A. On the 27th, in the morning, I arrived from Nis. And when I heard
20 from my brother what was happening there --
21 Q. Now let me focus the question. Where physically were you,
22 standing or sitting or whatever you were doing, when you were able to
23 observe? Where were you physically?
24 A. Physically, when I saw these things, I was in Meja and in
25 Korenica.
Page 4661
1 Q. Okay. This place called Osek, were you ever there on the 27th of
2 April? Or the 28th?
3 A. No. On the 27th, I was not at the Qafa e Osekut. I was there on
4 the 28th, in the morning.
5 Q. All right.
6 A. And also in the village of Duzhnje and Nec, on same day.
7 Q. Sorry. When you were in Osek on the 28th, could you see the
8 things that you have described for us, this vantage point?
9 A. I was at this vantage point myself, and I taught there for some
10 time with Colonel Kotur and with Colonel Stankovic.
11 Q. All right.
12 A. Colonel Kotur belongs to the command of the Pristina Corps, and
13 Colonel Stankovic was the chief of the brigade, the army brigade, of
14 course, in Gjakove.
15 Q. Yes.
16 A. Which led the operations in the field.
17 Q. I understand who you were with, I understand who they are, that's
18 in your statement. What I want to -- what I'm trying to direct your mind
19 to is when you were physically at that location with those people, what
20 could you see happening down in the valley? First of all, could you see
21 the valley?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Did you personally see the movement of these people that you've
24 described?
25 A. On the 28th, there was no movement at all because the people were
Page 4662
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4663
1 already entirely displaced on the 27th in the morning. You could only see
2 smoke and flames coming from almost all the houses in the valley of
3 Carragojs and beyond.
4 Q. All right. And on the 28th, did you see the movement of the
5 forces you've described, the military and MUP forces?
6 A. Yes. On that day, the second day of the operation, because the
7 operation covered about half of the territory, and it continued on a
8 second day.
9 Q. I have only two more questions, sir, about the map, because the
10 rest of the evidence is contained in your statements. I know the
11 temptation is to tell us more, but Their Honours have this information.
12 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Ryneveld?
13 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes.
14 JUDGE KWON: Is this the map the witness is mentioning in his
15 second statement?
16 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes.
17 JUDGE KWON: I know you put the number, paragraph 59, or the third
18 paragraph of page 12. Am I right in that?
19 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes. Let me just check, because this statement,
20 before it was bis'd was not paragraph numbered. We did that for ease of
21 identification, as we indicated to the Court, that we would try to number
22 the paragraphs. So I'm just going to have to double-check that. And
23 there's two statements.
24 JUDGE KWON: And the second one.
25 MR. RYNEVELD: Second one, 59 is --
Page 4664
1 JUDGE KWON: 59 paragraph in the new version.
2 MR. RYNEVELD: It is the one for 59. The annotated map of the
3 operation in the Carragojs Valley and Meja area. This is it.
4 JUDGE KWON: This is it.
5 MR. RYNEVELD: Paragraph 59.
6 JUDGE KWON: Thank you.
7 MR. RYNEVELD:
8 Q. Two more questions, if I may. The red circles. You haven't told
9 us what these red circles on this exhibit, 143.4, I believe.
10 A. The red circle, the first one from the top is a checkpoint that
11 was in the village of Meja. And the second one was at the crossroads of
12 the road from Meja to Korenica.
13 Q. And just for reference, what happened at those checkpoints?
14 A. At these checkpoints, more than 500 people were stopped at Meja by
15 police forces, regular police forces, local police, paramilitaries, and
16 some other reservists who were also there.
17 Q. All right.
18 A. And at -- may I go on?
19 Q. Well --
20 JUDGE MAY: Let's move on, because we have much to do today.
21 MR. RYNEVELD: That's right.
22 Q. Sir, and could you also describe for us, please, on this map where
23 Meja is. You've made reference in your statements to Meja and incidents
24 in Meja. Is Meja actually depicted on this map, and if so, where? Could
25 you point to it?
Page 4665
1 A. Meja is on the left side of the red circle. I've covered that --
2 the name with the red circle a bit, but you can see clearly written
3 "Meja."
4 Q. Okay. There are two red circles. It is the top red circle with
5 the bottom part of the red circle obliterating the word; is that correct?
6 A. Yes. There's a line, and you can see, in brackets "Meja."
7 Q. All right. Thank you, Witness.
8 MR. RYNEVELD: Those are all the questions I have. With the
9 Court's indulgence, I'll quickly, for the benefit, read in a very brief
10 summary of what is contained in the two lengthy statements.
11 My understanding, Your Honours, from the statements is that the
12 witness describes that from December of 1998, he was an officer in the Air
13 Defence and Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Pristina Corps. And then in
14 1999, General Pavkovic was appointed commander of the VJ 3rd Army, while
15 General Lazarevic took over as commander of the Pristina Corps.
16 In his statements, the witness describes in some detail an
17 overview of the structure of the armed forces, including the VJ, the MUP,
18 and a structure he termed Territorial Defence, the TO. He indicates that
19 he is of the view that during times of war, the MUP and TO came under the
20 control of the VJ. Paramilitary groups, including Arkan's Tigers,
21 Seselj's White Eagles, and Franko Simatovic's unit, the Frenkis, operated
22 under the TO. His statement indicates that the regular VJ in the Gjakove
23 area was responsible for operations against the KLA, and that attacks
24 against civilian targets were conducted by the MUP.
25 His statement describes a huge influx of army and police between
Page 4666
1 February and March of 1999. In addition to these units, the witness will
2 describe the creation of local police operating in various villages where
3 the regular MUP had difficulty patrolling.
4 Now, it goes on to say that after NATO began bombing, groups of 5
5 to 10 people would arrive in Kosovo where they would join up with VJ
6 units. He indicates that they appeared unkempt and many had criminal
7 records.
8 He then describes that VJ reservists wore the same green
9 camouflage uniforms and insignia as the VJ but, of course, these
10 reservists tended to be older. The MUP reservists were usually people
11 with military police background and retired regular MUP. He says that
12 there were about 50 to 70 in Djakovica, but many more came from Serbia.
13 At first, the MUP were tasked to handle the KLA alone. They wore blue
14 camouflage uniforms and had a patch that included the colours of the
15 Serbian flag and the word "Milicija."
16 The TO included people ranging in age from 15 to 65 years. They
17 were not VJ or MUP, but included Civil Defence people. And their role,
18 apparently, was to defend the civilian population. He indicates that
19 partial mobilisation of the TO began in October and November of 1998 and
20 was complete by January or February of 1999. He indicates there were
21 paramilitaries in the area, most of whom were Arkan's and Seselj's groups,
22 with about 30 from Frenki's group.
23 And he goes on to say that, in theory, all armed groups were
24 subordinate to the VJ. The VJ and the MUP met every day but they had
25 separate headquarters. Now, operations maps showing deployments were
Page 4667
1 prepared by the VJ and then given to the MUP, and the MUP relied on the VJ
2 support for large operations.
3 He goes on to say that at the start of March 1999, an operation
4 was planned against Albanians in the area, and describes in the statement
5 being present at a meeting where an order was given that at least 100
6 heads had to be eliminated and all houses burnt in retribution for the
7 killing of a MUP officer in a KLA ambush.
8 On the 27th of April, a massacre at Meja and Korenica took place.
9 On the 28th of April, 1999, the day after the massacre at Meja, the
10 witness was in brigade headquarters where he saw a report on which -- in
11 which the VJ stated that 74 terrorists had been killed in Korenica and 68
12 in Meja.
13 On the day of the massacre, the witness helped ten families to
14 escape. He helped them pass through a checkpoint manned by the MUP.
15 After the massacre, he saw about 20 bodies that had been shot from close
16 range. He notes that he saw the powder burns on the heads. The following
17 day, the witness assisted a further two families to escape by assuring the
18 MUP that they were not KLA members.
19 The witness recognised members of paramilitaries groups in Meja at
20 the time of the massacre and describes that the factions that took part in
21 this massacre included the VJ, MUP, local police, and paramilitaries.
22 Now, the witness also produced the annotated maps as an attachment
23 to his statements. We've gone into that information in some detail, both
24 with the Carragojs Valley, and Meja. And the VJ was in the west in order
25 to defend against the KLA coming from Albania and was also deployed along
Page 4668
1 the Djakovice-Decani road.
2 The military moved down the valley, burning property and pushing
3 civilians towards paramilitary groups around Meja. These paramilitary
4 groups acted as a blocking force. This operation was coordinated from the
5 headquarters in Djakovica. On the 27th of April, the push reached a place
6 where the local MUP and paramilitaries took over. The massacre occurred
7 on the same day, and on the 28th of April, the push continued in a
8 south-easterly direction. And that is clearly visible from these maps
9 that we discussed.
10 In the days after the massacre, the VJ and MUP were looking for
11 bulldozers ostensibly for road clearance, but the witness opines that it
12 was for the disposal of bodies. And the reason he says that, apparently,
13 is that on the 29th of April, he saw two trucks going toward Djakovica
14 from Meja, covered with tarpaulins. When the tarpaulins lifted in the
15 wind, the witness saw parts of bodies. The KLA, according to him, had
16 left Djakovica area by the time NATO commenced their bombing. And from
17 the beginning of 1999, there was no real resistance from the KLA in the
18 area.
19 In these various statements, the witness also names key
20 individuals in the VJ, the MUP, the TO, and the municipality, and he
21 outlines their roles during the period of the NATO bombing.
22 Clearly, this is only the briefest of outlines of fairly detailed
23 evidence, but Your Honours have that for your consideration. Those are my
24 questions. Thank you.
25 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
Page 4669
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4670
1 Cross-examined by Mr. Milosevic:
2 Q. [Interpretation] The military court in Nis convicted you to a
3 prison sentence; is that right?
4 A. Yes. I heard about that.
5 Q. You were sentenced to a prison term of 15 years; is that right?
6 A. This is what I heard. This is what I heard.
7 Q. Because of that, were you not able to move around, to move outside
8 the region you're in?
9 A. No. I could move about. Wherever I wanted to go, I went.
10 Q. So you could move around freely outside Kosovo and Metohija, all
11 through the territory of Yugoslavia; is that it?
12 A. I can go even to the territory of Serbia, but I will return
13 without my head.
14 Q. Yes. But then that means, in view of the sentence, that in fact
15 you are not permitted and cannot move outside Kosovo in the territory of
16 Serbia.
17 A. Only me, but no one wished to go there and end up in prison or end
18 up with his head -- beheaded.
19 Q. All right. Now, this circumstance, what you've just been
20 explaining to us, and the fact that you were sentenced to a serious term
21 of imprisonment, that you were in detention and a warrant was published,
22 issued for your arrest, now, all these facts, do they motivate you to
23 testify here in the capacity of a witness, a Prosecution witness?
24 A. I am not at all sad about that. The court there can do what they
25 deem appropriate. I don't feel ill at ease, because I have done nobody
Page 4671
1 any harm. I have only performed my duties in the exercise of my duties in
2 the Yugoslav army under the constitution, to defend the people and the
3 state and not to engage in other things.
4 Q. My question was: Does this fact and these circumstances that you
5 explained to us, that is to say, that you would end up without a head or
6 in prison if you went there, and the fact that you were sentenced to a
7 maximum prison sentence according to the Criminal Code of Yugoslavia, that
8 you got 15 years, in fact, was that a motive for you to come and be a
9 Prosecution witness at this trial?
10 A. No.
11 Q. All right. You say that you went about your constitutional
12 business and duties and that you defended the country as an officer of
13 Yugoslavia. Who did you defend the country from, in fact?
14 A. We didn't need to defend the country, because under the
15 constitution, the army was supposed to protect the country from any
16 external attacks, but not to become active and fight against its own
17 people.
18 Q. And was the country attacked from outside by the NATO aggressors
19 or not?
20 A. We tried to defend ourselves, but it was of no avail.
21 Q. So who were you defending the country from?
22 A. In fact, we engaged in a meaningless defence, I would say, because
23 it was quite meaningless to defend ourselves against the international
24 community.
25 Q. Well, who attacked Yugoslavia; NATO or the international
Page 4672
1 community?
2 A. NATO attacked, but it was under the supervision of international
3 community. Everything that went on in Kosova and the former Yugoslavia
4 was open for the entire world to see.
5 Q. And does that mean that you claim that NATO attacked Yugoslavia
6 upon permission by the Security Council of the United Nations?
7 JUDGE MAY: This is not a matter for this witness. No doubt if
8 it's relevant, we can hear other evidence about it. You should restrict
9 your examination to the matters which he can deal with, particularly his
10 statement.
11 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. You say that it is not the duty of the army to react against
13 terrorism because that is an internal enemy. Have I understood you
14 correctly?
15 A. If there is terrorism, then there are forces that fight terrorism,
16 and they are called anti-terrorist forces. But this is not done by the
17 regular army.
18 Q. And that's what I'm asking you. You consider that it is not the
19 duty of the army to fight terrorism?
20 A. We didn't have to do with any large-scale terrorism as to require
21 the engagement of large units of the army. Then in that case, the police
22 and other forces shouldn't have done anything when in fact they are paid
23 precisely to fight such phenomena.
24 Q. Does that mean, then, that when a terrorist group, for example, as
25 you were an officer of the Yugoslav army, when a terrorist group attacks a
Page 4673
1 unit of the Yugoslav army, then it is the army's duty to telephone the
2 police to come and protect them from the terrorists? Is that what you're
3 claiming?
4 A. No. But you cannot call an entire people terrorists.
5 Q. And who called an entire people terrorists? Did I say that,
6 perhaps?
7 A. You can understand that, because the war was declared on the
8 entire Albanian people of Kosova.
9 Q. And who declared war on the Albanian people?
10 A. It was not openly declared, but in fact going by the way things
11 occurred, you can say that.
12 Q. Do you mean the Albanians as part of the people of Yugoslavia
13 against which NATO waged a war?
14 A. I'm not sure I got the question.
15 JUDGE MAY: No. Let's have the next question.
16 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. As you were an officer of the Yugoslav army, I assume that you are
18 well acquainted with the rules and regulations governing the functioning
19 of the Yugoslav army. Is that right?
20 A. Yes. I'm well acquainted.
21 Q. And do you know that, according to the rules, the army can be used
22 in peacetime to combat terrorism?
23 A. Yes. An army unit, yes, but not the whole army. In Kosova, all
24 the army units that exist in Yugoslavia were used. Only the navy was not
25 used, and the ships. Otherwise, all the arm -- all the units, the
Page 4674
1 physical -- the troops and the military equipment were used.
2 Q. And you claim, therefore, that the whole army, the entire Yugoslav
3 army, was used in Kosovo in the struggle against terrorism. Is that it?
4 A. I know very well like the cases in Nis, Vranje, Kraljevo, Cacak,
5 in the barracks there were only some guards and a very small number of
6 soldiers. All the others were deployed in Kosova.
7 Q. And are you aware of the fact and from what you said in your
8 statement, there are three armies of the ground forces in Yugoslavia, that
9 is, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Army.
10 A. The 3rd Army was -- was -- included also the Pristina Corps, but
11 I'm talking about that because from Vojvodina, including the whole of
12 Serbia, with a minimal -- with the exception of the minimal forces were
13 there, the others were sent to Kosova to fight.
14 Q. And are you aware, as an officer, although a deserter, albeit,
15 from the Yugoslav army, that Yugoslavia was threatened by a ground
16 invasion?
17 A. I don't know.
18 Q. And you claim that the 1st Army and the 2nd Army, that all of them
19 went to Kosovo, and the whole of the 3rd Army as well.
20 A. I answered earlier. If I can add up to it: In Kosova there were
21 also army units from the Republika Srpska. They were stationed west of
22 Gjakove, in the place called Rezina.
23 Q. All right. So we've cleared that up. You say that the entire
24 Yugoslav army was sent to Kosovo. Let's move on to my next questions. Is
25 that what you're claiming?
Page 4675
1 A. Over 150.000 forces were there, according to some figures I've
2 heard also my former colleagues, officers who were in high positions. And
3 you know very well that the army was cut down, downsized, according to an
4 agreement that you had yourself signed.
5 After what happened in Kosova, everybody was sent to Kosova,
6 leaving behind only the most indispensable number to carry out the usual
7 duties.
8 Q. So you're not aware, therefore, of the fact that the army is
9 increased in times of war. More soldiers are sent. You know nothing
10 about that, as an officer?
11 A. Thank you for reminding me. There was also a mobilisation, a mass
12 mobilisation in Serbia. And people who didn't want to come and fight were
13 put in prison.
14 Q. And as an officer, is that something that seems strange to you,
15 that when a country is exposed to aggression, that one mobilises the army?
16 A. It's not strange. However, it's strange and quite -- it's quite
17 understandable that people should refuse to come and fight in Kosova in a
18 war that is entirely meaningless.
19 Q. You don't know that. That's just what you're claiming. Is that
20 right or not?
21 A. It's true that people were imprisoned because they didn't agree to
22 go to war in Kosova. Another truth is that soldiers deserted from the
23 ranks of the army and even fled abroad in order to -- not to be involved
24 in a war that was quite senseless.
25 Q. All right. As you're a military deserter and were condemned to a
Page 4676
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4677
1 prison term, do you consider that anywhere in the world there is an army
2 which does not arrest deserters from the army?
3 JUDGE MAY: That's an irrelevant question. You've made the point
4 about the prison sentence by the military court. There's no need to
5 repeat it.
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
7 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. You left the Yugoslav army only three days before the NATO forces
9 entered Kosovo; is that right?
10 A. I was with them until three days before the Yugoslav army
11 withdrew. I stayed in Kosova, and I didn't have any need to go with them.
12 I was on the brink of retirement, and the war was almost over. I
13 had nothing to look for in Serbia or any other country. I only wanted to
14 stay in my birthplace.
15 Q. My question aimed at pinpointing the time when you ceased to be an
16 active officer in the army or, rather, the time you actually left the
17 Yugoslav army. That was what I was getting at. So in terms of time, that
18 is correct, is it not?
19 A. I didn't flee anywhere. I stayed exactly where my unit was, where
20 my birthplace was, and where my apartment was. I didn't leave my country
21 at all. In fact, I didn't leave the place where I was born; Kosova.
22 That's where I stayed.
23 JUDGE MAY: When did you leave the army?
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Three days -- until three days
25 before the Yugoslav army left Kosova.
Page 4678
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Right after the end of the war, you had meetings with the KLA; is
3 that right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And otherwise, up until then, you were on the KLA's list for
6 liquidation; is that right?
7 A. I don't know.
8 Q. How don't you know when on page 14, paragraph 4 of your one but
9 last statement of the 12th to the 15th of February, 2002, that's what it
10 says? How come you knew then and you don't know now?
11 A. I don't know that I was on any list. Maybe they wrote lists.
12 They made various lists. I have no way of knowing.
13 Q. Well, I told you the portion of your statement where you say that
14 you do know you were on the list of the KLA for liquidation, but I don't
15 want to argue with you. What I want to do is to ask you questions.
16 You went for talks with the KLA on several occasions; isn't that
17 right?
18 A. I didn't seek to go to talk to the KLA, but they came to me and
19 asked to talk to me.
20 Q. I'm not discussing the question of at whose request was the
21 meeting held. I'm just noting that you did go to a meeting with the KLA
22 on several occasions. Is that right or not?
23 A. I don't understand the relevance of this to my statement, because
24 we met after the war and --
25 JUDGE MAY: We must be the judges of that. Did you have any
Page 4679
1 meetings with the KLA before the war or during the war?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Before the war, I never had contact
3 with the KLA.
4 JUDGE MAY: And during the war?
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Nor during the war.
6 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
7 Q. As you said yourself, but we're going to get to that later, you
8 warned the KLA to move away so that they would not be destroyed in one
9 particular action. That is what you mentioned yourself in your statement.
10 I'm also referring to several meetings you had with the KLA after you
11 deserted. You attended such talks several times; isn't that right?
12 A. After the war, yes.
13 Q. Among others, you talked with the chief of the KLA police in the
14 region or, rather, in the area of Djakovica?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And as you say in your statement, you talked to Ramush Haradinaj,
17 as well. Tell me, how many times did the KLA talk to you, including that
18 meeting when you saw Ramush Haradinaj?
19 A. I know Ramush Haradinaj as a person, but I have never spoken to
20 him in my life, nor has he spoken to me.
21 Q. That's on page 16, the last paragraph of the statement given
22 between the 12th and 15th of February, 2001. But let's leave that aside.
23 How many times did you have these talks with the KLA? How many
24 times altogether?
25 A. I met the KLA in their own offices after the war on three
Page 4680
1 occasions.
2 Q. You met with the KLA on three occasions after the war? Not to
3 mention the contact during the war. So now let us put this all together
4 through the following question --
5 JUDGE MAY: Don't go too fast. He denies any contact with the KLA
6 during the war.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, then, I'm not going to put a
8 question in relation to that. Its turn will come. I'm only go to ask
9 about what the witness confirmed.
10 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. So you have this conviction to the highest prison sentence
12 possible. That was a ruling by the military court in Nis. That is one
13 fact. Secondly, you were on the list for liquidations by the KLA. And
14 thirdly, you said that you had three rounds of talks with the KLA.
15 Do you think that all of this makes it clear that you came here to
16 testify at somebody's request, like the KLA? Yes or no.
17 A. This is not true at all. I have come here because of the
18 lamenting and the tears of the families, brothers and sisters, mothers who
19 have been left without their loved ones, who have come to me and --
20 JUDGE MAY: Let him finish. Let him finish. Go on.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Who have come to me, many of them,
22 and have asked me don't I know something about the fate of their loved
23 ones, because I was in the army. So it was a moral duty for me to tell
24 you something about these things. And I can meet with the KLA and talk
25 with them. I can meet with whom I want and talk with them now, after the
Page 4681
1 war.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Do you claim that this statement is not your life insurance policy
4 for the rest of your life that is ahead of you? Under the circumstances
5 that I've just mentioned to you.
6 A. I will never forget the crimes and terrible things that I have
7 seen and which happened in the places I mentioned in my statement,
8 committed by forces of the Yugoslav army, MUP, paramilitaries and others.
9 Though less in the army and more by the others.
10 Q. That's not what I asked you. But is it, therefore, your claim
11 that you came to testify here and that nobody threatened you, nobody
12 blackmailed you, nobody brought any pressure to bear upon you? Is that
13 what you claim?
14 A. I have not come to testify here under any kind of pressure from
15 anybody. I have not come here to lie. And everything that I can say I
16 say with a full sense of conscience and I am ready to face up to anybody
17 -- anybody's questions, and I have simply come here to tell the truth and
18 not to do anything else and merely to say the things that I have seen
19 myself and heard with my own ears.
20 Q. All right. All these circumstances that we've referred to, the
21 conviction, the liquidation list, and the meetings, that is not pressure
22 upon you, according to what you've said. Now my question --
23 JUDGE MAY: You've already put this. And, Mr. Milosevic, one of
24 the ways we waste time is by your repeating things. Let's move on.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Don't you worry.
Page 4682
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. When giving your statements, you were interviewed, among other
3 people, by Philip Coo, a military analyst, that is, and he will be a
4 witness during the trial. Number 74, I believe. Was this testimony or
5 this statement given attended by somebody from the KLA as well?
6 A. I don't remember.
7 Q. You don't remember. And do you remember where this interview was
8 held?
9 A. I don't know about which interview you're talking.
10 Q. Your interview when you gave a statement to military analyst
11 Philip Coo, who took your statement. Where was this?
12 A. I don't know about giving any statement to a military analyst or
13 nothing like that. If you're talking about my two statements given to the
14 respected Court here, I can answer.
15 JUDGE MAY: Yes. The statement of the February 2001, where was
16 that given?
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The statement, he was a
18 representative of the Tribunal, as far as I know.
19 JUDGE MAY: No. Where was the statement made? You made a
20 statement, you were interviewed in February 2001. The question is
21 whereabouts were you interviewed and where did you make your statement?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In the building of the driving
23 school in Gjakove. About five minutes away.
24 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
25 Q. Yes. And what is now in this building of the driving school in
Page 4683
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4684
1 Djakovica?
2 A. It's now the UNMIK police station.
3 Q. Is that where the station of this so-called Kosovo Protection
4 Corps is as well? Because they are together with UNMIK.
5 A. They're not in one place. I don't know.
6 Q. And who attended that interview of yours?
7 A. I don't remember.
8 Q. Do you remember at least how many persons were present while you
9 were speaking to Philip Coo?
10 A. First of all, I don't know this name at all.
11 MR. RYNEVELD: Your Honours, it may be of assistance if the name
12 were properly pronounced. I'm not claiming any attempted deception but it
13 may be fairer to the witness. The cover sheets of the statements indicate
14 who were present, by name, and the dates.
15 JUDGE MAY: Who is it?
16 MR. RYNEVELD: Philip Coo.
17 JUDGE MAY: And who else?
18 MR. RYNEVELD: Paulo Pastore Stocchi. And the interpreter, Iris
19 Rutari-Coen. Those, and it says, "Names of all persons present during
20 the interviews," again Paulo Pastore Stocchi, Philip Coo, and Iris
21 Rutari-Coen. On the earlier statement, we have the same interviewer,
22 Paulo Pastore Stocchi, and a different interpreter, and it says, "Names of
23 all persons present during interviews," and this would be the -- sorry,
24 the 200 statement. There are two other individuals named, one of whom --
25 sorry, one other individual named who is brother-in-law of the witness.
Page 4685
1 That is on the 2000. So all the people who were present are named and
2 listed on the cover sheet of those statements.
3 And the May 8th - yesterday - again, the names of all persons
4 present are on the sheet. The witness may not know the functions of these
5 people, but he would know their names. He would have been introduced to
6 them.
7 I can assist, if the court wants, to tell what these people's
8 functions were but that's not my purpose now. I just want to be fair to
9 the witness that the name is Coo, Philip Coo.
10 JUDGE MAY: Well, it's time to adjourn now in any event. We will
11 adjourn for 20 minutes.
12 --- Recess taken at 12.15 p.m.
13 --- On resuming at 12.37 p.m.
14 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Before I continue, I wish to ask you
16 not to have the Prosecutor answer my questions, please, because I had a
17 reason why I asked the witness who attended the interview; and what the
18 first page says, I can read myself.
19 Secondly, since we are already discussing that, I had expected you
20 to react, in all fairness, because the witness is testifying according to
21 your Rule 92 bis. Then the subject of the testimony and of the
22 examination and cross-examination can only be that which is contained in
23 his statement. And the Prosecutor introduced, during his introductory
24 examination, some kind of a deportation map, although the witness in his
25 statement did not testify about any deportations. As a matter of fact,
Page 4686
1 the witness asserts in his statement that he saw the valley of Carragojs
2 after the operations of the 28th. And the Prosecutor questioned him about
3 the direction in which the refugees were moving, et cetera, et cetera.
4 I would like to draw your attention to the following as well,
5 since you said yourself that you are familiar with the statement - and I
6 imagine this is your duty - and he says explicitly in the statement that
7 he saw the valley of Carragojs after the operations of the 12th. This is
8 what it says on page 12 in the penultimate paragraph of the statement, the
9 statement given on the 12th of February, that is. And now I'm going to
10 continue my questions.
11 MR. RYNEVELD: I'm sorry --
12 JUDGE MAY: Let me just deal with those matters. First of all,
13 the interruption by the Prosecutor was by way of clarification, in
14 particular because the name of the person present at the interview was not
15 correctly pronounced. And the Prosecutor's entitled to do that.
16 As for the deportation, there is evidence about that in the
17 statement, and the witness was entitled to produce his map.
18 Yes, Mr. Ryneveld.
19 MR. RYNEVELD: I just wanted to assist the Court. Paragraph 59 of
20 the second statement deals with the issue. There's some complaint about
21 what I did; paragraph 59 of the second statement, page 19, completely --
22 oh, it's page 12 of 19. It says, "page of 19." It's page 12 of 19,
23 paragraph 59. You'll see that that paragraph amply covers what was
24 summarised.
25 JUDGE MAY: It refers to the annotated map of the operations in
Page 4687
1 the valley in the Meja area and says he's provided it.
2 MR. RYNEVELD: Yes, and it also talks about forcibly displacing
3 civilians towards the paramilitary groups around Meja. So...
4 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, but this does not bring into
6 question what the statement says, that he saw this after the operation of
7 the 28th, and I've just quoted to you where that was from. In the
8 statement itself, that is.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. My next question is the following: Are you afraid of the KLA now?
11 A. I have never been afraid of KLA.
12 Q. For a long time during your military service, you were in a
13 transport unit. You were a supervisor there, head of a squad within it;
14 isn't that right?
15 A. It is true that for four and a half years I was responsible for
16 transportation, and for one year I was the chief responsible for
17 transportation unit in Prishtina barracks.
18 Q. As far as I could understand what you said, you were in charge of
19 supplying vehicles, equipment, everything else that goes with the job;
20 right?
21 A. Yes. I was also responsible for training the drivers, planning,
22 and such issues.
23 Q. I understand that from December 1998 onwards, you trained
24 soldiers. You -- you planned the training and exercises, to put it more
25 precisely. Is that right?
Page 4688
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. What kind of training was it? What subject?
3 A. Always related to transportation.
4 Q. You were actually preparing some plans, maps, for guards; isn't
5 that right?
6 A. When I was responsible in the operational training sector, after I
7 was rotated from my first job.
8 Q. This planning, this planning the assignments of guards, the
9 physical safety, security of the building, did I understand you
10 correctly?
11 A. The physical safety of the facilities, that is, of the barracks.
12 Q. All right. That means I've understood you correctly. So you
13 never had a position in the army that made it possible to you to have
14 available to you any kind of information that relates to numbers of
15 soldiers, deployment of troops, command, et cetera; isn't at that right?
16 A. That is not right.
17 Q. All right. You are saying that you were in charge of the security
18 of the building. Do you mean that you were driving people from the
19 command or providing physical security for persons? You worked on
20 physical security. You were not involved in security matters within the
21 army itself; right?
22 A. I was officer in charge of operational training sector where
23 teaching, drilling plans are prepared, the division of the guards for the
24 buildings are prepared and such issues, but not in the security in the
25 sense of what you are saying.
Page 4689
1 Q. I asked you a minute ago whether we can state that you were not in
2 a position to have any kind of information made available to you that had
3 to do with the number of troops, their deployment, reporting, et cetera.
4 You said that was not correct.
5 Tell me, in which sense did you have this kind of information made
6 available to you, this information that pertains to the deployment of
7 troops, command, reporting, et cetera, if you say that what I said on the
8 basis of your statement was not correct?
9 A. In the sector I used to work, I was not alone. There was the
10 chief and another officer. But all the notes with the exception of some
11 secret ones, all the notes, all the information was there, the number of
12 soldiers, the kinds of weapons, vehicles, all the information was there.
13 Q. All right. You are talking about reservists of the army of
14 Yugoslavia. Were there any Albanians among them?
15 A. At the beginning, yes. At a later phase, very few. You might
16 count them by the fingers.
17 Q. All right. You claim that the members of the MUP and the
18 reservists - actually, you even mentioned some paramilitaries - you claim
19 that they committed some kind of crimes and that they got out of the
20 command of the army; is that right?
21 A. The regular army was increased in numbers with those reservists
22 who were on the lists of the army. Likewise, the police also has its
23 reservists that it can draft now and again when it needs them. But there
24 were also various volunteers, because some refused to join military
25 formations. Therefore, they were obliged to draft anyone - terrorists,
Page 4690
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4691
1 delinquents, former convicts, people with problems - and enlist them and
2 bring them to Kosova.
3 Q. Are you trying to suggest that the authorities released criminals
4 from prison so that they would join the army? Do you know of any such
5 cases?
6 A. We had problems all the time with such kinds of persons in
7 Gjakove. The army imprisoned such persons. And on the basis of
8 information we had, we found out that these were -- such persons were sent
9 to prison for various offences, especially for criminal offences. And we
10 had several such cases. They have created problems in the city, with the
11 regular army soldiers especially.
12 Q. Let's clarify one matter. Reservists who came were included in
13 the regular units. Is that right or is that not right?
14 A. Some were included in the regular units. I said that the regular
15 units were fulfilled in numbers by -- with these reservists, but there
16 were those who showed up on a voluntary basis through those other
17 formations like the Tigers of Arkan or the Orlovi, the White Eagles of
18 Seselj, and they also joined. They came on a voluntary basis to commit
19 various offences, crimes, to plunder, to rob houses, and so on.
20 Q. Does that mean that, according to your assertion, there were
21 reservists who came and who did not join the normal regular army units,
22 that they were some kind of special units?
23 A. First they came to the military units. Then, seeing that they
24 could not abide by the discipline, they decided to leave and join these
25 forces that I mentioned. So this is how the army came to have problems
Page 4692
1 with them, let alone the people.
2 Q. All right. Tell me, since you were an active officer and since
3 you worked at the command, are you acquainted with the order on the ban of
4 paramilitary formations which says that wherever they appear, they have to
5 be arrested, disarmed, and disbanded? Are you aware of that order?
6 A. I am aware of the order. Then why didn't you arrest them in real
7 terms when you knew what was happening on the basis of reports that came
8 to you from the ground? So what did you do, you and all your command? We
9 could do nothing, only to kill each other.
10 Q. And is it correct that the commanders of the army of Yugoslavia
11 arrested many soldiers, even those belonging to the regular force and to
12 the reserve force, those who had committed some crimes?
13 A. It is true that we have arrested some, I know very well in
14 Gjakove. But on the third day, at the most, orders came from above to
15 release them. I know of one case when the guard told me - he was an old
16 sergeant - it was a prison made up in a private home, in the cellar, he
17 said at that orders came for us to release them.
18 Q. And who could have issued these orders for you to release them
19 when you said yourself a minute ago that you were aware of this order of
20 the Supreme Command that such persons should be arrested?
21 A. From what I heard from the person who told me - his name is Sergej
22 Perovic - they had received this order from Belgrade.
23 Q. And is it correct that -- that soldiers who were suspected of
24 having committed rapes were detained, tried, and ultimately convicted? Is
25 that correct or is that not correct?
Page 4693
1 A. That is correct. There was a case in Gllogofc village in Gjakove.
2 It was the beginning of the arrests. And they were reservists of the
3 regular army forces. That is a fact. But I don't know of any other cases
4 of someone being convicted. I know of them being released later.
5 Q. In your statement, you didn't say that anybody was later released,
6 and you don't speak about one case but of several cases. And I'm drawing
7 your attention to that page 4, paragraph 1, your statement of the 18th of
8 April. So tell me, when were you telling the truth, then or now?
9 A. I said that these people who were imprisoned were convicted, but
10 in other cases, they were released. This is what you haven't understood.
11 I didn't say that people were imprisoned and convicted and not released,
12 but the others, who were imprisoned later, were released. So this wasn't
13 the first imprisonment. These imprisonments went on and measures were not
14 taken.
15 Q. And how do you know that no measures were taken?
16 A. I saw in the evenings, when I visited the guards, I saw in the
17 prison that I saw the same person with two other people, drinking in --
18 drinking beer in the Pashtrik Hotel.
19 Q. And is it true that the commanders of the Yugoslav army did not
20 order any violence, especially not rapes, and that things of that kind
21 were highly isolated cases? Is that true?
22 A. As far as commanders of the regular army are concerned, it is true
23 that they never -- I have never heard of them giving such an order.
24 Q. So it's true. Now, is it also true what you claim, that every
25 municipality had to have a police unit composed of Albanians?
Page 4694
1 A. At one time, at various centres, so-called local police were
2 formed.
3 Q. And do you know that members of that local police force in the
4 villages were elected by the villagers themselves?
5 A. I don't know who selected them because I didn't take part in these
6 meetings or elections.
7 Q. Well, they should have taken care of -- they were supposed to take
8 care of the security in the villages and safety in the villages, to
9 provide that. Is that true?
10 A. I was never involved in any way in work of the police and of
11 security, and no doubt they had their tasks allocated to them.
12 Q. But that's something you talk about on page 5, the last paragraph
13 in your statement from the 12th to the 15th of February, 2001. So that's
14 what I'm asking you; is that correct or is it not, what you say there, it
15 took care of the security of the villages, the Albanian policemen. Is
16 that true or not?
17 A. Reason would dictate such a thing.
18 Q. All right. And is it true that you know of no orders for
19 liquidation?
20 A. I never saw any such order for liquidation.
21 Q. You said in your statement that there was a lot of drinking. Is
22 it true that your commander ordered you to make this impossible, to see to
23 it that it was not done?
24 A. Yes. In the Pashtrik Hotel, Arkan's forces and the forces of
25 Seselj and Frenki were stationed there, and the regular army was not
Page 4695
1 normally allowed to go there. But they never asked anybody, but they
2 created havoc and fired guns. And by order -- the order was to go and
3 take a few guards and to close it and stop the serving of alcohol, but it
4 was impossible to get them away.
5 Q. So you did not act upon those orders, did you?
6 A. I went back and told the commander what the situation was like,
7 and then the chief of the brigade became angry and said I should go --
8 that he would go. And he fared worse, because he was seen off by whistles
9 and firing in the air. And he left and came back to his base.
10 Q. A moment ago, you mentioned Seselj, Arkan. You mentioned these
11 names and the names of several individuals. Now, do you know that neither
12 Seselj nor Arkan were ever in Kosovo during the war?
13 A. During the war, I never saw them in Kosova. They were there
14 before the war, but their men under their command, as is well known, were
15 there. And they said themselves that they were also in Bosnia and
16 Croatia. And they would come to the hotel every day and contact soldiers
17 who were there, and they would admit, themselves, who they were.
18 Q. Well, if somebody says something about themselves, does that mean
19 that it must necessarily be correct?
20 A. There was an entire unit there. It wasn't a matter of a single
21 individual. There were dozens there. They were housed in the Pashtrik
22 Hotel. These were Arkan's men and others.
23 Q. Please. I'm asking you this because you're saying some things
24 which are absolutely impossible. For example, you talk about Frenki's
25 men, the Frenkis. Now, who are these people who called themselves
Page 4696
1 Frenki's men or the Frenkis? And what does it mean?
2 A. Frenki was a unit, the most terrorist unit possible that committed
3 acts of the terror, together with Arkan's men. And I also heard from my
4 other former colleagues that they were people without parents, people who
5 had grown up in orphanages, people without feeling. They would kill
6 someone as if slaughtering a chicken.
7 Q. Do you know that what you're claiming would not have been possible
8 at all because Frenki or, rather, Franko was no kind of paramilitary
9 formation, it was a deputy to the chief of security who, earlier on, was
10 the head of a regular Anti-Terrorist Unit? So that it was absolutely
11 impossible that what you call bandits should be the members of a unit of
12 this kind. Do you know that, as an officer?
13 A. I can say quite seriously that this was a special unit with a
14 commander from Belgrade who -- who himself told -- the commander himself
15 told me not to get mixed up with them, not to have any business -- not to
16 do any business with them and not to have anything to do with them. And
17 their commander went among houses in the city and was involved in torture
18 of various kinds. And I don't know what kind of unit it was.
19 Q. Please. Is it clear that that man was no Frenki, or, rather,
20 somebody that people called Frenki?
21 A. I don't know Frenki personally, and I don't know who he is, but
22 the unit as a whole was known as Frenki, and they had black scarves around
23 their heads, and they wore different uniforms; the police, army special
24 forces, semi-civilian, semi-military, all kinds of things.
25 Q. That means, in fact, that that could not have been a unit
Page 4697
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4698
1 belonging to the Ministry of the Interior or, rather, the security
2 service. Is that right or not?
3 A. I can say, according to the conversations that I had with any
4 former colleagues with whom I talked at length about these matters, that
5 they were commanded directly by someone from the secret ministry.
6 Q. And do you know, as an officer of the Yugoslav army, that the
7 Anti-Terrorist Unit and the security service is the most highly
8 disciplined unit that is made up of people who were sportsmen, if I can
9 say that, with high physical and mental capabilities? So highly
10 disciplined and well-organised unit. And it cannot correspond to a
11 picture as you depicted it.
12 A. It's -- indeed it's true as you say. They were physically very
13 well-built and muscular and well fit to commit crimes of various kinds.
14 Q. And do you claim that that unit was precisely that, what you tried
15 to explain by saying that it was a part of the service of the interior?
16 A. I'm sure that they committed crimes, and I don't believe I have
17 need to go into any details.
18 Q. Well, it's very important to know whether you're talking about
19 some, shall I say, group of criminals or whether you're talking about a
20 unit which belongs to the organs of power and authority of the Republic of
21 Serbia. That is a very vital point for what you're testifying about. I
22 assume you are well aware of the fact, as an officer, that this kind of
23 testimony paints a very ugly picture of the regular forces of the powers
24 that be, if what you're saying were to be true.
25 A. I don't know how to describe or what name to put to it, but that
Page 4699
1 was a unit that committed crimes. For me, this can be called only a
2 criminal group. I know of no other names to call it.
3 JUDGE MAY: What did you see the unit doing?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This unit, in cooperation with some
5 in Gjakove city, they were stationed near the stadium called Vllaznimi
6 stadium. All night, they used to set fire to houses in various areas of
7 the city. During the day, at about 14 hours, they gathered in the
8 coffeeshop called Rinia, which was situated across from the army house.
9 When it became dark, they continued the same operations. We could
10 -- we only saw the flames coming out of various houses in the city. They
11 -- we heard rifle shots. I could see that. I could hear that because my
12 guards were nearby where these -- near the army building.
13 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. Well, didn't you say a moment ago that in fact it wasn't a unit,
15 it was group of criminals? Wasn't that what you said?
16 A. I said they belonged to this unit called Frenki.
17 Q. Isn't it clear to you --
18 JUDGE KWON: Just a moment. Mr. Peraj, did you personally know
19 the name of Franko Simatovic or as to what he was doing at that time?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I knew only the name, only the name.
21 I know nothing of what he may have done.
22 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Yes, please go on.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. From what you're saying here yourself loud and clear, isn't it
25 clear to you that it is impossible for a group of that kind to be any kind
Page 4700
1 of regular unit, especially not an elite unit of the security forces?
2 Isn't that clear to you?
3 A. I didn't say that it is a unit of the regular army or something of
4 the sort. I only said that they acted together as a unit, called Frenki.
5 That was how it was known.
6 Q. Well, somebody gave them that name or they gave themselves that
7 name, but it couldn't have had anything to do with the security service as
8 such. Is that clear to you, as an officer of the army at that time?
9 A. I -- I am afraid I don't understand.
10 JUDGE MAY: Did the unit have any connection, that you could see,
11 with the regular forces?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No.
13 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. As you just said that it couldn't have had any connection with the
15 regular forces in response to the question asked by Mr. May, and as you
16 said previously that it was obviously a group of criminals, and as you
17 were in charge of security, why, then, didn't you arrest them?
18 A. Efforts were made to arrest not only them but others who committed
19 crimes in the city. But it was impossible. I said earlier that the
20 commander of the barracks went there, but he failed because they were so
21 many in numbers that we didn't know what problems we might expect from
22 them.
23 Q. You said that for the MUP, it was the colonel of the Yugoslav army
24 who was responsible and that his name was Djosen, if I read the name
25 correctly here. Djosen. Now, what does a colonel of the Yugoslav army
Page 4701
1 have to do with the MUP, the Ministry of the Interior? How do you explain
2 that observation of yours?
3 A. Colonel Milan Djosen, he was a commander of the garrison and of
4 the brigade of Gjakove.
5 Q. So he wasn't in charge of the MUP, the Ministry of the Interior?
6 A. At war times, the commander of a garrison becomes the number one
7 person in that garrison. This applies to the police and to other forces.
8 Q. Did Djosen order you to address the criminals?
9 A. Not to arrest them but to stop the hotel serving them beer and to
10 send them away from that hotel, to make them go to some other place where
11 they were supposed to be stationed.
12 Q. All right. There's no sense in pursuing that topic, but I hope
13 that everything is clear.
14 You mentioned Generals Pavkovic, Lazarevic in your statement.
15 However, as it is not clear of the context you mention them in, can we
16 take it that you never actually met Pavkovic and Lazarevic personally?
17 A. I met Pavkovic at least 200 times, but Lazarevic less often
18 because he came later to Prishtina.
19 Q. But let's clarify the character of those meetings. You were in
20 charge of security, providing security for the command building. Now, the
21 fact that you met -- did you meet him when he was coming in and out of the
22 building and you would see him, or were you reporting to him as head of
23 security to tell him that the situation was normal, reporting in that way,
24 or did you just see him going in and out of the building? So is that how
25 you met him? Yes or no.
Page 4702
1 A. I met him, as I said, because during my stay in Prishtina, I was
2 looking after the garrison, and I reported every morning about the
3 situation in the garrison, and he would summon me to give me jobs to do
4 during the day, so I had regular contact with him. And also with
5 Lazarevic. He was his deputy in Prishtina when I was there.
6 Q. Were they regular and proper official contacts which an officer in
7 charge of security would have with his -- with the commander in chief for
8 that area?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. In your statement, you said that some volunteers from Russia
11 arrived. And subsequently this morning, I saw in some of the corrections
12 that you were making that was read out by Mr. Ryneveld, that you corrected
13 that statement and said that there were nine people, that there was a
14 doctor amongst them from Russia. So this group, according to the
15 corrections you made to your statement, it would appear was a sort of
16 humanitarian group. Yes or no.
17 A. It was a group that was armed and in camouflage uniform. They
18 were volunteers, and they had reported as volunteers. And we received
19 them in the basement of the palace of culture in Gjakove and registered
20 them and allocated them units to go to. And this unit was taken to
21 Koshare, on the border.
22 Q. All right. And is it true that the commander of your unit refused
23 to receive them, to receive the request for them to remain in Djakovica?
24 A. The commander told them, through the administrative officer that
25 was there, and I was very close to the commander when he said, "No. You
Page 4703
1 must go into combat if you are volunteers, because we have plenty of
2 people to loot in the city."
3 Q. All right. That means that he deployed them as volunteers along
4 the border in Kosare to supervise the border?
5 A. There was fighting taking place there.
6 Q. You're talking about Kosare there, and I assume you're talking
7 about the border point of Kosare -- the border post of Kosare.
8 A. That's right.
9 Q. All right. Now, you say that during the NATO aggression, meetings
10 were held of the army and MUP and the Territorial Defence. Did you at any
11 time, and if so in what capacity, attend meetings of that kind?
12 A. I was at these meetings several times. And they told me to go and
13 check the guards. And sometimes I would come in by accident and see the
14 meetings going on.
15 Q. Well, your statement doesn't show that you attended any official
16 meeting with -- that was attended by such people.
17 A. They were more like briefings and consultations, because the time
18 and circumstances didn't permit any proper meetings. They were merely
19 meetings for information and allocating duties and the like.
20 Q. All right. Is it logical that at a time of war, the responsible
21 officers of the army and police exchange information mutually, precisely
22 the way you put it just now?
23 A. It's normal. It's in the normal course of business. If
24 everything else had been normal.
25 Q. All right. You said that in the area of Kosovo, there were
Page 4704
1 150.000 soldiers deployed. You never saw this figure officially, you
2 never heard it officially, and you did not hold the kind of position that
3 would make it possible for you to know that for sure. Is that right or is
4 that not right?
5 A. My colleagues said this, my senior colleagues, that there are
6 about 150.000 troops in Kosova.
7 Q. All right. You say that as for operations against the KLA, there
8 were persons responsible in the army of Yugoslavia. Are you claiming,
9 when you say this, that the MUP did not have any clashes with the KLA?
10 A. MUP was involved in more conflicts than the army. These are
11 conflicts with the KLA.
12 Q. Certainly, clashes with the KLA. I just wanted to check what this
13 explanation of yours meant, that it was the army that was responsible for
14 the KLA. You did not mention the MUP. Of course this was against the
15 KLA.
16 Now let's move on to the next question. You try, in your
17 statement, to explain or, rather, provide some information about the army
18 of Yugoslavia. For example, about the mode of information, about, for
19 example, information from Nis going to the Ministry of Defence in
20 Belgrade. If you're already dealing with these facts and figures, could
21 you please describe who sent information to who. Or to begin with, who
22 was Minister of Defence at that time who received information from Nis,
23 who had information from Nis sent to him?
24 A. Information came from the -- went from the lowest rank to the
25 highest rank, according to the command structure. Of course, every
Page 4705
1 barracks in Kosova sent reports to the commander of the Pristina Corps.
2 The commander of the corps to the army in Nis and from thence to Belgrade.
3 Q. All right. Now you're stating -- all right. You're actually
4 explaining now that information flows were regularly within the regular
5 chain of command; is that right?
6 A. That's right.
7 Q. All right. You said that technical equipment arrived in Djakovica
8 from Republika Srpska. Is it correct that you do not know this for sure?
9 Is it correct that this is only your assumption?
10 A. There are grounds for thinking this because, according to an
11 agreement which you know better than I do, the weaponry was downsized, and
12 the units were specified, especially the tank units and the heavy military
13 equipment. So if -- if one unit gave heavy equipment to another, I heard
14 that these units had equipment that they brought themselves.
15 Q. All right. Do you know that, at that time - at this time that you
16 are testifying about - just like today, after all, the entire territory of
17 Republika Srpska is under SFOR control in the military sense of the word?
18 A. I'm not sure that it was like that.
19 Q. All right. Do you assume that under such circumstances, there is
20 a possibility for tanks, personnel carriers, combat vehicles to be
21 transferred from Republika Srpska to the territory of Kosovo without SFOR
22 knowing anything about it, without SFOR seeing it, making it impossible,
23 et cetera?
24 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I said I am not sure that they
Page 4706
1 brought the arms with them, but I am fully certain that I communicated
2 with that unit that belonged to the Republika Srpska, which was stationed
3 in Rezina, a place called Rezina, east of Gjakove.
4 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. All right. You have been talking about armaments from Republika
6 Srpska, this heavy equipment, et cetera. This is just a product of your
7 thinking process. It is not something that you know for sure; isn't that
8 right?
9 A. I know that this unit was from the Republika Srpska, and they had
10 tanks and other weaponry.
11 Q. Yes. But I am asking you something completely different. You
12 just assume that these tanks and other weapons came from Republika Srpska.
13 Yes or no. That is your assumption. This is not your knowledge; isn't
14 that right? Yes or no.
15 A. I said -- I didn't say I was certain. I left, provided for two
16 possibilities, either that they brought the weapons with them or took them
17 from some units in Serbia.
18 Q. All right. That precisely confirms, as far as I understand, what
19 I've asked you about. This is a product of your thinking process, not
20 something that you know for sure; isn't that right?
21 JUDGE MAY: What he says is that he knows or is certain about the
22 unit coming from the RS. What he doesn't know about is where their
23 weaponry came from. Now, that's the distinction.
24 It seems we've exhausted the topic.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. I think we've exhausted
Page 4707
1 it too, because I think that this is very clear.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. As a matter of fact, you say that in the area of Djakovica, there
4 were 170 tanks. Is it correct that you don't know that figure for sure,
5 that this is just your assumption yet again?
6 A. Only in a day, an old sergeant who was responsible for the tanks
7 deployed on the ground, a staff sergeant, he said, "I supplied 40 tanks
8 only today." I told him, "There are many tanks, aren't there?" He said
9 to me, "There are about 170 tanks alone." And he was responsible for
10 supplying the tanks with fuels.
11 Q. I did not understand, or perhaps the interpretation is unclear.
12 The way it's been interpreted, it says that he said to you, "Today I have
13 issued -- today I issued 40 tanks." Is that what you said?
14 A. Yes. I think it -- no. There is a mistake in interpretation. He
15 said a tank in the sense of sent fuel for 40 tanks. "I provided fuel for
16 40 tanks today."
17 Q. I understand. That's the confusion, because the word "fuel" was
18 missing from the interpretation. But in the statement, you do not mention
19 at all that he said that in Djakovica there were 170 tanks.
20 A. It doesn't mean that -- I may have not mentioned it, but I know it
21 very well.
22 Q. All right. Is it correct that you do not know for sure where the
23 command posts were during the NATO aggression? For example, the command
24 post of the Pristina Corps. You only make assumptions and mention that in
25 your statement.
Page 4708
1 A. The part of the corps command which was situated in Gjakove, it
2 was stationed in the old barracks at the beginning. Then later, they were
3 transferred to another building which was near Cafe Lajci. That is the
4 name. It had a very good cellar, and they stayed there until the end.
5 JUDGE MAY: We shall have to -- we shall have to adjourn now. The
6 time which we can be in the courtroom is now up.
7 It means this: Mr. Peraj, will you be back, please, on Monday
8 morning. We shan't be sitting tomorrow in this case, but would you be
9 back, please, on Monday morning at 9.00, to conclude your evidence. Can
10 you remember --
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
12 JUDGE MAY: -- during this and any other adjournment, not to speak
13 to anybody about your evidence until it's over, and that does include
14 members of the Prosecution team.
15 Mr. Milosevic, we've considered the time available. This is a
16 witness where, clearly, you should have longer than the usual time. You
17 can have three-quarters of an hour more on Monday morning, to make a total
18 of two and a half hours with this witness.
19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, but please bear in mind that
20 this is not a Rule 92 bis statement, because only at the beginning, before
21 he moved on to reading the summary, the only thing that he is otherwise
22 entitled to, the representative of the other side examined the witness for
23 all of 40 minutes. In fact, this turned into a regular examination. And
24 therefore, I think that you cannot restrict my time.
25 JUDGE MAY: We cannot go on. We have to adjourn. Three-quarters
Page 4709
1 of an hour is the time what we have in mind for Monday for your
2 cross-examination.
3 Mr. Ryneveld, you may want to consider the other witnesses next
4 week who are insider witnesses, as to whether it's appropriate they be 92
5 bis or not. Certainly the Trial Chamber will be looking at that
6 carefully.
7 We will adjourn now. Nine o'clock Monday morning.
8 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.45 p.m.,
9 to be reconvened on Monday, the 13th day of May,
10 2002, at 9.00 a.m.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25