Page 5473
1 Friday, 24 May 2002
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.02 a.m.
5 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Nice.
6 MR. NICE: Your Honour, we only have limited time this morning but
7 I only took one hour and 17 minutes with this witness in chief yesterday.
8 I'll be very anxious to start the witness K5. In order to do so, I will
9 have to summon him now because he's some distance away. It would be
10 helpful to know if the Court has any preliminary views as to how much
11 cross-examination time will be allowed to the accused.
12 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Since the witness isn't here -- I must say the
13 Trial Chamber are doubtful if he's added very much to our store of
14 information so far all with respect to the previous witness. Perhaps the
15 Prosecution might like to consider how necessary it is to call --
16 MR. NICE: I think he is the last witness of this particular
17 category and a full-out important part of the story but, Your Honour, yes,
18 I take the point.
19 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, you can have until the adjournment for
20 cross-examination of this witness. Bear in mind what I've said, that
21 we've heard much of this information before, and we're not going to be
22 assisted by argument about political matters. You've heard what our views
23 about those things are and the relevance of it and the relevance of the
24 evidence.
25 Let's have the witness, please.
Page 5474
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Have I understood you correctly?
2 You're limiting my cross-examination of this witness too to one and a half
3 hours, in fact; is that right?
4 JUDGE MAY: You've already had seven minutes, so it will be
5 something in the order of one hour, 40 minutes, yes.
6 [The witness entered court]
7 WITNESS: ADNAN MEROVCI [Resumed]
8 [Witness answered through interpreter]
9 Cross-examined by Mr. Milosevic: [Continued]
10 Q. You said in 1990, that you lost your job. However, the bank you
11 worked in went bankrupt that same year, 1990; is that right?
12 A. That's not right.
13 Q. You yourself said that it was the process of liquidation. It's
14 the expression you yourself used meaning bankruptcy.
15 A. After the constitutional changes, the Serbian regime wanted to
16 have its control over the whole Kosova economy. That was with bank full
17 rights in all the community of the banks of the former Yugoslavia. It had
18 the right to have its foreign relations. It had its own swift code. It
19 was an economic institution with full rights. And I was never told of any
20 bankruptcy or something similar. You can verify that looking at its
21 statements and balance sheets.
22 Q. Let us not waste time on this so as not to waste time as to what
23 authority the bank had. There's no dispute that the bank operated in
24 accordance with the rules and that it was authorised to work, but I'm
25 talking about something else. When a bank ceases to be capable of
Page 5475
1 fulfilling its obligations, it goes into receivership. You yourself said
2 that in your statement.
3 Do you know that the legal consequences, according to the law, of
4 process of receivership is the secession of employment of the staff, and
5 during that process only a minimum number of staff members are kept
6 employed until the process is completed?
7 A. Let's suppose for a moment that you are right. How, then, can you
8 explain that no single Serb was laid off in the course of this process?
9 Q. I don't believe that.
10 JUDGE MAY: This is presumably something that we can find out from
11 documentation as to whether the bank did go into liquidation or not.
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I think that you are quite right,
13 because at least as far as banks are concerned, everything can be found in
14 documents. As for the liquidation of the bank, that is even stated in the
15 witness's statement on page 4, paragraph 3. But let us move on.
16 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. In your statement, on page 2, paragraph 6, you say that the
18 Albanians worked together with the Serbs and all of them got on very
19 well. How is it possible that when, only a couple of lines up, you said
20 that the Serbs and Albanians hated each other?
21 A. There was a minimum professional relationship at work, and this
22 minimum relationship was based on the goodwill of the majority of the
23 Albanians.
24 Q. So this atmosphere of good relationship was not based on the
25 goodwill of the Serbs working there?
Page 5476
1 A. I already gave the answer to that question.
2 Q. Very well. You spoke about the constitutional amendments of
3 1989. Were the Albanians satisfied with the constitutional provisions
4 envisaged by the 1974 constitution, those provisions that you objected to
5 being changed in 1989? Were they satisfied with the amendment to the
6 constitution made in 1974?
7 A. They were not fully satisfied, and this could be seen from the
8 peaceful protests that were organised in 1981.
9 Q. The demand at those demonstrations was a republic for Kosovo, was
10 it not?
11 A. Yes, that's true, and the protests of 1981 paved the first steps
12 to democracy in Europe.
13 Q. And according to 1974 constitution, was Kosovo a component part of
14 the territory of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of
15 Yugoslavia?
16 A. I'm not in a position to speak about it as an expert, but I can
17 say that Kosova was part of Serbia and a constituent part of the former
18 Yugoslav Federation, with a right to veto.
19 Q. So Kosovo was a part of Serbia, wasn't it?
20 JUDGE MAY: No. Let us not get into argument. He has given his
21 answer. As far as it's a matter of law, we will be able to determine it,
22 and there's no point arguing with the witness about it.
23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I didn't consider this to be an
24 argument.
25 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 5477
1 Q. Do you still consider Kosovo to be a part of Serbia?
2 JUDGE MAY: Irrelevant.
3 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
4 Q. Very well. You mentioned the 1981 demonstrations. Do you know
5 that after those demonstrations in 1981, until the end of the 1980s, more
6 than 50.000 Serbs and Montenegrins left Kosovo? Yes or no, please.
7 A. No.
8 Q. And do you know that even before those demonstrations, in the
9 period from 1968 up to then, under pressure, more than 30.000 Serbs left
10 Kosovo, up to 1981? Do you know that?
11 A. Pressure against the Serbs was a political term, and it
12 represented a notorious syndrome against the Albanians, as if allegedly
13 the Serb women were violated and Serb cemeteries were destroyed, and so
14 on. In fact, that was not the truth. There were also demonstrations
15 staged by Belgrade aimed at discrediting the Albanians.
16 Q. So that means that the pressure on the Serbs was made up and that
17 these 50.000 up to 1981 and 30.000 after 1981 left Kosovo because of
18 fabricated pressures; is that what you're claiming?
19 A. I said that the figures are not correct.
20 Q. And is the phenomenon correct?
21 A. They were fabricated phenomena by the regime, by the Serb regime.
22 Q. And is it correct that in police patrols that were introduced
23 after 1981, that those patrols were composed of Albanians and Serbs, that
24 they were always ethnically mixed patrols?
25 A. After the protests and demonstrations, against which violence was
Page 5478
1 used by the regime, I mean the peaceful demonstrations for the
2 establishment of democracy, the police patrol were wearing uniforms which
3 were not seen until then. They used to patrol in groups of threes, where
4 in all cases they were two Serbs and one Albanian.
5 Q. So the patrols were mixed, consisting of Albanians and Serbs?
6 A. I gave you my answer to that question.
7 Q. You said that you had no reason to care particularly for the Serbs
8 and that the Albanians were brought up to be cautious with the Serbs and
9 that that applied to you as well.
10 A. After that period, the Albanians were hindered in every possible
11 way, and they didn't enjoy their natural rights.
12 Q. That is not what I'm talking about. I am referring to your
13 statement that you had no reason to care in particular for the Serbs and
14 that the Albanians were brought up to be cautious with the Serbs and that
15 that was your case as well. Let me read out what you said in your
16 statement.
17 "I saw no reason to care for them, and the Albanians were brought
18 up to be cautious with the Serbs and that was the case with me. I was
19 always very cautious in all business dealings and contacts with them."
20 Why should a child be brought up to be cautious with another child
21 because that child is a Serb?
22 A. We did not respect them, but we accepted them.
23 Q. Very well. I'll leave out some questions because of the limited
24 time I have at my disposal.
25 This again is linked to your statement. You said on page 3,
Page 5479
1 paragraph 2, that after Vllasi's arrest, the Serbs started returning to
2 Kosovo in large numbers.
3 Where were the Serbs returning from to Kosovo? And when you say
4 that they started returning, I assume you mean that prior to that they had
5 left Kosovo. If that is so, tell me the reason why they had left Kosovo.
6 A. There was a special programme in place for the "return of the
7 Serbs" to Kosova. I do not rule out the possibility that for special
8 demographic reasons the Serbs may have left Kosova, but there was an
9 opinion that was ultra political, a tendentious opinion, of altering the
10 ethnic structure of the Albanians. I can argue this by the fact that the
11 Serbs were treated in a -- the Serbs had maintained an irrational attitude
12 towards Albanians.
13 Q. If they started coming back, they could only have started coming
14 back if before that they had left. Isn't that right?
15 A. I already explained that there was a call for them to return, but
16 it was another problem to keep them there.
17 Q. In your statement, on page 3, paragraph 2, you said that I had
18 proposed certain measures and constitutioned changes whereby the status of
19 the autonomous province would be abolished. Is it true that prior to
20 those constitutional amendments delegates of the Kosovo Assembly, mostly
21 Albanians, on the 23rd of March, 1989, voted in favour of the amendments
22 to the constitution of Serbia? Is that right or not?
23 A. The constitutional many amendments were put forward for public
24 debate, and all those citizens who had the possibility to express their
25 views, they did so, but most of the people opposed these amendments,
Page 5480
1 proposed moments. But the outcome of the debate was never taken into
2 consideration. An assembly was held under extraordinary measures. The
3 Assembly Chamber was surrounded by -- in the Assembly Chamber there were
4 state security officers. The building itself was surrounded by forces, by
5 police forces, and during the vote, people who were not supposed to be
6 there, not members of the Assembly, cast their votes.
7 Q. Are you trying to say that the Assembly did not vote in favour of
8 the amendments to the constitution? Just with a yes or no, please, so
9 that we can move on.
10 A. Repeat the question.
11 Q. Are you trying to say that the Kosovo Assembly did not pass the
12 constitutional amendments on the date I mentioned? Yes or no?
13 A. I haven't come to say what I want but what is the truth, as I
14 swore at the beginning, and the truth is that the constitutional
15 amendments were approved under the circumstances that I said, and it was
16 the same Assembly that proclaimed the constitutional declaration for
17 independence the following year.
18 Q. That, of course, is not true, but we'll not dwell on that.
19 In 1990, your party considered that it should take part in the
20 elections in Serbia, but you did not expect to get more than 15 seats in
21 parliament, the number that you had in the People's Assembly of Serbia up
22 to then; is that right?
23 A. I was thinking of the Assembly as an institution, even though it
24 was of a different composition. And you must repeat the question,
25 please.
Page 5481
1 Q. I am now asking you something else, because what you just said is
2 not true, and there are documents to corroborate that.
3 I was saying that in 1990, your party felt that it should take
4 part in the elections in Serbia, but you estimated that you would not win
5 more than 15 seats in the People's Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the
6 same number that you had until then. Is that true?
7 A. It's not true, because in the programme of the largest party that
8 was created at that time, there was the option of Kosova as a republic
9 equal to other republics in the former Yugoslavia.
10 Q. Very well. As you're claiming that that is not correct, I have
11 here data provided in the documents supplied by the opposing party,
12 disclosed by the other party. Rugova, on the platform of the Democratic
13 Alliance of Kosovo, number 03037052, and the English version is K021410,
14 saying that on the 6th of September, 1990, during the registration of your
15 party in the Federal Secretariat for Justice, the president of your party,
16 Mr. Rugova, declared in a statement for Oslobodenje in Sarajevo that:
17 "Participation in the elections in Serbia would not give us anything more
18 than we already have, that is 15 delegates in the Assembly, but still we
19 have to prepare for the elections in Kosovo, maybe in Serbia, and in
20 Yugoslavia well."
21 So let me repeat the question. Had you intended to take part in
22 the elections or not in view of these statements made by your party
23 leader?
24 A. After the enforced constitutional decision -- changes in 1989,
25 Kosova was swept up with a wave of protests because the constitutional
Page 5482
1 changes also meant the Albanians losing their rights de jure in contrast
2 to the trends in Europe and in Yugoslavia where the democratisation was on
3 the way.
4 Q. Will you please answer my question? My question is whether this
5 is right or not.
6 JUDGE MAY: Let the witness answer. The question was: Had you
7 decided to take part in the elections?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In its programme, the LDK
9 articulated political demands. The aim of the LDK was to channel the
10 political demands of the people, and the part of this programme was the
11 Kosova Republic. That was an option. But what you are claiming is not
12 true.
13 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. What I cited was stated a year and a half after the constitutional
15 changes based on a document disclosed by the other party. So a year and a
16 half after that.
17 JUDGE MAY: Let us put the matter to the witness. You've heard
18 what it said, Mr. Rugova said on the 6th of September. Now, can you help
19 about that, about taking part in the elections or preparing for the
20 elections?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Which elections do you mean?
22 JUDGE MAY: You heard what was read out.
23 Read it out again, please, Mr. Milosevic. The witness doesn't
24 seem to have taken it in.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There was never any question of
Page 5483
1 taking part in the elections for the Serbian parliament, and this is not
2 true.
3 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
4 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. Very well. You said that emergency measures were introduced. Is
6 it true that they were introduced by the Presidency of Yugoslavia because
7 the order was threatened in Kosovo, the integrity of the country, and was
8 at that time the Presidency headed by a Muslim, Raif Dizdarevic. Yes or
9 no?
10 A. The measures that you mentioned were military measures, compulsory
11 measures, and everything was done at the -- on the barrel of a gun even
12 though the situation was as you say. Even though the person you said was
13 indeed president.
14 Q. Yes. But those measures were introduced by that Presidency. Yes
15 or no?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You and the president of your party, when Rugova was allegedly
18 elected president of Kosovo, you threatened, on the international stage,
19 that the strategy of your party would be radicalised if the international
20 community continues to ignore your demands. Is that true or not? Just
21 yes or no, please.
22 A. No.
23 Q. May I perhaps refresh your memory by saying that in a document
24 provided by the other party, in the English version, K040197, says that
25 the president of your party, in 1992, on the 25th of August, in Der
Page 5484
1 Standard, in Vienna, declared:
2 "Our main demand is independence for Kosovo, and if they continue
3 to ignore us, we cannot guarantee that the people will not opt for a more
4 radical strategy."
5 Is that true or not?
6 A. That is true.
7 Q. And is it true that behind this demand for independence, there was
8 a plan for unification with Albania?
9 A. That's not true, but it is true that there existed a political
10 platform with three options, presented by Mr. Rugova in his own evidence.
11 If you wish, I can repeat it.
12 Q. Let me remind you of a document again disclosed by the other
13 party, K0214092. Rugova stated that the borders of Kosovo, between Kosovo
14 and Albania, is unnatural, it's like a Berlin Wall; that the border has
15 divided the Albanians; and that this was in connection with an award of
16 the Foundation for Human Rights of the US Congress, and that the award can
17 be seen as the green light for the unification of Kosovo and Albania. Do
18 you remember that statement?
19 A. Dr. Rugova led a peaceful policy recognised internationally, and
20 in every statement of his, changing borders was presented as a matter of
21 European integration. And indeed, even if all the Albanian territories in
22 the Balkans were united, we would have a single state with the fewest
23 national minorities in the world.
24 Q. And do you know about the norms of the international community and
25 the Helsinki Act on the unchangeability of borders in Europe, frontiers in
Page 5485
1 Europe? Do you consider that that is contrary to the European position
2 that you refer to?
3 A. I'm not appealing to this. I'm merely announcing -- saying that
4 the issue of changing borders, as you say, in the time about which we are
5 talking, the policy was of -- the policy of Mr. Rugova and the majority of
6 the people in Kosova was for Kosova as an independent state and a
7 stabilising element in the Balkans, which was a good precondition for
8 further European integration.
9 Q. And is it true that the plan for Kosovo to break off should have
10 been realised in such a way that Kosovo would first of all come under
11 international control, as a first step? Yes or no, according to your
12 views.
13 A. Would you repeat this question, please?
14 Q. Do you know that the plan for Kosovos to secede should have been
15 put into effect by considering that Kosovo should first come under
16 international control?
17 JUDGE MAY: What is the plan you're talking about, Mr. Milosevic?
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm talking about the plan for
19 Kosovo to secede from Yugoslavia, or rather, from Serbia, and to become
20 united with Albania.
21 JUDGE MAY: Which plan, or is it a notion of yours?
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] No. We're here in this
23 cross-examination -- in the cross-examination of Mr. Rugova, we presented
24 several documents from which this plan was evident, and the creation of a
25 Greater Albania, so I'm asking --
Page 5486
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Page 5487
1 JUDGE MAY: That is what you claim. These things are merely
2 alleged by you. Now, are you saying that this witness was a party to this
3 alleged plan?
4 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Of course. As --
5 JUDGE MAY: Very well.
6 Were you party, Mr. Merovci, of a plan for the establishment of a
7 Greater Albania? That is what is being suggested.
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The LDK has its own statute and
9 programme, and there was not a word about the unification of the Albanian
10 lands in the Balkans. But I said that there is a political platform that,
11 by agreement, all the territories in the former Yugoslavia inhabited by
12 Albanians -- and this platform has three points. And for your
13 information, I can repeat it for you, if you wish, but Dr. Rugova, in his
14 own evidence, did put them forward.
15 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
16 Q. All right. And do you remember Rugova's statement to Der Spiegel
17 that the confederation with Albania is a question of the future? That is
18 contained in the document that was disclosed by the opposing party.
19 A. The question of the future can never be prejudged.
20 Q. Now, in respect of this question - and you didn't give me an
21 answer, at least the second part - the point is that this can be realised
22 by the fact that Kosovo should first come under international control.
23 Let me refresh your memory. In Rugova's interview to the Budapest Daily,
24 he said that the secession of Kosovo could be realised if Kosovo was
25 demilitarised and if it came under international protection. That is the
Page 5488
1 English version of K02140118, paragraph 4. It is the interview he gave
2 and it is presented in the documents. Is that right or not?
3 A. I said before -- and, Your Honour, you spoke of a plan which did
4 not in fact exist. As far as I'm concerned, I have a very good memory. I
5 remember very well everything.
6 Q. All right. Very well. Let's move on to another area, because
7 there are documents to bear that out.
8 Now, you mention, on page 5, paragraph 4 of your statement, that
9 the State Security interrogated you for several days, but on the occasion
10 you say they did not take you into custody. Is that true?
11 A. That was for the first time in 1995, in the first half of 1995.
12 Q. Is it true that you were put in prison?
13 A. The first time, no.
14 Q. All right. We've clarified that. Now, yesterday you were saying
15 that you were in prison for a period of six months. I don't know what it
16 said in the transcript, how this was evidenced by the transcript. But
17 then you said six weeks, and finally, from your testimony, it turned out
18 that you were there for 16 days, because you were in illegal possession of
19 weapons. Is that right or not?
20 A. I think this is speculation. Initially I was sentenced to one
21 month of prison. I was released after 16 days, after I put in
22 some -- paid some -- left some mortgage for that. Then afterwards I was
23 released on probation. And the second-instance court revoked the
24 decision, that ruling of the court, because it found it was groundless.
25 Q. So you were in prison for 16 days; right?
Page 5489
1 A. Yes.
2 JUDGE MAY: That, in fairness to the witness, is what he said. He
3 said, quite clearly, giving his evidence, that various sentences were
4 passed, but he only spent that time in prison.
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. Well, yesterday it was
6 six months, then all the rest. That's why I'm asking him.
7 JUDGE MAY: That was the sentences - he made clear - not the time
8 that he spent in custody.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. All right. You say that your brother paid somebody, and in fact,
11 it was a guarantee, or rather, bail, provided by law in the criminal
12 proceedings, and bail means that you have to guarantee, by money or
13 property, that you will come to court when called. Is that right or not?
14 A. The way you formulate it is not correct. It's not that I paid
15 money; I just offered a guarantee, that is, my house, as a guarantee for
16 the bail.
17 Q. Bail isn't paid; it is given as a guarantee. So it was on the
18 basis of that guarantee that you were released; is that right or not?
19 A. Yes, but that's not money, as you asked me earlier. I didn't pay
20 any actual money.
21 Q. I'm very happy to hear that. Now, you claim that you don't
22 believe that the KLA, in its day, sentenced Rugova to death; is that
23 right?
24 A. Repeat the question, please.
25 Q. You claim that you do not believe that the KLA, in their day,
Page 5490
1 sentenced Rugova to death at one point in time?
2 A. I'm absolutely sure that that is not the case. It is mere
3 speculation.
4 Q. The fact that you don't believe this, does that mean that you're
5 not sure? You say, "I don't believe." Does that mean that you're not
6 sure?
7 A. I didn't say that I didn't believe it. I said I am sure about it.
8 Q. All right. And is it true that in 1998 you and Rugova concluded
9 that it wasn't safe to travel around Kosovo, especially in the more remote
10 areas?
11 A. This was true in the entire ten-year period. We were very
12 cautious and didn't travel because of the dangers of an incident staged by
13 Serbian military and police forces.
14 Q. All right. But is it correct that members of the army and MUP
15 were not positioned in these remote places? And if the soldiers or
16 members of the MUP weren't there, then who could have jeopardised Rugova's
17 and your safety?
18 A. The Serbian army and police couldn't be in every house in Kosova,
19 but to travel to these places you had to pass through dozens of
20 checkpoints.
21 Q. As you're claiming this, is it correct that it was precisely the
22 KLA, in the course of 1998 and the beginning of 1999, held under its
23 control the remote areas of Kosovo and parts of Latsati [phoen]? Do you
24 know about that? Is that correct?
25 A. The KLA indeed had various regions under its control, and to visit
Page 5491
1 these areas, as I said, you had to pass through dozens of checkpoints
2 manned by the Serbian forces, and it was a state of war.
3 Q. You, therefore, did not go to these remote areas where the KLA
4 were because you had to pass through the checkpoints and not because you
5 were afraid of your security and safety in these remote areas; is that it?
6 A. No, because we were not scared of the KLA, because the KLA was an
7 organised army, commanded, and was a product of your lack of readiness to
8 solve the problems and to allow the Albanians to exercise their natural
9 rights, and the KLA protected the people from the forces of the occupier.
10 Q. And how can somebody occupy his own territory?
11 A. I'm not a lawyer. I'm a witness from Kosova. And when natural
12 rights are suspended by force, with the aid of the army, the police, and
13 the destruction of institutions -- I must say that natural rights are the
14 right to life, to education, freedom of thought and expression.
15 Q. I asked you how somebody could occupy their own territory. Can
16 you answer that question or not?
17 JUDGE MAY: He's given the answer.
18 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. All right. Let's move on to the next question then. Fine.
20 Is it true that Rugova and Hill had a joint undertaking over the
21 draft for a Kosovo agreement, a joint undertaking?
22 A. After your agreement with Holbrooke there was shuttle diplomacy,
23 and the G15 and G5 groups were formed to introduce confidence-building
24 measures, as they were called. As a result, these did not meet with
25 success because of your failures to -- because of your refusal, and this
Page 5492
1 led to the international conference of Kosova.
2 Q. All right, Mr. Merovci. What I asked you was: Is it true that
3 Rugova and Hill had a joint -- had a joint undertaking to draft an
4 agreement for Kosovo?
5 A. What agreement are you talking about?
6 Q. The agreement on Kosovo. Let me refresh your memory and remind
7 you.
8 In the document of the other side, it says that Rugova, in talking
9 to Walker, said that: "We're working on Hill's draft. It is up to Hill
10 to compile a new draft. Hill knows our demands. We're now waiting for
11 Hill."
12 Therefore, they had a joint enterprise concerning this draft. Did
13 they work together on it? Yes or no?
14 A. I must ask you again not to refresh my memory because my memory is
15 entirely clear. My answer must be no.
16 Q. All right. For the record, this is English version 0085325 and
17 000826 paragraph 2. Let's move on anyway.
18 Is it true, in view of your previous statement about the KLA, is
19 it true that your party and your president, the party president, Rugova,
20 called the KLA extremists, referred to them as extremists? Is that
21 right?
22 A. No.
23 Q. It says here in this document - and for the record the English
24 version is 0085327 - it says: "Rugova, in talking to Walker, stated, `In
25 Malisevo we have extremists. In Malisevo we have extremists, and we
Page 5493
1 cannot forget that.'"
2 Is that true or not?
3 A. Not in any document or any public statement did Rugova ever call
4 the KLA extremists. There were cases in which he called them patriots.
5 Q. All right. Let's not waste time. Let's move on. I quoted the
6 passage to you.
7 Do you know why the Russian Ambassador, Mayorski, in Rambouillet
8 did not place his signature to the Rambouillet agreement?
9 A. You can ask Mr. Mayorski about that.
10 Q. Very well. How many members of the Albanian delegation from
11 Rambouillet travelled to Brussels to have a meeting there with Clark, the
12 NATO commander?
13 A. As far as I know, about seven or eight.
14 Q. And who were they? Who -- which people went?
15 A. I can only mention Mrs. Edita Tahiri, who was present at this
16 meeting.
17 Q. All right. And the other seven or six you can't remember. Did
18 Clark tell them on the occasion that the Albanians should get off the
19 streets because in a few days time they would be --
20 JUDGE MAY: He wasn't there.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, but this fact is mentioned,
22 that he was told -- that he told them to stay off the streets because they
23 would be there in a few days' time.
24 JUDGE MAY: Do you know anything about that?
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I wasn't at this meeting, but it was
Page 5494
1 interpreted to me it wasn't a matter of keeping off the streets but of
2 being careful.
3 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
4 Q. So they weren't told to go to Macedonia and Albania, yes or no, to
5 get away from there?
6 A. It was not an idea to go away -- of -- it wasn't a matter of going
7 away in any sense at all. And this was a warning to all the citizens of
8 Kosova. Not only Albanians but everybody.
9 Q. Well, that's what I'm saying. I'm referring to all the citizens
10 of Kosovo. Was it suggested that they should get away from Kosovo? Yes
11 or no?
12 A. No, never.
13 Q. As -- as you've just said, you have a very nice opinion of the
14 KLA. Give me a direct answer to this question: How many members of your
15 party and immediate associates of Ibrahim Rugova were killed by the KLA
16 after the war?
17 A. Not one.
18 Q. As I don't have time, let me just remind you, Hakim Meri [phoen]
19 From Turicevac near Srbica, on the 2nd of November of 1999, was killed.
20 Sejdo Koci, also a member of the LDK, president of the LDK in Srbica, in
21 fact, the DSK, he said to the Koha Ditore, on the 11th of November, 1999,
22 that the headquarters of the DSK in Decani, Malisevo were exposed to
23 attacks, maltreatment, and killings. Shaban Manaj, the President of the
24 DSK for Istog, disappeared on the 1st of August, 2000. Sonji Geci [phoen]
25 from the village of Laus near Srbica shot members -- shot at members of
Page 5495
1 DSK families and close associates of Rugova on the 1st of August, 2000.
2 According to the reports --
3 JUDGE MAY: Let the witness answer. Let the witness answer.
4 Do you know -- Mr. Merovci, do you know about these cases which
5 have been read out to you?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The people that were mentioned
7 mostly are known to me, but it can't be proved with any evidence how they
8 were killed. Work is being done in this direction as Dr. Rugova said in
9 his evidence.
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I wasn't getting the interpretation
11 at all. Something wasn't working. Or perhaps there was an interruption
12 with my microphone. Everything seems to be on, though. I can hear you
13 now. I can hear now, but I didn't get the interpretation of that last
14 answer.
15 JUDGE MAY: You can read it on the transcript, but what it said is
16 it can't be proved with any evidence how they were killed. Work is being
17 done in this direction.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Ah, yes. I can see it. I've read
19 it. I read it in the meantime. Let's not waste time.
20 Q. According to the AP report, on the 24th of November, Rugova said
21 in Minoka [phoen] that all efforts should be invested, that the killers of
22 Xhemail Mustafa, his associate, should be brought to justice. Do you
23 remember that?
24 A. The late Xhemail Mustafa was killed, it's true, but it still
25 hasn't been confirmed who committed this.
Page 5496
1 Q. And what about his Ismet Raci, an official of the DSK and
2 president of the Klina municipality on the 25th of April - the year is
3 2000 - who was buried in the village of Sicevo near Klina? Is it known
4 who his killers were?
5 A. I know that he was killed, but I don't know who was behind his
6 murder.
7 Q. Do you claim - and I haven't got the time to go through all the
8 killings - that not even the killings of your activist representatives of
9 municipal boards, prominent persons from your party, that it was not the
10 KLA who was behind all these killings? Yes or no?
11 A. I said that the KLA came from the people, and the KLA never had
12 bullets for Albanians.
13 Q. You don't know about the people killed, Albanians killed and
14 kidnapped by the KLA in the course of 1997, 1998, and 1999; is that it?
15 JUDGE MAY: The witness is denying that. Now, we've been over
16 there for some time.
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. I have half an hour
18 more. I'm looking at the clock. So it is within the time allotted me by
19 you.
20 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
21 Q. When the war began, you were in Kosovo. You will remember the
22 conference, the press conference held in the house of Dr. Rugova at which
23 you were present yourself, and as you will remember, Rugova said in his
24 testimony here that there were Yugoslav, Turkish, Greek journalists and
25 others. There were a lot of people there at the time. And there are
Page 5497
1 minutes about that. And he says: "Here I am at home. I've been at home
2 since I returned with my family from Paris. There was speculations that I
3 had been killed or wounded. I say now from my home, not only to NATO but
4 to all the international factors in the world, especially the United
5 Nations, that they should cease the bombing of Yugoslavia immediately as
6 well as that of Kosovo and Metohija. Negotiations and a peaceful solution
7 to Kosovo is the only road forward. We are now thinking differently.
8 This is not a good way to solve not only this problem but any other
9 problem, and we've sobered up."
10 Do you remember that?
11 A. Yes, I do, as if it were yesterday. And I can state here that
12 this was a conference, a news conference held in the presence of maximum
13 seven armed policemen and soldiers in which Mr. Rugova, in not a single
14 sentence or word, ever called for the stopping of NATO bombing. I have
15 stated this even at earlier occasions, and I can state it today too.
16 If there may be evidence to prove the opposite of what I said, I
17 can still declare that I will always declare the truth and only the
18 truth.
19 Q. All right. All right. That's very interesting, because you know
20 that proof of this exists. There was a big press conference. But let's
21 move on. You speak about the arrival of Rugova, of his coming to me, and
22 his life was threatened at the time by Albanian terrorists. Is that
23 correct?
24 A. Two things are not correct. First that the Albanians have never
25 been terrorists in their history. They have never committed any murders
Page 5498
1 in Belgrade or Skopje, but they have fought for their rights, their
2 natural rights. And second, Mr. Rugova has never been threatened or
3 endangered in any way by the Albanians.
4 Q. If he was not in any danger, why did he come to ask me to save him
5 and his family and to send them somewhere away from Pristina and -- if it
6 was not because of the terrorists?
7 A. Mr. Rugova and myself came to Belgrade without being a party to
8 the decision that ordered us to come there, and there we didn't beg you or
9 ask you to release us and save us from the danger, as you say, but just
10 asked that if we are free, as you have alleged, you should let us leave
11 Kosova because we felt endangered by the Serb police and military forces,
12 paramilitary forces.
13 How can you explain the murder of Agani in this case?
14 Q. I was just going to ask you that, because he was one of the
15 victims of terrorism in Kosovo. Have you finally established which of
16 those groups killed Agani?
17 A. Part of what you are saying is true. He was killed by the Serb
18 terrorists. And the reasons for his murder were because the distinguished
19 late professor was the embodiment of this peaceful spirit, and he was
20 participant in every process under way in Kosova in the last ten years.
21 Q. I personally regret very much the killing of Mr. Agani. I had
22 occasion to meet him a couple of times. But are you claiming that he was
23 not killed by Albanian terrorists?
24 A. You -- you are saying that you regret the fact that he was
25 killed. I don't know that, but the fact is that he was not killed by the
Page 5499
1 Albanians.
2 Q. And why are you saying that Serb policemen, when they allegedly
3 entered by force into Rugova's house, insisted to talk to him? If he was
4 under arrest, they could have spoken to him without asking you for that
5 opportunity for a whole hour, simply to restrain him and talk to him. How
6 could it have happened in that way if, as you claim, he was under arrest?
7 A. I said yesterday too that it was the 31st of March. It was
8 midday. A police patrol came. They broke down two of Rugova's doors.
9 One of them was a reinforced door. I went down and said to them that
10 there are people here. And as I said yesterday, I raised both my hands up
11 in the air, and they maltreated me for an hour because I told them that
12 Mr. Rugova is here. But the police told me, "We came here to do our duty,
13 and Rugova is the first man to ask for NATO intervention."
14 Then I consulted someone, and they ordered me to bring down all
15 the members of the family, and this is what we did. We all went down on
16 the ground floor. We got together in a single room, all of us, where we
17 were detained for four hours, without letting us do anything.
18 Q. And before that, you were beaten for an hour, according to what
19 you said yesterday. Is that correct?
20 A. I said I was maltreated. And I am ashamed, in fact, of what
21 happened in Kosova, considering what happened all over Kosova, to complain
22 here and to say that I was maltreated for an hour.
23 Q. Yesterday you said, quite explicitly, that you were beaten for an
24 hour, and the next day you came to a meeting with me. You confirmed now
25 that it was on the 31st of March. On the 1st of April, you had a meeting
Page 5500
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 5501
1 with me. There were no traces on you. You didn't look like a person who
2 had been beaten. How come that on that occasion you didn't take advantage
3 of the meeting at my place to tell me that somebody had broken into your
4 house by force, that you had been beaten, mistreated, and so on? On the
5 contrary. You said that you were being protected by the police, that you
6 were safe, and so on. Why didn't you complain then as to what had
7 happened to you only a day prior to that?
8 JUDGE MAY: Let the witness answer.
9 A. In answer to your question why didn't I complain at the meeting
10 with you when, in fact, as you allege, the police were protecting us, I
11 don't know how you understand the meaning of the word "maltreatment."
12 They spared my face, in fact, but in my body they beat me up with their
13 rifle butts. And I don't understand even now why they didn't even kill me
14 at all.
15 For your information, I'm not a man that complains easily. As I
16 said, given the fact that what happened in Kosova, the atrocities
17 perpetrated there, my complaint would be a trifle one. During my house
18 detention, house arrest, we were engaged in a life-and-death struggle, and
19 we could escape or could remain alive thanks to what I'm going to say:
20 One, thanks to God; second, thanks to Rugova's calm and wisdom --
21 Q. [Previous translation continues] ... time.
22 A. -- thanks to international pressure; and lastly, thanks to my
23 personal instincts.
24 Q. Very well. Fine. I think it is clear something terrible happened
25 to you a day earlier. Then you and Rugova came to see me the next day.
Page 5502
1 JUDGE MAY: That's a comment. He's answered it.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Very well. So you claim that I said personally at the meeting on
4 the 1st April that the operation against the KLA would soon be over and
5 that after that there would be no need for large numbers of soldiers and
6 policemen in Kosovo; isn't that right?
7 A. Yes, something like that.
8 Q. In your statement, you claim that I said to Rugova that we had to
9 come to an agreement so that people could come back to Kosovo; isn't that
10 right?
11 A. No.
12 Q. No? And Rugova said to you, when you, as his secretary, entered,
13 together with my secretary, after our conversation - at least, that is
14 what you said yesterday - that it should be said that we were in favour of
15 a peaceful solution and political means. What else was said in that
16 statement except our common aspiration towards a peaceful solution by
17 political means?
18 A. It was a press release, and the word "peace" and "peaceful means"
19 is a very abstract notion if it's not actually realised in practice, and
20 the question of implementation rested with you.
21 Q. It is common knowledge what "peaceful means" are. Rugova himself
22 gave you instructions to the effect of what was contained in the release,
23 and that release was published, and you, as his secretary, and Milinovic
24 as mine, drafted it in that way. You confirmed that yesterday, didn't
25 you?
Page 5503
1 A. It's not true. I did not participate, for any moment, in the
2 drafting of that statement. I was called there by Mr. Rugova because he
3 wanted to consult me and to gain some time, and I said to him that this is
4 just a press statement and nothing more than that, and I told you that
5 usually press releases are not signed. It was a formality, in fact. We
6 just crossed out the word "Metohija" from the text, something which you
7 agreed with.
8 Q. So you claim that Rugova agreed to sign the release because there
9 was nothing harmful in it. That is what you said. And yesterday you
10 explained that he told you, for a peaceful settlement, et cetera, that
11 that is how the release should be drafted; isn't that so? Yes or no.
12 Please say yes or no. We have very little time left, another 15 minutes.
13 A. When Mr. Rugova called me there, he had the written statement on
14 his hand, and this refutes what you are saying, that I was a party to its
15 drafting.
16 Q. I'm asking you about the contents. We're not trying to establish
17 all the other details, even though what you said is not true. I'm just
18 asking you about the contents. Yes or no, please, and we can move on.
19 A. This distinguished Chamber has the text of that statement. I
20 don't deem it necessary to give an answer to this question.
21 Q. Very well. As it coincides what you said yesterday, that Rugova
22 told you, you're claiming that Sainovic told you a number of times that
23 you were free?
24 A. He told me sometimes just for appearance's sake.
25 Q. I don't understand that. If he said that you were free, and
Page 5504
1 repeated those words each time, how then could you have been hostages,
2 when he told you that you could go?
3 A. But the reality proved the opposite. At every moment of our talk
4 with him, we asked him to release us. If we were free, then why were we
5 not allowed, during the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, fifteenth
6 day, to leave?
7 Q. He told you that you were free to go. Who prevented you from
8 going? Did anyone prevent you from going, from leaving?
9 A. The Serb police and army prevented us, were under your command.
10 Q. So you wanted to leave and you tried to leave, but you were
11 stopped by the police and the army; is that what you're claiming now?
12 A. At every moment, whenever we had an opportunity to communicate
13 with someone, our only demand was to let us go, to let us -- to allow us
14 to leave Kosova, because we felt in danger there and we couldn't live a
15 normal life. I said earlier -- I recounted here the factors that
16 accounted for our survival.
17 Q. Mr. Merovci, I understand. I just wanted to establish these
18 things. Are you aware of Rugova's statement in Rome, in May, when you got
19 there, that he wanted the presence of international forces to ensure the
20 autonomy of Kosovo but not its independence? Are you aware of that? Just
21 tell me yes or no, please.
22 A. Yes, I remember it very well, and he has never said what you are
23 claiming now.
24 Q. Well, do you know that on the 9th of May -- the press is a public
25 document, so we can easily check. Do you know that on the 9th of May,
Page 5505
1 after talks with the Green Party in Brussels, Rugova emphasised again that
2 the autonomy of Kosovo should be created within the framework of
3 Yugoslavia? There's a Reuters report to that effect as well. Yes or no.
4 A. No.
5 Q. Very well. Is it correct that the leadership of your party in
6 Rome, on the 6th of May - that too has been published - said that it was
7 possible to negotiate autonomy with Milosevic, and Melini [phoen] were
8 apparently surprised when they heard that he said that? Yes or no.
9 A. Present at every meeting -- I've been present at every meeting,
10 and I've never heard Rugova say this.
11 Q. Very well. That is what the press carried. You're one of his
12 closest associates. On the 6th of May, as registered again in the news,
13 he stated, in Rome, that he left Kosovo to meet up with his associates and
14 discuss the future of Kosovo, and that during his stay in Kosovo, he had
15 many contacts with the authorities in Belgrade and discussed the
16 possibilities of a political settlement and a climate of trust being
17 established. Is that true?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Is it true that already on the 7th of May, following this
20 statement, a spokesman for the KLA, Krasniqi, said that the leader of the
21 Kosovar Albanians, Rugova, does not have the mandate to negotiate Kosovo
22 problems? Is that true? Yes or no.
23 A. It was not like this. It was different. He said it was not true
24 that an agreement had been reached with his agreement with Serbia.
25 Q. Very well. Is it true that on the 19th of May, 1999, in Bonn,
Page 5506
1 Rugova demanded that the international community should not sell weapons
2 to the KLA and that they needed to be disarmed? Yes or no.
3 A. No.
4 Q. Very well. You have an Agence France press report about that on
5 the 19th of May.
6 Is it true that your party, on the 17th of May, 1999, said that it
7 did not recognise the government in exile of Kosovar Albanians in Tirana
8 led by the separatist KLA Hasim Thaci? That is an announcement of your
9 party, or rather, a statement made by Rugova in Bonn. Is that correct or
10 not?
11 A. The question of the provisional government was a matter of the
12 delegation at Rambouillet, and Mr. Thaci was elected prime minister and he
13 was described as Gerry Adams of Albanians, and he has contributed to the
14 resolution of the Kosova question and he has contributed to the
15 transformation of the KLA into TMK, the Kosova Protection Corps.
16 Q. That was not my question. I asked you whether your party had
17 declared that it did not recognise that government. You are saying that
18 is not true, though that is what it says here. Is it true that neither
19 you nor Rugova dared to go to Tirana, as Paskal Milo, the head of the
20 diplomacy, declared that Rugova did not come to Tirana because his
21 security could not be guaranteed in Albania? Is that correct?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Well, tell me: Wasn't one of the conclusions of the talks between
24 Rugova and Milutinovic precisely the formation of a joint government, a
25 mixed government?
Page 5507
1 A. When you are under arrest and when you are a hostage, you can say
2 anything. We were only listeners. We were not party to that talk.
3 Q. And Rugova mentioned you as a candidate for the presidency of that
4 future mixed government. Is there any truth in that?
5 A. This is your speculation, and I never even dreamed of this, let
6 alone making a reality of it.
7 Q. Very well. And do you remember that during those talks with
8 Milutinovic, when you said that you were under arrest, Rugova gave a
9 present to Milan Milutinovic, a piece of crystal, a piece of mineral ore
10 from Kosovo? Do you remember that?
11 A. I don't remember this.
12 Q. But that was even televised. One could see clearly the gifts.
13 Very well. You don't remember.
14 You said that Rugova insisted on remaining in Kosovo throughout,
15 and he says that he wanted to go abroad. Now, who is telling the truth:
16 you or he?
17 A. Both of us are telling the truth.
18 Q. Well, if you say Rugova insisted on staying in Kosovo throughout,
19 and he says that he wanted to go abroad, he asked to go abroad, so --
20 JUDGE MAY: That was at one stage, at the end. That was his
21 evidence. So clearly there's some confusion in the question.
22 Help us with this: Did there come a time when Mr. Rugova asked to
23 go abroad?
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] There's no dispute that he did.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Mr. Rugova decided to stay in
Page 5508
1 Kosova, because after we returned from Paris, we returned to Kosova, and
2 the bombing started. And the Serbian forces, after the bombing started,
3 their move was for all the Albanians to leave Kosova, and we were kept
4 hostages, and we asked to leave Kosova to save ourselves. We're talking
5 about a time when 700.000 or 800.000 people had left Kosova, and the
6 ethnic cleansing imagined by the accused was already happening.
7 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. Please, Mr. Merovci. As I see, I only have three minutes left.
9 Mr. Merovci, from that television in Pristina, the journalist's
10 name Fatmir Sahori, you stated to him, in those days, and that means a
11 couple of days after the Rugova/Milosevic meeting, the following, and I am
12 quoting you:
13 "Rugova has food, a telephone, and all this has been made
14 available to him. After the bombing," I'm still quoting, "I visited, upon
15 my request with Ljubisa Vasic, Pristina and the surroundings, the places
16 where bombs fell, and I saw those craters in the centre of town and
17 destroyed houses and the post office. My offices are destroyed. I
18 couldn't recognise my town. The bombing has indeed contributed to the
19 fleeing, because nobody wanted to leave their town. The bombing hastened
20 up the fleeing of the population, and time will show, I claim
21 emphatically, that the bombing of Kosovo is the main cause for the fleeing
22 of the population."
23 This is a statement you made for television. Is that true?
24 JUDGE MAY: Let the witness answer.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] It was a politically created
Page 5509
1 television, a fictitious one of the purpose of the statement was
2 different. They took that opportunity and asked me several questions.
3 And because of the time, I will hurry in my answer. I will apologise to
4 the interpreters.
5 I have never said for a single moment that NATO has bombed. If --
6 I have said regarding the bombing that how can you explain the fleeing of
7 Albanians to Montenegro when bombing is going on there too and that not a
8 single Serb has left Vojvodina when they too are people like us? This is
9 all I've said.
10 Q. Mr. Merovci, are you claiming that you didn't say this? Because
11 we have a videotape. And I don't want to show it so as not to use up my
12 time. You said, "I emphatically claim that the bombing of Kosovo is the
13 main cause for the fleeing of the population."
14 As far as Montenegro is concerned, it was hardly bombed at all.
15 Do you remember the slogans when they wrote "Bomb us as well because we
16 we're not lepers," and do you know --
17 JUDGE MAY: Have you got the tape here?
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I will deliver it to you. I will
19 supply you with it. Of course I will produce it in public too, which
20 contains all these quotations of Mr. Merovci's from television. He said,
21 "I categorically claim that the bombing of Kosovo is the main reason for
22 the fleeing of the population."
23 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Mice.
24 MR. NICE: Your Honour, this is clearly a statement in a form that
25 ought to be shown to the witness before he leaves the Tribunal.
Page 5510
1 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Where is it, Mr. Milosevic, this tape?
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] It's in Belgrade. I don't have here
3 the conditions required to be able to communicate properly. What I get I
4 get at great speed. And I only have one telephone line to use, only one.
5 JUDGE MAY: Yes. We understand all that. When did you get the
6 tape here?
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] When someone brings it. In a day
8 perhaps.
9 JUDGE MAY: Can you get it here by Monday?
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I suppose I can.
11 JUDGE MAY: Yes, Mr. Nice.
12 MR. NICE: The witness was going to go back this weekend, having
13 been here a long time already. I don't know whether he's in a position to
14 stay until Monday. It really is very unsatisfactory. This is a witness
15 who was originally listed as our very first witness. He was listed as a
16 witness about to give testimony for several days or weeks, and this is
17 matter that should have been put to him earlier on in the
18 cross-examination.
19 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Now, Mr. Merovci, you've heard what's happened.
20 Obviously you should have a chance of dealing with this particular tape
21 and we should see it, and it should have been put to you originally and it
22 hasn't been. What I shall suggest is this: that we obtain the tape and
23 then we find a convenient time for you to come back to deal with it.
24 Mr. Nice, perhaps you could make the arrangements.
25 MR. NICE: Yes. I'll discuss them with Mr. Merovci outside
Page 5511
1 afterwards, although, of course, I'll have to suspend any discussion with
2 him about the substance of the matter. I don't know if the Court is
3 asking us to help with movement of the tape from Belgrade to here. The
4 accused, of course, does now have the assistance of lawyers working for
5 him.
6 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
7 MR. NICE: And typically I wouldn't expect to have to do that and
8 indeed wouldn't expect the accused to want me to be involved in handling
9 his exhibits, but of course if there is somebody coming back from Belgrade
10 and if that person can act as a courier, I expect we'll be able to help.
11 JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, we shall direct that this tape be
12 produced as soon as possible.
13 And perhaps you could have a word during the adjournment with the
14 witness to see when it's convenient for him to come back.
15 MR. NICE: Certainly, yes. I'd be grateful for the opportunity of
16 re-examining on two points, including one question about this interview.
17 JUDGE MAY: Let's deal with this.
18 Are there any questions from the amicus?
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I'd like to make a comment if you
20 allow me, Your Honour.
21 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, thank you. Perhaps
22 I might need five minutes. Five minutes at the most.
23 JUDGE MAY: The next witness is going to take some time to prepare
24 for. So if you would -- Mr. Tapuskovic, if you would deal with it now, we
25 can then adjourn in order that the arrangements are made for the next
Page 5512
1 witness. Can you deal with your questions now, please?
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, I want to say for my own part that
3 you ought to have had that tape here. The Chamber has made every effort
4 to ensure that you have facilities, including two legal associates. You
5 ought to have had the tape here, and your not having had it here today is
6 causing severe inconvenience to the Chamber. It's clearly a matter of
7 importance.
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, the information that
9 this tape was found, I was informed of that only this morning. I knew
10 about the statements made by Mr. Merovci because he gave similar
11 statements when he was with me, visiting me with Rugova, that the police
12 were feeding them, buying nappies, diapers for the babies, that they were
13 taking care of them, and they were very grateful for all this care and
14 assistance and protection, and they said the very same thing, but I did
15 not know that my associates had in fact come up with the tape.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: [Microphone not activated]
17 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Well, bring it here.
18 Yes, Mr. Tapuskovic.
19 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honours. I
20 have just one single area to cover, and in the English version of the
21 statement, it is to be found on page 4, paragraph 3. I don't wish to
22 repeat what Mr. Merovci said in that portion. I should just like to ask
23 Mr. Merovci, if possible, to give me yes or no answers to each of my
24 questions.
25 Questioned by Mr. Tapuskovic:
Page 5513
1 Q. [Interpretation] Mr. Merovci, I don't wish to repeat what it says
2 in your statement. You talked about three options for which the Albanians
3 were ready to solve the Kosovo status with; right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Now, you know that Yugoslavia ceased to exist in practical terms.
6 Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina reached independence in 1992 and
7 became members of the United Nations. Isn't that so?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Does that mean then that the first option after the previous
10 Yugoslavia ceased to exist, that the first option was no longer acceptable
11 to the Albanians, to your party, and Mr. Rugova?
12 A. Yes. This is why we had the option Kosovo independent. First
13 republic in the context of the former federation.
14 Q. In 1992, were parliamentary and presidential elections held in
15 your parts by the Albanians, the referendum and all the rest of it?
16 A. The referendum was held in 1991. The presidential and
17 parliamentary elections in 1992, 24 May.
18 Q. What I'm interested in, Mr. Merovci is the following: Right after
19 1992 right up until 1999, was there on anybody's side, the Albanians, your
20 party, Mr. Rugova, or anybody else, any other political party, was there
21 any mention of any kind of autonomy, whether it was the 1974 one, 1996
22 one, and so on and so on -- forth, not to mention all the laws. Was there
23 any mention at all of any kind of autonomy within Serbia or were there
24 negotiations with anybody along those lines?
25 A. Following the constitutional declaration and the approval of the
Page 5514
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Page 5515
1 constitution, there has never been any talks either among the Albanians or
2 between the Albanians and the Serbs about the status that you are talking
3 about.
4 Q. And you wanted to negotiate independence, secession, and you were
5 seeking procedure. You were looking for procedure by which to arrive at
6 that end; is that right?
7 A. Under the constitution of 1974, Kosova was a state constituent
8 element of the federation. Given the fact that the federation was broken
9 up, military regime was established in Kosova and the people opted for an
10 independent --
11 Q. [Previous translation continues]... given that answer.
12 A. Because it asks for that in the context of the dismemberment of
13 the federation.
14 Q. I understood that, Mr. Merovci, but what I'm interested in is
15 after 1992. After 1992, you didn't want to discuss any other solution but
16 secession and independence; right?
17 A. No, because the question of secession made no sense, because how
18 can you secede from a state that is not existing? This is an expression
19 of the will of the people to have their natural rights realised.
20 Independence was the only way to realise their natural rights. We didn't
21 want to have a state for the sake of a state.
22 Q. Thank you. Now, did you, in 1998 - let's just take 1998 - on
23 several occasions, sign demands made by Serbia in the name of Mr. Agani
24 and Rugova because you were invited to attend certain meetings and
25 negotiations or did you not? Yes or no?
Page 5516
1 A. There were some force invitations. Being chief of Protocol, I
2 accepted those invitations. They were meetings based not on any principle
3 at all.
4 Q. Were there any negotiations?
5 A. No, because the time when they came --
6 Q. Do you know Mr. Tanic? Did anybody from your party, Rugova or any
7 other Albanian, did they ever discuss things of this kind with Mr. Tanic?
8 A. I personally never knew Mr. Tanic, and I don't think someone from
9 us met him.
10 Q. And as Mr. Rugova's secretary, did Mr. Rugova negotiate with
11 Mr. Tanic?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Now, Rambouillet was signed. After the signing of Rambouillet,
14 was it your sole desire, that is to say the Albanian's sole desire, to
15 achieve independence regardless of what it said in the document from
16 Rambouillet, that this was not an option?
17 A. Every Albanian, wherever he lives in the world, supports
18 independence of Kosova because that represents the will of the majority of
19 the people. And this is the behest we have from the Jashari family who I
20 think deserve the Nobel Prize for freedom, democracy.
21 Q. Do you know anything about an organisation called FARK, Forcet e
22 Armatosura e Republikes se Kosoves? The Armed Forces of the Republic of
23 Kosovo, FARK.
24 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] This question, Your Honours.
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I have heard it in the media, but
Page 5517
1 I've never been involved in it and I have no comments to make on it.
2 MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Was that a military organisation as well?
4 A. I said I've never been involved in it, and I know of no details.
5 Q. Thank you. Because of the time restriction, I won't pursue this.
6 MR. NICE: Just two topics, very short.
7 Re-examined by Mr. Nice:
8 Q. First, in the meeting with Milutinovic, was anything said,
9 regardless of whether there was any agreement, was anything said about
10 some form of joint government?
11 A. During that meeting, I was the one who insisted most, actually,
12 that those four people who were with us may -- I asked them to take -- to
13 make the decision to let us leave Kosova right away. We discussed there
14 also what you are asking me. It was in a very perfunctory discussion, but
15 we were not actually concentrated on that issue.
16 Q. Very well.
17 A. Because we were hostages and arrested people, as I said.
18 Q. And was it you who initiated the discussion about joint government
19 or was it Milutinovic or can't you remember?
20 A. Neither Mr. Rugova nor me were the initiators of any other topic
21 than our release.
22 Q. My second question relates to this television programme of which
23 it is said there is in existence a videotape recording. The accused put
24 to you the following quotation as coming from your mouth, this is part of
25 what he put to you:
Page 5518
1 "The bombing has indeed contributed to the fleeing because nobody
2 wanted to leave their town. The bombing hastened up the fleeing of the
3 population and time will show I claim emphatically, that the bombing of
4 Kosovo is the main cause for the fleeing of the population."
5 That's the quotation.
6 Perhaps you'd deal with this question as yes or no. Can you
7 remember saying those words, in Albanian, no doubt, but those words
8 yourself on a television programme? Yes or no?
9 A. No. I can say that I -- I can paraphrase that statement.
10 Q. Just a minute. Let's deal with it in a way I find it helpful.
11 Were there any circumstances of which you can recall whereby you may have
12 been asked questions along the lines of that quotation and that you would
13 have acknowledged the accuracy of the questions? Just yes or no again to
14 that.
15 A. I remember that I was surrounded by armed police and soldiers. It
16 was a form of pressure. But nevertheless, I remember every word I said.
17 And I may -- I said paraphrase it with 99.9 per cent accuracy.
18 Q. Right. So do you accept there is any truth in this suggestion
19 that you said these things or that you acknowledge saying -- that you
20 acknowledge the truth of such propositions in a television interview?
21 A. In the -- on television, it was an ad hoc, improvised station. It
22 was called TV A. I didn't have a chance to look at it later, but I know
23 it was broadcast two, three weeks afterwards. It was -- I was told that
24 it was cut, it was revised, and I would kindly ask the distinguished
25 Judges, because I insist on your expert -- looking at it very carefully,
Page 5519
1 because it is - parts of it may be made up. Some words of mine may be
2 taken out of context and rephrased. I've said this.
3 How can I answer to this question with two or three
4 counter-arguments, that is, whether Albanians are leaving Kosova because
5 of NATO and fear of bombing, why Albanians, I said, are going to another
6 territory that is again being bombed but feel secure there. And the
7 second I said why not a single Serb has left Vojvodina, Serbia, where they
8 too are people like us. And I further said -- excuse me, Mr. Nice. I
9 wish to say one last thing.
10 I said that indirectly, this can be understood or interpreted to
11 mean that bombing might have had a role. This is more or less what I
12 said. But at no moment did I say that bombing is the main reason for the
13 movement of the people. And I say this in full responsibility.
14 Q. Thank you very much.
15 A. Because Albanians were looking forward to NATO bombing because
16 they considered it the most humane mission of the century, which helped
17 them realise their natural rights.
18 MR. NICE: Your Honour, it -- although my questions were in part
19 directed at the possibility of the tape arriving and the witness being
20 saved having to come back, it looks to me as though if the tape arrives
21 the witness will have to come back, and we must make sure that we don't
22 overlook the duty of the accused to produce the tape and then we'll get it
23 translated or --
24 JUDGE MAY: Yes. And it may be that you can -- you might find a
25 copy of it.
Page 5520
1 MR. NICE: If possible.
2 JUDGE MAY: Look for a copy.
3 MR. NICE: Yes.
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] There are Albanians who have
5 recorded that programme and have said to me that.
6 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Mr. Merovci, subject to that matter, that
7 concludes your evidence. However, we must ask you to come back on that
8 particular narrow point of the tape. You could do so at a time which is
9 convenient to you. Perhaps you could discuss the matter with the
10 Prosecution to find a time which is suitable when we have a copy of the
11 tape so that we may get to the bottom of what was said.
12 We're going to adjourn now.
13 Mr. Milosevic, if you have information like that again, which is
14 important and goes to the heart of any cross-examination, will you kindly
15 signal at an early stage that you have it so that the position could be
16 fully discussed. And you should have material such as that available in
17 order to put it to the witness, and if you don't, you should tell us
18 beforehand so that arrangements can be made.
19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] May I just clarify this point? I
20 don't know whether you heard me give an explanation that I was informed
21 this morning of the existence of the tape. So therefore, it was not
22 possible --
23 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Yes. What I'm telling you -- yes, we heard the
24 explanation. What I'm telling you is that if this sort of situation
25 arises again, don't leave it to the last minute in cross-examination.
Page 5521
1 Tell us at the beginning or put it to the witness at the beginning so we
2 can get matters resolved.
3 Meanwhile, we're going to adjourn now. Twenty minutes. At the
4 end of today, there are some administrative matters which I wish to raise
5 with the Prosecution, but we'll hear the witness first.
6 [The witness stands down]
7 --- Recess taken at 10.51 a.m.
8 --- On resuming at 11.13 a.m.
9 [The witness entered court]
10 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
11 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] In connection with the previous
12 witness, may I just emphasise that the documents which I mentioned - and I
13 dictated the numbers of the documents - that the opposite side disclosed,
14 that this should be tendered into evidence as exhibits.
15 JUDGE MAY: We will certainly consider that.
16 Now, let the witness take the declaration.
17 WITNESS: WITNESS K5
18 [Witness answered through interpreter]
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I solemnly declare that I will speak
20 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
21 JUDGE MAY: Yes. Yes, if you would just introduce the witness,
22 Ms. Romano, and then I have a warning to give him.
23 MS. ROMANO: Your Honours, I will also propose that any
24 identification that might be asked of the witness to be done at the end of
25 his testimony, in order to do it in an expeditious way.
Page 5522
1 JUDGE MAY: I think we can go into closed session at the
2 beginning. It's better that we identify him at the outset, in closed
3 session.
4 [Private session]
5 (redacted)
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10 (redacted)
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25 (redacted)
Page 5523
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Page 5524
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4 (redacted)
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7 (redacted)
8 (redacted)
9 (redacted)
10 (redacted)
11 (redacted)
12 [Open session]
13 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, we're now in open session.
14 JUDGE MAY: Witness K5, so that you may understand your position
15 in this Court: We've seen the evidence which it's proposed that you
16 should give. Some of it is liable to incriminate you of criminal
17 offences. So that you can follow your position, it's this: that you may
18 object, under the Rules, to making any statement which might tend to
19 incriminate you. The Trial Chamber may, in those circumstances, compel
20 you to answer - it would be a matter for the Chamber - but any evidence
21 given and compelled in this way cannot be used as evidence in a subsequent
22 prosecution against you for any offence other than that of giving false
23 evidence or testimony.
24 Yes.
25 MS. ROMANO:
Page 5525
1 Q. Witness, while your father was alive and working, there was an
2 incident where he sacked another Albanian policeman? Yes or no.
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. What was his name and why was he sacked?
5 A. His name was Avdi Musa, from Ferizaj, and the reason for his
6 dismissal was a document, a high school diploma, and for this reason he
7 was dismissed from his job.
8 Q. What was the problem with the high school diploma?
9 A. It was a forgery.
10 Q. Did he ever come back to work in the police station again?
11 A. Yes. He came back when the Albanian policemen were dismissed from
12 their work in 1989, 1999 [as interpreted]. He came back to the police
13 station in Ferizaj. And after he came back to Ferizaj, he telephoned my
14 father and my family and said, "I'm back in Ferizaj and I'm going to take
15 my revenge on you and on your family." And from that moment on, he
16 started to be maltreating me and my family.
17 Q. Witness, in which position did he come back?
18 A. He returned as an inspector of SUP in Ferizaj.
19 Q. Can you describe what kind of harassment that was done to you or
20 to your family?
21 A. As I said, at the beginning he came to Ferizaj, and after a
22 time -- and he took the weapons from my father, which he had with a
23 licence, and he ransacked my house in general. And after a week, he came
24 and summoned me, without any kind of reason at all, only because I was my
25 father's son, because he had problems with my father.
Page 5526
1 Q. Did you report the harassment to anybody?
2 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone to Ms. Romano.
3 A. Yes.
4 MS. ROMANO: Sorry.
5 Q. Did you report the harassment to anybody?
6 A. Yes. After a lot of harassment from him, I decided to go to the
7 police station in Ferizaj, and went to the commander, named Miomir Mitic,
8 and I reported the case and said that we had a lot of problems with this
9 man. He harassed me almost every week, and my family and my cousins and
10 my extended family. And he said, "Okay. We can help you, but you have to
11 help us too."
12 Q. Witness, can you describe Miomir Mitic?
13 A. Yes. Miomir Mitic was the police commander in Ferizaj.
14 Q. And what did he ask you to do?
15 A. He asked me to work as an informer for him.
16 Q. And as an informer, what kind of work did you do?
17 A. As an informer, at first I sent him information about drug
18 dealers, about thieves, and ordinary crimes, just to get this harassment
19 off my back.
20 Q. And did you report directly to Mitic?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Did you receive any payment for that?
23 A. Payment. I was paid in cigarettes and in money.
24 Q. And did the harassment from Musa stop?
25 A. No, this harassment did not stop, because, as far as I understood
Page 5527
1 it, this too was organised by Mitic and the police inspectors, the Serbian
2 police inspectors, to have me harassed, even as a police informer.
3 Q. In 1994, you escaped to Germany. Is it true?
4 A. Yes. In 1994, I fled to Germany because I -- I couldn't put up
5 with this any longer. I didn't like this business. So I decided to flee
6 to Germany as an asylum seeker, and I went for six months.
7 Q. After you came back to Kosovo - this was in 1995, I believe - you
8 continued to work for Mitic?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And what happened in May 1999, Witness?
11 A. In 1996, there was an incident in which I was in a cafe with a
12 friend of Avdi Musa, and we had a fight in the cafe because of the
13 provocations to which I was subjected. And then Avdi Musa and Azem
14 Haliti, inspectors in Ferizaj, beat me for three hours on end only so that
15 I would confess to lies. And they accused me of supposedly beating a
16 person called Hajrush Rrysha from the village of Varosh near Ferizaj,
17 allegedly that I had stolen 500 marks from him. And then I was sent to
18 prison for six months. And the Judge, Danica Marinkovic, then released me
19 as innocent.
20 Q. So did you have a trial?
21 A. Yes. I was convicted, but I was -- I went on trial, but in the
22 end I was declared innocent.
23 Q. When you say you were convicted, Witness, you spent some time in
24 prison and then you went to trial. At the end of the trial, what was the
25 result?
Page 5528
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Page 5529
1 A. The result of the trial was that I was acquitted and that I -- I
2 had not stolen anything, because Musa Avdi and Azem Haliti alleged I had
3 stolen 500 marks, and this came out as not true, only I had got involved
4 in a fight.
5 Q. Witness, did you meet someone while in prison?
6 A. Yes. I met a Serb called Dejan Stojkovic from the village of
7 Balic near Ferizaj, who had the pseudonym of Crni, which means "black."
8 Q. Can you give a description of this man?
9 A. He was a member of Arkan's Tigers and had been involved in the war
10 in Croatia and Bosnia, in the wars.
11 Q. After you left gaol, did you continue to work as a police
12 informant?
13 A. Yes. We continued working but separately, he on one side and I on
14 another.
15 Q. So what was Stojkovic doing?
16 A. Stojkovic worked as an informer for Mitic but by himself. And I
17 also worked similarly but also by myself.
18 Q. And in 1998, did you and Stojkovic open a business together?
19 A. Yes. We opened a cafe and started to work, working in a cafe
20 called Mimosa, and we started a business. With the money we earned, we
21 bought a black Zastava 128 car, and we started working. It was a cafe and
22 a bar. But after a few months, the policeman, Jashar, from Vitia joined
23 us.
24 Q. Witness, in 1998, you received a call from Mitic. Do you remember
25 that?
Page 5530
1 A. Yes. In 1998, we got some information on the phone that we had to
2 go to the police station at Ferizaj. And Crni and I went to the police
3 station, and he went first and I went five minutes later.
4 Q. Where was the police station located?
5 A. The police station in Ferizaj is on the road to Shtime near the
6 army building, near what was called the JNA building.
7 Q. And did you go see Mitic?
8 A. Yes. We went to the police station commander, to Mitic, the
9 Ferizaj police station commander. That is Dejan and myself. We went to
10 him.
11 Q. Was Mitic alone in his office?
12 A. Yes. Mitic was by himself. There was also a store -- a
13 warehouseman called Vlada who had his own job to do.
14 Q. And did you meet anybody else while you were in the police
15 station?
16 A. Yes, later, about an hour later. But first we had a conversation
17 just with Mitic.
18 Q. So what was the conversation with Mitic?
19 A. At first they gave Dejan and me a document like a sort of permit,
20 and they gave us a TT pistol, 7.68, and he gave us one each, and then we,
21 in the course of this conversation -- and in the course of this
22 conversation ...
23 Q. You can continue. What did you discuss?
24 A. We discussed about how Mitic had assembled a list of various
25 things, various tasks that we had to do.
Page 5531
1 Q. Can you explain? What kind of list was that and what were the
2 tasks?
3 A. The list was about the liquidation of Albanians, about who was
4 financing the KLA, who had brothers in the KLA, and point out people for
5 liquidation, about throwing bombs, throwing Chinese grenades in Albanian
6 business premises, explosions, burning houses, jobs of that kind.
7 Q. And who compiled the list, Witness?
8 A. The list was prepared by Mitic.
9 Q. Why did he want to use Chinese grenades?
10 A. He wanted to use Chinese grenades because at that time, the KLA
11 used this kind of ammunition. And his idea was to use these things in
12 order to blame the KLA for these incidents rather than the Serbian
13 police.
14 Q. What was the proposed involvement of Stojkovic and yourself in
15 this plan?
16 A. I don't understand the question.
17 Q. Sorry, Witness. What did Mitic want you and Stojkovic to do?
18 A. Mitic wanted me to go as -- to go as an informer because I was
19 from Ferizaj and I knew the streets and I knew people. And my job was
20 merely to point out people for liquidation and for bomb throwing and jobs
21 of this kind that were on Mitic's list.
22 Q. Witness, you said that you met -- you met other people also when
23 you were in the police station. That was one hour later. Can you explain
24 that?
25 A. One hour later, we went to the office of the SUP chief called
Page 5532
1 Bogoljub Bogi from Sterpce, living in Ferizaj. And he was head of the
2 state security from Belgrade, but he lived in Prishtina somewhere, and his
3 name was Jashanin. This was the other person that I met.
4 Q. Were they in uniform?
5 A. No. They were in plain clothes but Mitic was in uniform.
6 Q. What happened after? Did Mitic ask you and Stojkovic to accompany
7 him to some place?
8 A. Then we stayed with Bogic, and we went to Prishtina.
9 Q. The three of you went to Pristina?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. What were you doing in Pristina?
12 A. We went there because this was on Mitic's list. And we went to
13 the commander of the special units for Kosova, SAJ, and we went to the
14 police station. And his name, I'm not sure about it, but I think his name
15 was Dragan.
16 Q. And why did he need to go to Pristina? Did he need an approval?
17 A. He wanted to go to the commander to get permission to do these
18 jobs.
19 Q. Did he also mention collecting any equipment?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. After you arrived in Pristina, where did you go?
22 A. When we arrived in Prishtina, we went to the commander of the
23 police.
24 Q. And what is it -- where is it located?
25 A. This is in -- near the stadium, near the Boro and Ramiz shopping
Page 5533
1 centre. The police station was known for short as "92."
2 Q. And did you meet the commander there?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Can you describe him?
5 A. When we went there, Mitic introduced me to this commander, and he
6 said that this is the commander of the police in Kosova and of the special
7 units, and said that he had taken part in the operation in Prekaz
8 involving Adem Jashari, and said that he'd also brought a woman from
9 Ferizaj called Besa and said to us, "Can you find this woman for us? We
10 want to put her on television." It was something to do with fighting in
11 Prekaz.
12 Q. Do you know what this special police was, the SAJ?
13 A. They were a special unit, what they called anti-terrorist unit.
14 Q. And was he in civilian clothes?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And what was discussed there?
17 A. All these jobs were discussed, and there was another question of
18 giving us KLA uniforms to go onto the Shtime-Suhareke road to talk to
19 journalists from Slovenia and Croatia and foreign countries, and to take
20 their video cameras and to loot them, and we had orders also to kill.
21 Q. Who was proposing this?
22 A. This was suggested by Mitic.
23 Q. And was it approved?
24 A. No, this was not approved. No. It was said that this had to be
25 left until later.
Page 5534
1 Q. And did Mitic explain all the targets to the SAJ commander?
2 A. Yes. Yes.
3 Q. Did he read out all the names listed in the list of targets?
4 A. First of all, Xhafer Morina, Metar Morina, Agim Ibrahimi, Shaban
5 Hashani were to be liquidated.
6 Q. And was the plan approved?
7 A. And also Ilmi Recica, and various other people whose names I don't
8 remember.
9 Q. We'll go into detail with the names after, Witness. Was the plan
10 approved?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And did the commander provide any equipment?
13 A. Yes. We received a KLA uniform, an M-45 gun, Chinese grenades,
14 KLA emblems, Tritol explosives, and we took these with us and went to
15 Ferizaj. And I later went home, and Dejan Stojkovic took these things to
16 his own apartment.
17 Q. Witness, the list contains several targets, and Stojkovic and
18 yourself then started doing the tasks as listed, and you continued
19 throughout 1998. Some of the targets were completed in 1998 and some were
20 done during the conflict in 1999; is that correct?
21 A. Yes, that's correct.
22 Q. Do you remember what was your first work?
23 A. In 1998, it was my first job to go to Manastirice and to leave a
24 letter, which I wrote in Albanian, and this letter had the emblem of the
25 KLA on it and it said that Serbs could no longer use these buses. And
Page 5535
1 then we wrote this letter and put it in the house of the owner of the
2 buses, because he had private buses. And Dejan, at that moment, threw
3 petrol and burnt the buses.
4 Q. Do you remember what was the second one?
5 A. The second job was to go to a certain street, where there was a
6 mini market, a small private store, and I went and stood in front of it,
7 with Dejan Stojkovic, and took those goods of value from the store and
8 then set fire to the store.
9 Q. Why was that store in the list?
10 A. This store was owned by someone from Sllatine, somebody from
11 Sllatine, in Kacanik municipality, called Ruzhdi Rudi, who had been giving
12 money to the KLA.
13 Q. Was Hamdi Komuna in the list?
14 A. Yes. Mitic said that Hamdi Komuna was rich, and he was on the
15 list because he too had supposedly financed the KLA. And we went to his
16 house, and he had a BMW of the latest model in front of his house, and
17 Dejan threw petrol on this and set fire to it and then we fled.
18 Q. Do you remember Agim Ibrahimi?
19 A. Agim Ibrahimi, as Mitic said, was an organiser of demonstrations,
20 and he was a kind of patriot. He supported the Albanians. And he worked
21 as a guard in one of the Albanian schools. And Dejan was supposed to
22 liquidate him.
23 Q. And what happened?
24 A. After a few days, we went with his black 128 car and kept watch on
25 him. We followed him, because he was on this list for liquidation. And
Page 5536
1 he was in a tea shop on the road to Gjilan, sitting, and we followed him,
2 because we knew where his house was. He lived in the new neighbourhood
3 near the kindergarten. And there was a meadow there, and then we waited
4 for him there. And he was approaching. It was night. But he was in the
5 company of another person and a dog. And Dejan was getting ready to kill
6 both these people, but I said, "We don't know this other person. We can't
7 kill both of them," because we didn't have instructions to kill this other
8 person, but only Agim Ibrahimi. And Dejan became annoyed, and we
9 abandoned this mission.
10 Q. Witness, during this time there was any other person working with
11 you and Stojkovic, or was it just the two of you?
12 A. There were just the two of us. There were others, and there were
13 more of them later.
14 Q. Was Shaban Hashani in the list?
15 A. Yes, Shaban Hashani was on the list, and Mitic said that he was
16 headmaster of the technical school in Ferizaj. He was member of the
17 Kosova Democratic League and had taken part in a lot of meetings. He was
18 at the parliament in Kacanik that proclaimed the constitution of the
19 Republic of Kosova. And so he was on the list for liquidation. So we
20 went to him, and in front of his yard he had a -- and then we waited in
21 front of his yard. He had a WC in front of his yard. And we waited for
22 half an hour. His wife came out and his son came out, but he never came
23 out, and so we went back, and without doing this job.
24 Q. What about Ilmi Recica?
25 A. Mitic said about Ilmi Recica that he had been convicted for
Page 5537
1 political crimes. He was an Albanian patriot. And he had information
2 that Ilmi Recica was a KLA commander for the village of Jezerc, and he had
3 his photograph, and he had had orders to have this person killed too, or a
4 member of his family. And Dejan and I went to this person too, and we
5 waited in front of his house, and we waited for an hour. And some women
6 came out, and I don't know if it was his mother. But no, none of the men
7 ever came out, so we didn't do the job.
8 Q. Witness, there were a couple of bars in the list. Do you remember
9 that?
10 A. Yes, there were bars, and our job was to throw Chinese grenades,
11 such as in the Bolero bar, where the LDK members used to sit, as well as
12 the Casablanca bar. And the plan was to throw Chinese grenades there,
13 only because they were frequented by Albanians --
14 Q. And did you --
15 A. -- and to ascribe the killings to the KLA. Would you repeat your
16 question again?
17 Q. And did you do the jobs?
18 A. We went to the Casablanca cafe and we planted some Tritol
19 explosives there, but it didn't explode because the fuse got wet. It was
20 raining. And Dejan went and took the fuse and took the explosives away.
21 Q. What happened to Afrim Musliu?
22 A. Afrim Musliu. Mitic had information that he was a member of the
23 KLA. And his house was on the Nerodima Road in Ferizaj, and I had orders
24 to go to him and see if Afrim was there. And Dejan looted his house
25 inside. And we went to his house and waited at his door with automatic
Page 5538
1 weapon, but we didn't find anybody there. And we were masked. And then
2 we disappeared.
3 Q. There were also travel agencies in the list. Can you explain
4 about that?
5 A. Yes. There were also travel agencies on the list, because Mitic
6 had information that at a tea shop near the mosque, near the old mosque in
7 Ferizaj, there was a picture of a karate club in Switzerland and there
8 were some signatures on this. And Mitic had information that there was a
9 travel agency with members of the KLA. And I went and I took away this
10 photograph at night and took it to Mitic.
11 Q. Did you steal anything from the travel agency?
12 A. The order was to set fire to the travel agency, with its
13 computers, and to take objects of value.
14 Q. And did you take value from the places?
15 A. Yes, we tried. Yes, and we did. We did take these things. We
16 did what Mitic said. We did this job in a travel agency near the mosque.
17 Q. Can you describe what happened, one example? Do you remember one
18 of the travel agencies that you worked?
19 A. Yes. The travel agency belonged to somebody called Vladi, and we
20 stole the money that was there and we destroyed the other contents of this
21 premises.
22 JUDGE KWON: Mr. K5, in cases in which you were ordered to
23 liquidate somebody, you never succeeded in those missions, did you?
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. I didn't have orders to kill.
25 I merely had orders to point out people. Dejan had orders to kill.
Page 5539
1 JUDGE KWON: And all you did was that you went to their places and
2 waited for them to appear, and they didn't appear, so you gave up
3 everything; is that it?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
5 JUDGE KWON: [Previous translation continues] ... again? Yes.
6 Thank you.
7 MS. ROMANO:
8 Q. Witness, do you remember any case where you were asked to
9 liquidate or there were people in the list that you had to liquidate
10 during 1998 or even 1999? Do you remember if they were at least killed,
11 not by you, by maybe by one of the others, other people that accompanied
12 you?
13 A. Yes. Some were killed in 1999. For example, in Nerodima village,
14 lower Nerodima, there was some who was lower on the list by Mitic was
15 killed. He was a patriot. He was a KLA. He was on the side of KLA, and
16 he was liquidated. Not by Mitic himself but by other persons.
17 Q. We will go into 1999 after. During 1998, after doing the jobs,
18 did you used to report back to Mitic?
19 A. Yes, Yes. We did report back to him about the jobs.
20 Q. And what did he do?
21 A. Nothing. He gave us cigarettes and drinks. He was happy. Then
22 he had his own team. After, for example, a bus was burned or a house was
23 burned, he sent his police team to conduct investigations and to identify
24 that this was not done by a human hand but it was an accident, you know.
25 This is what he did.
Page 5540
1 Q. So he conducted investigations for the places that you worked?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And what was the result of all the investigations?
4 A. The result was that allegedly they were accidents. For example, a
5 short circuit or something may have caused, let's say, a certain arson in
6 a house. I mean, the burning of a certain house and not perpetrated by a
7 person.
8 Q. Was any incident blamed by the KLA?
9 A. Yes. Yes. In Kacanik, there was fighting there. I was also
10 present there.
11 Q. Witness, you didn't understand my question. Was, as a result of
12 the investigation, was the KLA blamed -- was the KLA appointed as the
13 organisation or the person who did the work?
14 A. Yes. Yes.
15 Q. Was there any document given to you by Mitic identifying you and
16 Stojkovic as working for the police?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. What kind of document?
19 A. It was a kind of letter, authorisation with my name, my last name,
20 the number of my pistol. There was a signature by -- Belgrade signature,
21 and a seal, and the signature of Mitic. It was to provide us with some
22 security. When we left Ferizaj if the local police or someone might
23 intercept us at night, we have to show this authorisation for them to
24 leave us alone.
25 Q. Do you still have this document?
Page 5541
1 A. No. Out of fear that someone might find it on me, I burned this
2 document.
3 Q. Witness, do you know a group called Black Hand?
4 A. I've heard about that when I was in that coffee bar, a Serb police
5 was there showed, Jashar Jashoviq, showed -- told me about this group. He
6 said to me that they were Serb policemen and that one of them was called
7 Dimitri and that he had come from Serbia. I know the other members by
8 sight. I know one of them had worked in the police station in my village,
9 and he was a member of this organisation. And I saw them in that coffee
10 shop --(redacted).
11 Q. Was the Serb police who pointed out Dimitri for you the same one
12 that was in -- that you met while you were in the police station with
13 Mitic?
14 A. Yes. Yes, he was the one.
15 Q. Do you know what the Black Hand -- what did they do?
16 A. Yes. This Black Hand organisation was set up to kill Albanians.
17 Not to engage in politics but only to do short work of Albanians, to
18 commit atrocities, to strike fear among the Albanians, to force them to
19 leave their places, their homes. This is what they did.
20 Q. And were they present in Ferizaj in 1998?
21 A. Yes, they were present in Ferizaj in 1998.
22 MS. ROMANO: Your Honour, you said that you would like some
23 matters to be raised, and I'm getting into 1999 now. So --
24 JUDGE MAY: Yes. That would be a convenient time. We'll go on to
25 1999 on Monday.
Page 5542
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Page 5543
1 Witness K5, we're going to adjourn now. Would you please be back
2 at 9.00 on Monday to conclude your evidence. Would you remember this
3 during the adjournment, not to speak to anybody about your evidence, and
4 that does include members of the Prosecution team. Now, you'll just have
5 to remain there while we deal with some other matters first.
6 Mr. Nice, I mentioned some administrative matters, and it may be
7 convenient to deal with them now for next week.
8 The first concerns Wednesday, the 29th of May, a date on which you
9 have, I see, listed a witness, General Maisonneuve. The first point to be
10 made about that day is that we shall be starting late. I don't know if
11 you've seen the notice. The accused apparently has a dental appointment.
12 So we're not starting until half past ten.
13 Now, that affects the day because, as I understand it, the General
14 is only available that day.
15 MR. NICE: It so happens today that I received disquieting news
16 from Canada that he's now not able to come that day because again as
17 presently advised, the confirmation letter or similar sent to the address
18 that has always been appropriate for the general before is now said not to
19 be appropriate and for some reason he has not been notified. We first
20 heard of this this morning.
21 Until the time gap between here and Canada allows us to telephone,
22 we can't take matters further. We are dealing with it as soon as we can
23 this afternoon, having been clearly understood by Mr. Ryneveld, whom I
24 think spoke to the general a week or so ago, that he was coming on that
25 day.
Page 5544
1 JUDGE MAY: Well, that obviously is a matter which will have to be
2 resolved. Meanwhile, we have had the opportunity of looking at his
3 statement, which it was -- your application should be treated under
4 Rule 92 bis. There are matters in it which we feel should be dealt with
5 by way of live evidence. For instance, what he says about Racak and what
6 he says about the VJ chain of command. Those seem to me to be matters
7 which it is appropriate for him to give live, although there may be other
8 matters which he can deal with by way of 92 bis. So I mention that,
9 although it may not now be as urgent as it appeared to be originally.
10 MR. NICE: Well, yes. We'll have to wait and see on that. And of
11 course any revisions arising to the witness list from his definite
12 non-availability will be communicated to all the parties simply as soon as
13 I can.
14 JUDGE MAY: The next matter concerns an expert report --
15 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
16 JUDGE MAY: -- an expert report which we've had from Mr. Coo. I
17 hope I pronounce his name rightly. I've had a chance of looking at it,
18 and really, three points arise for you to consider.
19 The first, I can see no details of his qualifications or
20 curriculum vitae, so if you would supply those --
21 MR. NICE: Certainly.
22 JUDGE MAY: -- to support your application. We'll have to
23 consider, I think, whether it's appropriate that he should make the
24 conclusions which he does in the part that I've seen. I understand
25 there's a second part of that report which may be more controversial
Page 5545
1 because that does appear to contain conclusions. And in that connection,
2 perhaps I can remind you of the decision of this Trial Chamber, as it was
3 then constituted, in Kordic about a Mr. Cigar and his proposed evidence.
4 The third matter for your consideration is this: that he gives
5 evidence or deals in his report with such things as the VJ and the MUP and
6 the chains of command and also the constitutional position. What I don't
7 understand, and perhaps you could deal with it in due course, is why you
8 are also going to call a military expert, a constitution expert, and a MUP
9 expert. Perhaps you could give some thought to those matters.
10 MR. NICE: Certainly. Of course they have already been given
11 thought, and it will be a useful opportunity next week to explain our
12 thinking on them.
13 JUDGE MAY: Yes. And in connection with that, we would wish to
14 have the amicus's submissions on Mr. Coo as soon as possible.
15 Finally, it would obviously be convenient to deal with as many
16 administrative matters as we can possibly next Friday, at the end of the
17 week, and we should set some time aside for that.
18 MR. NICE: Your Honour, yes. And I've been helpfully provided
19 with an advanced copy of the Scheduling Order which will have to be dealt
20 with next week.
21 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
22 MR. NICE: There's the issue of the witness who would, and the
23 Prosecution proposition, be able to summarise the Racakic. And I have
24 another much more general issue in relation to witnesses I was going to
25 raise in any event next week. That will probably fit conveniently with
Page 5546
1 the discussion that will be generated by the Scheduling Order where it
2 refers to insider witnesses. So a quite general topic I want to raise
3 about that, all of which may take some time, I think.
4 JUDGE MAY: We ought, therefore, to set aside at least an hour
5 next Friday.
6 MR. NICE: Yes. The discussion about a summarising witness might
7 conveniently be taken earlier in the week.
8 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
9 MR. NICE: It can be dealt with quite shortly because the
10 arguments have been rehearsed in writing several times before, but that
11 argument would have to be taken before the relevant witness is called to
12 the stand.
13 May I before, Your Honour closes court, assuming you're about just
14 to do that, invite the accused, through the Court, to give little further
15 consideration to the method by which he produces exhibits? Again this
16 morning he lists some numbers and then, as I saw from the transcript when
17 I returned after the second session had started, requests that they become
18 exhibits. He's done that once or twice before and we're still dealing
19 with the backlog. Of course a number does enable us -- a serial number
20 does enable us to draw an exhibit down. It doesn't enable us to do it
21 immediately. We can't simply produce it like a rabbit from the hat and
22 hand it to the witness.
23 If the accused would be good enough to make those documents
24 available either in copy or in sufficient numbers before he asks a witness
25 about them or even if he gives them to us or possibly to the Registry
Page 5547
1 before he starts cross-examining, we will try to ensure that they are
2 copied so that we don't have this problem of a backlog of decisions
3 building up, which we probably pretty nearly all forgotten about were it
4 not for the good services of my case managers who industriously remind me
5 that there are these outstanding issues.
6 So I'd invite the accused's further cooperation on this if he
7 would be so good.
8 [Trial Chamber confers]
9 JUDGE MAY: Yes.
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] First of all, I will be good enough
11 to supply you with a list of the exhibits that I have requested. And as I
12 have understood that my dental appointment on Wednesday is an obstacle, I
13 shall ask them to make another appointment for me so this should not be an
14 obstacle to hearing General Maisonneuve, because I do have -- I would
15 really like to have the opportunity of cross-examining him. I have this
16 fervent desire.
17 So can my dental appointment be put forward or put back or put at
18 any other time? Because I do not want this to be the reason, even if I
19 don't go and see the dentist at all that week. But I have the fervent
20 desire to cross-examine and hear General Maisonneuve, and I hope you won't
21 deprive me of that.
22 JUDGE MAY: Very well. We'll adjourn now. Monday morning, 9.00.
23 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 12.17 p.m.,
24 to be reconvened on Monday, the 27th day of May,
25 2002, at 9.00 a.m.