Page 44875
1 Friday, 30 September 2005
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 [The witness entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 9:03 a.m.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, you are to continue with your
7 examination-in-chief.
8 WITNESS: BOGOLJUB JANICEVIC [Resumed]
9 [Witness answered through interpreter]
10 Examined by Mr. Milosevic: [Continued]
11 Q. [Interpretation] Good morning.
12 A. Good morning, Mr. President.
13 Q. Yesterday, we went through documents from which one can see how
14 many people were killed and abducted; citizens, soldiers, policemen,
15 Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins, and other ethnicities. Could you tell us
16 briefly, as we reached tab 60, having finished with 59, what is under tabs
17 60, 61, very briefly, please.
18 A. In tab 60 we have the photo documentation of the criminal act of
19 terrorism against a certain Dobrosav --
20 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter didn't hear the last name.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] -- who was found in June 1999 with
22 his throat slit and decapitated. He was a shepherd, taking care of his
23 herd, and the cattle were stolen by the terrorists.
24 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
25 Q. What about 61?
Page 44876
1 A. It is also a photographic documentation of the terrorist act
2 committed in the area of Kacanik. Right outside Kacanik, if you go from
3 Skopje, Georgi Stefanov and Stojmen Dimitrijevski were killed in the most
4 monstrous way while travelling in a vehicle with Skopje licence plates.
5 Q. You said Skopje.
6 A. Right. It happened on the 10th of June, 1999.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, I would like these two
8 tabs exhibited as well.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
10 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. Yesterday, in tabs 52 and 53, to which we will not return, we
12 could see how many attacks there were on the police and the army and how
13 many people were killed in those attacks. I am now asking you, were any
14 of these attacks provoked in any way by the army or the police?
15 A. No terrorist attack or provocation was ever provoked by the army
16 or the police.
17 Q. Tell me about this dispatch signed by you in tab 62.
18 A. It's dated 14 March 1999. It contains information about a
19 terrorist attack on an army vehicle on the road Suva Reka-Stimlje in the
20 area of the Crnoljevo gorge. A soldier was injured in the attack and was
21 transported by the traffic police to a hospital in Pristina.
22 Q. That is just one example of such attacks. Similar attacks are to
23 be found in tabs 20 to 26. We will not go back to them. This is an
24 example of the documentation compiled in such attacks.
25 A. When we have an armed provocation against members of the police or
Page 44877
1 the army or the citizens, a dispatch was sent to all superior authorities,
2 in this case, the Staff and the competent administrations of the ministry.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, do any of these attacks relate to
4 allegations in the indictment?
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] These are attacks on the army and
6 the police in that region that were reported by Colonel Janicevic to his
7 superior authorities, and they pre-date the charges in the indictment, the
8 events charged in the indictment.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: What is their significance for your case?
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The significance lies in the fact
11 that in a couple of minutes we are going to come to Racak, which is one of
12 the main points in what Mr. Nice calls the indictment, and these are the
13 circumstances under which this terrorist organisation came into existence.
14 All these circumstances point to an extremely intensive terrorist
15 activity. You see the large number of soldiers, policemen, and civilians
16 killed and the high degree of terror in this very small region.
17 I don't know if you need to see the map again. We have seen it
18 hundreds of times already.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, well, we'll wait to see their
20 significance in relation to Racak.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] You were also able to see other
22 types of activities when we were looking at events involving loss of life,
23 what happened with terrorists and victims in various incidents. We took
24 the example of Kacanik and other places that are also mentioned in the
25 indictment.
Page 44878
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Could you tell me about these terrorist attacks. You said they
3 were reported to all the competent authorities. Was the OSCE Verification
4 Mission also notified?
5 A. Every attack, every provocation, every incident was reported to
6 the Verification Mission, both the people -- or, rather, both the
7 incidents that happened while they were there and the incidents that
8 happened a couple of months before they arrived.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, I must let you know that the
10 Chamber is concerned about the use that you're making of the time
11 allocated to you. Some of these matters we have been over. For example,
12 Racak, which you say you are coming to, we have been over that. You have
13 utilised most of the time allocated to you and you are still on Kosovo.
14 You still have witnesses to call on Kosovo. We have Bosnia and Croatia to
15 deal with. And please don't give me the standard answer that this merely
16 illustrates the inadequacy of the time allocated to you by the Trial
17 Chamber.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I will try to hurry up and use my
19 time as rationally as possible, Mr. Robinson. And as for Racak, you say
20 we have reviewed, Mr. Janicevic was in charge of precisely that area.
21 That is, in the strictest sense of the word, his competency.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Very well.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. I asked you whether OSCE Verification Mission members were also
25 notified of all the incidents. I'm now asking you about the documents we
Page 44879
1 have under tab 64 with all its subtabs from 1 to 28. I wanted us to go
2 through them as efficiently as possible.
3 Do we see reports, Official Notes, and notifications sent to the
4 OSCE Verification Mission concerning terrorist attacks and anti-terrorist
5 operations as well as other security related events?
6 A. Yes. We see reports of the Ministry of the Interior,
7 notifications of the Ministry of the Interior to SC KVM, and all security
8 related events of particular interest that happened in the area of our
9 secretariat.
10 Q. Starting with 64.1 until 64.28, we have 28 reports drafted in the
11 usual prescribed form. We see the first one. It says, "Contact with,"
12 and then members of the OSCE mission are indicated. The contact itself is
13 described, and then --
14 A. The particular members of the mission, the topics of the exchange,
15 and the answers they were given to their questions.
16 Q. In 64.2, .3, until .28, we see only that kind of reports
17 concerning contacts with the OSCE-KVM. Is that the contents of tab 64
18 containing 28 such reports?
19 A. Correct. Precisely.
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, do you wish me to go
21 through each one of these or can tab 64, from 1 to 28, be treated as one
22 exhibit?
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, perhaps it would be helpful if you
24 just went through one, perhaps not in as summary a manner as you have
25 done, so that we could then get a flavour of what these documents contain.
Page 44880
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Let us look at 64.2. What does this Official Note dated December
4 1998 contain? Could you explain briefly.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: I don't want you to read it. Since you're
6 familiar with it, then you can just give us the gist of it, Mr. Janicevic.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The gist of this document is that a
8 team from the OSCE mission, including representatives from France,
9 Germany, and some other country, I can't see which here, visited the
10 police station in Nerodimlje, which is part of the Urosevac police
11 station, to make inquiries, general inquiries about various incidents and
12 events. They were given a report on what was going on in that area and
13 what was going on that the Serbs were upset over the kidnapping, the
14 recent kidnapping of two persons. There were no clues, but the Serbs knew
15 that the kidnappings were done by terrorists based near Jezerce. That is
16 the gist of it.
17 They asked verifiers to extend their assistance in resolving this
18 problem.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. Which the verifiers were unable to do, as far as I can see.
21 A. Yes. They came later, and they said they could not do anything.
22 In fact, for the entire duration of the mission, they could not do
23 anything about it in the whole area.
24 Q. Tab 64.3 we see a report from the police station in Stimlje
25 concerning their contact with the OSCE Verification Mission.
Page 44881
1 A. Commander of this police station, Branko Mladenovic, did have a
2 meeting with OSCE verifiers who happened to visit just as a citizen was
3 reporting his own kidnapping and the fact that he had been kept for ten
4 days in some basement.
5 Q. An Albanian or a Serb?
6 A. It was an Albanian. He gave his account in the presence of OSCE
7 verifiers. He described the whole event, for how many days he had been
8 detained, what he had been given to eat, and how he had been treated.
9 Q. Look at the next page, because it has to do with Racak. It is on
10 the fifth line, and he says, "I confirm the fact that in the same way a
11 number of persons were kidnapped by Siptar terrorists who were located in
12 the village of Petrovo, Racak, Malopoljce and Rance."
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Is that what it says there?
15 A. Yes, that's exactly what it says there.
16 Q. And then a few lines further down, it says that there was a
17 terrorist band in the village of Racak, Petrovo, Malopoljce and Rance.
18 Can you tell us, Racak, Petrovo, Malopoljce and Rance, are they all
19 neighbouring villages? And you've explained to us the actions of the
20 161st Brigade there; is that right?
21 A. Yes. Racak is about two and a half kilometres away from the
22 centre of Stimlje but actually their suburbs follow on from one other and
23 it looks like one settlement. Petrovo is about two kilometres away from
24 Racak, and so is Malopoljce, two and a half kilometres. Rance is about
25 three kilometres away. So all of the villages are in one area and follow
Page 44882
1 on one from another. They're next door to each other.
2 Q. This report on the talk with the Verification Mission -- or,
3 rather, when was that meeting held? What does it say in the upper
4 left-hand corner? What's the date there?
5 A. It was conducted on the 4th of January, 1999.
6 Q. So that's January 1999, you say.
7 A. Yes, that's right.
8 Q. In the police station of Stimlje; right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And that police station covers the area of Racak, does it not?
11 A. Yes, it does cover Racak and the other villages mentioned.
12 Q. How far is Stimlje away from Racak? You said from the centre to
13 Racak is two and a half kilometres.
14 A. Two kilometres.
15 Q. Right, two kilometres. But their suburbs are joined. They follow
16 on from one another.
17 A. Yes.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, why were these meetings with the
19 OSCE mission held?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Pursuant to an agreement reached
21 which provided for the fact that meetings be held at least once a week
22 with the representatives of OSCE to exchange information which were of a
23 security nature. However, although it was envisaged that those talks be
24 held once a week, we were in contact with representatives of the
25 Verification Mission on a daily basis. We informed them every day about
Page 44883
1 the events that had taken place, security related, which were of interest
2 and which took place on the area covered by the secretariat from the --
3 from day-to-day, on a 24-hour basis, and sometimes even more frequently.
4 And those contacts were sometimes even held several times in a single day
5 with the same group of verifiers.
6 For example, if I can quote you one --
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: No. Thank you. You have explained.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. Not to go through all of these documents, look at 64.5. It refers
10 to the police station of Stimlje once again, and the date is the 9th. No
11 it's not. The number is 9. I made a mistake. I read the wrong line.
12 The date is the 11th of January.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, the Chamber will allow you to
14 tender these collectively.
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Robinson.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Just let us have the numbers. It's 64, tab 64.
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, from 64.1 to 64.28 inclusive.
18 JUDGE KWON: Just to let you know, you skipped tab 63. I take it
19 it's intentional.
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I skipped 63, tab 63, inadvertently.
21 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. Mr. Janicevic, just tell us what is in tab 63. It's a statement.
23 Is it an official document of your secretariat of the interior?
24 A. Yes, it is an official document of the SUP of Urosevac. The
25 statement was taken by Sparavalo from this individual who indicated that
Page 44884
1 certain persons were located in the leadership of the Staff of the 161st
2 Brigade in Kacanik.
3 Q. Thank you.
4 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] May this tab be exhibited, too,
5 Mr. Robinson, please, tab 63, 64.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
7 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. You were saying that you informed the verifiers on a regular basis
9 about all the events that took part. Now, what did the verifiers do?
10 What steps did they take?
11 A. According to what I know and to the best of my knowledge, as far
12 as I was informed, they never -- we never had feedback. They never
13 informed us what steps they had taken except in one case when they went to
14 Gornje Nerodimlje police station and conveyed to the commander there that
15 they were not able to find the person responsible for the area, the person
16 in charge of the area, to discuss the question of the abducted Serbs from
17 Nerodimlje. Otherwise, later on, they would only take note of the
18 information conveyed to them from us and the security related incidents
19 would be noted, but what they actually undertook I really don't know.
20 Q. Tell us just briefly --
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: What were they supposed to do? According to
22 the --
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, they were supposed to --
24 according to the agreement, they were supposed to extend assistance to the
25 police and to the army and members of terrorist organisations or, rather,
Page 44885
1 Albanian citizens who were jeopardised, who were under jeopardy, who were
2 considered to be under jeopardy by the police; and as far as I know, there
3 were no such persons. 90 per cent of the verifiers asked to be involved
4 in the problems themselves. They sought information about kidnapped
5 persons, and they received those facts and figures, but we never received
6 any feedback information from them except in that one case as to what they
7 had actually undertaken.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. After the arrival of the Verification Mission, did the terrorist
10 -- number of terrorist attacks decline? Were there fewer?
11 A. Quite the contrary. There was an increase of terrorist attacks
12 after the arrival of the Verification Mission. Pursuant to the agreement,
13 the army withdrew from all the positions which it had held up until the
14 arrival of the verifiers, and of course the police did, too. They
15 withdrew from the checkpoints that they had held. And in a gorge at
16 Crnoljevska gorge, pursuant to the agreement, there was a post still held
17 by the police and the army had stationed a combat group close by at
18 Canovica Brdo. That was pursuant to the agreement, but there were
19 provocations every day both in the presence of the verifiers and when they
20 were not there. Every day, provocations and attacks and kidnappings, and
21 this resulted very often in the death of innocent citizens.
22 Probably the verifiers couldn't wield too much influence on the
23 terrorists who engaged in actions like that.
24 Q. Do you have any knowledge about any attacks on members of the
25 verifiers themselves by the terrorists?
Page 44886
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Page 44887
1 A. There was one case which was not reported, but the police
2 observation post, which was along the riverbanks towards Jezerce, some two
3 and a half kilometres from Nerodimlje in the direction of Jezerce, they
4 heard and saw a burst of gunfire on two -- two vehicles, and as far as I
5 remember, there was one vehicle belonging to the OSCE and the other to
6 KDOM. And the vehicles turned round and went back in the direction of
7 Nerodimlje when this shooting took place. This incident was reported, and
8 the policeman who was on duty in the station went out to ask the verifiers
9 whether they needed any aid and assistance, but they didn't stop when the
10 stop sign was shown them. They just carried on. And later on, when we
11 tried to learn what had actually happened by talking to the verifiers, we
12 didn't actually manage to get any information.
13 Q. Was an Official Note written about the incident, and it was 64.10;
14 is that right?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. All right. Fine.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, are you saying that the attacks
18 increased after the verifiers came because, pursuant to the agreement, the
19 army and the police left the areas that they had secured?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] According to the agreement, the army
21 and police left the territory or, rather, the positions that they had held
22 previously in order to secure the settlements in the area and the
23 population there. Once the army had withdrawn, the terrorists took over
24 those positions.
25 For example, Jezerce is a village which is in the area of the SUP
Page 44888
1 Urosevac territory, towards Suva Reka and Budakovo, along that axis. In
2 Jezerce, we would have patrols up until the 10th of October, 1999,
3 patrolling the area. After that, the patrols were restrictive. Once the
4 verifiers arrived -- however, once the verifiers arrived, we never were
5 able to go there again. And the same thing happened with the village of
6 Racak, Petrovo, and Malopoljce.
7 After the second half of October, we were not able to enter those
8 villages or areas. Whenever a police patrol would turn up at the access
9 to the village, they would shoot at us. In the Crnoljevska gorge we had
10 eight observer posts and they were reduced to six.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, Mr. Janicevic.
12 Mr. Milosevic.
13 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. Mr. Janicevic, we're now going to move on to Racak. You explained
15 the position of Racak to us, and you have a map in front of you, I
16 believe.
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. May the map be shown on the ELMO.
19 Can you indicate the position of Racak on the map in relation to
20 Stimlje and Urosevac, that is to say the area you were in charge of.
21 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the witness, please.
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The scale is 1:50.000, and Stimlje
23 is somewhere here. I don't know if you can see this. The scale is
24 1:50.000. That is Stimlje. Racak is two and a half kilometres away,
25 right where I'm pointing now. That's Racak. Petrovo is to the south-east
Page 44889
1 of Racak, here, a few kilometres away. And Malopoljce, about two and a
2 half to three kilometres. A maximum of three kilometres away. Rance is
3 situated in this sector here, at about four kilometres distance away from
4 the Racak. Belince is to the north of Racak and is about one to one and a
5 half kilometres away.
6 This is the regional road running from Prizren to Suva Reka,
7 Prizren -- and Prizren [as interpreted], and the regional road linking
8 Stimlje to Urosevac. This is another road to Lipjan and Pristina.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. Mr. Janicevic, I assume that your excellent knowledge of geography
11 on a microlevel is not only the result of your being able to map read but
12 also through the fact that you were in the area. You knew the area. Is
13 that right? Would that be the correct assumption?
14 A. Yes, that is right. As an operative -- as a policeman and later
15 on as an operative working on crime suspension and crime -- I worked in
16 the Stimlje area and covered that sector, and I was always on the road to
17 Racak, Petrovo, Malopoljce, and touring the other villages in the region,
18 Topila, Canovica, and so on, along the mountain range here.
19 Q. All right. Now, tell me, what knowledge did the SUP of Urosevac
20 have, headed by you, about the presence and activity of KLA terrorists in
21 Racak?
22 A. The SUP of Urosevac, as can be seen from the Official Notes and
23 reports and information received, knew that in the Racak area there were
24 members of the 161st Terrorist Brigade, which had established a substaff
25 in Racak, headed by Afet Bilalli, nicknamed Qopa, who was the commander of
Page 44890
1 that so-called substaff, and the numerical strength of the group was about
2 80. There were about 80 members.
3 Furthermore, our knowledge indicated that that terrorist group, on
4 a daily basis, moved around the area, cruised the area and attacked.
5 Police patrols, military patrols, civilians, regardless of their
6 ethnicity, they stopped traffic along the road, kidnapping people on
7 buses, for example. That happened several times, and also kidnapped
8 people in passenger vehicles. People would disappear, no trace of them.
9 Q. All right. Fine. You've just told us what the targets of the
10 attack were, that is, the group working in Racak, what they did and whom
11 they attacked. We now have, in tab 65 -- if you can turn to tab 65. From
12 65.1 to 65.28, and then in tab 66, from 66.1 to 66.44. So this is a large
13 number of documents that we will have to go through selectively, I hope,
14 if Mr. Robinson allows us to deal with it that way, as a set of documents.
15 Now, in order for you to be able to follow --
16 JUDGE BONOMY: It appears that the ones which are translated all
17 have the name Jasovic and Sparavalo on them; is that correct?
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm going to tell you which tabs.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: No, is that correct? All the ones that are
20 translated are documents compiled by Jasovic and Sparavalo?
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] That's not the way I looked at them,
22 who compiled them, because all of them are official documents of the
23 Urosevac SUP. What I wish to say to you is that in tab 65, 65.2, that is
24 Exhibit 295, tab 1.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I take it that all the ones with Jasovic and
Page 44891
1 Sparavalo's names on them have already been exhibited?
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm not sure. I have the exact ones
3 that were admitted.
4 JUDGE BONOMY: Well, how many of them were admitted already?
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, I'll tell you. Out of these
6 in tab 65, 17 was admitted. Just a minute.
7 MR. NICE: My machine doesn't work, so I can't --
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Nineteen. Nineteen were admitted,
9 and I will give you the exact number of each and every one that was
10 admitted, the number under which it had been admitted, that is.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: What's the point of going over documents we've been
12 over already with the person who actually compiled them? Why do it again?
13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Because this is a set of documents
14 that Mr. Janicevic had at his disposal as chief of the Secretariat of the
15 Interior of Urosevac. He is speaking about all this information that has
16 to do with Racak.
17 [Trial Chamber confers]
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Ms. Higgins.
19 MS. HIGGINS: Your Honour, can I just attempt to clarify a certain
20 matter? We have tried to undertake and have undertaken a review of the
21 Jasovic files and the Stevanovic files to try and attempt to see which of
22 the tabs have been previously admitted where they refer to Jasovic and
23 Sparavalo. Those comments are listed on the index. And as far as our
24 review is concerned, some of those documents which contain the name
25 Jasovic have not been exhibited before. That is to the extent of the
Page 44892
1 review that we've been able to undertake, and it appears that they are new
2 documents.
3 If I can just summarise what it appears to be. Tab 65, for
4 example, relates to KLA activity in 1998, and more precisely, the presence
5 and activity of Racak, the KLA in Racak, for example, tabs 65.9, 65.10,
6 65.12. Tab 64, again activities of the KLA in 1998 and, I think, some
7 1999. But to assist Your Honours, the review has been undertaken, and
8 we've tried to locate as many of them as we can, and it seems that many of
9 these have not been previously exhibited.
10 MR. NICE: Your Honour, it appears that everybody is doing the
11 work that ought to have been done by the accused. We certainly embarked
12 upon an exercise that will be reduced to a schedule form for you that
13 should identify in due course what material is new and potentially
14 significant. It's not yet ready. It's quite labour intensive. It may be
15 ready, I'm not sure, but it will be ready in due course; if not today, on
16 Monday.
17 [Trial Chamber confers]
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, you were the chief of the Urosevac
19 SUP.
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: And were you -- where were you on the day of the
22 Racak incident on the 15th of January?
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] On the 15th of January, when the
24 anti-terrorist action in Racak was carried out, I was at the police
25 station in Stimlje from 7.00 a.m.
Page 44893
1 THE INTERPRETER: Interpreter's note: Could the witness please be
2 asked to speak up.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Did you hear that? The interpreters are asking
4 you to speak up, speak more loudly.
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The 15th of January, when the
6 anti-terrorist action in Racak was carried out, from 7.00 a.m. I was at
7 the police station in Stimlje.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: And when did you first learn of what happened?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] What do you mean "what happened"?
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Of the Racak incident on the 15th.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] An anti-terrorist action was carried
12 out on the 15th of January and I was following via radio everything that
13 was going on in Racak. I was following it through the radio
14 communications that we had with the people who were directly engaged in
15 this on the ground.
16 JUDGE BONOMY: So you're another witness who wasn't actually
17 involved in what took place, didn't actually kill anybody, but we're going
18 to hear what you heard about the incident. Is that how you're going to
19 present the evidence?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I didn't kill anyone, but I followed
21 everything, and I worked out the plan for carrying out the anti-terrorist
22 action in Racak.
23 [Trial Chamber confers]
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, in respect of this evidence, you
25 can, of course, lead the witness as to the information that he received by
Page 44894
1 radio of what took place in Racak, and we'll hear that. As for the tabs,
2 those that are new would obviously be very useful, but we are not able to
3 identify with any certainty those that are new.
4 Those that are old, if he has fresh information to give about
5 them, anything new, then I mean to that extent we would hear it.
6 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] My microphone was off.
8 Mr. Robinson, let us just deal with some confusion that's
9 happened. Colonel Janicevic was not an observer of the action in Racak
10 who just happened to be informed about what was going on there. He is the
11 immediate superior of the policemen who were in action in the area.
12 JUDGE KWON: So Mr. Janicevic was in command position in Stimlje
13 police station, commanding over the police force who is performing
14 anti-terrorist act.
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, I did not directly command
16 anything. I mean, the anti-terrorist action was carried out by a group of
17 policemen consisting of about 135 persons. One hundred policemen, members
18 of the 64th Special Police Unit, and 30 members of the Operations Group.
19 The action was directly commanded by Goran Radosavljevic.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: But you told us earlier that you were receiving
21 reports by radio.
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Right.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Milosevic, are we going to hear from Goran
24 Radosavljevic?
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I was not intending to call Goran
Page 44895
1 Radosavljevic, but if Mr. Nice wants to hear him, he can. He can call
2 him. He mentioned him in some interviews. But in relation to what
3 happened in Racak, Mr. Janicevic knows everything.
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Because that police unit that
6 carried out the anti-terrorist action was directly subordinated to him.
7 It's his unit. He was not directly commanding in Racak itself, but he was
8 in Stimlje on that day because this anti-terrorist action was taking place
9 in Racak. That is the normal way things work in the ground. He is chief
10 of the secretariat. He's a colonel. He's two and a half kilometres away
11 from where the action is taking place. He is not directly commanding the
12 company that is carrying out that anti-terrorist action. That is what is
13 done by a commanding officer of a company.
14 JUDGE KWON: So, Mr. Janicevic, you would not challenge that you
15 were the first person for Mr. Radosavljevic to report?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. I was not someone who
17 Mr. Radosavljevic reported to, but I was the superior of part of the group
18 of policemen who were taking part in it. 105 policemen belonged to the
19 SUP of Urosevac. Goran Radosavljevic was a member of the MUP staff, and
20 on behalf of the staff he was appointed leader of that action, and that
21 company that I was in charge of was attached to that group, in addition to
22 the Operative Pursuit Group that was always under his command while we
23 were in Kosovo.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: The reports that you heard on the radio came from
25 whom; Mr. Radosavljevic or from someone else?
Page 44896
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] From the commander of the company.
2 I followed all the communications because there was a single
3 communications line. Everybody listened to those communications that I
4 was listening to.
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Who was the commander of the company providing
6 the reports? Radosavljevic?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. Radosavljevic was in charge of
8 the entire action, whereas the commander of the company was --
9 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter did not understand the name.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Please give the name of the person, the commander
11 of the company who sent the reports by radio.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Major Milan Lecic.
13 JUDGE KWON: Let me be clear about this again, Mr. Janicevic.
14 Where was Mr. Radosavljevic located at the time of the operation? Was he
15 with you in Stimlje?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. He was in the field. He was
17 supposed to be in the field, actually.
18 JUDGE KWON: Yes. And if you could describe your role in relation
19 to anti-terrorist act operation in Racak. What were you supposed to do?
20 Why did you go to Stimlje, and what did you do there?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The anti-terrorist action in Racak
22 was carried out in the territory of the Urosevac SUP, and I was the chief
23 of the SUP Urosevac. So Racak is within the territory where I was chief
24 of secretariat. A company of mine took part in the action, and I was
25 personally interested in lawfully completing this action without any
Page 44897
1 omissions and doing it properly. That is number one.
2 Number two, according to the task given to me by the Staff, I was
3 in charge of following the action from Stimlje and informing the Staff
4 every now and then about the course the action was taking and the results
5 that were being achieved.
6 JUDGE KWON: So, Mr. Milosevic, the Chamber wants to hear from the
7 witness what he can tell from his experience without uselessly going over
8 the documents which we have seen already.
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Kwon, we have a set of documents
10 here that I've been quoting from, tabs 65 and 66. You have seen some of
11 them and you have not seen others, but the entire set of documents speaks
12 of the situation in Racak and the terrorist activities and everything that
13 the police had by way of information, everything that we could collect.
14 And I can tell you straight away, since Mr. Nice said that this was an
15 enormous job, it's a very simple job.
16 Tab 65.2 was admitted into evidence as 295, tab 2.1. Tab 65.5 was
17 admitted likewise. Tab 65.5 is tab 65.1 of Exhibit 295. Tab 65 --
18 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Nice -- I beg your pardon. Mr. Milosevic, tab
19 65.5 is an identical one with 65.1, which is -- which you presented. So
20 this is an example how you are presenting your exhibits in an orderly
21 manner. It is your responsibility.
22 Can we not hear from the witness what he can tell from his
23 experience and then coming back to these exhibits if necessary?
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. That's what we'll do, Mr. Milosevic. Let
25 the witness tell what he learned --
Page 44898
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Page 44899
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: -- about the incident. And I would encourage you
3 to call Major Milan Lecic, who actually sent the reports. He was there on
4 the day in the field, and he would probably be the best person to testify
5 from the point of view of someone with firsthand knowledge of this very
6 controversial incident.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well. I will move on through
8 questions that have to do with his direct experience.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. But before that, let us clear up one thing, Mr. Janicevic. Are
11 all these documents under tab 65 and 66, 28 documents in tab 65 and some
12 44 in tab 66, are they all your documents of the Urosevac SUP, and did you
13 have them all in your hands at the relevant time when they were drafted?
14 A. Yes. They are all authentic, and they originate from the Urosevac
15 SUP. I held each and every one of them in my hands.
16 Q. Did you hold each document in your hands at the time when it was
17 drafted?
18 A. Precisely. And it was based on these documents that the plan was
19 drafted for that anti-terrorist operation. We drew on these reports and
20 other operative information we gathered in the field.
21 Q. So they pre-date the anti-terrorist operation.
22 A. Yes. It was based on the intelligence contained in these reports
23 that we drew up our plan.
24 Q. Very well. To the best of your knowledge, there were terrorist
25 forces there. Based on what did you know that? You say the information
Page 44900
1 is contained in these documents.
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. How about the sources of your intelligence? Were they exclusively
4 from the area, gathered in the usual way in which the police gathers
5 information?
6 A. Exactly.
7 Q. Are they contained in the reports and Official Notes, and are they
8 indisputable facts that you established in the process of gathering
9 information about terrorist activities?
10 A. Yes. In addition to these reports, there are also criminal
11 reports against unidentified perpetrators guilty of very serious crimes.
12 In that area, just before the anti-terrorist operation, there were 11
13 attacks involving loss of life against policemen and civilians. Before
14 the 31st of December, 13 soldiers and officers got killed in that area,
15 25 officers and soldiers were seriously wounded, including two policemen.
16 All this information was submitted to the Staff, together with a
17 draft plan for this anti-terrorist operation.
18 Q. Very well. Who submitted that plan?
19 A. The Urosevac SUP, and I signed it.
20 Q. So it was you, your Secretariat of the Interior that, based on all
21 these events and incidents reflected in these reports and information that
22 you -- it was your secretariat that made the plan.
23 A. Correct. We made this plan to conduct an operation against the
24 terrorists that were --
25 Q. That were terrorising the whole population on a daily basis. So
Page 44901
1 you had a group involved to deal with this terrorist group that had 80
2 members, as you said.
3 JUDGE BONOMY: Could I ask you, do you have the plan with you?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Unfortunately, no.
5 JUDGE BONOMY: Where is it?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I don't know whether you know, but
7 we had it in the building that housed our staff. It was made in one
8 single copy. That kind of plan is signed by the superior commanding
9 officer that was in charge of the operation. The whole building burnt
10 down. 90 per cent of the documentation that would have been very useful
11 for this trial burnt down, but it's not my fault.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: And the other documents that we're looking at, were
13 they in the same building?
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. These are copies of the
15 documents that were kept by the people, the actual officers and workers
16 who were in charge of different cases.
17 JUDGE BONOMY: That's Jasovic and Sparavalo in the case of the
18 ones that they prepared.
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Not only Jasovic and Sparavalo.
20 There is also Krstic and others.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: So these have come from the individuals who
22 compiled them.
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Some of them kept copies for
24 themselves. A policeman and an inspector had the right to keep a copy for
25 his own personal file after sending a copy to his superior officer.
Page 44902
1 JUDGE BONOMY: Did you bring these documents to The Hague or did
2 they come some other way?
3 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Part of the documents were brought
4 by me. Another part was obtained by the associates of Mr. Milosevic in
5 Belgrade from the Ministry of the Interior, and I brought some copies of
6 the reports that I had.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: And did you actually get any copy documents from
8 people who had compiled the reports and then kept copies for themselves?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, some.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: Going back to the plan, when the Staff approved the
11 plan and it was sent back to you, did they not keep a copy?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Such plans are made in one single
13 copy. After the implementation of the operation, the plan is returned to
14 the Staff. After this operation, the Ministry of the Interior established
15 a working group that analysed all the events before and after the
16 implementation of this operation. That plan had to be returned to the
17 Staff to serve as a basis for drafting a plan to clarify the circumstances
18 that required this anti-terrorist operation to take place. That was the
19 responsibility of the policemen who worked there.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: You've lost me now. The plan was sent back from
21 your office to Belgrade?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No, in Pristina. The MUP staff in
23 Pristina.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: And this was to later -- at a later stage, to
25 analyse these events. Is that what you're saying?
Page 44903
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] After this anti-terrorist operation
2 was over, the public prosecutor sent an application to the Staff to give
3 him information that would serve as a basis for analysing the
4 circumstances in which this operation took place. The MUP set up a
5 working group to analyse all the facts and all the circumstances that had
6 an influence on the course of the operation.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: But my question was: Was the plan sent back to
8 Pristina?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: And is it still there?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, it was there until the
12 bombing.
13 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Milosevic. Please continue.
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] There. I have before me index of
16 exhibits with updated cross-references. That means everything is
17 specified in great detail and precision. I hope we will be thus able to
18 identify exactly what has been admitted and what hasn't.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. What matters to me, Mr. Janicevic, is this: These documents under
21 tab 65 and 66, have you read reach one of them carefully, and did you read
22 each one of them carefully at the time when they were written, for the
23 purpose for which they were written?
24 A. Yes. Each document had to come to my desk. In addition to other
25 officers, they had to be submitted to me. I read each one of them
Page 44904
1 carefully, I saw what they were about, I saw what operative intelligence
2 they contained, and with my subordinates at our regular briefings, we
3 agreed what specific measures to take on the basis of this information.
4 Q. In tab 66, we also have a great number of statements taken from a
5 certain number of persons who are indubitably Albanian, judging by their
6 names.
7 A. Yes. These are persons who, under various circumstances, came to
8 contact with the police or who came to the police of their own accord.
9 Interviews were conducted with them to discuss the presence, the
10 activities, and crimes committed by the KLA in that area.
11 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Let me draw your attention,
12 gentlemen, for instance, in tab 66, out of 44, only about 20 have been
13 admitted already.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Do you know which ones?
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I know exactly, exactly. So in tab
16 66, previously admitted were 66.4, .7, 9, 10, 11 --
17 THE INTERPRETER: Mr. Milosevic is kindly asked to read more
18 slowly, especially numbers.
19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] 19, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29.
20 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter has missed some.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, and that's
22 it. These have been admitted already.
23 MR. NICE: Several of the others aren't translated, of course.
24 And it's not just a question of knowing which documents have been produced
25 before. That's not the exercise on which I am engaged. The exercise on
Page 44905
1 which I'm engaged is to see what if any relevance there is in any of these
2 documents on the matters before us. That's, of course, additionally
3 difficult to do if they're not translated.
4 JUDGE KWON: As we indicated, Mr. Milosevic, given that this
5 witness is the most immediate person to the operation that took place in
6 Racak, can we not hear from him what he learned from his experience, and
7 then we can come back to these exhibits later.
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Certainly, certainly.
9 JUDGE KWON: Please do so.
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well.
11 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. You have just explained what kind of information you had about
13 terrorist activities. What kind of knowledge did you have about the
14 fortifications and all the other installations that existed in Racak
15 before you ordered this operation to be carried out?
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, let us move directly to the
17 information that he received on the day of the incident. We have had
18 enough information now about the background and the incidents that led to
19 the January 15th attacks.
20 He told us that he received information by radio. We want to find
21 out what he heard.
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] So you are not interested in
23 anything that preceded and that motivated this operation planned by the
24 Secretariat of the Interior in Urosevac, as signed and prepared by
25 Mr. Janicevic, Colonel Janicevic, in fact.
Page 44906
1 JUDGE ROBINSON: Are you referring to evidence which we have
2 already have in relation to the killing of two Serb policemen?
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, you have heard Colonel
4 Janicevic explain that it was not only two policemen who were killed. It
5 was a whole series of terrorist activities involving the killing of 12
6 persons that preceded this anti-terrorist action.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: We have the context.
8 JUDGE KWON: We have had enough, so why don't you go straight to
9 the 15th of January.
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
11 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. Let's clear up this. You just mentioned this plan. That plan was
13 approved. Who approved it?
14 A. Chief of Sector, Vlastimir Djordjevic.
15 Q. How many policemen were engaged in the implementation of the
16 operation, from your secretariat and from the Staff?
17 A. One hundred five members of the Special Police Unit and 30 members
18 of the Operations Pursuit Group.
19 Q. These 105 members were from your secretariat and you are their
20 immediate superior?
21 A. Yes.
22 JUDGE BONOMY: We've had all this information. You've been
23 instructed what to do. We ought to terminate this if you're not going to
24 do as instructed.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
Page 44907
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Now, I have to lay the foundation for my following question, which
3 is: What was the mission? What was the task of that -- of those members
4 of the Special Police Unit?
5 JUDGE BONOMY: We've had all the details of the numbers who were
6 there and who was responsible for what. So let's get to the issue.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Who could you have heard the details
8 from, please? If the superior officer of that Special Police Unit was
9 here, I assume it was up to him to say what kind of task the unit had.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: That's your next question, but you've just gone
11 over yet again the numbers of officers who were there which he's already
12 told us in great detail. If you were listening to the answers to the
13 questions, you would know that.
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm not asking about the numbers.
15 I've heard the numbers. I asked what task that Special Police Unit had.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] May I answer?
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, answer that question and let's move on.
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] According to the plan, the
19 assignment of the Special Police Unit company was to block the village of
20 Racak from the Stimlje axis and Beric [phoen] and Petrovo. The task of
21 the Operational Pursuit Group which was trained and underwent a number of
22 training sessions in anti-terrorist combat was to enter into the rear
23 in-depth of the village where the terrorists were located during the
24 night; in the early hours of the morning, in fact.
25 According to the plan, the pursuit group set out at 3.00 and fully
Page 44908
1 took control of the trenches and positions held by the terrorists sometime
2 until 6.30. The special police company started to effect the blockade of
3 the village at about 6.30 a.m., and the operation went on until about
4 7.00 a.m.
5 Q. When you reached Stimlje; is that right?
6 A. Yes, I reached Stimlje then.
7 Q. And then you were able to follow the operation yourself?
8 A. That's right. And at that same time, approximately at that time,
9 two vehicles turned up with the verifiers, who had been informed about the
10 anti-terrorist operation that was under way.
11 Q. Please, before I ask my next question, who informed the verifiers?
12 Who was it who did that?
13 A. The verifiers were informed by Colonel Mijatovic, the deputy head
14 of the Staff in Pristina, at the headquarters in Pristina, and the police
15 station commander Branko Mladenovic on their outstation in Stimlje.
16 Q. Right. So you were in Stimlje --
17 JUDGE BONOMY: Before you move on, when you say the verifiers
18 showed up, where were they?
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They were stationed at two positions
20 which was the -- were the best vantage points from which they were able to
21 observe the operation. They had -- they saw the whole of Racak as if it
22 were in the palm of their hands, and if they observed properly, then they
23 were able to see every single thing that went on, and I'm sure they did do
24 that.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Did you see them?
Page 44909
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. I saw their vehicles and
2 people around the vehicles, but I didn't approach them because I watched
3 them from a distance.
4 JUDGE BONOMY: At what time did you see them?
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I think it was around 7.00 in the
6 morning, when I myself arrived.
7 JUDGE BONOMY: And is that the only time that you saw them?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I saw them later on when I left the
9 police station, in the yard. Because from the yard of the police station
10 in Stimlje, you can see the points and positions at which the verifiers
11 were. Stimlje is not a large town. It's a -- it's a village, slightly
12 larger village, but could you see the position of one group and the other
13 group. And around 10.00 on that same day, the group that was at the
14 entrance to Racak itself, coming in from the direction of Stimlje and the
15 old people's home there, another vehicle joined them. So that would make
16 a total of three groups of verifiers observing the operation throughout
17 the day, practically the whole time.
18 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. Now, I would like to clear up the presence of the verifiers in
21 very precise terms, and we've just mentioned that. Mr. Janicevic, I have
22 several photographs here. It's -- they are called aerial photographs
23 showing the gully and buildings, and so on and so forth. So several
24 photographs. Some are aerial photographs, others are taken from the
25 ground. And I'd like to ask you now -- and let me say that they are
Page 44910
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Page 44911
1 photographs provided and presented by Mr. Nice here.
2 I would like to ask you to take a look at them, and I'd like to
3 ask you for some explanations on the basis of those photographs.
4 What could the verifiers see from the positions you saw them at?
5 Were they able to see everything happening in Racak? Take a look at those
6 photographs, please, and tell me whether you recognise the general area,
7 the terrain, the lie of the land. Do you recognise the lie of the land,
8 and from the positions that you saw the verifiers at, were they able to
9 see this whole terrain, this whole area?
10 You can take a look at the photographs, and you can set aside what
11 you wish to use for your explanation.
12 A. This is part of Racak taken from the air, photographed from the
13 air. The verifiers were not there.
14 Q. Now, what you can see -- I'm not saying -- you will tell us the
15 positions of the verifiers, but what I want to know is this: The
16 verifiers, from the point they were at, were they able to see this part,
17 this area?
18 A. This part here, except for this valley, they might have not seen
19 this indentation here, where it says 1 to 5, this depression. Perhaps a
20 group was able to see that depression, or maybe not, but the hill between
21 those two hamlets they were able to see if they had eyes to see it.
22 That's -- they were able to see if they looked, if they used their eyes.
23 JUDGE KWON: Could we find out the exhibit number of this, for the
24 record. Let's go on.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Nice may be able to help us later on, or
Page 44912
1 Ms. Higgins.
2 MR. NICE: I may be able to help. Whether this is one that's been
3 produced or whether this is one that's been provided as a general
4 disclosure under 68 or otherwise, I'm not sure. Perhaps the accused could
5 explain. If he's saying it's an exhibit, then it will be a shorter
6 search. He should, however, identify exhibits by number when he produces
7 them.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, we have been through this before.
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, yes.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: It's your responsibility to identify --
11 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Fine. Very well.
12 JUDGE KWON: And no doubt this is part of the Racak binder, I
13 assume. Let's go on in the meantime.
14 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. Mr. Janicevic, please. Take a look at just a few of these
16 photographs and tell us whether you can state -- whether you can see the
17 positions of the verifiers on any of those photographs.
18 A. Of course you can see their positions. You can see them on both
19 these photographs, on both places. One group of verifiers was in this
20 part here.
21 Q. You mean on the hill?
22 A. Yes, on the hill. On the opposite side from which this photograph
23 was taken.
24 Q. So this photograph, the photograph of this area, you could see
25 from the position where the verifiers were?
Page 44913
1 A. Yes. The group of verifiers was at that point here, and there was
2 another group of verifiers -- this is the school building here, the
3 primary school in Stimlje, and some 250 to 300 metres above the school was
4 another group of verifiers. So this first group of verifiers could see
5 what we saw a moment ago on the previous photograph. They could see --
6 the first group could see both this hamlet here and this part of the
7 village there, in addition to the hill up here.
8 Q. So everything that was marked by Mr. Nice here, they could see all
9 that?
10 A. Yes, everything.
11 Q. All right. Fine. Any other photographs that you consider useful?
12 A. Ah, here's another one. Here you can see it more clearly. The
13 verifiers were here. They were here, and they were in this area here,
14 above the school building, between the Kostanje feature and the school
15 itself, and both groups could see this area here.
16 Q. All right. Fine. Now, tell us, what is the distance, roughly,
17 between the place the verifiers were standing at and this area here?
18 A. I think the first group standing here by the old people's home is
19 not further than 5 to 600 metres away. This other group might have been
20 at a distance of one kilometre, perhaps. Probably a kilometre, yes.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] We see the references here on the
22 map, so I think it is easy to identify what the points are. I took the
23 maps later on, not while preparing and proofing the witness. I found
24 these maps later on, after I had talked to the witness.
25 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 44914
1 Q. Anyway, thank you, Mr. Janicevic. Now -- yes, what did you want
2 to say?
3 A. There's another photograph here where we can see the
4 fortifications in that part of the village. Here you can see the trenches
5 which come out to the bunkers, and a second line of trenches behind them,
6 behind the village.
7 Q. All right. Fine. Now, could the verifiers see that as well?
8 A. The verifiers knew that the trenches existed. They knew that
9 bunkers existed. They knew that there was shooting, and there was
10 shooting done in their presence, both at the police station and, on one
11 occasion, as far as I was informed, from a 12.7 millimetre weapon. From
12 the Kostanje feature they shot at the police station when the verifiers
13 were inside. So there is no logic that they could not have noticed any of
14 that. That doesn't hold water.
15 Q. This should be Exhibit 156.4, Mr. Nice's set of documents, these
16 photographs. I think it should be 156.4, but I'll check again.
17 A. I found something else on this photograph. May I tell you? This
18 second group that was by the school building --
19 Q. You're talking about the second group of verifiers?
20 A. Yes, the second group of verifiers, by the primary school
21 building. They were a little further off from where the events took
22 place, but they might have had an even better view because they had --
23 THE INTERPRETER: Could the witness repeat what they had? Could
24 the witness repeat what they had, the verifiers, in order to see better.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Please repeat what you just said, Mr. Janicevic.
Page 44915
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The second group of verifiers, which
2 was located at the Kostanje position and feature by the primary school in
3 Stimlje, there is this hill here, you can see that on the monitor, on the
4 screen, and they could see, that group could see everything happening on
5 the neighbouring hill above the village of Racak.
6 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
7 Q. In the area that you're indicating to?
8 A. Yes, the area I'm indicating now. The distance is about one
9 kilometre. And they had very good optic sites, all of them, they were
10 equipped with good optic sites and were able to take photographs. And I
11 think that some did film it using a video camera.
12 Q. Thank you, Mr. Janicevic.
13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'd like to remind you, gentlemen,
14 that yesterday we talked about distances, referring to another matter,
15 what could be seen at 10, 11, 12, 13 kilometres, and here we're talking
16 about a distance of just one kilometre, which even with the naked eye can
17 be seen. It was one kilometre at the most, and Mr. Janicevic said perhaps
18 500 or 600 metres.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. So you saw the verifiers at 7.00 in the morning. When you
21 arrived, they were already there.
22 A. When I reached this area, I saw a group of verifiers next to the
23 police and military point at Kostanje, their yellow vehicle and another
24 vehicle government above the special institute, at the institute at the
25 entrance to Racak, the houses, because the police station is not more than
Page 44916
1 200 metres away from the institution.
2 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Janicevic, can we see the place where you were
3 located at the time from this picture?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Not on this photograph because it's
5 behind this hill here. So behind the hill where the first group of
6 verifiers was standing. Perhaps 20 metres. The altitude was 20 metres
7 lower than them, than that.
8 JUDGE KWON: Thank you.
9 MR. NICE: We've often enough proceeded on the basis of people
10 pointing at maps and not getting them to mark them, but on this occasion
11 it may be the Chamber would conclude that this map ought to be marked by
12 the witness with where he says people were placed -- this photograph ought
13 to be marked by the witness with places where he says people were placed,
14 not least so that if other witnesses come, whereas, for example, the
15 verifiers are identified, they can note precisely what's being said about
16 -- it's also quite difficult to recall sufficiently accurately what the
17 witness may have been intending to identify as the position of a verifier
18 if it's not recorded in writing.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: I agree with you, Mr. Nice, that that would be
20 helpful.
21 We're going to take the break, and when we return we'll have those
22 points marked on the maps. We will adjourn for 20 minutes.
23 --- Recess taken at 10:36 a.m.
24 --- Upon resuming at 10:57 a.m.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Ms. Higgins.
Page 44917
1 MS. HIGGINS: Your Honour, the photographs the witness referred
2 to, the 11 photographs, are in fact Prosecution Exhibit 156, tab 12, which
3 came with the Finnish report.
4 In terms of binder 3 of the Janicevic exhibits, which deals with
5 tabs 55 and 56, could I hand Your Honour a list that I have prepared which
6 I submit simplifies it. It just sets out the ones which have not been
7 exhibited to date, which may be clearer than the list in fact that you
8 have with all together. Could I hand that to the Registry.
9 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, and on behalf of Mr. Milosevic, I
10 express my gratitude to you.
11 Mr. Janicevic, I'm going to ask you to mark on the maps the -- the
12 photographs, rather, on the photographs, the areas where the verifiers
13 were and where you were.
14 Do we have the photographs there?
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] It cannot be seen on the photograph,
16 the place where I was.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, the place where the verifiers were. And
18 then just show it on the ELMO.
19 THE WITNESS: [Marks]
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Is that a sufficient mark, Mr. Nice, or would you
21 like a V placed there, for "verifiers"?
22 MR. NICE: It would certainly help to have it written in, what
23 we're looking at, as we'll probably forget.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Perhaps just a V within the small circle you've
25 drawn, Mr. Janicevic.
Page 44918
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] [Marks] In addition to these two
2 places, from 10.00 another vehicle of the verifiers was at the beginning
3 of this road, which cannot be seen very well from this position. The
4 macadam road leading to Racak. It can best be seen on this particular
5 photograph.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Give us a mark there as well.
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] [Marks] The other group was a bit
8 further up here. It cannot be seen on this photograph. [Marks]
9 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Janicevic, if we are to give the numbers, number
10 1 and number 2 to the verifiers who arrived at 7.00, and number 3 for
11 those who arrived at 10.00, could you indicate the numbers on these marks.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. 1 and 2. They arrived
13 practically at the same time. This and this is the same. As for 3, it's
14 here, at the beginning of this road. This is where the road is. The road
15 goes for another ten to 100 metres. It cannot be seen from here. That's
16 number 3. An hour and a half later, the third one joined the first one.
17 So there were two vehicles of the verifiers, the ones that arrived at
18 10.00. [Marks]
19 JUDGE KWON: Thank you.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
21 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] These photographs that were
23 exhibited by Mr. Nice in 156, tab 12, can now be admitted along with the
24 inscriptions just made by Mr. Janicevic.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. Yes.
Page 44919
1 THE REGISTRAR: That will be D313.
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you.
3 MR. NICE: Very helpful in getting copy documents for us as soon
4 as possible. These are obviously documents I would be assisted by having
5 over the weekend, if possible; before the weekend, if possible, in copy
6 form.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, the registrar will see to that.
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, I would like to remind
9 you and Mr. Kwon that a while ago when I played a videotape for you that
10 was recorded at the time of the event in Racak, I showed on it the orange
11 vehicles belonging to the verifiers, and they were on that videotape.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: You've certainly played a videotape while I've been
13 here and claimed that there were orange vehicles on it, but I couldn't at
14 the time see them. So if you have an opportunity of playing that tape
15 again, I would welcome it.
16 MR. NICE: Indeed, that's a position I endorse and I would be
17 assisted myself.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'll try to find that tape over the
19 weekend.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] As a matter of fact, I believe it
22 can be found in the video material from the hearings, just like Mr. Kay
23 found Paddy Ashdown's testimony and when that was shown.
24 May I proceed now?
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, please.
Page 44920
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Mr. Janicevic, you explained what the task of the members of the
3 Special Police Unit was. So what was the exact time when this unit
4 carried out a blockade from the Stimlje-Petrovo-Belince direction?
5 A. The blockade was introduced exactly around 7.00.
6 Q. That was the time when you arrived at the spot?
7 A. That's right.
8 Q. After that, this blockade that was placed from Stimlje, Belince
9 and Petrovo Selo, did it start narrowing down?
10 A. After the blockade was placed and after information was received
11 that the trenches of the terrorists were taken by the members of the
12 Operative Pursuit Group in the background of the village, the area was
13 narrowed down. At the same time, the commander of the company used a
14 megaphone, a loudspeaker, asking the terrorists to surrender, telling them
15 that they were under a blockade and that they would be arrested. So --
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, tell us how you're learning this.
17 Is this something you saw or is this a report that you received?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is the report of the company
19 commander.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: And that is Mr. Milan Lecic?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. I'm sorry, let me just add
22 something to what I've said. The police station of Stimlje is 100 to 150
23 metres away from the place where the blockade starts, or basically where
24 the village of Racak starts. It's in the depression and Racak starts on
25 the hill. Cesta, as they call it. So when the blockade moved further on,
Page 44921
1 at the same moment the company commander used a loudspeaker to ask them to
2 surrender, and he repeated that for about 15 times until gunfire was
3 opened.
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: This information you received by radio? This
5 information you received by radio?
6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The first call I heard myself, when
7 he first called upon them to surrender, and after that, over the radio.
8 JUDGE KWON: What time was it? What time was it?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Around 7.00 in the morning. I
10 cannot tell you the exact time, but it was, say, 7.00 or five past seven.
11 JUDGE KWON: Did the operation not start at 3.00, earlier than
12 7.00?
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Part of the operation started at
14 3.00 in the morning. Part of the operation involving the Operative
15 Pursuit Group that had the task of taking the trenches or, rather, getting
16 to the terrorists from the back and making it impossible for them to
17 escape towards the hamlet of Luzak and Petrovo Selo and the other villages
18 where they were behind. This Operative Pursuit Group of the police did
19 not have the task to narrow down the terrain. Their task was to wait for
20 the terrorists and also to call upon them to surrender if they come across
21 them.
22 The task of the company was to narrow down the blockade and to
23 possibly arrest the terrorists, if they would agree to be arrested; if
24 they didn't open fire, that is.
25 JUDGE KWON: So you're saying that the combat did not take place
Page 44922
1
2
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12 Blank page inserted to ensure pagination corresponds between the French and
13 English transcripts.
14
15
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18
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21
22
23
24
25
Page 44923
1 until 7.00, did it?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Open combat did not take place
3 before 7.00, except for the combat during the night from 3.00 until 5.30
4 when three or four terrorists were killed who were at the positions that
5 they had taken.
6 JUDGE KWON: What were you doing while that combat was taking
7 place overnight?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The morning? I was not there. But
9 I was informed at 7.00.
10 JUDGE KWON: Where were you and what was -- what were you doing at
11 3.00, from 3.00?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I was in Urosevac. When I arrived
13 in Stimlje, they told me that the Operative Pursuit Group had taken up
14 positions where the terrorists had been until then and that they were
15 waiting for the narrowing down of the blockade by the PJP company from the
16 direction of Belince.
17 JUDGE KWON: Please proceed, Mr. Milosevic.
18 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. So you explained just now that the Operative Pursuit Group, before
20 the blockade got narrowed down, took those trenches.
21 A. That's right.
22 Q. There was not much fighting there because there were only a few
23 members of the KLA there who were guarding the trenches?
24 A. Only two.
25 Q. Only two?
Page 44924
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And then when they took the trenches, they were waiting for a
3 Special Police Unit to start narrowing down the blockade from the area of
4 Stimlje?
5 A. To introduce a total blockade.
6 Q. All right. I just wanted to see whether I understood you
7 correctly, what you were saying.
8 So you heard the first call over the loudspeaker to surrender.
9 You heard that yourself. And then you heard them over the radio.
10 A. That's right.
11 Q. Did the terrorists respond to this call to surrender?
12 A. Not a single one. As for the first call, the --
13 MR. NICE: I wonder if I could interrupt.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Nice, yes.
15 MR. NICE: The leading question, which was clearly intentional,
16 is --
17 JUDGE KWON: It is a summary of what is the evidence so far, I
18 take it.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: It's the evidence already.
20 MR. NICE: Very well, but it's a -- it's the bit about taking the
21 trenches, waiting for the special --
22 JUDGE BONOMY: That wasn't the previous --
23 MR. NICE: No. Now, that is a critical part of this narrative, as
24 the accused well knows from the documents I've explored, and it may be
25 that the Chamber would think it prudent to take the questioning away from
Page 44925
1 the accused and to find out exactly what and with what sources this
2 witness is able to give this part of the narrative. It is a critical part
3 of the narrative.
4 I'll do it, of course, in cross-examination otherwise, but that
5 question seemed to me to be pretty monstrous.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: You can do it in cross-examination, as you said.
7 MR. NICE: So be it.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. All right. Mr. Janicevic, you've just described now what was
10 going on. Could you please put on the overhead projector a map of Racak,
11 and could you explain to us on that map the beginning of the operation,
12 how it evolved, the positions of the members of the MUP, of the
13 terrorists, and how the operation developed.
14 I would like to draw your attention to 70.1, the development of
15 the situation from 3.00 until 8.30 a.m. In tab 70.2, a map including the
16 development of the situation from 8.30 until 10.00, and in the following
17 tab from 10.00 until 1530 hours.
18 Could you please explain?
19 MR. NICE: Before we race ahead, if we're going to be looking at
20 these maps, it may be that the Court would be assisted by knowing
21 something about by whom and when the maps were drawn and for what purpose.
22 JUDGE KWON: Yes. I was about to ask. If you could answer the
23 question.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The maps were prepared in
25 preparation of this trial, in Belgrade, in cooperation with Milan Lecic,
Page 44926
1 commander of the PJP company, before I came here.
2 MR. NICE: There's a problem for Chamber, in my respectful
3 submission. We are now, it would appear, being offered hearsay material,
4 prepared for the purposes of the litigation, by someone who it appears is
5 not coming. Because when the Chamber invited the accused to call him, or
6 suggested how wise it would be to call him, the accused characteristically
7 didn't answer the question and gave an answer to a different question, the
8 preceding procedural issue that the Chamber had raised with him, in much
9 the same way as he's declined, despite Radosavljevic being on his witness
10 list, ever to come clean about whether he's going to call him. Now
11 apparently not.
12 Now, these documents, it would seem to me, may offend the
13 Chamber's approach to hearsay material.
14 [Trial Chamber confers]
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, let me clarify this: Were you
16 involved in the preparation of this map?
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you.
19 [Trial Chamber confers]
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Milosevic, proceed.
21 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. Could you please explain, using this map, how the operation
23 started and how it developed; the position of MUP members, the position of
24 KLA members, and how the situation developed.
25 A. Let me explain the legend first, if you allow me. Blue designates
Page 44927
1 the Siptar terrorist forces in the field and the positions they were
2 occupying. Red is for VJ forces. The circle with an arrow is the
3 direction of movement of MUP members.
4 JUDGE KWON: Just a second. I understand the colour version is
5 not offered to the Prosecution. No?
6 MR. NICE: And how, if I may ask --
7 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
8 MR. NICE: -- through the Court, how am I supposed to be able to
9 deal with colour-coded maps in preparation for cross-examination if I'm
10 only provided with black and white? It simply won't do.
11 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I will provide the Prosecution with
12 my own copies of these maps in colour. And I will ask the AV booth --
13 these are three different maps for three different times. I will ask
14 the --
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Is it tab 70.1 which is now on the ELMO?
16 JUDGE KWON: Yes. I can note it by the time. It starts from
17 3.00.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Is the witness able to say or --
19 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson -- excuse me,
21 Mr. Janicevic, just a minute.
22 I would like to ask the video engineers to sharpen the colours,
23 because we cannot see them very well on the projector, the red, blue, and
24 green.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, they would have heard that. Let's see
Page 44928
1 whether that can be done.
2 JUDGE KWON: While it is being prepared, Mr. Janicevic, bear in
3 mind when you answer the question put by the accused, please indicate as
4 how you did come to know those facts; whether you heard that in person or
5 whether you heard that in recent preparation for your testimony. Do you
6 follow?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I understand. Can I start?
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. Can you first answer Mr. Kwon's question. Mr. Kwon asked you a
10 question.
11 JUDGE KWON: No. You bear in mind in answering each question to
12 indicate as how you come to know each fact.
13 Can you go back to the VJ position? You said VJ position.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Red designates VJ forces.
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Can we see anything on the screen
16 here?
17 JUDGE KWON: 243 Motor Brigade.
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] 243 Motorised Brigade, correct.
19 They were located on Canovica Brdo, below elevation 671.
20 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
21 Q. Let us clarify one thing: There was one unit of the 243rd Brigade
22 there. Why was it there?
23 A. That unit of the 243rd Brigade was there to protect
24 communications, pursuant to the agreement with the OSCE.
25 Q. Pursuant to the agreement with the OSCE?
Page 44929
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I remind you, gentlemen, that in
2 every area of Kosovo there was one unit, one company strong, to secure
3 roads, and that is the location marked here.
4 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. Now, tell us, Mr. Janicevic, that unit of the VJ, did it
6 participate in any way in the anti-terrorist operation in Racak?
7 A. No. Not a single soldier, not a single combat vehicle of this
8 group or any other VJ group was involved in the anti-terrorist operation.
9 I can say that with full responsibility.
10 Q. You marked it exactly where it was positioned pursuant to the
11 agreement, and that was the location where they were standing. There was
12 no coordinated action or anything of the sort?
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, you cannot lead in these matters.
14 You know that this is a controversial issue in the trial. You cannot
15 lead. You cannot lead --
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] He answered. Mr. Robinson, prior to
17 this, the witness replied. He said, and I'm summarising, not a single
18 soldier of this group or any group was involved in Racak. Not a single
19 unit of the army was involved in Racak. That's what he said before. He
20 said, "I say with full responsibility that not a single soldier or vehicle
21 were participating in the anti-terrorist operation in Racak." It's all on
22 the record.
23 JUDGE KWON: Involvement in the operation could be one thing and
24 coordination could be another. Please bear in mind the leading question
25 is not helpful to the Chamber.
Page 44930
1 Please proceed, Mr. Milosevic.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. All right. Bearing in mind what Mr. Kwon said, was there any
4 coordination with this army unit that you marked here?
5 A. No. On the 14th of January, in the evening, before the operation
6 began, there was a meeting and Krsman Jelic, commander of this unit of the
7 243rd Brigade, was invited to be acquainted with the plan of action. The
8 person in charge of the operation, the company commander and platoon
9 commanders were also attending the meeting.
10 Krsman Jelic, commander of this army unit, was invited so as to
11 know that if any combat occurs between terrorists and policemen, he
12 shouldn't open fire on the policemen who were going to be in front of him.
13 They had, in addition to this, two forward posts, one on the road with a
14 combat vehicle Praga positioned there, manned by five or six soldiers, and
15 another standing post on Kostanje hill, which you cannot see on this map,
16 but it's approximately in the same area where the verifiers were. That's
17 east of Stimlje.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: What's the basis for this information which you
19 are providing? What's the source?
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I saw it with my own eyes.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: Were you at the meeting on the 14th of January?
22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I was there.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. Mr. Janicevic, who chaired that meeting of the 14th?
25 A. I chaired it, as chief of the secretariat and as somebody who was
Page 44931
1 personally interested in having this operation carried out in that area to
2 put a stop to terrorist activities and to put a stop to killings.
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I just received information that one
4 of my associates found and prepared the videotape showing verifiers in
5 Racak.
6 If I may address the video engineers, this is a good time, a
7 convenient time to play it.
8 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. Let it be played.
9 [Videotape played]
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] These are the vehicles of the
11 verifiers that you see now. The police is coming in. Up on the hill are
12 verifiers. It's enough. Thank you, video engineers. We can move on.
13 MR. NICE: First of all, it would be helpful to be just reminded
14 of the exhibit number for this exhibit, and it would also be helpful, if
15 it hasn't been provided in the evidence so far, to know the provenance of
16 the tape and also whether what we've seen is said to be a continuous
17 passage of the tape.
18 It's among a number of issues that arise from the tapes of that
19 have been produced by the accused and in the course of the Racak material,
20 and I'd certainly be grateful now to know a little bit more, if we can,
21 about that tape as it's been shown. Or later, but preferably now.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, can you say whether this is in
23 evidence already; and, if so, what is the number?
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] This has been shown here, I'm
25 certain of that. It was shown by me. I cannot tell you off-the-cuff
Page 44932
1 which exhibit number it was or whether it has been admitted at all. At
2 that time, I remember I thought everything played here was automatically
3 admitted, and it was only later that you explained to me that I had to
4 tender it.
5 MR. NICE: Ms. Dicklich I think has identified all the material,
6 and it's 45. -- 290 tab 45.2, and it's said that the source -- 45.1, and
7 it's said that the source is Reuters but we know no more than that. And I
8 don't know whether this is an unbroken, I mean an uninterrupted passage of
9 Reuters tape, and it was introduced through the witness Marinkovic.
10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes. It was admitted on the 23rd --
11 24th of March this year. And the source is Reuters. A Reuters team
12 filmed this. They were accompanying the police and they filmed everything
13 they could see in Racak. It's tab 290. It was played during the
14 testimony of Investigating Judge Danica Marinkovic.
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: Do you know when this was filmed, Mr. Milosevic,
16 or the witness?
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] It was filmed on the 15th of
18 January, in Racak, as the police entered. It is a longer video. You
19 could see a much longer video. The police was just going into Racak.
20 Fire hadn't been opened yet. You can see verifiers on the hill. And fire
21 was opened on the police a bit later. What we just saw was the beginning
22 of the blockade. That's D290, tab 45.
23 [Trial Chamber confers]
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, you said there was more to this
25 tape.
Page 44933
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, and you saw that material when
2 I played it first. I believe I even played part of it during my opening
3 statement or, rather, one of my opening statements, but I will try to play
4 it again for you, if you wish, in its entirety.
5 JUDGE KWON: My record says it lasts 6 minutes and 23 seconds, so
6 it will not last that long. Ten, ten minutes.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, please proceed.
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Robinson.
9 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. Could you explain, Mr. Janicevic, this first map that is on the
11 overhead projector that explains how things developed from 3.00 a.m. to
12 8.30 a.m.
13 A. I left off when I was explaining the legend. This circle with the
14 horizontal arrow is the direction of movement of the MUP. The curved
15 line, the curved green line, are MUP forces. The blue circle, half
16 coloured, is a bunker of the Siptar terrorist forces. The crossed circle
17 are fallen terrorists. A circle with another horizontal arrow in blue is
18 the direction of pull-out of the terrorists. The green square with the
19 flag is the police station. Green rectangular, filled up to a diagonal
20 line, is a police checkpoint; and a blue triangle is the observation post
21 of the Siptar terrorist forces.
22 The police station Stimlje marked, and the green circle with the
23 arrow is the place from which the 6th Company of the PJP moved out at that
24 time.
25 Q. Were you there in Stimlje in the police station beginning with
Page 44934
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Page 44935
1 7.00 a.m.?
2 A. Yes, and I was there all the time after that.
3 Q. What is the scale of this map?
4 A. 1:25.000.
5 Q. I just gave my map to Mr. Nice, but I believe it's 1 -- I'm sorry,
6 it's actually 1:12.500.
7 A. Yes, the scale is even larger. One square is 500 square metres,
8 in reality.
9 This is the position of the army. At this police checkpoint the
10 Operative Pursuit Group moved out at 3.00 a.m. The Operative Pursuit
11 Group moves through the woods until they reach the trenches occupied by
12 the terrorists. At 5.00 a.m., they enter the trenches and take full
13 control of them before 6.30, with the exception of one thing, and that is
14 the observation post at Krcine. That was taken a bit later.
15 From 5.00 a.m. to 6.30 a.m., in this time line, at 6.51 terrorist
16 was killed in a bunker. At 6.45 two were killed who manned the
17 observation post and a machine-gun nest below Krcine elevation.
18 At 6.45, four terrorists were killed who had been moving to
19 replace the group that had manned the trenches until then. They were to
20 take over their shift. There were 3 terrorists plus one leader.
21 At 7.15 the terrorists were already seized by panic. They had
22 heard over the loudspeaker that they were surrounded. They heard --
23 Q. Just a minute. It says in the transcript three terrorists plus
24 one leader. That is the shift leader, shift leader, in fact. It is
25 something like a sergeant. Shift leader. He is no leader, at least not
Page 44936
1 in the political sense. It should be "shift leader."
2 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I ask, what is the source of your knowledge of
3 these events so far?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The company commander, Milan Lecic,
5 was my subordinate. One of the leaders of this Operative Pursuit Group,
6 late Miro Mekic, who was killed on the 19th of November, fighting
7 terrorists who were trying to protect their positions, wrote a report
8 after the operation was finished on the 18th of January, and based on that
9 report, based on my own memory and the memory of the company commander,
10 this account of the advance of the police in Racak and the whole time line
11 of events from 3.00 to 8.30 was written.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: Do you have that report with you?
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Unfortunately not, and I explained
14 why I didn't have it.
15 JUDGE BONOMY: What happened to it, sorry?
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The report and almost all the
17 documents relevant to this -- these proceedings were burnt when the
18 building of the MUP in Pristina was bombed.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you. Now, the various people who were killed
20 so far, how were they killed?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In combat.
22 JUDGE BONOMY: Yes, but how?
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] In the armed settling of accounts.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: What weapons were used to kill them?
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Infantry weapons.
Page 44937
1 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] May the witness continuing
3 answering?
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
5 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
6 Q. Go ahead, Mr. Janicevic.
7 A. At the entrance to Racak, at the terrorist checkpoint next to the
8 road from the Stimlje axis, at 0715 hours a terrorist was killed, and the
9 police forces, to all intents and purposes, set up a siege or semi-siege
10 around Racak until 8.30 a.m., by 8.30 a.m. There were no losses on the
11 side of the police. The terrorists at the time, at about 7.15 a.m. tried
12 to pull out towards the Hadzovici hamlet and the Luzak hamlet, which is
13 part of Petrovo village.
14 Q. Is that all?
15 A. Yes, that's all.
16 Q. So that was the dynamics that went on there. Now let's see the
17 events after 8.30 I think until 10.00 a.m. it was. I can't find the exact
18 time. I have it here somewhere. Let me just take a moment to find it.
19 JUDGE KWON: While it is being prepared, I should note that legend
20 and chronology should be translated in due course.
21 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. What do we see on the screen now?
23 A. On the screen now we have the activities of MUP units from 8.30
24 a.m. until 10.00 of the 15th of January.
25 Q. Before you begin explaining what happened and the sequence of
Page 44938
1 events and time line, does this legend on the map completely match the
2 legend you've just explained to us?
3 A. Yes, it does. It fully matches it. Here we have the situation
4 that occurred from 8.30 to 10.00 a.m. From 8.30 onwards, there was active
5 fighting and armed resistance towards the police that were moving forward
6 from the direction of Belinac, Stimlje, and part of the Petrovo-Racak
7 road.
8 At -- or, rather, between 9.00 and 10.00, another bunker was taken
9 control of where there were two members of the terrorist group, and that
10 is somewhere in the middle of the village. The village of Racak, of
11 course.
12 At that same time, another bunker was taken control of held by
13 another group of policemen, and two more terrorists were killed in that
14 operation. And in a third bunker, three terrorists were killed by 10.00
15 a.m.
16 The terrorists, who were in the headquarters and the houses in
17 which they had been accommodated, were armed and started in combat
18 formation towards the trenches where members of the pursuit group, police
19 group, were located. And as I said a moment ago, these were taken control
20 of by 6.30 a.m.
21 Without knowing that in the trenches there were members of the
22 police, these same persons reached the trench -- almost reached the
23 trenches. The policemen who were in the trenches themselves called to
24 them to surrender. The terrorists were taken by surprise because they
25 thought they had their own men in the trenches, and they opened heavy
Page 44939
1 fire, targeting the police members of the pursuit group in the trench, and
2 most of the terrorists were killed in that operation. So between 7.00 and
3 7.30, eight terrorists were killed in the northern side of the trenches
4 behind the village of Racak.
5 From 7.00 --
6 JUDGE BONOMY: Why does this now deal with from 7.00 to 7.30 when
7 it bears to be from 8.30 until 10.00?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This map shows the time line and how
9 the blockade was narrowed down by the PJP. The positions that were taken
10 were taken from 3.00 a.m., and the position of the pursuit group did not
11 change to the end of the operation. The people who were --
12 JUDGE BONOMY: These deaths don't appear on the previous one
13 you've just gone through.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] They don't appear, but they're here
15 on this map.
16 JUDGE BONOMY: And what's your source of knowledge of these events
17 that you're now describing?
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] A report by the late Miro Mekic.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: So these aren't things that you were hearing going
20 on. These are the result of a written report by your inferior officer.
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes.
22 JUDGE BONOMY: From whom we're not going what hear; is that right?
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: You just described him as late.
24 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Unfortunately, yes. He was killed
25 in an operation on the 19th of January. Warrant officer.
Page 44940
1 Here we don't have the time intentionally or the movement of the
2 unit because this was a stationary unit, which from 6.30 a.m. took up
3 their positions and remained there until the end of the operation. It was
4 just the group of policemen that moved around under the command of Lecic.
5 The 6th Police Company which narrowed down and tightened the blockade. So
6 that's why it's not clear, these deaths and casualties are not quite clear
7 here.
8 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
9 Q. Very well. Is that all in relation to that map?
10 A. Well, let me just explain how many people were killed there. From
11 7.30, on the northern side, eight persons were killed. On the southern --
12 or, rather, northern side of the trench. Six were killed at the bunker
13 between 7.00 and 7.30, and seven were killed in the central part of the
14 trenches. And from 7.00 to 7.30 or 7.35, other -- the others were killed
15 in the bunker above the village, five others.
16 PJP units until 10.00, the green lines there, from the western
17 side. The west is here.
18 Q. West of Stimlje, you mean?
19 A. Yes, west of Stimlje from Racak.
20 Q. I don't understand that. Could you give me an explanation.
21 Explain it to me. To the right we should have east. We should be looking
22 east on the right.
23 A. Yes, you're quite right. At the same time, around 10.00, the
24 terrorists were regrouping and re-organising from Petrovo. They sent
25 reinforcements towards Hadzovici and the Red Road, as it was called, or
Page 44941
1 the wall. And a group from the village of Luzak were moving towards the
2 Krcine feature and above. On the left-hand side -- it reached the
3 left-hand side at about 10.00 a.m. Then there was a clash and sporadic
4 shooting or, rather, heavy shooting. There was shooting of greater
5 intensity, and that went on until the end of the operation.
6 All this was observed by the verifiers from their positions, the
7 ones that I indicated earlier on, and these are the positions. On the
8 map, I think this would be one position, and another one would be over
9 here, near this Kostanje military police position.
10 I don't know if I've made myself clear enough.
11 Q. Sufficiently clear. I think we can move on to the third map now,
12 which shows us the situation up until 1530 hours.
13 A. The legend is the same as the one that applied on the previous
14 map. On this map here we see the situation between 10.15 and 10.30 hours.
15 During that period of time, the police took control of almost the entire
16 village of Racak. Between 10.30 and 1200 hours, two more terrorists were
17 killed in the middle of the village, in a bunker that we didn't know
18 about, didn't know existed, or we can -- it wasn't actually a bunker. It
19 was a shelter of some sort.
20 At 10.30, or, rather, between 10.30 and 12.30, two more lost their
21 lives around their staff headquarters, and with that, the operation was
22 completed.
23 From 1100 hours until 1530 hours, the police that were moving
24 forward in the village had heavy attacks from the Hadzovici and Luzak
25 villages. And Luzak. That is to say the terrorists launched an all-out
Page 44942
1 attack with all the weapons they had at their disposal, and they shelled
2 the oncoming police with 60-millimetres mortars and hand-held rocket
3 launchers of 500 millimetres. Several vehicles were damaged, and one
4 policeman was killed -- was wounded in the clash.
5 At 1530 hours, a team -- or, rather, a little before 1530, an
6 on-site investigation team led by Danica Marinkovic went on site, together
7 with the Urosevac SUP team as well as the deputy public prosecutor --
8 As soon as this started from all sides --
9 Q. Mr. Janicevic, you didn't enunciate the name of the deputy public
10 prosecutor so we see an empty space in the transcript, and I must --
11 A. Ismet Sufta.
12 Q. Yes. Could you be clearer when pronouncing the names, please.
13 Thank you.
14 A. He was the deputy public prosecutor, district public prosecutor.
15 As soon as the investigation started, it had to be interrupted for
16 security and safety reasons. At a meeting before the operation was
17 launched, it was agreed and it was provided that a group should stay at
18 the positions reached until a Special Police Unit platoon arrived, which
19 would take up its positions until the investigation was completed.
20 However, at around 1530 hours, the leader of the operation, Goran
21 Radosavljevic, appeared and ordered the Operative Pursuit Group to leave
22 the trench and the positions adopted to go to the village, although the
23 policemen who were in charge of taking over those positions had not yet
24 arrived at the trenches to take up their positions there.
25 Q. Well, explain this to me. He appeared. Where was -- where had he
Page 44943
1 been up until then? How did he appear?
2 A. I don't know where he was before that. I didn't have any radio
3 communication with him nor did I see him, but according to information I
4 gathered later on, information coming to me from my associates and the
5 late Miro Mekic, for example, the company commander, he appeared at the
6 point in time when the operation had been completed, to all intents and
7 purposes, and issued orders that the pursuit group withdraw without the
8 previous arrival of the police group that wants to take their place.
9 At the same time, the terrorists who were nearby, near these
10 positions, stormed the trenches and all hell broke loose. There was
11 shooting from all available weaponry, and in five minutes' time the entire
12 team had to pull out the investigation team confronted with this
13 onslaught.
14 So there was an error made in the commands issued. Otherwise, the
15 investigation would have been completed, and there would have been no
16 space for any kind of manipulation. And I stand -- state with full
17 responsibility that the verifiers observed the entire course of this
18 operation, of all these events. There was not a single point in Racak
19 that they could not see from their one position or their second position
20 or their third position. And the television crews that were on the spot
21 filmed the entire course of the operation. I think there were two
22 television crews, in actual fact. A moment ago you said there was the
23 Reuters crew. I didn't know about Reuters, but I did know about
24 Associated Press, that they were there on the spot. Associated Press
25 filmed the entire course of the operation.
Page 44944
1 Q. Did you see any of them personally, contact them in any way?
2 A. I saw the representative of the Associated Press when we were
3 getting the investigation team out of the village of Racak.
4 Q. Unfortunately, we don't have their film.
5 A. I think that the Court can obtain their film too.
6 Q. Thank you, Mr. Janicevic. Just now you described the chronology
7 on these maps. As for this chronology, did you compile some kind of
8 official document about it; and, if so, when? I'm talking about the
9 chronology.
10 A. An official document about the anti-terrorist action in Racak and
11 everything that happened after that was what I compiled, I think on the
12 19th of January, and the development of the chronology of events in Racak,
13 and that was sent to the district public prosecutor's office, describing
14 or, rather, in line with their request. I also submitted it to the MUP
15 staff. One copy stayed in my office. At the request of the working group
16 of the Ministry, I had to hand over that copy of the report to them, and
17 unfortunately, I don't know what happened to it. But what remained in the
18 file is just a part or, rather -- no. The entire chronology is there
19 except for this one page, the last page that is missing.
20 Q. All right. Let me just have a look at something.
21 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I ask, Mr. Nice, is it news to you that there
22 is film in the hands of two news agencies of the actual events in Racak?
23 MR. NICE: Yes.
24 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for Mr. Nice, please.
25 JUDGE BONOMY: Is there anything you can do to ascertain whether
Page 44945
1 there's any more material available?
2 MR. NICE: My machinery is intermittent.
3 You can be quite confident that I will do everything that I
4 possibly can, and the -- no. You can be quite sure I will do -- but these
5 things take some time, especially as we're now on a Friday.
6 Incidentally, while I'm on my feet, I did raise with the legal
7 officer at the beginning of the week whether the collection of Racak
8 materials that we put together for earlier witnesses had been retained by
9 the Court. I don't know whether it has. I would be helped by knowing
10 that because presentation of such material as I may use for asking
11 questions might depend on whether I know there's an existing file that I
12 could add pages to.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: We'll have that checked out.
14 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. Mr. Janicevic, this chronology that you're talking about just now,
16 is that contained in tab 71?
17 A. Yes. That's the chronology compiled on the 19th of January.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, that was already
19 exhibited as D299, tab 397. It was already admitted into evidence. But I
20 just wish to clarify a few things. I want to have them clarified by
21 Mr. Janicevic because he explained a moment ago that he wrote that
22 chronology.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. So could you please first explain to me this missing page. You
25 mentioned a while ago that the last page is missing.
Page 44946
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 44947
1 A. Yes, just one page is missing, the last one, at that.
2 Q. All right. Are you sure that it's your document?
3 A. I'm absolutely sure that it's my document, a document I compiled
4 and sent on to the institutions in charge and to my superior officers.
5 Q. So on that last page we could otherwise see the date, your
6 signature, et cetera?
7 A. That's right.
8 Q. When did you compile this?
9 A. On the 19th of January, 1999.
10 Q. Let me just have a look. I think it's on page 5 of this
11 chronology of yours, somewhere around the middle of the page. You say
12 that this analysis pertains to the period from the 15th until the 19th.
13 So this chronology covers the period from the 15th to the 19th.
14 A. That's right.
15 Q. All right.
16 A. The 19th is the last day when there was fierce fighting in the
17 area.
18 Q. All right. All right. Since you compiled this chronology, do you
19 think that there is something of particular significance that should be
20 indicated, something that has not been mentioned so far in your evidence
21 concerning Racak?
22 A. I think that I've spoken about everything very exhaustively until
23 now, everything that has to do with these events.
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, my request is that
25 these tabs that we looked at just now be admitted into evidence.
Page 44948
1 JUDGE KWON: You referred to tab 70.1, 2, and 3.
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes. Since 71 has already been
3 exhibited. And I've mentioned the number.
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, they're admitted, Mr. Milosevic.
5 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
6 Q. Mr. Janicevic, tell us, as you were establishing all the facts,
7 especially in view of what the district public prosecutor requested from
8 Pristina, did you take some steps; and, if so, what did you do?
9 A. Even without the request of the district public prosecutor, as a
10 rule, after every anti-terrorist action or any action, for that matter, an
11 assessment had to be made and possible evidence had to be gathered about
12 possible accidental omissions or intentional omissions in the work of the
13 police.
14 When I received the request of the district public prosecutor
15 about collecting preliminary information, I asked the company commander
16 and the commanders of the platoons to submit their reports. I myself
17 spoke to several policemen and squad leaders as to whether excessive
18 authority was used or whether there was any abuse of authority during the
19 anti-terrorist action in Racak.
20 According to what I learned, I could not come to the conclusion
21 that there were any omissions or that there was any unlawful action or
22 that there was anything done that was not in line with the code of conduct
23 of the police at the time.
24 Q. Since you've just mentioned the reports of the commander of the
25 6th Company of the Special Police Unit and of the platoon leaders, were
Page 44949
1 these reports done in writing?
2 A. All the reports were done in writing. If you remember, a moment
3 ago I said, when you asked me about the plan and about measures taken
4 against members of the police, I said that a working group had been
5 established in order to determine the responsibility of members of the
6 police in all anti-terrorist actions, not only in relation to Racak.
7 These reports that I collected from members of the police and from their
8 superior officers were submitted to the MUP staff or, rather, this working
9 group that operated within the staff in Pristina.
10 Q. All right. And in addition to your report which, as you've
11 explained just now, was based on the reports of the company commander, the
12 platoon leaders, the representatives of the Operative Pursuit Group, did
13 the MUP staff respond to the request to collect information, the one
14 submitted by the district public prosecutor in Pristina?
15 A. I'm sure that that was done.
16 Q. What does that mean?
17 A. I know that the MUP staff also responded to this request from the
18 district prosecutor.
19 Q. Very well. Let me just have a look at something. What about tab
20 72 that you have in front of you? Does it contain a document that is
21 related to what you've been telling us just now?
22 A. Yes. Tab 72 is explanation of the circumstances under which the
23 crime of terrorism, stipulated in Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the
24 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was committed on the 10th of January,
25 1999, in the village of Slivovo and the 15th of January, 1999, in the
Page 44950
1 village of Racak, municipality of Stimlje.
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, this was already
3 admitted as D299, tab 396.
4 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
5 Q. So what is contained in this document of the Ministry of the
6 Interior, its headquarters in Pristina, everything that is mentioned here,
7 does it fully correspond to what you know about these events?
8 A. Yes, it fully corresponds to what I know. Let me just say that
9 the ambush that was organised on the 10th of January to kill a policeman
10 was the last one in a series of terrorist actions that were carried out by
11 terrorists in the municipality of Stimlje and Urosevac over a period of
12 six months prior to these events.
13 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Janicevic, do you know who wrote this?
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is a document of the working
15 group of the Ministry of the Interior that worked in Pristina.
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] May I proceed, Mr. Kwon?
17 JUDGE KWON: Yes.
18 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. In this document, the village of Slivovo is mentioned. What
20 happened in Slivovo on that 10th of January?
21 A. On the 10th of January, in Slivovo, in the early morning hours the
22 terrorists ambushed a police patrol from Stimlje and fired at a vehicle
23 that was moving. On that occasion, Svetislav Przic, a policeman from the
24 Stimlje police station, was seriously wounded, and two days later he died
25 at the hospital in Pristina due to the injuries sustained then.
Page 44951
1 Q. All right. Thank you. What is contained in this document under
2 tab 73?
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, this was admitted as
4 D299, tab 395.
5 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is a plan of the realisation of
6 operative tactical measures and investigations. Number 1 is
7 identification of the terrorist group, its members and activities in the
8 territory of the village of Racak. This plan was compiled by the working
9 group of the Ministry of the Interior headed by Major General Dragan Ilic,
10 from Belgrade, who at the time was in Pristina, in the territory of Kosovo
11 and Metohija. And members of the group were Miroljub Nikolic and Vladimir
12 Aleksic. That's from the centre at the ministry.
13 On the basis of this plan, this report was compiled, clarifying
14 the circumstances under which the crime of terrorism was committed. That
15 is one of these documents.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, it's time for the break. I take
17 it, Mr. Milosevic, that you'll be concluded -- concluding your
18 examination-in-chief sometime during the next session.
19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, I'll try to go through the
20 remaining questions as fast as possible.
21 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. We are adjourned for 20 minutes.
22 --- Recess taken at 12:17 p.m.
23 --- Upon resuming at 12:43 p.m.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Nice.
25 MR. NICE: There is a matter of some importance, nothing to do
Page 44952
1 with this witness's evidence, that I would desire to raise today. I think
2 it will probably take about five minutes but no more.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: At the end of the day's proceedings.
4 MR. NICE: As Your Honour pleases.
5 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Nice, you asked us about Racak material. Were
6 you referring to the compilation -- the compilation you gave us in
7 connection with Jasovic's evidence?
8 MR. NICE: Correct.
9 JUDGE BONOMY: I have that. Thank you.
10 MR. NICE: I also corrected myself on one point. We were indeed
11 aware, of course, of Reuters being the potential providers of one film
12 from the moment that that exhibit had been indexed on that basis, and
13 indeed a request for further assistance from Reuters has already been sent
14 on behalf of the Office of the Prosecution, so far with no results but
15 matters will be pursued. I think Reuters may be particularly problematic.
16 I'm sure what their present status is. We'll pursue Associated Press
17 today.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, we're working towards your
19 concluding sometime in the middle of this session.
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] That will not be possible,
21 unfortunately, Mr. Robinson. I've just looked through my notes, and I
22 have a number of questions that I cannot complete in that time.
23 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. Mr. Janicevic, when I was asking you about the army, you explained
25 that you only notified the army to avoid friendly fire, to avoid fire of
Page 44953
1 the army on police forces. Now, tell me, since certain witnesses called
2 by Mr. Nice, primarily John Crosland, whose transcript is in tab 74 - the
3 transcript of his testimony, I mean - he claims, along with a number of
4 other witnesses, that the army of Yugoslavia provided artillery support to
5 the shelling of Racak village that went on all day. Can you comment on
6 this claim since you were about a kilometre away from Racak?
7 A. I can say this is completely untrue. What kind of fool would
8 shell a village where the police were engaged, if you think logically.
9 Would the army fire on the police? It's absolutely untrue.
10 Q. Very well. The police was there from early in the morning?
11 A. From 6.30 a.m.
12 Q. Very well. In paragraph 66 of the indictment, we read, inter
13 alia, that the forces of the FRY and Serbia kept firing on the fleeing
14 villagers.
15 A. That also is untrue. There were no more than a hundred people in
16 the village, including the terrorists. Second, the police had no reason
17 to fire on the locals. They were in their houses. They were left alone
18 there. The police was instead responding to the fire of the terrorists.
19 Q. Were any civilians killed by accident in this exchange of fire?
20 A. No. According to our information, all those who were killed were
21 members of the terrorist organisation in Racak.
22 Q. Now, tell me, since you have viewed the photographs of Mr. Nice
23 and you explained the location of the verifiers, from your knowledge of
24 the terrain, was it possible for the verifiers to fail to notice some
25 alleged massacre in the gully?
Page 44954
1 A. From what I have shown from the two locations of the verifiers,
2 they had to see everything that was happening, not only Racak but a circle
3 of 500 to 1.000 metres around Racak, because it is not a wooded area.
4 They had to know that fire had been opened on the police, and it took a
5 lot of shooting for that number of people to be killed.
6 Q. Did the vantage points of the verifiers offer a good view of the
7 gully and all the other locations where fire was opened?
8 A. It could be seen clearly even with the naked eye.
9 Q. Mr. Janicevic, at the time of this operation did you have contact
10 with your operational locations, and did you get any additional
11 information either before or after the operation concerning activities in
12 that area?
13 A. I had regular contacts on a daily basis with all operatives on the
14 terrain, but on the 16th of January specifically I had contacts with the
15 operatives in Racak who were later killed by the terrorists, and they
16 informed me that on the night of the 15th the terrorist group that had
17 arrived from Petrovo village and Luzak village set aside a certain number
18 of the bodies of the terrorists who had been killed and buried them in the
19 Muslim cemetery during the night, the cemetery in Malopoljce. The bodies
20 left unburied were those that belonged to the inhabitants of Racak, the
21 terrorists who were natives of Racak.
22 Q. In view of your involvement in this anti-terrorist operation, do
23 you know anything about the presence of verifiers on the surrounding hills
24 and whether some of the verifiers had been in this area at the critical
25 time?
Page 44955
1 A. On the 16th of January I received a written report from the police
2 patrol that manned the checkpoint outside the entrance to Racak, if you go
3 from Stimlje towards Racak, and the report said briefly that around 2100
4 hours a white jeep holding Ambassador Walker passed through the
5 checkpoint, and there were another two persons and a driver inside the
6 vehicle. Half an hour later, the vehicle came back the same way with only
7 the driver and Ambassador Walker inside, whereas the other two persons
8 remained either in Racak or in that area. And the staff of that
9 Nerodimlje terrorist group was also on the same axis.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: What date does this refer to?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That's the evening of the 14th
12 January, around 2100 hours.
13 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
14 Q. That's on the eve of the anti-terrorist action.
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. Do you have this written report?
17 A. Regrettably, I don't have either that report or many other
18 documents that would have been useful for this trial.
19 Q. The witness of the other side that I mentioned already, John
20 Crosland, claimed that he had seen William Walker in Racak on the 15th of
21 January, on the day of the anti-terrorist operation. Let me just find --
22 we have it in the transcript, tab 74. It's part of the testimony of John
23 Crosland.
24 He says that he had seen, that's on page 8003, I asked him: "[In
25 English] A moment ago, you said you saw members of the Verification
Page 44956
1 Mission, and you said that during your examination-in-chief as well. So
2 in Racak on 15th of January. And your answer was that you had seen them
3 and that you believe you saw Ambassador Walker as well; is that right?
4 "Answer: That is correct, Mr. Milosevic, yes."
5 A. I have no reason not to believe Colonel Crosland, because he is a
6 member of the British army. But I claim, I assert that prior to 6.30 on
7 the 15th of January William Walker could not have been in Racak because
8 there were combat activities going on. There was a clash with
9 terrorists. Maybe Mr. Crosland confused it with a period after the
10 completion of the operation. It's possible that he had seen Mr. Walker on
11 the evening of the 15th, where they met, because Crosland was on his way
12 down to Racak at that time. Maybe he also confused it with the 14th of
13 January, in the evening, when he had visited Racak. At least, that would
14 coincide with the information that I have.
15 Q. Very well.
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I would like to tender this
17 transcript of the testimony of John Crosland from pages -- from page 7945
18 to 8006.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: It's part of the transcript, so you don't need to
20 tender it.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well, then. So it has the same
22 value then.
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Of course. Well, it's there. It's there for us
24 to make of it what we will.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Well, I suppose you will judge it as
Page 44957
1 it is standing on the transcript.
2 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
3 Q. Mr. Janicevic, please look at tab 75, and I will read -- I will
4 ask you only a few questions. I have only the Serbian translation here,
5 but this is a document produced by Mr. Nice, because I see it bears an ERN
6 number, U0003313, under tab 75. That is the translation of a KLA document
7 of the 121st Brigade Kuma, dated the 30th of January, 1999. Novo Selo.
8 What does this refer to? It deals with a number of issues, but could you
9 please just read the beginning.
10 A. "Report of the Chief of Staff of the 121st Brigade, dedicated to
11 the Chief of Staff of the KLA. Pursuant to the oral order of the chief of
12 the operative staff of the KLA of the 14th of January, 1999, at 2330
13 hours, concerning combat readiness --"
14 THE INTERPRETER: Could the witness please slow down.
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] "-- concerning combat readiness --"
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Could you please slow down, the interpreters are
17 asking.
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] "... concerning combat readiness and
19 preparations for attack of the 2nd Company of the 121st Battalion, the
20 following work report was compiled:
21 "On the above-mentioned day, the chief of the operative staff of
22 the KLA ordered that personnel be prepared to move in the direction of the
23 Crnoljevo gorge and Stimlje fir trees for attack on enemy forces on the
24 15th of January, 1999, with the objective of assisting our forces attacked
25 by the enemy in Racak, Petrovo, and Belince." Should I continue?
Page 44958
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 44959
1 Q. No. Let us deal with these dates. They are important. Do you
2 know who this Dragan Shaban is?
3 A. He is a member of a terrorist group that was active in the area of
4 Lipjan. He had committed a lot of crimes that cost a lot of lives.
5 It says in the penultimate line before the signature, "Death to
6 the enemy, freedom to the people." It's the same as back in those times,
7 from the previous war, "Death to fascism, freedom to the people."
8 Q. What do you understand from these lines that you just read?
9 A. It follows from this passage that the terrorists knew about the
10 impending anti-terrorist operation in Racak or the surrounding area. They
11 didn't know exactly where it would happen, in Racak or Petrovo or Belince,
12 but they eventually found out from some source. I don't know which
13 source. According to what is written here, they intended to mount an
14 attack on the members of the army of Yugoslavia who were stationed at
15 Canovica hill, because they probably thought that the army would take part
16 in the anti-terrorist operations and they wanted to help out their own
17 forces located in Racak, Petrovo, and Belince.
18 Q. This passage that you quoted here says: "For attack against enemy
19 forces on the 15th of January, with the objective of assisting our forces
20 attacked by the enemy in Racak, Petrovo, and Belince."
21 A. That's correct.
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Unfortunately, Mr. Robinson, I don't
23 have an English translation, but I suppose that since I got this document
24 from the opposite side and it bears an ERN number, I suppose, and I hope,
25 they have an English translation, and I don't think it is necessary to
Page 44960
1 quote any more from this document. I would just like to tender it, tab
2 75.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, marked for identification pending
4 translation.
5 JUDGE BONOMY: Mr. Janicevic, how many terrorists do you say were
6 in Racak?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] According to our intelligence
8 gathered through operative sources, there were around 80.
9 JUDGE BONOMY: On the 15th of January.
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, on the 15th of January. No, I
11 mean in general, around 80 terrorists.
12 JUDGE BONOMY: On the 15th.
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Around 80 on the 15th of January.
14 JUDGE BONOMY: And is that a realistic complement of men to take
15 on not only the police but the army who are going to engage in an
16 anti-terrorist operation?
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I never said that it was a joint
18 operation. The anti-terrorist operation was conducted by the police
19 alone.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: I understand that, but you said that this document
21 we've been referring to indicated that they expected the police and the
22 army to be involved.
23 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. But this document of the 121st
24 Brigade Kuma was not linked to that staff, to that operations zone,
25 Nerodimlje. This particular unit was linked to the Pastrik operation
Page 44961
1 zone, which is part of the Lipjan municipality. It's a brigade from an
2 entirely different area, different zone. 121st Brigade Kuma. Whereas
3 here we're dealing with the 161st Brigade.
4 JUDGE BONOMY: I thought you read that on the 14th of January "the
5 chief of the operative staff of the KLA ordered the personnel be prepared
6 to move in the direction of the Crnoljevo gorge and Stimlje for attack on
7 enemy forces on the 15th of January with the objective of assisting our
8 forces attacked by the enemy in Racak, Petrovo." Is that not what you
9 read to us?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That's right. That's what it says.
11 JUDGE BONOMY: And are you not saying that's an indication that
12 the KLA were coming to -- to Racak in anticipation of an attack by both
13 the police -- an anti-terrorist operation by the police and the army? In
14 their minds by the police and the army?
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is an instruction by the
16 operative staff to a completely different brigade. In Racak, part of the
17 161st Brigade was stationed, whereas this brigade was a brigade working in
18 another area altogether.
19 JUDGE BONOMY: I understand that, but the point you seem to be
20 making was that the KLA knew that something was going to happen, and they
21 eventually worked out, according to your evidence, that it was going to be
22 in Racak.
23 Now, if that's the position, what I'm asking you is is it
24 realistic of them to send 80 people to deal with an anticipated
25 anti-terrorist operation by both the police and the army?
Page 44962
1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Your Honour, had the operation not
2 been performed the way it had been, not 100 but 500 policemen and soldiers
3 wouldn't have been able to take control of those positions. First of all,
4 because the trenches in which the terrorists were located on two levels,
5 there was shooting coming from the trenches, and the police that were to
6 take control of that most probably would have all been killed or 50 per
7 cent would have been killed had they taken part in that kind of operation.
8 That's the first point.
9 Secondly, this is not my piece of information, my report. I see
10 this for the first time. This is quite a different brigade here,
11 different operative zone. They had their own system of reporting and
12 information amongst themselves, and this particular brigade, the 161st
13 Brigade, was operative on the right-hand side of Crnoljevska gorge or the
14 Suva Reka-Stimlje road in the direction of Petrastica, Caracica [phoen],
15 Duga, and so on, Lipovacka, Suma, that axis. So their area of operation
16 was over there, and in their area of operation was part of the operative
17 combat group of the army of Yugoslavia, the 333rd Motorised Brigade --
18 243rd Motorised Brigade.
19 So according to what it says here, they had planned to attack the
20 army. They were planning to attack the army at Canovica hill, which was
21 in Borovina or Jele [phoen], Jelovina [phoen]. Have I made myself clear?
22 I don't know.
23 JUDGE BONOMY: Thank you.
24 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Janicevic, according to this document, did they
25 know that there would be an attack or an anti-terrorist operation would
Page 44963
1 take place on 15th of January on the part of the KLA?
2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Mr. Kwon, according to what it says
3 here, I think that in a way they did acquire that knowledge. Now, how
4 they came by that knowledge, I don't know. As we had people amongst them,
5 I assume they had people amongst us.
6 JUDGE KWON: No. What I heard from you is that they might have
7 known that there would be an attack sometime. My question is: Did they
8 know there would be an attack on 15th, so that's why they're preparing a
9 counter-attack in advance?
10 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I don't know that. I don't know
11 whether they knew or not. But according to what it says here in this
12 report, most probably they did know.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, may I just draw your
15 attention to one point, a detail, if I can call it that. The witness said
16 that in Racak there were about 80 members of the KLA, and from this
17 document of this brigade we can see that from that brigade the group of 80
18 in Racak were to be reinforced by another group of men. Reinforcements
19 were to be sent to them. And what he read out here in this document, it
20 says an attack against enemy forces on the 15th of January. So they
21 planned the attack.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, Mr. Milosevic. Let's continue.
23 MR. NICE: Your Honours, before we move on, the fact that a
24 document was provided by our side sometimes says nothing about its
25 provenance or necessarily its integrity. All I can tell you about this
Page 44964
1 document is that it was provided under Rule 68, having been obtained from
2 a deputy head of state security in Serbia. So it's a document that
3 originated in the state security services of Serbia. It was provided to
4 this office and then was provided under Rule 68. That's all we know about
5 it.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you. Yes, Mr. Milosevic.
7 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. What happened on the 16th of January? You explained to us that on
9 the 15th of January, in the afternoon, there was an attempt to carry out
10 an on-site investigation, if I followed you correctly. Now tell us what
11 happened on the 16th of January, when the investigating judge appeared
12 again to conduct the investigation.
13 A. On the 16th of January, the same team plus the investigating judge
14 came to the location, but at the access to the village they were fired
15 upon by the terrorists and they weren't even able to approach the village,
16 get close to the village at all. So they went back, and the investigation
17 was not carried out.
18 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, we have been through what happened
19 on the 16th of January. Unless this witness has something new, something
20 fresh, we don't wish to hear it. You should move on to another topic.
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Let us just clarify one point.
22 Mention was made here of a discussion where this witness was mentioned, a
23 discussion between Judge Danica Marinkovic and General Drewienkiewicz, and
24 I wish the witness to clarify the matter.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, I will allow you to ask that.
Page 44965
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. Was the investigation conducted on the 17th of January; and if
3 not, why could it not have been conducted?
4 A. The investigation was not conducted on the 17th either because the
5 team could not reach the location because of terrorist attacks, or the
6 terrorist attack.
7 Q. And when did Drewienkiewicz, the deputy head of the Verification
8 Mission, arrive at the Stimlje police station?
9 A. Drewienkiewicz arrived, I think at around 10.00.
10 Q. What was the date?
11 A. The 17th of January, at about 10.00.
12 Q. Were you present at the time?
13 A. Yes, I was there.
14 Q. Did you attend the talk between Judge Marinkovic and
15 Mr. Drewienkiewicz?
16 A. Yes, I did.
17 Q. What did Mr. Drewienkiewicz ask Judge Marinkovic to do?
18 A. He said that in Racak there were no terrorists, there were no
19 armed persons, and that Danica Marinkovic could freely enter Racak with
20 him and conduct the on-site investigation and the Verification Mission
21 would serve as protection. Danica refused to do that, and she asked that
22 the law be abided by, which demanded that she as the investigating judge
23 be there, the deputy public prosecutor, the investigation team, and the
24 police to provide security and the unhampered work of the team. He
25 refused to discuss the matter further and insisted that she go with him,
Page 44966
1 that she accompany him. Danica refused and said that she would go if the
2 police went with her, with an escort, a police escort. Mr. Drewienkiewicz
3 at one point said that if you go to carry out the investigation with the
4 police, you will cause bloodshed, and you will be responsible for having
5 done that. She asked, "Well, what shall we do now? What bloodshed are
6 you talking about? A moment ago you said that there were no armed
7 persons, no armed civilians or terrorists there, that the village was
8 practically empty, and now you're mentioning bloodshed." And he said,
9 "Yes, but there are armed civilians over there." And I joined in and
10 asked -- I said General, I asked, "General, a moment ago you said there
11 was nobody there, and now you claim there are armed civilians there. How
12 is it in your country, in England? Don't you call armed civilians
13 terrorists?" And his answer to me was, "Don't compare my country and what
14 happens over there with what is happening here." And I asked him, "Aren't
15 terrorists the same the world over?" And he kept silent. He didn't wish
16 to answer. And after that, Danica ordered that the team go out to conduct
17 the investigation. They left the office, and they went on location, and
18 they returned just a half an hour later with a damaged vehicle and their
19 job not finished.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. Thank you. Next question.
21 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. Very well. Then I'll skip the questions related to the on-site
23 investigation. We heard testimony from Judge Marinkovic and the
24 investigation took place on the 18th of January. I'm sure you'll remember
25 that.
Page 44967
1 A. Yes, I do.
2 Q. What about the members of the investigation team? Were any of
3 them wounded, injured, killed perhaps?
4 A. Miro Mekic was killed, the assistant commander of the Urosevac
5 police station, on the 19th, after the on-site investigation, on the 19th
6 of January, in holding the positions for further investigation and looking
7 into traces of crimes. That was the position that was taken. And two
8 policemen were also seriously wounded.
9 Q. So one was killed -- one person was killed, two persons seriously
10 wounded. All right. Now, what did the Albanian officials say about the
11 terrorists in Racak? Can we see a short piece of footage where the Racak
12 commemoration took place, tab 76?
13 [Videotape played]
14 MR. NICE: No translation.
15 [Videotape played]
16 MR. NICE: Your Honour, there is no translation, no transcript.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Will you stop, stop the --
18 THE INTERPRETER: The soundtrack is in Albanian, note the
19 interpreters.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Are we able to get any translation from the
21 interpreters?
22 THE INTERPRETER: We have no transcript.
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: Can the Albanian booth help?
24 THE INTERPRETER: Yes, we will try to provide some interpretation.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: All right. Let it be played from the beginning.
Page 44968
1 [Videotape played]
2 THE INTERPRETER: "[Voiceover] For five days on end it is shown
3 that this might have an influence in the international conference on
4 Kosovo, and after several days, painful days of talks, finally we managed
5 to have a special funeral for those people in that part of the village, to
6 have the free funeral, a dignified funeral attended by all those who'd
7 like to attend the funeral, including those mass media and the
8 international representatives present in Kosovo. We managed that this
9 event also had its own echo in the final fate of the people of Kosovo. Of
10 course, our final demand was that the group we contacted and the OSCE
11 representatives, so that we wanted the William Walker, Ambassador William
12 Walker to take part in that funeral and that was about 24 hours. At that
13 time we received confirmation that William Walker had postponed a very
14 important visit."
15 JUDGE ROBINSON: What's the question arising?
16 [Videotape played]
17 THE INTERPRETER: "[Voiceover] William Walker, who never made a
18 career on behalf of Albanians, in February 1999 before the participants of
19 the funeral in Racak, he said: 'This crime -- this crime against
20 humanity. The deaths in Racak demand justice and justice must be seen to
21 be done. The graves before me tragically represent, to me at least, the
22 madness, the appalling waste, and the futility of unrestrained violence.'
23 "In November 1999 he visited against Kosovo and found himself
24 amongst the citizens of Racak but now under new circumstances, in
25 freedom. On this occasion, he paid homage to and placed wreaths of
Page 44969
1 flowers."
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] On this video, we were to hear the
3 statements of Albanian officials with respect to the events in Racak, but
4 there was probably some confusion because this excerpt was not the
5 important one that I wanted to have you see with respect to the questions
6 I wished to ask. I think there was some mix-up there.
7 JUDGE ROBINSON: We have wasted some time, Mr. Milosevic. Let's
8 move on.
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] That would -- is how it seems to be
10 to me too.
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Might I be allowed to say something,
12 Mr. President?
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Who is that?
14 THE INTERPRETER: The witness.
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] With respect to this video, may I be
16 allowed to say something?
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: No. It's not what Mr. Milosevic had in mind.
18 Let Mr. Milosevic put his next question.
19 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
20 Q. Do you have any knowledge about what the Albanian officials said
21 about the terrorists killed in Racak?
22 A. What I know is that all the terrorists that -- who were killed
23 were buried in one place, and from this footage we can see that it was in
24 the -- in the mosque, every casket was covered with an Albanian flag.
25 When civilians are killed, the flag is not used.
Page 44970
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 44971
1 The doctor who allegedly carried out the autopsies of the bodies
2 that were found on the spot speaks about some kind of post-mortem which he
3 conducted and establishing the cause of death, extracting organs of the
4 individual casualties, and so on. I can't remember just now what it was
5 he said, but what I have just seen -- well, I lived there for many years,
6 50 years, in fact, and I never saw a civilian who had died or been killed
7 being -- that their coffin is covered with an Albanian flag, whereas here
8 in the mosque we see that all the bodies have been covered with the
9 Albanian flag.
10 Q. Very well. I think we can move on. Take a look at what we have
11 in tab 77 now, please. It is a handwritten daily report, and we have here
12 a translation into Serbian. It's very short. What does it say here in
13 this daily report of the 161st Brigade, Ahmet Kaciku?
14 A. This brigade was named after the commander of the 163rd Brigade
15 who was killed in Racak on the day when Miro Mekic, assistant commander,
16 was killed. The report is dated -- or, rather, this is the report of some
17 commander of theirs, Daja and Dula, who were referring to Bagdasit. And
18 they --
19 MR. NICE: Your Honour, it doesn't say anything about the origin.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, please elicit evidence about the
21 provenance of this report.
22 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. Mr. Janicevic, do you know anything about this document and its
24 origin?
25 A. I had it in my hands in 1999, in the month of April. It was
Page 44972
1 seized during an anti-terrorist action in the village of Jezerce. In
2 addition to this document, there is a series of other documents that were
3 seized there, and they were all handed over to the state security
4 department in Urosevac at the time and were forwarded to the headquarters
5 of the DB in Belgrade.
6 Q. All right. This unit, I mean you say that their material was
7 seized later. And as we can see, this unit has mortars and what is
8 mentioned is the geographic area that we talked about in Racak. This unit
9 and this equipment, does that have anything to do with the shelling of
10 Racak as the anti-terrorist attacks evolved in Racak?
11 A. Of course.
12 Q. To the best of your knowledge, of course.
13 A. On the 15th of January when the anti-terrorist action in Racak was
14 taking place, the only parties doing any kind of shelling were the
15 terrorists. 60-millimetre mortars. At that time, those are the only ones
16 they had. And they also had hand-held rocket launchers of 500
17 millimetres. And of course an anti-aircraft gun, 12.7 millimetres, in two
18 positions; above Racak on the hill of Krcine, and on Crveni Put towards
19 Petrovo.
20 JUDGE KWON: Are you reading from this document?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] No. No. I'm speaking from memory.
22 This is a document that is from a later period, that is to say it is dated
23 the 28th of April. If necessary, I will read it out. May I read the
24 document?
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: I don't want it read out. If Mr. Milosevic wants
Page 44973
1 evidence from it, he can ask you to summarise it.
2 JUDGE KWON: As for this document, how do you know this is a
3 seized document, one of those?
4 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Because that was the only time that
5 vast documentation was seized in that operative zone, in Jezerce. This is
6 the operative zone of Nerodimlje.
7 JUDGE KWON: Did you bring this document with you when you came to
8 The Hague?
9 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This document was provided from the
10 headquarters of the state security service, that is to say from the BIA,
11 in June.
12 JUDGE KWON: Provided to whom?
13 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That's what the advisors told me in
14 Belgrade, the Defence advisors that is.
15 JUDGE KWON: The associates, legal associates of the accused.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, yes.
17 JUDGE KWON: Thank you.
18 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Momo Raicevic personally.
19 JUDGE KWON: Thank you.
20 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
21 Q. Mr. Janicevic, in this document number 78, do we see some kind of
22 diary written, handwritten in the Albanian language?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. From the first notebook we have just a few translations that have
25 to do with the conflict in Racak. Could you please read that out. As for
Page 44974
1 the entire diary, only these few excerpts have been taken.
2 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, elicit evidence about this diary.
3 Where does it come from, who made it, and so on.
4 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] This is the diary of Baskim
5 Ndrecaj. The first notebook, special unit Baskim Ndrecaj participation in
6 action and conflicts. This diary, as you can see on the photocopies, is
7 handwritten in the Albanian language. A few quotations have been
8 extracted here, and my associates received this from our security organs.
9 MR. NICE: It could have come or been manufactured anywhere. Its
10 reliability is nil. It has no indicia of reliability. It shouldn't be
11 admitted.
12 MS. HIGGINS: Your Honour, perhaps the witness could be asked if
13 he knows anything about the document, just to confirm.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Do you know anything about the document?
15 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This document was also seized at the
16 headquarters of the 161st Brigade of the operations zone of Nerodimlje in
17 Jezerce. Along with all other documents, it was handed over to the state
18 security sector. And then Momo Raicevic, legal advisor, received it from
19 there, of course with a certificate.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: Had you seen it before?
21 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I had seen it earlier on, and it was
22 at my initiative that this request was filed with the BIA, so that this
23 documentation could be presented in this Court.
24 JUDGE BONOMY: What do you mean by "earlier on"?
25 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Earlier on. I saw it earlier on.
Page 44975
1 In 1999, I think. Along with all the other seized documents that the
2 policemen brought to me, I handed it over to the state security department
3 then and then they forwarded it further on.
4 [Trial Chamber confers]
5 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, you may put your questions, Mr. Milosevic,
6 and bear in mind we're about 15 minutes from today's break.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I understand that, but I will not be
8 able to finish the examination-in-chief today, Mr. Robinson.
9 Q. Please, in order to save time, could you please just quote the
10 middle paragraph, the 16th of January. What does it say there?
11 A. The 16th of January, 1999. "Today there were also conflicts in
12 Petrovo and in Racak."
13 THE INTERPRETER: Could the witness please slow down.
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, you're being asked to slow down by
15 the interpreters.
16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] "There were conflicts in Petrovo and
17 in Racak today as well. The conflicts were very fierce from the morning
18 until the evening. The enemy tried to enter the village in order to take
19 the massacred corpses from the previous day. Almost the entire unit was
20 there. Our positions were together with Guri's soldiers. On that day we
21 repelled the Serb forces three times and incurred losses in their ranks
22 through war operations and in the infantry."
23 Q. So he says today also there were conflicts in Petrovo and Racak?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. And then he says what they informed their battalion, to go there.
Page 44976
1 They say that Guri units were there, that is to say the others that are
2 mentioned here.
3 A. Yes.
4 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Milosevic, you are not going to deal with the
5 item on 15th of January, are you?
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I asked him to read the -- the
7 middle part, where it says, "Today as well there were conflicts in Petrovo
8 and Racak." So that means that there is repetition, meaning that there
9 had been conflicts previously, also on the 15th.
10 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. Please read the 15th.
12 A. "Friday, the 15th of January. They informed us from the battalion
13 to get ready and to go to our positions. After 15 minutes of
14 reconnaissance, we went back to base. When we went to barracks, we saw
15 that some wounded had already been brought in from Petrovo and Racak. We
16 asked to be transferred by car to the places where the conflicts were
17 taking place. We took two vehicles to Petrovo Selo. We asked the local
18 people about the positions of our soldiers. We joined the soldiers of the
19 unit Guri (stone) Baskim, Zija, Ibis, Saip, Bekim, Hazir, Xhevet, Betim,
20 Amir, Husen, Besim Salja were there. At that moment, the jeep of
21 commander Abi arrived. Commanders Guri and Abi again wanted to attack but
22 they didn't do that because the OSCE mission was present. We placed
23 mortars in order to attack, but the enemy withdrew. Our positions were 3
24 to 500 metres away from the enemy. When we returned to Guri with Hamdija,
25 we took three wounded soldiers from Racak, put them in the konbi van and
Page 44977
1 drove them to the hospital in Pagarusa. We took this road and went back
2 to our base at 4.30."
3 THE INTERPRETER: Could Mr. Milosevic please --
4 JUDGE BONOMY: Can I ask something. When you read that at the
5 beginning, the first three or four lines, you referred to wounded from
6 Petrovo and Racak. Is that what it actually says?
7 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] It actually says Recani, but it
8 wasn't very legible. So these are wounded from Petrovo and Recani, which
9 is about 50 kilometres away.
10 JUDGE BONOMY: It wasn't Racak. Thank you.
11 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
12 Q. Please, at the very end, in the last three sentence -- last three
13 lines, does it say, "When we returned to Guri with Hamdija, we took three
14 wounded soldiers from Racak"?
15 A. That's right.
16 Q. Does it say Racak or something else?
17 A. It says Racak.
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] That is the last but one line here
19 in the text.
20 JUDGE BONOMY: I'm well aware of that.
21 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
22 Q. All right. Was the word "soldier" used here?
23 A. Yes.
24 THE INTERPRETER: Could the speakers please speak one at a time.
25 Thank you.
Page 44978
1 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
2 Q. And on the 16th, it says: "Today as well there were conflicts in
3 Petrovo and in Racak." So what does this say, Mr. Janicevic?
4 A. It says that -- it shows that the terrorists knew that there was
5 an action under way and that they were organising themselves in order to
6 assist the terrorists who were already in Racak. Baskim Ndrecaj was
7 commander of a special unit that was stationed in Budakovo. Budakovo,
8 Racak, Luzak. That's about ten kilometres. It's a bad road, bad roads.
9 Q. All right. I think that we have concluded this particular topic
10 now. Let's move on to the next one, Mr. Janicevic. In addition to the
11 group of terrorists who called themselves the 161st Brigade of the KLA,
12 you mentioned the 162nd Brigade. In which area did it operate?
13 A. In the area of Kacanik.
14 Q. Was its headquarters in the area too?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Where were the headquarters of this terrorist group?
17 A. The headquarters were in the village of Ivaja, municipality of
18 Kacanik.
19 Q. Who was commander of that staff?
20 A. Ibri Ilazi [phoen], nickname I cannot remember. Ilazi, from
21 Kacanik, a former --
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, we'll have to break here.
23 Mr. Nice wanted five minutes to raise a matter.
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right.
25 MR. NICE: It doesn't concern this witness.
Page 44979
1 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
2 MR. NICE: It doesn't concern this witness.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Janicevic, you may leave and return on Monday
4 at 9.00.
5 [The witness stood down]
6 MR. NICE: I put on the record something that is of concern
7 arising from yesterday's evidence where the accused, in my respectful
8 submission to the Chamber, behaved improperly, and for a clear oblique
9 purpose that he may indeed in part have achieved. It was in the
10 re-examination of the witness where he introduced a video of Lord Ashdown.
11 It was introduced all of a piece without any careful analysis of what it
12 showed. It was clearly designed to suggest that it was all connected, and
13 it was then followed by a question that His Honour Judge Bonomy recognised
14 was ill-founded, where he suggested that Lord Ashdown had expressed that
15 it was a scandal for the people to whom he was talking, who he sought to
16 identify clearly with the KLA, had such poor quality weapons.
17 Now, we put up in this Chamber with, so far as I'm concerned,
18 recurring abuse by this accused of a personal nature. We put up with
19 things being said by him about people, one type and another, that would
20 never be allowed if he were a qualified and proper advocate. We put up
21 with it, I suppose, simply to allow the case to go on. But these things
22 can have serious effects, and I've been contacted by Lord Ashdown who, of
23 course, holds an extremely important international public office and who
24 observes that what the accused did yesterday achieves effect on the ground
25 in adverse and potentially serious publicity, at which the accused is
Page 44980
1 clearly aiming. And I must put on the record just a couple of things
2 about that video that was played yesterday.
3 First, there was, of course, a clear separation between the people
4 who were dressed in KLA uniforms and the people who were producing weapons
5 that Lord Ashdown was looking at. There was no identity between the KLA
6 people and the people showing the weapons.
7 Second, Lord Ashdown gave evidence about this in detail in this
8 court a couple of years ago, and as to the examination of the weapons, he
9 explained what account was given to him by the villagers who produced
10 those weapons to him.
11 Third, insofar as the people shown in that third clip of the
12 composite video were young men, it's a matter he has dealt with in detail
13 at page 286 of the second volume of his diaries. And lest there be any
14 suggestion of partiality by Lord Ashdown, if the accused had had the
15 decency, before trying to put in the clip for the purpose he plainly
16 sought, if he'd had the decency to review Lord Ashdown's book carefully,
17 he would have found that on a footnote not only did Lord Ashdown give the
18 account that was given to him of why those weapons were being produced,
19 but he also set out how his colleague Brian Donnelly had suspicions that
20 the people he had been speaking to were introduced to him by a member of
21 the KLA. So that in fact what was presented yesterday and then summarised
22 in a quite improper question was something that has always been the
23 testimony of Lord Ashdown and that he has published at an earlier date in
24 detail and in full.
25 Now, the consequences of this type of action by this accused we
Page 44981
1 always hope will not be serious. Nevertheless, when dealing with somebody
2 like Lord Ashdown, they may have consequences, and it's only right that
3 the matter should be put right on the record as soon as possible.
4 I should say that Lord Ashdown is absolutely at your disposal to
5 give further evidence, if you wish, on the questions that have been raised
6 by recent witnesses as to his position.
7 Thank you for letting me make that plain.
8 There's one other point, Your Honours.
9 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, Mr. Nice.
10 MR. NICE: One other point. We have prepared these Rules of
11 Service that have been referred to. They're not an exhibit at the moment.
12 They are a voluminous document, but nevertheless it seemed prudent to
13 produce them in both languages. Now, they are available. We can bring
14 them in and out on the trolly every day but the trollies sometimes get
15 rather full. If the Chamber would like them, we can distribute them now.
16 If not, we'll take them back and store them, but they are now available.
17 And I mention that because it was the Chamber itself that raised at some
18 stage the question of these Rules of Service.
19 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Nice, could you elaborate more on the third
20 point, which I didn't follow before, in relation to Lord Ashdown.
21 MR. NICE: His availability to come back?
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Is the reference to colleague Brian Donnelly.
23 JUDGE KWON: Page 286.
24 MR. NICE: Certainly. He relates -- and his entire diaries are
25 not before you. He relates in his book, as he related to us, the
Page 44982
1 explanation that was given to him about the weapons that were found.
2 JUDGE KWON: His book, you mean Lord Ashdown.
3 MR. NICE: Lord Ashdown's book. His diary. His book is called
4 "Diary," I think. It's volume 2 of that. And he related to us exactly
5 the same way as he relates in his book the account given for the
6 production of weapons, that it was explained to him, were weapons that had
7 to be produced to the JNA by the KLA and he explains the, as he described
8 it in the words of the others, the corrupt trade that that constituted.
9 But the person who took them to this place, described as a garage owner,
10 was a person who features a little earlier in Lord Ashdown's narrative in
11 the same chapter, and as a matter of complete fairness, he records in what
12 is footnote 1 to this particular part of his diaries, that Brian Donnelly,
13 who was his colleague at the time, or his fellow on this particular
14 journey, has since told him that he strongly suspected this man was in
15 fact KLA.
16 So that everything that we've seen was the subject of evidence by
17 Lord Ashdown and has been contemporaneously and fully recorded by him, and
18 to present it in some way as it was done yesterday was extremely
19 unfortunate.
20 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, Mr. Nice.
21 Mr. Milosevic, the Chamber has --
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson.
23 JUDGE ROBINSON: The Chamber has had the occasion previously to
24 reproach you for misusing the proceedings. The proceedings are not to be
25 used for non-forensic purposes. Sometimes you do it and it is not picked
Page 44983
1 up. Sometimes do you it and it is picked up, but in any event, I want to
2 stress that the proceedings are not to be used and will not be allowed to
3 be used for non-forensic purposes.
4 We will adjourn until -- and I thank Mr. Nice for the
5 clarification.
6 We will adjourn until 9.00 a.m. on Monday.
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Robinson, I consider that your
8 acceptance of the explanation given by Mr. Nice is -- lacks objectivity
9 because the film speaks for itself. You can see people wearing KLA
10 uniforms on the film, and you can see that one by one, taken in order, he
11 is trying out the rifles and categorising them. Ashdown, I mean. If that
12 was his role in Kosovo --
13 MR. NICE: [Previous translation continues]...
14 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Milosevic, we are going to adjourn until
15 Monday. I thought you had something --
16 MR. NICE: May I take one minute of your time? Because the
17 accused is doing exactly what he did yesterday, and it is wickedly
18 intended.
19 The film and the book make it absolutely plain that Lord Ashdown
20 met some members of the KLA at the side of the road and spoke to them, the
21 young men in uniform. He makes it plain that he then went elsewhere, as
22 indeed the video shows. He makes it plain that the next set of people he
23 spoke to, and where he was seen looking at guns that had been collected,
24 were different and differently introduced.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, the evidence is there before us.
Page 44984
1 We will adjourn until 9.00 a.m. on Monday.
2 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.51 p.m.,
3 to be reconvened on Monday, the 3rd day
4 of October, 2005, at 9.00 a.m.
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