000515ed

Page 1789

1 Monday, 15 May 2000

2 [Open session]

3 --- Upon commencing at 9.43 a.m.

4 [The accused entered court]

5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Please be

6 seated. Good morning.

7 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen; good

8 morning, to the technical booth. The interpreters are

9 here, are they? Good morning. Good morning to the

10 legal assistants, the court reporters. Good morning to

11 the Prosecution; good morning to the Defence; I see

12 that they are all here. Good morning to the accused.

13 So we are going to resume our case, Kvocka

14 and others. We're saying this for the benefit of the

15 record. It is up to the Prosecutor this morning, Madam

16 Hollis or Mr. Michael Keegan, who are going to tell us

17 what we are going to do.

18 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, to give you an

19 update of where we are in terms of the late disclosure,

20 as of today, we are current with disclosure on Witness

21 AI; on this witness, Mr. Oklopcic; on Witness B, who is

22 number 6 on the list. Witness number 7 has been moved

23 to another slot because of her personal circumstances.

24 Witness number 8, we are current. Witness number 9, we

25 are current. Witness number 10 has been moved to

Page 1790

1 another spot because of witness 10's personal

2 circumstances. Witness number 11, we are current

3 except for one B/C/S version of a transcript that is to

4 be delivered to us today, which will be served on the

5 Defence today. Witness number 12 is current. Witness

6 number 13 is current except for a short affidavit,

7 which will be filed with the Defence today. Witness

8 number 14 is current except for a B/C/S translation of

9 a statement, which should be filed today. Witness

10 number 3, Witness AK, is current except for a videotape

11 that we're attempting to find which may contain an

12 interview of this witness. We don't have that video

13 yet.

14 So we're prepared to proceed with

15 Mr. Oklopcic, and thereafter with witness 4.

16 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

17 very much, Madam Hollis. Please sit down for the

18 moment.

19 Before resuming the normal course of work,

20 the Chamber would like to convey to the parties its

21 extreme concern regarding the situation with the

22 witnesses in our case.

23 For reasons which you are all well aware of,

24 and which are in the public domain, several witnesses

25 have had to spend several days in The Hague; others

Page 1791

1 have left and have to come back, and for one of them,

2 he will be coming for the third time. We must do

3 everything we can to avoid having witnesses confronted

4 with such difficulties. The Chamber says this in

5 relation to the witnesses of the Prosecution, and this

6 also applies to the witnesses of the Defence.

7 It is not only a budgetary problem, although

8 the costs are considerable, but it is, above all, a

9 question of principle. We cannot function without the

10 indispensable assistance provided to us by the

11 witnesses. But for the majority of them, they are not

12 only witnesses; they are, in the first place, victims

13 who are coming to convey here their suffering, the

14 suffering of their loved ones and their friends.

15 This applies both to the witnesses called by

16 the Prosecution and by the Defence. We must all do

17 everything we can to convey to them the feeling of

18 interest that we have in them so that they may testify

19 under the most serene conditions. It is in the

20 interest of the credibility of our system of justice.

21 I also wish to express my most sincerest

22 thanks in my own name, but I think I can also speak on

23 behalf of all of us, to the commander of the Victims

24 and Witnesses Unit who has accomplished an admirable

25 task. I will once again be most grateful to you for

Page 1792

1 doing everything so as to facilitate the testimony of

2 the witnesses and to make their appearance as short and

3 as necessary as possible. If we are all vigilant, we

4 will ensure a better justice and a more humane justice

5 to be handed down.

6 To achieve that, the Chamber orders the

7 parties to submit to the Chamber a list of witnesses

8 which they are going to call to testify in the week,

9 that is, seven working days in advance. We must have a

10 list of witnesses who are going to testify during the

11 week. I think that this can assist the parties to

12 organise themselves, to be more disciplined, so as to

13 avoid bringing witnesses who are not going to testify

14 and who only have to wait. I think you understand well

15 the aims behind this decision.

16 I see that Mr. O'Sullivan had the intention

17 to speak. Mr. O'Sullivan, do you have anything to

18 communicate to us?

19 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour. Thank

20 you, and good morning.

21 The Defence wishes to raise another matter

22 with the Trial Chamber before the witness Oklopcic

23 enters the courtroom.

24 On Tuesday, May 9th, Your Honours, we

25 adjourned, with the witness Oklopcic having completed

Page 1793

1 his examination-in-chief; the cross-examination by the

2 Defence has not yet begun.

3 Your Honours will recall that on May 3rd you

4 issued an order in relation to witnesses who are under

5 oath. Your Honours ordered that "without leave of the

6 Trial Chamber, all contacts shall be prohibited between

7 the parties and a witness after the witness has taken

8 the solemn declaration, until he or she has completed

9 his or her testimony."

10 Last Tuesday, May 9th, during the break in

11 proceedings between 11.00 and 11.30, witness Oklopcic

12 was observed in the witness room, which is located just

13 outside the courtroom, in conversation with Mr. Keegan

14 of the Prosecution, who at that time was leading

15 Mr. Oklopcic in examination-in-chief. It appears, Your

16 Honours, that your order has been breached by the

17 Prosecution.

18 I must be perfectly clear of the reason why

19 the Defence is raising this issue. We are not raising

20 this matter to suggest that Mr. Keegan's integrity has

21 been or should be brought into question.

22 Our position is this: There appears to have

23 been a prima facie breach of your order. Can I remind

24 Your Honours that in issuing the order, you emphasised

25 that contact must cease because when a witness appears

Page 1794

1 before the Trial Chamber he or she is less a witness of

2 a party but more a witness of justice.

3 In our submission, one way of explaining the

4 rationale of your order is to say that justice must not

5 only be done, it must be seen to be done. This is

6 central to the credibility of a justice system.

7 If, as it appears, your order has been

8 breached by the Prosecution, in the interests of

9 justice, we submit that the appropriate remedy is

10 this: The evidence in chief given by the witness

11 Oklopcic following the break in proceedings between

12 11.00 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., last Tuesday, May 9th, that

13 evidence should be struck from the record, or

14 alternatively Your Honours should completely disregard

15 that evidence.

16 Those are my submissions in relation to this

17 matter.

18 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

19 very much, Mr. O'Sullivan. You may be seated.

20 I will give the Prosecution a chance to

21 respond and explain.

22 Mr. Keegan.

23 MR. KEEGAN: Yes, thank you, Your Honours.

24 Just so all the facts are on the record, during the

25 break, of course I went to the witness room for the

Page 1795

1 purpose of letting the other witnesses who were to

2 follow Mr. Oklopcic know what the situation was. The

3 difficulty is, of course, there's only one witness room

4 available. Apparently the other witness waiting room

5 that was near this one has been taken away from the

6 Victims and Witnesses Unit. Mrs. Nikolic actually saw

7 me because the Defence counsel use the same door to get

8 out to the patio, and she raised the issue with me and,

9 in fact, I showed her that unfortunately the other

10 witnesses were also in that room as well, which of

11 course presents an obvious difficulty which I indicated

12 to her. And I made it clear that I was speaking to the

13 other witnesses and I couldn't help the fact that

14 Mr. Oklopcic was also in that room.

15 He, in fact, attempted to say something to

16 me, like, "When are we going to start again," and I

17 simply told him through the translator, "I'm not

18 allowed to have contact with you at this point." We're

19 very aware of the difficulty in the perception issue.

20 At the same time, there was no Victims and Witnesses

21 Unit personnel present, and there has not been any

22 Victims and Witnesses Unit personnel present with our

23 witnesses since this trial began. They say they don't

24 have enough people. They indicate that they

25 periodically send someone to check on the witnesses who

Page 1796

1 are waiting, but there's no one in there so there's not

2 even an intermediary to whom I could address the

3 issue.

4 I, unfortunately, was in the position of

5 having to speak to the other witnesses directly.

6 Fortunately one of our language assistants was present

7 with the witnesses who were waiting, but not yet been

8 called, and so I was able to facilitate that message.

9 We raised the issue with the Victims and

10 Witnesses Unit that day about our concern because of

11 this very real problem, and we understand the

12 perception it can present. They indicated they are

13 trying to do something, but they don't yet have a

14 solution as to how they can separate witnesses who've

15 already taken an oath and those who have not.

16 So that was the nature of the contact, and I

17 can assure the Court there was no discussion between

18 myself and Mr. Oklopcic.

19 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]

20 Mr. O'Sullivan.

21 MR. O'SULLIVAN: As I said, this was not

22 raised to question Mr. Keegan's integrity. However,

23 and I'm not sure how far we want to pursue this, the

24 contact we were referring to --

25 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me.

Page 1797

1 Having heard this explanation given by Mr. Keegan, what

2 is your position?

3 MR. O'SULLIVAN: The contact I was referring

4 to occurred between 11.00 and 11.30, and my

5 understanding is the contact Mr. Keegan had with

6 Mrs. Nikolic was after the proceedings, after we

7 broke. I was referring to a different period when

8 Mr. Keegan was observed with Mr. Oklopcic, that is,

9 between 11.00 and 11.30. My understanding is

10 Mrs. Nikolic saw him after that, after we had completed

11 proceedings for the day. And that is the basis for our

12 request to have the testimony struck or disregarded.

13 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] In your

14 opinion, is it necessary to conduct an inquiry to

15 clarify all these circumstances, or do you still

16 maintain your request?

17 MR. O'SULLIVAN: I don't know if Mr. Keegan

18 recalls the event I'm speaking of, the one that

19 occurred between 11.00 and 11.30.

20 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I saw that

21 Mr. Keegan was on his feet.

22 Mr. Keegan, have we finished with this

23 matter? You know that the witnesses are waiting.

24 MR. KEEGAN: Yes, Your Honour. As far as I

25 know, if there was -- the only one I recall is the one

Page 1798

1 when I had a conversation with Mrs. Nikolic. If there

2 was another instance, it would have been in the same

3 light; that is, I was addressing the other witnesses

4 who happened to be in the room, and unfortunately,

5 again, the witness who has already taken the oath is

6 put in the same place. But I can affirm to the Court

7 that I had absolutely no contact with the witness other

8 than to tell the witness we're not allowed to speak any

9 more because I am not sure they got that instruction

10 directly from the Victims and Witnesses Unit, and maybe

11 that needs to be reaffirmed as well.

12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Mr. Keegan,

13 if I understand well, you went to this room because you

14 wanted to talk to witnesses who were testifying, and

15 Oklopcic was among those witnesses. Is that correct?

16 MR. KEEGAN: No. I was speaking to tell the

17 witnesses who had not yet been called, Your Honour,

18 because they are waiting in the room. As I said,

19 because there is no one with them, they never

20 understand what is going on. They want to know how

21 much longer they will be in the room, when they might

22 get to the stand, those kinds of things. So on every

23 break we try and reassure the witnesses where we are in

24 procedure, whether they are going to be called, those

25 kinds of things.

Page 1799

1 [Trial Chamber deliberates]

2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] The Chamber

3 has heard the parties on this matter. We are not

4 certain, at least, that Mr. Keegan did this

5 intentionally. We agree that it happened by chance,

6 and even if it did not, the Chamber is certainly going

7 to take measures with the Witnesses Unit so that we can

8 have a situation which will facilitate contact of the

9 parties with the witnesses who've still not taken a

10 solemn declaration and to avoid the witnesses being

11 together, because otherwise there will still be

12 doubts. So we have a logistical situation which has

13 contributed to this possibility.

14 Therefore, to be, or to appear to be, these

15 are things that may be confused and we must therefore

16 regulate this situation so that at the same time,

17 appearances will correspond to facts. And we will talk

18 to the Victims and Witnesses Unit to avoid this

19 situation of having the witnesses together, those

20 who've not taken a solemn declaration which the parties

21 may contact, and those who've already taken the solemn

22 declaration and with whom no further contacts with

23 allowed.

24 Therefore, we are fully aware of this

25 situation, and as O'Sullivan have reminded us, we wish

Page 1800

1 to confirm that these witnesses are witnesses of

2 justice and that is why we have issued this other

3 order. The Chamber is concerned about the witnesses,

4 both those called by the Defence and those by the

5 Prosecution, and this situation has to be cleared up so

6 as to avoid tomorrow Mr. Keegan saying, "I saw one of

7 you contacting a witness who has not taken the solemn

8 declaration but who happened to be with another witness

9 who already has," and we must clear up this situation

10 fully.

11 For the moment, what we are going to do is

12 that we are going to declare this incident closed. So

13 we are going to resume with the cross-examination of

14 Mr. Oklopcic, and I should like to know, Mr. Krstan

15 Simic, what is the order in which you will

16 cross-examine? I think you have already told us, but

17 could you remind us, please?

18 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,

19 the order will be slightly changed today. The first

20 will be representatives of Mr. Kos' Defence team, then

21 myself, then representatives of Mr. Radic's Defence

22 team, then Mr. Prcac's, and at the end Mr. Zigic's

23 Defence attorney. So there is a minor change in the

24 order in relation to the standard order of the

25 Defence.

Page 1801

1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

2 very much, Mr. Simic. Can we have the witness brought

3 in, please?

4 Yes, Mr. Fila.

5 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] While the witness

6 is coming in, I would just like to take advantage of

7 the time. Let the witness come in. I would just like

8 to take advantage of a few minutes.

9 [The witness entered court]

10 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] We have not

11 received the order of witnesses for this week from the

12 Prosecution, so we don't know who is going to testify,

13 and secondly, there seems to be a difference between

14 Mrs. Hollis and us regarding the numbers, the order of

15 the witnesses, the numbers attributed to witnesses,

16 because when she read out the list, the names and the

17 numbers do not correspond.

18 For example, Mr. Oklopcic is, in our list,

19 number 5. Is he the same number in Ms. Hollis' list?

20 As for the others that she mentioned today, they are

21 not given the same numbers that she mentioned, and this

22 may cause some confusion.

23 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]

24 Ms. Hollis.

25 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, the list from which

Page 1802

1 I was reading is the confidential annex to the updated

2 list of witnesses filed on the 28th of April, and the

3 numbers are the same that I read out as are on that

4 list which was served on the Defence. Those were the

5 numbers I was using to avoid any confusion.

6 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me,

7 Ms. Hollis. The 25th of April or the 28th of April?

8 MS. HOLLIS: 28th, Your Honour. 28th of

9 April, updated, Prosecution more list of changes to

10 witnesses, the confidential annex, updated list of

11 witnesses.

12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Because in

13 the translation, I got the 25th, but I see the 28th in

14 the transcript. It is the list that I have in my

15 hands, is it not? Does it correspond? Does that meet

16 the difficulties of Mr. Fila?

17 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] No, Your Honour.

18 Let me give you an example. AI is numbered 4 on this

19 list, and she read it out as number 2 today, (redacted)

20 (redacted).

21 JUDGE RODRIGUES: (redacted)

22 (redacted)

23 (redacted)

24 (redacted)

25 (redacted)

Page 1803

1 MS. HOLLIS: Number 2 is Witness AJ.

2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] AJ.

3 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] It's all right,

4 then. It's all right. But this morning, you said he

5 was under number 4, not number 2. And who is going to

6 testify today? Can we have the number, please? After

7 Mr. Oklopcic, who will be the next witness, so we know,

8 please.

9 MS. HOLLIS: Your Honour, Witness AK, witness

10 number 3, followed by witness number 4.

11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Is that

12 clear now? We have to try to communicate well.

13 Perhaps we always need to mention the document, as you

14 have done now. There are 12 attorneys so there may be

15 some confusion. So this is the list, filed on the 28th

16 of April this year. So when Ms. Hollis mentions

17 numbers 1 and 2, it is from that list.

18 So, Ms. Hollis, that is why it is good to

19 have at least seven days in advance the list of

20 witnesses that we're going to call that week. In that

21 way, there will be no problems, I think. That can

22 facilitate the proceedings and avoid witnesses waiting

23 for 15 days. I'm sorry for saying this, but we must

24 organise ourselves, that is our duty. If we need five

25 witnesses for a week, we will call five witnesses for

Page 1804

1 that week, not 10, not 15. The Chamber prefers to have

2 time that is not filled or used on Friday than having a

3 witness who will start with one hour and have to stay

4 over until Monday. Can you pay attention to that,

5 please? Respect persons. Witnesses are persons, and

6 that is what we must do. And if we organise ourselves

7 better, I'm sure we will improve things for ourselves

8 and for the witnesses. And if we have a protected

9 witness, and I say "protected," and he waits here for

10 15 days, what justification can we have for that? I'm

11 addressing myself to both the Prosecution and the

12 Defence. It is the same for both parties.

13 I apologise, Ms. Hollis. Please convey to us

14 any difficulties that you may have. Perhaps we can

15 help by talking about them. Please sit down, Madam

16 Hollis. Thank you very much.

17 I now give the floor to the Nikolic Defence

18 team, Mr. Nikolic, for the cross-examination of

19 Mr. Oklopcic.

20 Good morning, Mr. Oklopcic. Can you hear

21 me? It's the President talking to you.

22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good morning.

23 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I apologise

24 for the inconvenience caused to you, but in any event

25 we are beginning with your cross-examination. I must

Page 1811

1 Simic.

2 Cross-examined by Mr. K. Simic:

3 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, Mr. Nikolic asked you a few

4 questions which I myself had the intention of asking

5 you. So in order not to repeat those questions, your

6 statements which you gave are quite clear, and your

7 statements were made of your own free will and signed

8 as such. Is that correct?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Talking about the statement, I should like to

11 ask you to try and recall on how many occasions and

12 with what persons did you talk about the events

13 relating to Omarska?

14 A. Are you talking about the investigators or

15 all persons in general?

16 Q. The total number of persons that you talked

17 to.

18 A. Sincerely speaking, there were quite a few

19 visits by the investigators who came to seek me out and

20 talk to me. As regards other people that I talked

21 about with the events in Omarska, that was quite

22 infrequent.

23 Q. No, I'm talking about official institutions

24 and representatives of those institutions.

25 A. As for those, I only had four or five

Page 1812

1 encounters with the investigators of the court who came

2 to see me at my home.

3 Q. Does this mean that the statements of the

4 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th September of 1994,

5 then we have another statement of the 10th of December,

6 1994?

7 A. Yes, that's correct. So we have two

8 occasions, yes.

9 Q. Did you talk to the representatives of the

10 Tribunal in June 1995?

11 A. I cannot recall the exact date, but I did

12 talk to them after these occasions. I cannot recall

13 the exact dates and the exact months. It is quite

14 impossible, you know.

15 Q. I don't know whether to ask you this. I have

16 a statement here from the 22nd of June, but we'll

17 revert to that particular statement a bit later.

18 Talking about these statements, as

19 Mr. Nikolic gave you the text of the statement which

20 you have before you, you polemicise in several places

21 in that statement with another statement that you

22 yourself had given without particularly stating to whom

23 and on which particular occasion. It just refers to

24 some discrepancies. What is this about?

25 A. I don't know exactly what you're talking

Page 1813

1 about. Can you give me a specific example?

2 Q. Page 9, last paragraph. Let me just find the

3 English version. Page 12 of the English version, the

4 last paragraph. I understand there that the report of

5 my interview that it's deleted, states among other

6 things, and then it goes on to state the rest of it.

7 Do you recall that statement?

8 A. I really don't know what is deleted here. I

9 really cannot respond to this question, although I do

10 want to give you an answer.

11 Q. I'm not interested in what is deleted, I want

12 to know whether you recall to whom you talked when you

13 gave this particular statement. What statement are you

14 referring to? To whom did you give it and when?

15 A. It is stated here, right in the beginning.

16 Mr. Tieger --

17 Q. No, you don't understand me. Mr. Oklopcic,

18 you talked to the gentlemen who were interrogating you,

19 and you were explaining to them. I know that in a

20 record of some other statement, of some other interview

21 with me there was something said which differs from

22 what I am saying now. What particular record are you

23 talking about?

24 A. As far as I'm able to read, this is not what

25 this says. I understand that the report of my

Page 1814

1 interview states, "among other things," that is what I

2 said, inter alia, not that there had been any changes.

3 Q. No, Mr. Oklopcic, this is not the subject.

4 What particular minutes, what particular

5 record/statement, are you talking about?

6 A. No, I really cannot remember at this point.

7 I cannot recall that particular statement/record.

8 Q. On the occasion of the June 1995 visit, did

9 the interrogators give you any photographs to identify?

10 A. Yes, they did, once. Whether that took place

11 in 1995, on that particular occasion, I don't know.

12 But I did identify some persons.

13 Q. How many photographs were there?

14 A. I think six. I'm not quite sure.

15 Q. Did you recognise anyone on those

16 photographs?

17 A. Yes, I did. I cannot recall now. I cannot

18 give you an answer.

19 Q. Was that verified in the record?

20 A. It ought to have been -- I was not the one

21 conducting the interview or taking notes.

22 Q. Did you sign the photographs that you

23 identified?

24 A. No, I did not.

25 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I

Page 1815

1 have an objection to raise. We have not been disclosed

2 these photographs, we have not seen these photographs

3 up to now, so that we have no way of ascertaining which

4 particular photographs were shown to Mr. Oklopcic. We

5 feel that we should, after all, be shown these

6 photographs in order for the Defence to be able to

7 prepare its witness interrogation in the proper and

8 efficient way, particularly in connection with

9 Mr. Oklopcic's statement.

10 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, on the 20th of May, you

11 testified that you were a participant in a football

12 match of veterans.

13 A. Yes, it was on the 20th or the 30th. I'm not

14 quite sure.

15 Q. You mentioned that during that match you

16 heard a burst of fire from the direction of Hambarine;

17 is that correct?

18 A. Yes. And you could also see smoke.

19 Q. Later on you said that at the time you had no

20 information but that you learned from the media what

21 had happened; is that correct?

22 A. Yes. And not only from the media, but the

23 night among -- from other people, from stories told by

24 others.

25 Q. During your testimony, you covered this event

Page 1816

1 rather quickly, even though it was a dramatic and

2 tragic event.

3 A. I did.

4 Q. What did you hear from the media, or in

5 contact with other persons? What had happened around

6 the 20th of May?

7 A. There was a shooting incident at a checkpoint

8 in front of Hambarine -- I don't know if you know the

9 area; there is a slope there -- and in front of

10 Hambarine there was a checkpoint, as throughout town

11 Serbian guards and military had checkpoints. And so

12 the citizens of Hambarine decided to set up their own

13 checkpoint, and that is where the shooting incident had

14 occurred.

15 Q. What were the consequences of the shooting?

16 A. The consequences were that an ultimatum was

17 issued -- what do you mean the consequences?

18 Q. I mean regarding the casualties?

19 A. I don't know what the consequences were. I

20 think two were killed and two were wounded among the

21 Serb soldiers.

22 Q. Slowly, please, Mr. Oklopcic. Will you

23 please answer my questions?

24 A. I am answering your questions.

25 Q. I am asking you whether it is correct that in

Page 1817

1 that incident, at the Hambarine checkpoint, two men

2 were killed and another two were wounded of Serb

3 ethnicity.

4 A. That is what Serb television announced.

5 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Yes, we'll try

6 to slow down.

7 Q. You have just mentioned checkpoints. What

8 were they, really?

9 A. Checkpoints consisted of 10 or 15 sacks of

10 sand and two to three or three or four soldiers under

11 arms manning them, or policemen.

12 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, who did these checkpoints

13 belong to throughout the territory of Prijedor

14 municipality?

15 A. In the town itself, because in fact I lived

16 in the centre of town, the checkpoint was held by the

17 Serb side, the soldiers and police. In the Muslim

18 villages around it, Kozarac or Hambarine, for example,

19 because I worked in Kozarac for a time, and Trnopolje,

20 but in Kozarac, on the one hand there was the

21 Territorial Defence of Kozarac, the checkpoint, and

22 opposite, on the crossroads of Banja Luka, Prijedor,

23 and Kozarac, there was the checkpoint of the Yugoslav

24 army and police. And at Hambarine as well, there was

25 this checkpoint underneath Hambarine, at the very

Page 1818

1 approach to Hambarine, there was a Territorial Defence

2 checkpoint which organised that particular checkpoint

3 and set it up.

4 Q. Can we take it, then, that at the end of May,

5 in the Prijedor municipality, in fact there was a

6 division, a division had been made of the ethnic

7 communities at checkpoints, and they were armed and

8 prevented the free passage of people and traffic and so

9 on.

10 A. No, we cannot say that because taking over

11 power on the 30th of April by the Serb side, at that

12 particular point, all the checkpoints were held by the

13 Serb side. The checkpoint in Hambarine was a response

14 to the Serbian side and provocation from them, because

15 drunken guards, soldiers, and policemen would march,

16 that is to say, they would drive by with the

17 three-finger sign and fire, and I'm very sorry to say

18 that those Serb soldiers died. But this was the result

19 of provocation on the part of the drunken passers-by.

20 And I happened to see that on my way to Kozarac and

21 Trnopolje.

22 So the checkpoints at Kozarac and Hambarine,

23 as far as I know, and I repeat, as far as I know, were

24 set up as the result of the taking over of authority by

25 the Serbian army and police on the 30th of April,

Page 1819

1 1992. And not a day -- one day after, but perhaps 15

2 or 20 days later, if I may just finish that answer to

3 your question -- if you don't want me to, I'll stop

4 there --

5 Q. Yes, please do go on.

6 A. As I said, we had a meeting, that is, the

7 citizens of Raskovac, we had a meeting with Mr. Kusorac

8 [phoen] in May 1992 and we asked why it was only the

9 Serb side and the Serb soldiers that manned these

10 checkpoints, and that was that famous meeting at the

11 Polijne stadium. He laughed, he tried to explain

12 something, but that was it. And as a result of that,

13 we have the intervention well, it wasn't the

14 intervention, but it was the establishment of a

15 checkpoint in Hambarine and Kozarac.

16 Q. The checkpoint at the entrance to Hambarine,

17 or to Prijedor, where the Serb checkpoint was, did it

18 prevent people -- prevent the free passage of people

19 without being stopped, having to show their IDs, being

20 searched and so on?

21 A. I personally was stopped at the checkpoint

22 towards the school. The soldiers came and asked for

23 our ID cards.

24 Q. So that means that those checkpoints did

25 restrict the freedom of movement, freedom of passage.

Page 1820

1 A. As far as I experienced them, yes, they did.

2 Q. What was the ethnic composition of the

3 checkpoint at Hambarine?

4 A. Probably Muslim because the whole population

5 was Muslim.

6 Q. Did you happen to hear who took part in this

7 tragic shooting?

8 A. Yes, I did. You mean -- yes, there was Aziz

9 Aliskovic, the policeman.

10 Q. Were they able, in the usual way, to conduct

11 all the necessary things in a criminal investigation?

12 Was a criminal investigation enabled?

13 A. Well, I cannot be certain, but I know that

14 one day later, an ultimatum was posed to the population

15 of Hambarine to give up Aziz Aliskovic to the

16 authorities, to give him up.

17 Q. Was Mr. Aliskovic taken into custody ever

18 with respect to this incident?

19 A. I don't think so. I didn't see that he was.

20 Q. We have now rounded off that topic relating

21 to the events that you passed over very quickly. But

22 let us now go back a bit to another topic, the topic of

23 your military involvement.

24 You state in your statement that you did your

25 military service, compulsory military service, in the

Page 1821

1 infantry and that as a sportsman and as an intellectual

2 you advanced very quickly, and received the highest

3 rank in the non-commissioned officers, Sergeant First

4 Class?

5 A. Yes, as far as I remember.

6 Q. Now, as sergeant first class, you were the

7 commander of what?

8 A. I was the commander of a platoon.

9 Q. How many members does a platoon have?

10 A. Well, as far as I recall, if each platoon has

11 four groups, then that would make it eight to ten

12 soldiers, wouldn't it? Eight times four is 32, so let

13 us say 30 to 35 soldiers.

14 Q. So you, as a reserve officer, had 30 soldiers

15 under you during the exercises. So you were in the

16 reserve formation?

17 A. The commander of the unit was Karlica,

18 Karlica, Zoran or Zorka, I don't quite remember, but

19 Karlica.

20 Q. Was he an active officer or reserve officer?

21 A. Well, he was first of all a reserve, and then

22 he wasn't. He got the rank of lieutenant and captain

23 first class.

24 Q. What about the overall unit?

25 A. It was Major Grbic, I believe, as far as I

Page 1822

1 recall. And then there were a few more lieutenants,

2 Lieutenant-Colonel Fokumce [phoen], warrant officer

3 first class, second class. But as I say, that was a

4 long time ago. But Major Grbic and Lieutenant-Colonel

5 Poplvica [phoen].

6 Q. As somebody who was in town and near all

7 those organs, when you completed the army, what were

8 your duties as a soldier?

9 A. To respond to a call-up and to take part in

10 the defence of the former joint state.

11 Q. Now when you left the army, did you go to the

12 ministry to sign up, to register?

13 A. Well, yes, it was the Territorial Defence. I

14 don't know which department, but we had to register and

15 become reservists. We had to register once or twice a

16 year.

17 Q. So you became a member of the reserve

18 formation of the Yugoslav People's Army; is that right?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Were there any other members of the reserve

21 formation of recruits, the reserve police force?

22 A. Yes, there was a reserve police force.

23 Q. That means that there was this military duty

24 as well, as a member of the reserve police force. Let

25 us round off that topic. Did you have a any work

Page 1823

1 duties to perform?

2 A. Yes, there was a work duty but I didn't have

3 any obligation in that respect, to perform a work

4 duty. It is difficult for me to give you an answer

5 when you say "work duty". What do you mean by "work

6 duty"?

7 Q. Well, for example, if you're called up to

8 have a particular duty to perform?

9 A. Well, no, I didn't really, because I was a

10 professor, I was a teacher, so there wasn't much there

11 that I could do.

12 Q. As we have covered this system of reserve

13 formations and mobilisation in general, I should like

14 to attempt to ascertain things about the Omarska camp.

15 Did you happen to notice any members in the

16 guards from the reserve formation of the police, or as

17 it was called at the time, the militia?

18 A. Yes, and there was a difference.

19 Q. Very well, then. Within the composition,

20 there were members of the reserve police force there.

21 A. Yes, and the regular police force as well.

22 Q. Yes, the regular police force, I understand

23 that. But throughout the compound in Omarska, were

24 there any members of the reserve formation of the army

25 who provided security for the camp?

Page 1824

1 A. Well, at the time they were all soldiers,

2 they all wore uniforms. I see no reason -- I see no

3 difference between those who were active and those who

4 were reservists, because every Serb had a uniform, had

5 a rifle, and goodness knows what else.

6 Q. Very well. So you too as a reservist had a

7 uniform and rifle, did you not?

8 A. No, I didn't have a rifle at home.

9 Q. I'm asking you about the reservist

10 formations. What was the difference between you, for

11 example, and an active, let us say, an active corporal?

12 A. No. There was a difference just in rank, but

13 the uniform was the same.

14 Q. What about the officer's uniforms?

15 A. Well, I didn't have an officer's uniform. I

16 had an ordinary uniform with my rank on the shoulder.

17 Q. That's what I'm asking you. You were a

18 reservist, you were a lance corporal -- a corporal, I'm

19 sorry, and that was a professional calling. And as an

20 ordinary observer, was I able to note the difference if

21 I looked at your uniforms?

22 A. Yes, you would be able to.

23 Q. Could you see the difference in the uniforms

24 of the regular formations and the police or active

25 policeman and professional policeman, and the

Page 1825

1 reservists, the reserve police force?

2 A. Well, you could and you couldn't. I'm going

3 to answer that question, if I may.

4 Q. When we're talking about soldiers, could you

5 tell the difference between active-duty policemen and

6 the reserve force in the army and the others? The

7 reserve police force and the active-duty police force?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Well, that was the answer that I wanted to

10 get. In Omarska, in the security system that prevailed

11 in Omarska, you had these three structures; is that

12 correct?

13 A. Yes, all three were there.

14 Q. That means, let us clarify this once again,

15 within the security system, there was the reserve

16 police force, there were active-duty policemen, and the

17 reserve army formation, as well as active-duty

18 soldiers.

19 A. Yes, that's correct.

20 Q. Let us round off the topic of security. You

21 mentioned that at the beginning of June, within the

22 frameworks of the Omarska compound, there was the

23 special police unit, a special formation. They were

24 the special purpose unit from Banja Luka. Did they

25 have different uniforms, were you able to differentiate

Page 1826

1 them?

2 A. No, they didn't but they had more weapons on

3 them than the other ones, the locals who would come

4 from Omarska or all around Omarska.

5 Q. I know that a lot of time has gone by since

6 that time, but could you try and tell us how long they

7 would stay in Omarska?

8 A. One or two weeks. One or two weeks, I know

9 that for sure, and I can give you a very precise answer

10 to that question.

11 Q. During their stay, while they were there,

12 were there any shifts of any kind? Did one group of

13 people replace another?

14 A. You mean whether somebody replaced them?

15 Q. In these special units, elite units.

16 A. No. They came and they were in charge during

17 that first week or two. Then they disappeared and then

18 the other people came, who took over, if we can use

19 that term "took over" command of the camp, or

20 whatever.

21 Q. You have just said, in the first days, the

22 people at the head of this unit were in charge. That's

23 what you said a moment ago?

24 A. Yes, I did.

25 Q. Could you tell us who those people were?

Page 1827

1 A. No, I can't because they were from Banja Luka

2 and they said that they were from Banja Luka

3 themselves, and I didn't know any of these people. I

4 couldn't give you a single name. I don't know that. I

5 would happily give you a name if I knew.

6 Q. So you don't know who was the commander of

7 that unit.

8 A. He was a relatively young man, about 30 years

9 old. He was in command of that unit, that's what I

10 know, and mostly there were young people, members of

11 the unit were young people.

12 Q. So this younger man, when did he leave

13 Omarska?

14 A. When they all left Omarska, one or two weeks

15 later. Suddenly they would get their things together

16 and leave. APCs would come by and they left. It

17 wasn't a big unit, it was, say, 15 to 20 men.

18 Q. Did you see the kind of tasks and duties they

19 had to perform, what their role was in the security

20 system?

21 A. Well, they stood on the pista in front of the

22 toilets, in front of the entrance to the main building,

23 in front of the hangar and so on. What they wanted, I

24 don't know. I can't enter in their minds to know what

25 they had in mind.

Page 1828

1 THE COURT REPORTER: Would counsel please

2 slow down?

3 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation]

4 Q. Were there any classical guards?

5 A. What do you mean by classical guards? For

6 me, all guards were guards. They had rifles, they had

7 pistols. I can't see the difference between one guard

8 and another, if you understand me. So I have to answer

9 your question in that way. What do you mean classical

10 guards? They were all classical guards, I suppose.

11 Q. Who organised their food for them?

12 A. Well, the food came from Omarska, their meals

13 came from Omarska.

14 Q. When we are talking about the composition of

15 the security system, do you mean the special forces

16 from Banja Luka?

17 A. No, just a minute, I'll explain what I mean.

18 This active duty and reserve formation, composed of the

19 two, from the Omarska police station.

20 Q. Can you remember or calculate how many

21 active-duty policemen there were?

22 A. Of those who were there throughout, who were

23 frequently there, that is to say, Kvocka, Radic, and

24 the others, but every day, every day when five or six

25 new prisoners were brought in, then policemen would

Page 1829

1 come from Prijedor. There was not a single policeman

2 from Prijedor or Omarska who was not at one time in the

3 Omarska camp, who did not come to the camp. So believe

4 me when I say that. And most of them were there.

5 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, let us try to be as clear as

6 possible. I asked you a clear-cut question related to

7 the security composition from the police station in

8 Omarska and not people who would bring in detainees or

9 come in for any other business. So could you try and

10 answer the question in that way?

11 A. You asked me how many policemen there were,

12 as far as I remember.

13 Q. From the security of the camp?

14 A. Well, I told you, there was Kvocka, there was

15 Radic, they were the ones I saw and the ones I

16 remember, and the others, well, I won't mention the

17 others.

18 Q. And the rest, were they reservists?

19 A. Well, there were reservists and active-duty

20 regular ones. It was never only the reservist

21 formation. It was a mixed group.

22 Q. I'm not asking who went in, who came, but who

23 stood guard. Who stood guard?

24 A. Nobody stood guard of the regular policemen,

25 let me tell you that.

Page 1830

1 Q. Let us now go back to the security system

2 once again. In your statement you mention a certain

3 person called Stupar.

4 A. I asked that that name not be mentioned. I

5 do not wish him to be mentioned. You can refer to him

6 as ZM or whatever, but I don't want his name to be

7 mentioned. That was a bit of a provocation.

8 Q. No, that was no kind of provocation, and

9 these matters are talked about far more freely. I

10 don't mean out of fear. You needn't fear for

11 Mr. Stupar because we look upon him with sympathy.

12 A. Well, I'm not afraid of him, and were I

13 afraid I would not have --

14 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] I should like

15 to interfere in the debate, but it is absolutely too

16 fast for the interpreters, and certainly for the court

17 reporters. They are not able to follow the

18 proceedings.

19 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes, I have

20 also noticed this. Please don't speak at the same

21 time. If the witness and Mr. Simic speak at the same

22 time, it is impossible to translate. It is anyway

23 difficult. But if you speak at the same time, it is

24 absolutely impossible.

25 I would like to ask Mr. Simic to put

Page 1831

1 questions in accordance with the Rules, in a clear,

2 specific, and concise manner. In that way, we will

3 proceed more quickly. Perhaps you could finish by

4 11.00. It would be good. I'm not pressuring you, but

5 go to concrete matters, put specific questions to the

6 witness and you will get concrete answers, Mr. Simic.

7 Continue, please, and do not forget that

8 there are the interpreters as your intermediaries

9 between the two of you.

10 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation]

11 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, do you know Mr. Stupar?

12 A. Very well.

13 Q. Who is Mr. Stupar?

14 A. My colleague. He worked as a teacher in the

15 primary school called Brane Copija in Omarska.

16 Q. Where was he during the events at Omarska?

17 A. Mr. Stupar, you mean? He would come into the

18 Omarska concentration camp frequently. He didn't stand

19 guard or anything like that. He would come by from

20 time to time.

21 Q. And he was a member of the police or the

22 army?

23 A. He was a member of the army. He had a green

24 uniform.

25 Q. The unit to which he belonged, did it provide

Page 1832

1 security for the Omarska compound?

2 A. Well, I can't answer that question. I don't

3 know.

4 Q. When did you talk to Mr. Stupar?

5 A. Well, I talked to him on many occasions in

6 the Omarska camp.

7 Q. As a friend, did he try and help you?

8 A. Yes, he did, and he did help me.

9 Q. How did he help you?

10 A. He would bring me food sometimes.

11 Q. Did he talk to any of the official people

12 there, the people in authority there, with respect to

13 your status and to solving it?

14 A. Yes, he did.

15 Q. Who did he talk to?

16 A. To Rosic, and his father and him were the

17 proprietors of a cafe, a restaurant in Omarska, which

18 was called the Munich Cafe. Probably his father worked

19 abroad, perhaps in Munich, so that's the name he gave

20 to his cafe.

21 Q. Did he talk to any of the official people

22 from the power structure?

23 A. Rosic was an official person from the power

24 structure. It was that particular young man Rosic,

25 that was him.

Page 1833

1 Q. Did he talk to Mr. Drljaca?

2 A. Yes, he did, he talked to Mr. Drljaca as

3 well.

4 Q. What was the result of those talks?

5 A. He tried to get me a permit to be released

6 from the Omarska concentration camp, at least that's

7 what he told me and I believe him; that is to say, I

8 believed him at the time, I really did.

9 Q. That means that this was with respect to your

10 release. He talked to Mr. Rosic and Mr. Drljaca?

11 A. Yes, he did.

12 Q. To anybody else?

13 A. And the guards and some other people. But

14 these are the two names that I know of specifically.

15 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, when you testified, you said,

16 and I have the minutes here, that Mr. Meakic was the

17 commander, that is to say, the head of security, and

18 that you assumed that his deputy was Mr. Kvocka. And

19 then you go on to enumerate four reasons which lead you

20 to make that assumption. Is that correct?

21 A. Yes, it is.

22 Q. Did you know the organisational structure of

23 the police of Bosnia-Herzegovina? Not to use the

24 actual official title.

25 A. Well, I believe I did.

Page 1834

1 Q. Did you know the organisation of the police

2 in Prijedor, that is to say, the Public Security

3 Station, as it was referred to?

4 A. Well, I didn't know the organisation but I

5 knew most of the people there. Who was the chief of

6 the SUP, I can't say.

7 Q. Well, I want to ask you something in a

8 slightly different direction.

9 Did you know the rules and regulations, that

10 is to say, in which way appointments were made and

11 distribution of officers to different posts?

12 A. No, I did not.

13 Q. Did you -- were you acquainted with the rules

14 regulating the way in which rifles were borne, that is

15 to say, what officer was entitled to which type of

16 weapon?

17 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] The witness

18 gave an answer, and he said no.

19 Q. So could you repeat for the LiveNote,

20 please.

21 A. Yes, the answer is no.

22 Q. Do you happen to know the organisation and

23 way in which disciplinary procedure was conducted?

24 A. No.

25 Q. When you spoke about the reasons on which you

Page 1835

1 base your assumption, as you said, you mentioned a

2 person called respect [Realtime transcript read in

3 error "Despot"].

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. There is a comment to the LiveNote again.

6 We're talking about the -- we were talking about

7 respect, the term "respect," and the transcript has it

8 as Despot.

9 A. No, I mentioned the respect of the guards to

10 their superiors.

11 Q. Yes, well I'll go on to ask you what respect

12 is.

13 In every society, there are people who are

14 professionals, who are honourable, who have high moral

15 qualities.

16 A. They do, yes. They do exist.

17 Q. Very well. You admit that they do exist.

18 Now, in everyday life, we always show respect towards

19 people of that kind, do we not?

20 A. Yes, we do.

21 Q. And you said -- you made your assumption and

22 you say that this was confirmed by the fact that

23 Mr. Kvocka brought food to the guards.

24 A. Not food during lunchtime, but they were

25 in-between meals, snacks, and during the night. Food,

Page 1836

1 drinks, and cigarettes.

2 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, you were an officer. Now, in

3 what system does the superior serve his subordinates

4 and plays this role of somebody who runs their errands?

5 A. I don't know what system this is done. I

6 just told you what I saw.

7 Q. I wanted to take note of the fact that you

8 don't know which system this can happen in.

9 A. Well, I stand by what I said.

10 Q. I should now like to ask you some questions

11 about the flag. Where was the flag pole, and you

12 mentioned the raising of a flag. Where was that?

13 A. When we came to Omarska, at the beginning,

14 two or three weeks after that, it did not exist, that

15 flag pole didn't exist. After a certain amount of

16 time, it sort of appear, and it was a pole that was

17 placed in front of the tap and the canteen, or the main

18 central building there [indicates], loud and clear.

19 Q. Can you show us, please, where this was?

20 A. Yes, I can. It was at this position here

21 [indicates].

22 Q. And there was a concrete slab underneath; is

23 that right?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Well, how was this crooked pole put in there?

Page 1837

1 A. Well, I don't know, but I know that a flag

2 was placed there. Not at first but later on.

3 Q. So it was a crooked pole on this concrete

4 slab. When was this?

5 A. In the morning, when the shifts replaced each

6 other, they would line up and hand over the shift, and

7 we were usually on the pista, because I spent most of

8 my time on the pista, and then we too had to get up and

9 stand to attention during the raising of the flag

10 ceremony.

11 And this was not done always but there was

12 one shift in particular which liked to raise the flag.

13 This was not done every day. Sometimes they would

14 forget. I don't know. We didn't mind one way or

15 another whether they would raise the flag or not. That

16 was the least of our problems.

17 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Mr. President,

18 it is now 11.00, and I have some 15 minutes of some

19 very important questions. May we have the break? We

20 have just established contact it appears, and

21 Mr. Oklopcic has started answering my questions with

22 clearer answers.

23 So I respect the objections, but I would like

24 to say that my witness did give very broad answers and

25 brought us in a very difficult position. He is now

Page 1838

1 answering more clearly, Your Honour.

2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I think,

3 Mr. Simic, that -- I thought, Mr. Simic, that you were

4 going to say that you would like two or three minutes

5 more and that you would be ending. Unfortunately,

6 we're now going to make the break, and then you'll have

7 the opportunity of continuing after the half hour

8 break. Thank you.

9 --- Recess taken at 11.02 a.m.

10 --- On resuming at 11.32 a.m.

11 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Please be

12 seated.

13 Mr. Simic, please continue with clear

14 questions to the witness.

15 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

16 Your Honours.

17 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, in your statement, over a

18 period of five or six days, you frequently mentioned

19 the name of Mr. Kuruzovic; is that correct?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Who was Mr. Kuruzovic?

22 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for the

23 witness.

24 A. Mr. Kuruzovic was the former director of the

25 elementary school called the 16th of May, and he was

Page 1839

1 the commander of the concentration camp in Trnopolje.

2 He used to be my teacher, and so on.

3 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation]

4 Q. Also in your statement, you said that during

5 your stay in Omarska, he visited Omarska on several

6 occasions; is that correct?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Also in your statement, on page 22 of the

9 B/C/S version, page 29 of the English version, second

10 paragraph, towards the end, I shall quote you -- you

11 can check of course exactly what you said, so it would

12 speed things up a bit -- you stated then that

13 "Mr. Zeljko Meakic and Mr. Kvocka, during

14 Mr. Kuruzovic's visit, were quiet and deferential in

15 relation to Mr. Kuruzovic." Is that what you said?

16 A. I did.

17 Q. Is that correct?

18 A. It is.

19 Q. You said a moment ago that Mr. Kuruzovic was

20 a teacher and a professor.

21 A. He was a secondary school teacher.

22 Q. Is that correct?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Was he employed in the police?

25 A. He was not.

Page 1840

1 Q. You said in your statement that you assumed

2 that Mr. Meakic and Mr. Kvocka were the chief of

3 security and his deputy.

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Can you explain why there would be this

6 subordinate attitude of chiefs towards a person who is

7 not in the chain of command or in the hierarchy, or in

8 the same occupation, if you assumed they were?

9 A. Let me explain. Slobodan Kuruzovic had the

10 rank of major in the former Yugoslav People's Army.

11 And from the beginning he participated in the war in

12 Croatia --

13 Q. Will you please just answer my question. You

14 have opened an interesting question. Was there ever a

15 command structure between the army and the police?

16 A. The army and the police cooperated.

17 Q. My question was clear.

18 A. I don't know.

19 Q. Talking about Mr. Kuruzovic, after you left

20 Omarska, did you meet him again?

21 A. I did.

22 Q. When?

23 A. In the Trnopolje concentration camp.

24 Q. Did Mr. Kuruzovic make any decisions

25 regarding your release?

Page 1841

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. What did he have to do?

3 A. He had to sign a release paper. No one could

4 leave the Trnopolje concentration camp without the

5 signature of Slobodan Kuruzovic on a release document.

6 Q. Could Mr. Meakic sign such a release paper?

7 A. As far as I know, he could not.

8 Q. Thank you. Let us now try and clarify a few

9 points that are not quite clear from your testimony,

10 regarding specific events.

11 During your interview, you described an

12 incident in connection with the killing of Mr. Nasic.

13 You said that it occurred around the 10th of July.

14 A. A week or ten days after my arrival.

15 Q. Is that correct?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. You also described the event.

18 A. I did.

19 Q. But during your testimony last week, you

20 stated that after the event, that same evening, the

21 prisoners were addressed by Mr. Meakic.

22 A. The next day and the morning, but they were

23 present that same evening.

24 Q. Let us clear that up, then. You're saying

25 that both Mr. Meakic and Mr. Kvocka were present in the

Page 1842

1 Omarska camp when this incident occurred, when

2 Mr. Nasic was killed.

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Who addressed the prisoners the next day?

5 A. Zeljko Meakic.

6 Q. What about Mr. Kvocka?

7 A. I think he did but I'm not quite sure. I

8 know that both of them were present that same evening,

9 Mr. Meakic and Mr. Kvocka.

10 Q. You said very explicitly, Mr. Oklopcic,

11 confirming your assumption regarding the position held

12 by Mr. Meakic and Mr. Kvocka as commanders of the

13 guards and deputy commanders, that they worked in

14 different shifts of 24 hours each, that they took

15 turns. Is that correct?

16 A. It is.

17 Q. Thank you very much. Let me just, however,

18 say that last time you said that they addressed the

19 prisoners that same evening, but we won't go into

20 that.

21 I should like to go back to the events of the

22 30th of May, the event that you have described. I'm

23 paraphrasing, almost quoting what you said. You said

24 that the previous bus stopped, and you showed us where,

25 that you waited to disembark; that at one point

Page 1843

1 shooting broke out; that you had to bend down your

2 heads; that you didn't see anything, you just heard it;

3 when you got off you saw blood being washed; you went

4 to Mujo's room and you heard that in the shooting, a

5 father and son, Avdo and Asaf Kapetanovic, had been

6 killed. Is that correct?

7 A. Correct.

8 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, on page 4 of your statement,

9 second paragraph, in the English version, page 5,

10 second paragraph, you explicitly stated: "I saw, when

11 Cigo opened fire from an automatic weapon on a group of

12 persons who were all five metres away from Cigo. They

13 were waiting for their turn to stand up against the

14 wall like the other persons in their group. I was 15

15 to 20 metres away. I saw that Avdo Kapetanovic and his

16 son Asaf Kapetanovic were hit and fell immediately

17 after the shooting. Panic was created in the group."

18 Mr. Oklopcic, a moment ago you explained to

19 Mr. Nikolic that this statement was the result of 50 or

20 60 hours of interviewing. Which of the two is true

21 regarding the event of the 30th of May, 1992, what you

22 told during your testimony or what you explicitly

23 described in your statement? The position, where you

24 stood, what you saw, and the men falling.

25 A. The real truth is what I described here in

Page 1844

1 court. I didn't know Cigo, nor did I see Cigo kill

2 anyone. I could have insisted on this statement. I'm

3 sure it was a mistake. I often had different

4 interpreters, they changed. The truth is I didn't see

5 Cigo kill them, I didn't see the two -- the father and

6 son die. It was only later on that I learnt about it

7 from other people when I entered the room. That is the

8 truth.

9 Q. I had to mention this because it is stated

10 clearly in your statement, but let's move on.

11 I should like to go back to the killings in

12 July, and that will bring to an end my

13 cross-examination. You stated that you were an

14 eyewitness of the beating of Mr. Ramadanovic, nickname

15 Cifut. Is that correct?

16 A. Yes. No, "Cigut" is another name for a

17 dish. So Mr. Krstic made a mistake and said "Cigut"

18 instead of "Cifut".

19 Q. You still claim that Mr. Ramadanovic died

20 from the consequences of this beating.

21 A. I do. Not only that beating, but the one

22 that preceded it as well.

23 Q. Did you know Mr. Ramadanovic?

24 A. Extremely well.

25 Q. Did he have any health problems?

Page 1845

1 A. He was an elderly man. But whether he had

2 any health problems, I don't know.

3 Q. After Mr. Ramadanovic, you also referred to

4 an incident with Mr. Rizo Hadzalic, also in July.

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. You stated that his beating occurred in front

7 of the administrative, or what you call the central

8 building, where he was waiting to go in for

9 interrogation; is that correct?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. The cause for the beating, according to what

12 you said, was the word he used "Bujrum," addressed to

13 one of the guards who was eating.

14 A. Correct.

15 Q. As we come from the same parts and we are

16 familiar with words of Turkish origin, and we know what

17 it means and you explained, in answer to the question

18 of His Honour Judge Riad, you said that it meant "Help

19 yourself" or "You're welcome to join in." Mr. Rizo

20 Hadzalic wasn't eating. How did he use this word of

21 Turkish origin, meaning "Join me in my meal"?

22 A. He said -- when people eat in our part of the

23 country, you know that you're very well because as you

24 just said we come from the same parts. It is

25 customary, if you or I am eating, you offer food to

Page 1846

1 someone standing and watching. And he was meant --

2 what he meant was because he was eating that he should

3 have said "Bujrum." He perhaps expected the guard to

4 offer him some food, to join him in his meal. And then

5 what happened happened. You know that these words of

6 Turkish origin were not used only by Muslims; there

7 were quite a number of Serbs using it.

8 Q. Exactly. That's what I meant. You

9 personally watched this beating up.

10 A. I did personally.

11 Q. Let me ask you two or three more brief

12 questions.

13 A. Only two or three?

14 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, do you know who was responsible

15 for organising the food, such as it was, in the camp?

16 A. I do not know.

17 Q. Do you know to whom the investigators were

18 answerable?

19 A. I don't know. You mean those who

20 questioned -- interrogated the prisoners? I don't

21 know.

22 Q. Do you know, or rather within the security

23 services or in general, were there members who used to

24 work in the Omarska company?

25 A. You mean the mine, among the prisoners?

Page 1847

1 Q. No. No, among the people working in the

2 security service.

3 A. I can't answer that question. I know people

4 who worked in the school. Yes, there were people who

5 used to work there. Yes, that is correct. I see what

6 you're asking me now.

7 Q. Let me make myself quite clear. Within the

8 framework of the organisation, such as it existed,

9 there were a certain number of persons who were

10 employed in the Omarska mine.

11 A. You mean during the period when it was a

12 camp?

13 Q. Yes.

14 A. Two or three civilians.

15 Q. I see. Who was their superior?

16 A. I have no idea.

17 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, I have no further questions,

18 and I hope you will be able to return home as soon as

19 possible.

20 A. I hope you will go home, too, soon.

21 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

22 Your Honour. I have finished my cross-examination.

23 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well,

24 Mr. Simic.

25 Mr. Keegan.

Page 1848

1 MR. KEEGAN: Before the next counsel starts

2 his cross, can I just raise a matter to answer some of

3 the issues raised by Mr. Simic, because I'm concerned

4 they may come up again, and I'd like to clear the air.

5 Could we do it in private session, please, turn off the

6 public microphones?

7 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes. We're

8 going into private session, then, please.

9 [Private session]

10 (redacted)

11 (redacted)

12 (redacted)

13 (redacted)

14 (redacted)

15 (redacted)

16 (redacted)

17 (redacted)

18 (redacted)

19 (redacted)

20 (redacted)

21 (redacted)

22 (redacted)

23 (redacted)

24 (redacted)

25 (redacted)

Page 1854

1 (redacted)

2 (redacted)

3 (redacted)

4 (redacted)

5 (redacted)

6 (redacted)

7 (redacted)

8 (redacted)

9 (redacted)

10 (redacted)

11 (redacted)

12 (redacted)

13 (redacted)

14 (redacted)

15 (redacted)

16 [Open session]

17 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] We are now

18 in public session, and you may commence. Please excuse

19 me, Mr. Fila.

20 MR. FILA: [Interpretation]

21 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, I shall be as brief as possible

22 and go through your statement, because you made some

23 imprecise answers. I don't doubt the truth of them,

24 your statements, but they were not just not precise

25 enough.

Page 1855

1 Tell us what happened on the 30th of May,

2 1992. With respect to that, your statement in the

3 examination-in-chief differs form -- your testimony in

4 the examination-in-chief differs from your statement

5 because you said the alleged attack.

6 A. We're talking about the 30th of May.

7 Q. Yes. The 30th of May. The 30th of May.

8 It's clearer there. In the statement, you say that

9 70 to 150 people attacked a town full of Serb

10 soldiers. You don't know why this happened, but they

11 took over Radio Prijedor and that you joined them?

12 A. No. No.

13 Q. What that how it was?

14 A. Yes.

15 Q. Now, did this attack exist or not?

16 A. You call it an attack, but I call it an

17 attempt to liberate the town.

18 Q. Yes. Very well. Very well. I accept that.

19 Once again, there was a Professor Lukic, and he said

20 that 90 per cent of the misunderstandings between us is

21 the terms we use. So it existed?

22 A. Yes, it did.

23 THE INTERPRETER: Could the speakers please

24 slow down, please. The interpreters kindly request

25 this.

Page 1856

1 MR. FILA: [Interpretation]

2 Q. Were some people taken prisoner and later on

3 did you later see them in Omarska, from that attempt to

4 liberate the town, as you call it?

5 A. Yes, I did. A number of people were taken

6 into custody, and I saw them during my stay in Omarska,

7 and later on, if they were arrested --

8 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Please make

9 pauses in between questions and answers, otherwise, you

10 can speak outside the courtroom, because I think you're

11 here for us to understand you. But if you continue

12 like that, you can go outside the courtroom, you can

13 talk together, and we can do something else. So please

14 think of us, not only the interpreters, but us Judges

15 as well, and the court reporters as well.

16 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] I do apologise,

17 Your Honour.

18 Q. So there were people taken prisoner, you saw

19 some of them?

20 A. Yes, I did.

21 Q. And you say that some people were brought in

22 later on, probably as the result of being caught.

23 A. Yes, being caught later on.

24 Q. Very well. Do you rank them among civilians,

25 the civilian population, in the Omarska camp?

Page 1857

1 A. I do include them among the civilian

2 population, and I'll tell you the reasons for that.

3 Those young men, there were about 100 of them, first of

4 all did not receive weapons from the Yugoslav army or

5 from the police. Therefore, they were civilians. How

6 they came by these weapons, how they purchased the

7 weapons, that is another question altogether. But the

8 difference between the civilian and, let us say, the

9 army peaks and police peaks was that the Serbian

10 population had received weapons from the police forces

11 and the Yugoslav forces. These young men who tried to

12 liberate the town or to return the town, get the town

13 back, as I say, had no weapons at all, and this turned

14 out to be seen later on. But they had very poor

15 weapons. They had pistols of some kind. That's why I

16 say that I do rank them among the civilians, because

17 it's a difference between the regular army and

18 civilians who got their weapons -- came by weapons in

19 some way and tried to liberate the town.

20 Q. But you'll agree with me that they were young

21 male men with weapons who came by those weapons in an

22 illegitimate way.

23 A. Yes, I do agree with you there.

24 Q. Thank you. The checkpoint that existed at

25 Hambarine, were those people armed there, the ones that

Page 1858

1 manned it?

2 A. I wasn't there. Probably they were.

3 Q. Did they get their weapons in a regular

4 fashion? Because you said it was the Territorial

5 Defence, did you not?

6 A. No. I said no. The Territorial Defence,

7 when the town was taken over, all the weapons of the

8 Territorial Defence was given to the hands of the

9 Serbian population on the 30th of April.

10 Q. So the word "Territorial Defence" cannot be

11 used for people who were at the checkpoints in

12 Hambarine.

13 A. Probably not, no.

14 Q. Asked by Mr. Keegan, you said that injured

15 Serb soldiers said something in an interview on

16 television or on the radio, whatever.

17 A. Yes, I did state that. On Serbian

18 television. I said that he spoke on Serbian

19 television.

20 Q. But what did he say?

21 A. He said that the patrol, there were four or

22 five of them in the car, that they were attacked at

23 that checkpoint.

24 Q. In the period of May 1992, that is to say,

25 before that attempt at liberation, could you tell us,

Page 1859

1 if you happen to recall, when did the first Muslim die?

2 A. The first Muslim, when he died, you want to

3 know. Well, he died in the Prijedor area, that's what

4 I mean.

5 Q. Yes. Which means Kozarac and all the rest?

6 A. A distinguished citizen from Brezicani was

7 killed. I think his name was Jusuf Kucukovic. And

8 this happened, this occurred in the period before the

9 attack or the liberation of Prijedor. What the date

10 was exactly, I cannot recall.

11 Q. What about Kozarac on the 25th? Did anything

12 happen there?

13 A. Yes. The Serb army attacked Kozarac, and a

14 Muslim died, I assume there. Not one, many.

15 Q. I mean 25. I don't want to speak instead of

16 you. I know exactly what happened, and that's why I

17 said "some," which means more than one. Was this event

18 before or after that?

19 A. The killing of Jusuf Kucukovic, that was

20 before.

21 Q. Do you know anything about that Kucukovic in

22 relation to Hambarine or can't you say?

23 A. Yes, I can. It was before the attack.

24 Q. Very well. Thank you. In your testimony,

25 you mentioned a number of guards and names who were in

Page 1860

1 Krkan's shift, and after Krkan's shift, so on and so

2 forth. Now, I would like to know the following to

3 clarify something about that individual and I can't

4 ascertain who that individual is. You mentioned a

5 certain person named -- I think he was a guard. His

6 name was Pavlic?

7 A. Yes, I did.

8 Q. My first question: Is that his name or his

9 nickname?

10 A. It is his surname.

11 Q. Yes. That's what I meant, his surname.

12 A. Yes, it's his surname, and his name was

13 Milan. So Milan Pavlic.

14 Q. Can I then state that it wasn't Pavlovic or

15 Popovic either?

16 A. Yes, that's right.

17 Q. Thank you very much. Can you describe this

18 man to us? Did he have any characteristic traits on

19 his head or on his hair?

20 A. Yes. He had a white strand. He had died his

21 hair white, a strand of white hair here in front.

22 Otherwise he had dark hair. He was a bit larger than

23 me. I'm large, but he was even larger. And he was

24 under the age of 30, thereabouts.

25 Q. Now, coming to organisation in the Omarska

Page 1861

1 camp. You spoke about the structure; I don't want to

2 repeat that. Do you happen to know whether they were

3 formally appointed? You worked in a school. You know

4 what it means when somebody is formally, officially

5 appointed. Were they officially appointed commander,

6 deputy commander, shift commander, and so on? Were

7 there any official appointments?

8 A. Well, I'm just waiting for the Judge to

9 understand what you're saying. My answer to that

10 question is I don't know.

11 Q. What was your source of information, then,

12 that they were -- that -- beginning from Meakic, who is

13 not here, and going on from there?

14 A. My source of information was my stay in the

15 Omarska concentration camp. That is my answer, number

16 1. Number 2, it was what the guards said amongst

17 themselves. They clearly talked about who the superior

18 was in the concentration camp of Omarska. And number

19 3, all of us, and I say this in my statement, saw who

20 the shifts reported to, who the shifts were handed on

21 to, and so on. I say that I did not see a signature,

22 but that is my opinion and I stand by it.

23 Q. You mentioned a flag on a crooked pole and

24 that there was a flag-raising ceremony. Could you

25 describe who was present at this flag ceremony? Not

Page 1862

1 the ordinary guards or somebody who had just come in to

2 bring some food, but the people we're talking about

3 now.

4 A. I've already said, the flag was not raised at

5 the beginning, and that is why we found it strange that

6 suddenly, after a few days had gone by, that this flag

7 was improvised. You know what improvisation means. It

8 was placed underneath the tap. How and why, I don't

9 know.

10 When shifts were taken over, usually at 7.00

11 in the morning, give or take five minutes either way,

12 the shift leader and the commander, whether it was

13 Kvocka or Zeljko Meakic, but usually it was the shift

14 leader who was present. Every time Kvocka and Meakic

15 were not present, it was the shift leader. And you

16 know, when I say "shift leader," what I mean.

17 So not those who were in the hangars; they

18 didn't have to attend the ceremony. It was us, we who

19 were outside on the pista, we necessarily attended this

20 ceremony. And as I said, sometimes they would make fun

21 of the whole thing. We had to keep quiet. But why

22 they did that, I can't explain to you.

23 Q. But what did they actually do? Not what you

24 did. What did they do?

25 A. Well, they would raise the flag, and that's

Page 1863

1 all. That's all.

2 Q. You said that you listened to a hymn, some

3 kind of music.

4 A. No, I didn't say that. I just had to sing

5 the nationalistic songs when those people from Banja

6 Luka or Prijedor would come.

7 Q. What about the flag ceremony?

8 A. No, nothing. There was no music during that

9 ceremony.

10 Q. I see. No music. In the course of your stay

11 there, you were there for --

12 A. And it is the 26th of June. I was a history

13 teacher ten years ago, so I do remember that date.

14 Q. What happened on this day, Vidovdan?

15 Anything specific?

16 A. Very often, in the course of my stay,

17 helicopters would descend, military transport

18 helicopters, and we would be forced -- you know that

19 black belt used for the mine, mining ore, we had to --

20 they cut -- that is to say, this belt was four metres

21 long, approximately, and cut into sections, and it was

22 two metres across, and we had to -- not all of us, but

23 those of us who were selected had to load that belt

24 onto the helicopter. And some fire was being made and

25 this was used. But the guards themselves used to say

Page 1864

1 that this belt was used to line transporters and tanks

2 because the Zoljas, hand-held rocket launchers,

3 couldn't hit a tank if it was lined with this. But was

4 any -- was there firing on Petrovdan and Vidovdan.

5 Q. Where were the guards from who were in

6 Krkan's shift?

7 A. In Krkan's shift, I don't think they were all

8 directly from Omarska, but they were from Jelicka and

9 areas like that.

10 Q. So Omarska and Jelicka.

11 A. Yes, that's right.

12 Q. They were not from Maricka?

13 A. No. I call my shift -- My shift was from

14 Maricka. That was the shift I knew very well.

15 Q. So the Maricka shift is the one you mentioned

16 most frequently with respect to Ecim.

17 A. What did you say?

18 Q. Was in respect to Ecim?

19 A. No, not with respect to Ecim. I mentioned

20 Krkan's shift.

21 Q. But in your statement, that is what you say.

22 A. No, I'm quite sure I didn't say that. There

23 might be a mistake.

24 Q. Well, yes, nobody is perfect.

25 A. It's not my fault that it was Krkan's shift

Page 1865

1 that day. And I said that in respect to Hankin, that

2 it was Maricka's shift and Bectr Medunjanin as well.

3 Q. Slavko Ecim was brought to the camp. It is

4 page 17, paragraph 2 of your statement, and in English

5 it is on page 23. The English version, page 23, the

6 last -- no, page 22. The English version is page 22.

7 "On the same day, when I was interrogated ..." I

8 don't have to read it out. We're all literate here.

9 But you go on to state, "I think that the guards in the

10 group were from Maricka."

11 A. That's what it says, but -- I might have said

12 it, but it wasn't that way. That is not how it

13 happened.

14 Q. Could you please tell me one more thing, and

15 I'll be finished in just a moment. To put something

16 else right, did you receive bread for food?

17 A. Yes, we did.

18 Q. For the transcript, because that was omitted

19 from the transcript yesterday.

20 A. Yes, we did. We would receive a small piece

21 of bread, but we did receive bread, yes.

22 Q. And the water that you were talking about, is

23 it the water that went through these pipes before the

24 camp was made?

25 A. Probably it was.

Page 1866

1 Q. Did people drink it, then?

2 A. People probably did. I didn't work at

3 Omarska, so I don't know.

4 Q. So it wasn't special water that came out of

5 these taps?

6 A. No. I just know that later on the guards

7 didn't drink the water from the same taps that we drank

8 from. Whether the water was poisoned or not, I never

9 said that. I can't maintain that. I don't know.

10 THE INTERPRETER: This is too fast. This is

11 much too fast.

12 MR. FILA: [Interpretation]

13 Q. In the course of your stay, you saw Krkan.

14 Could you tell us where you saw him?

15 A. On the pista. He would go past the pista,

16 and mostly, when we went upstairs to the central

17 building up on the upper storey where the

18 interrogations went on.

19 Q. You didn't see him anywhere else?

20 A. Well, I did see him in other parts as well

21 because he was there; not only him, but all the others

22 who were in this leadership cadre, they would walk

23 around the whole camp. But as I was on the pista

24 throughout that time, I saw him on many occasions, and

25 that is no secret that he would come there and walk

Page 1867

1 past and so on.

2 Q. Did you happen to see him in -- what shall I

3 call this, this part, this glass part up here?

4 A. Yes, I did. Lots of times.

5 Q. What did he do?

6 A. He was standing around and looking. And in

7 the evening he would just have a white vest on.

8 Q. So he stood and watched?

9 A. Yes, he did.

10 Q. Did he have any weapons?

11 A. He did not have any weapons on some

12 occasions, and on others he did.

13 Q. Was there any guard post there of any kind?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Did you ever happen to see him standing guard

16 in that area?

17 A. No, I didn't. I know what you're getting

18 at. There's a film, you know. A film was filmed.

19 Q. Yes. Yes, I know all about that, and that is

20 not something that is contested.

21 During your statement, you say at one point,

22 if I heard you correctly during your testimony, and I

23 apologise if I heard you incorrectly -- you said, "Brk

24 was Meakic's right hand and his assistant." Who is

25 Brk? What do you mean by "Brk"?

Page 1868

1 A. It was a young man whose nickname was Brk or

2 moustache in translation. Wherever Meakic went, he

3 went with him. They would drive the same vehicle.

4 They would beat the same people, people who were caught

5 at Ljubija. I think his surname was Tadic but I'm not

6 sure. Anyway, his nickname was Brk.

7 Q. Did he belong to any forces? Was he the

8 police, the army, or whatever?

9 A. I think he wore the uniform of a police

10 reserve force. It was a blue uniform.

11 Q. Very well. Thank you. Do you know what the

12 role was of the late Simo Drljaca with respect to the

13 camp? You needn't -- I don't mean then, I mean

14 generally did you know about that?

15 A. Well, can I say an extra sentence? Well, I

16 don't want to run away from the truth, I want people to

17 understand. You probably know that I did know Simo

18 Drljaca because he worked as a lawyer covering all 16

19 or 14 primary schools that existed in the Prijedor

20 municipality. So we did know each other well. We

21 would sit in at many meetings together, but I can also

22 tell you that he was not capable as a jurist, and I

23 don't think he ever won a case in court. And that is

24 why I find it all the more strange how come Mr. Drljaca

25 should occupy such a leadership post of that kind? Who

Page 1869

1 had chosen him when he was incapable, as he was? And

2 you also asked me what role he played. Well, he had a

3 great role, that is my personal opinion. I think he

4 had a great role to play. Whether he had somebody

5 above him, a superior, I don't know. But I did know

6 him exceptionally well.

7 Q. So with respect to the Omarska camp, he did

8 have some authority?

9 A. Yes, certainly.

10 Q. More or less than Meakic?

11 A. Yes, more or less.

12 Q. What did you say?

13 A. Greater competencies.

14 Q. You didn't mention Hankin in your previous

15 statement but you mention him here.

16 A. I think I did. Why it was not introduced, I

17 don't know.

18 Q. Thank you. That's an answer too. At one

19 given point, you state something about Soskan during

20 the examination-in-chief. You mentioned Soskan. I

21 wasn't quite clear. Did you see him shoot or did you

22 think that he did the shooting or did you hear that he

23 did the shooting?

24 A. I heard about it. I saw him shoot but I'm

25 not quite sure 100 per cent. I think, I think I said

Page 1870

1 that I thought it was Soskan, but I am not certain. I

2 saw a soldier firing.

3 Q. But you're not 100 per cent certain that it

4 is him.

5 A. Yes, I wasn't a 100 per cent sure and that is

6 what I said in the statement.

7 Q. Thank you. Now we've clarified that point

8 which wasn't quite clear.

9 You mentioned an individual named Timarac,

10 Zeljko Timarac.

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. Once again, what was he there?

13 A. He wasn't anything. He would just come into

14 Omarska and abuse and kill people.

15 Q. Was he a civilian?

16 A. No, he wore a uniform. He had a uniform on,

17 a military uniform.

18 Q. Well, that's why I'm asking. Yes, thank

19 you. You mentioned weapons, the weapons of certain

20 individuals, and then you said he had a pump-action

21 rifle. The weapons that they had, those whom you say

22 were commanders or shift leaders, or I didn't quite

23 unless you, but was there any difference between them

24 and the other guards?

25 A. Yes, they were different.

Page 1871

1 Q. How were they different?

2 A. Well, Milojica Kos, for example, he didn't

3 have a rifle, he just had a pistol.

4 Q. What about Krkan?

5 A. Sometimes, when he was on the pista, he never

6 carried an automatic rifle, but as you say, on one of

7 the pictures he was carrying an automatic rifle. Miro

8 Kvocka did not always have a pump-action gun with him,

9 but he did have one. Zeljko Markovic had a pistol,

10 sometimes he did not have any automatic weaponry.

11 Q. What about the other guards? Did they have

12 weapons at all times or did they not have them at

13 times?

14 A. They had weapons at all times.

15 Q. It never happened that a reserve guard or

16 some one did not have a weapon?

17 A. Yes, when he was having a rest and he would

18 put it down beside him.

19 Q. Well, yes, but otherwise that's that.

20 Finally, sir, you've gone through some bad times and

21 seen some even worse things from your personal

22 experience because some people fared worse than you.

23 Do you feel any -- do you feel the need for revenge?

24 Do you feel the urge for revenge of any kind?

25 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Just a

Page 1872

1 minute, Mr. Fila. I see that Madam Hollis is on her

2 feet.

3 MS. HOLLIS: Thank you, Your Honour. I'm

4 just interrupting on behalf of the court reporter who

5 is indicating that she's not getting any of this

6 exchange. I wanted to perhaps have us slow down.

7 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes, it's

8 always the same question. You must make pauses between

9 questions and answers. Otherwise, everything gets

10 mixed up, you overlap each other. So please try and

11 pay attention to that. We will be very grateful to

12 you. Thank you.

13 MR. FILA: [Interpretation]

14 Q. I like the fact that you said that you were

15 sorry that the Serbs had been killed. I am also sorry

16 that other people had been killed, Croats as well.

17 They're neither yours nor mine, so we're sorry about

18 them too.

19 A. Well, I have friends who are Serbs and

20 Croats, but I'm a Macedonian which is something else

21 again, but never mind.

22 Q. Do you feel any hatred towards a whole

23 peoples or not? Do you feel the need for revenge of

24 any kind? I'd like to hear your answer?

25 A. Well, I thought that somebody might ask me

Page 1873

1 that, and I don't want to say that I was ready for an

2 answer. But you must understand that I do hate, but to

3 do them what they did to my people, I would never do to

4 them what they did to us. I hope that they will get

5 proper justice in the eyes of God and before this Court

6 as well.

7 Q. I asked you something else, towards the

8 people. I hope you don't feel any hatred towards

9 people. That's what I wanted to say. Thank you.

10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

11 very much, Mr. Fila.

12 MR. FILA: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your

13 Honour.

14 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] We're now

15 going to hear Mr. Jovan Simic.

16 Mr. Simic, you have the floor, if you

17 please.

18 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

19 Your Honour.

20 Before beginning with the cross-examination,

21 I should like to tender into evidence the Serbian

22 version of a document compiled by the witness himself,

23 and the English translation of the same, and the B/C/S

24 version, marked 22nd of June, or rather the code of the

25 country. It appears to have been made in 1995, which

Page 1875

1 it, and that is why we are tendering it in the original

2 that was disclosed to us, that is, in the B/C/S

3 language.

4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I see

5 things are clearer now. Can the registrar give us the

6 number of this exhibit so we can identify the

7 document.

8 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] The document

9 "22nd June", only in B/C/S, will be marked D2/5, and

10 the other document for which we have an English

11 translation will be D1/5, D1/5A for the English

12 version, which is a translation.

13 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Mr. Simic,

14 we are now able to begin, and once we have the

15 documents marked, it is easier to use the code,

16 please. So you may begin, Mr. Simic. I think we are

17 in a position to be able to do so.

18 Cross-examined by Mr. J. Simic:

19 Q. [Interpretation] Mr. Oklopcic, good day to

20 you.

21 A. Good day.

22 Q. Will you please take this list, marked D1/5,

23 which is in fact a list of the most responsible people

24 that you compiled by yourself, by hand. Did you write

25 it?

Page 1876

1 A. I did.

2 Q. So this document consists of --

3 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Excuse me.

4 There's no translation.

5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]

6 Mr. O'Sullivan?

7 MR. O'SULLIVAN: I have a question about the

8 way these documents are marked. It says -- I heard

9 D2/5 and D1/5.

10 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]

11 Mr. O'Sullivan, excuse me, I wasn't able to follow

12 you. I apologise. Could you repeat your remark?

13 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Yes, Your Honour. My

14 question concerns the way these documents were marked.

15 The numbering they received, I heard D1/5 and D2/5. If

16 I'm mistaken, please correct me, but I believe that

17 Prcac is the fifth accused and it should be D5/1 and

18 D5/2, unless I stand corrected.

19 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

20 very much, Mr. O'Sullivan. Let us see with

21 Mr. Dubuisson.

22 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] No. We no

23 longer use that system. We use the slash and the

24 number attributed to the accused last. For Kvocka, it

25 was D24/1. In this case, it is D1/5.

Page 1877

1 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Is that

2 clear now, Mr. O'Sullivan? Thank you.

3 I apologise for interrupting you. Just a

4 moment, please.

5 [Trial Chamber confers]

6 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Now,

7 Mr. Jovan Simic, I apologise once again. Please

8 proceed.

9 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

10 Your Honour.

11 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, you compiled this list.

12 A. I did.

13 THE INTERPRETER: The witness is having

14 problems with the interpretation. He is not getting

15 the interpretation.

16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I hear it now.

17 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I

18 apologise. It is probably our mistake. We found the

19 English version of the document marked D2/5. So we

20 haven't had the time to photocopy it, but we would like

21 to tender it and we will photocopy it later, if we

22 may.

23 Q. Mr. Oklopcic, we will finally get going, I

24 hope. So on this document, you made a list of the most

25 responsible people.

Page 1878

1 A. I did.

2 Q. In the Prijedor municipality.

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. In the Omarska camp.

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. The guard leaders and guards, the inspectors

7 and interrogators.

8 A. As far as I was able to remember at the

9 time.

10 Q. And the people who were taken away and

11 liquidated, who were exchanged, who were missing. And

12 on page 4, you signed this document, saying that the

13 names from 1 to 4 are truthful and authentic. Is that

14 correct?

15 A. It is.

16 Q. When did you compile this list?

17 A. In 1993.

18 Q. When in 1993?

19 A. At the beginning of 1993.

20 Q. So that was almost immediately after your

21 release, so I assume your memory was best then.

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. My question is: If you compiled such a list

24 in December --

25 A. Not in December.

Page 1879

1 Q. In January, I'm sorry. In January. Why did

2 you not mention then Dragoljub Prcac?

3 A. I will answer your question. Dragoljub Prcac

4 was someone I did not know personally, and I saw him

5 least in the camp. At that time I would have forgotten

6 many others. If somebody had mentioned the name at the

7 time I was writing this list, I would have asked who

8 that man was.

9 Q. So that means that you acquired knowledge

10 about Dragoljub Prcac later on.

11 A. No, I had him in mind from the first day,

12 like all the others. But Dragoljub Prcac, for me, was

13 not as important at the time as the others.

14 Q. Why was he not so important?

15 A. Because I would see Mr. Dragoljub Prcac only

16 as one of the leaders in the camp. I didn't see him

17 much anyway. He appeared later in the camp.

18 Q. So you see him as a leader of the camp?

19 A. One of the leaders. A commander of the

20 camp.

21 Q. You didn't mention him in your statement of

22 December 1994.

23 A. I don't remember.

24 Q. You didn't mention him in the statement that

25 has just been admitted into evidence.

Page 1880

1 A. Probably. I don't know.

2 Q. You didn't mention him today when you were

3 asked about who wore what kind of weapons.

4 A. I think it's better that I didn't.

5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Mr. Jovan

6 Simic, don't make assertions. Ask questions. Ask

7 questions.

8 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] I apologise,

9 Your Honour.

10 Q. Did you see him often outside the

11 administrative building?

12 A. Towards the end. At first I didn't.

13 Q. Where did he move around most?

14 A. Like all the others, in front of the central

15 building, upstairs, downstairs, and so on.

16 Q. What did he carry as a weapon?

17 A. An automatic rifle.

18 Q. Always?

19 A. No, not always. He had a pistol but

20 sometimes he wore an automatic rifle.

21 Q. How was he dressed?

22 A. He was dressed in military uniform.

23 Q. What colour?

24 A. The former SMB, or olive-grey.

25 Q. So in connection with an event that you

Page 1881

1 mentioned, would you please briefly, so as not to take

2 too much time, can you tell us the date of that event,

3 and then I will ask you about certain persons. You

4 spoke about Nasic. I would like to know when, roughly,

5 this occurred, not to the day but an approximation.

6 A. Yes, I can. It was, I said that today and

7 also the last time, it was seven or ten days after

8 arrival in our camp.

9 Q. You were then at the pista, weren't you?

10 A. No. When Mehmedalija Nasic was killed, I was

11 in the central building, in the canteen.

12 Q. Was Edin Crnalic present then? Do you know

13 him?

14 A. Yes, he was present.

15 Q. Was Mirsad Alisic present?

16 A. Yes, he was.

17 Q. Was Jasmir Okic present?

18 A. Yes, he was. I think they were. I'm not

19 sure, but I think they were.

20 Q. When Hankin was killed --

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. -- when was that?

23 A. This was two or three weeks in June, end of

24 June. Something like that.

25 Q. Was Senad Ferhatovic present?

Page 1882

1 A. I think he was. I know who you mean, but I

2 mentioned those whom I could remember.

3 Q. Was (redacted) present?

4 A. I don't know.

5 Q. Was Amir Mesic present?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Was Nedim Kapetanovic present?

8 A. I can't remember.

9 Q. When Becir Medjunjanin was victimised, when

10 was that? Was Anes Medjunjanin there and Mokic Fedul

11 [phoen], Sead Cikota?

12 A. He was.

13 Q. Abdulah Brkic? Do you know Abdulah Brkic?

14 A. I don't know now. Some time has gone by

15 since then.

16 Q. Riza Hadzalic, you remember the event that

17 you described. Was Ferhatovic present?

18 A. I think he was.

19 Q. Was Hodzic present?

20 A. He was.

21 Q. Nusret Sivac? Edin Crnalic?

22 A. I think he was.

23 Q. (redacted)

24 A. I think he was.

25 Q. Mirsad Alisic?

Page 1883

1 A. I think he was.

2 Q. Mirsada Hadzalic?

3 A. Mirsada Hadzalic was not present. She was

4 brought in later on, after her man, Riza Hadzalic, had

5 been killed.

6 Q. Nusreta Sivac.

7 A. She was in the camp but I don't know whether

8 she was present.

9 Q. Omer Mesanovic?

10 A. I can't remember.

11 Q. Fehim Fazlic?

12 A. I think he was.

13 Q. Abdulah Brkic?

14 A. I don't know.

15 Q. The case with Cifut Ramadanovic, when was

16 that roughly?

17 A. Sometime in July. I think it was the

18 beginning of July 1992.

19 Q. Do you remember whether Besim Hodzic was

20 present?

21 A. I think Besim Hodzic was almost always with

22 his sons at the pista. I know these people you are

23 listing extremely well.

24 Q. Nedim Kapetanovic?

25 A. I don't know.

Page 1884

1 Q. One further question.

2 MR. J. SIMIC: [Interpretation] I apologise,

3 Your Honour. No further questions, Your Honour.

4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,

5 Mr. Jovan Simic.

6 Mr. Tosic, how much time do you need, more or

7 less?

8 MR. TOSIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, in

9 view of the time for the break, our suggestion would be

10 that we begin the cross-examination after the break.

11 Maybe we could begin a couple of minutes earlier,

12 because we certainly can't finish the cross in these

13 couple of minutes that remain.

14 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you

15 very much for your suggestion. But I was asking how

16 much time you need more or less.

17 MR. TOSIC: [Interpretation] By the end of the

18 working day, we will finish our cross-examination. I

19 don't think we will go into the next day of hearing.

20 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] But many of

21 the questions have already been asked. Never mind. We

22 shall have a half hour break now.

23 MR. TOSIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your

24 Honour.

25 --- Recess taken at 12.53 p.m.

Page 1885

1 --- On resuming at 1.20 p.m.

2 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Please be

3 seated. We are resuming the hearing.

4 Who is going to cross-examine, Mr. Tosic or

5 Mr. Stojanovic? Either change your seats or the

6 microphone.

7 MR. TOSIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, on

8 behalf of the Defence team of Zoran Zigic, my colleague

9 Slobodan Stojanovic will be cross-examining the

10 witness, so there's no need for us to change seats.

11 Thank you.

12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.

13 I beg your pardon. You may begin, Mr. Stojanovic.

14 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

15 Your Honours. I think it is a good idea for us to

16 share out this truly difficult task.

17 Cross-examined by Mr. Stojanovic:

18 Q. I would prefer to discuss with you my

19 favourite subjects, such as history and geography.

20 Unfortunately, it is my duty to discuss with you

21 something that I consider to be most unpleasant myself,

22 but I'm sure it is even worse for you, but it is my

23 duty as the Defence counsel to ask you about these

24 things.

25 On the first day of your testimony, you began

Page 1886

1 with events in 1991, saying that already then your

2 colleagues had started wearing JNA uniforms. In 1995

3 [sic], was the SFRY still the country of all the

4 citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina?

5 A. You mentioned 1995. I think you made a

6 mistake.

7 Q. Yes, I beg your pardon. 1991.

8 A. It was the country of all the citizens of

9 Bosnia-Herzegovina.

10 Q. We are talking about 1991. According to the

11 then constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, did it clearly

12 provide for the obligation of all citizens of that

13 republic to defend the Yugoslavia of that day?

14 A. I think it did.

15 Q. On that occasion you mentioned a number of

16 times that on the 30th of April, 1992 -- we are talking

17 about the first day of your testimony -- the Serb

18 Crisis Staff took over power in Prijedor. Before that,

19 shall we say from October 1991, was there another

20 Crisis Staff in existence?

21 A. No. An attempt was made to constitute what

22 we could call a government of Prijedor municipality.

23 On the basis of the results of the elections in 1991,

24 the power was still shared.

25 Q. May I then ask you, and I don't know whether

Page 1887

1 this question was permitted or not, was this Crisis

2 Staff composed exclusively of Muslims -- I can give you

3 the composition, to remind the witness -- from October

4 of 1991.

5 A. I don't know exactly who was a member, if

6 there was any such body.

7 Q. May I remind you of that, then. Muhamed

8 Cehajic was president; Mirsad Medjujavic [phoen],

9 Mustafa Hodzic, Hilmija Popovec, and Dzamil Pezer.

10 A. That was not a Crisis Staff. Those were the

11 leaders of the SDA party at the time. I think you know

12 what is a Crisis Staff and what are party leaders.

13 They did not take over power by force of arms as the

14 Serb Crisis Staff did.

15 Q. On the first day of your testimony, if I am

16 not mistaken, you also mentioned the words "so-called

17 Serbo-Croatian language." What do you mean? Was it

18 not the official language throughout the existence of

19 the former Yugoslavia?

20 A. As a historian, you certainly know that that

21 language was imposed with the creation of the first

22 common state, the "common state." As soon as the

23 former Yugoslavia collapsed, you couldn't say that you

24 were speaking Croatian in Serbia or Serbian in Croatia,

25 or anything else. It was called the Serbo-Croatian

Page 1888

1 language; it is no where called by that name any

2 longer.

3 Q. I am not aware that in Serbia the

4 Serbo-Croatian language had any negative implications.

5 A. I'm talking about the period of the war.

6 Q. You also said that Ekavica was spoken in

7 Serbia and Montenegro. Is the Ekavica dialect used

8 throughout Serbia?

9 A. I know it is spoken in Serbia, Vojvodina,

10 Sandzak. I mentioned that it was never spoken in

11 Bosnia, and that is a fact.

12 Q. But you said it was also spoken in

13 Montenegro. Is it spoken anywhere in Montenegro?

14 A. I think it is.

15 Q. You also mentioned Senija Dzafic as an

16 announcer and traitor in your written statement, which

17 was tendered today, dated 1994. You also mentioned her

18 husband. What ethnic group did they belong to?

19 A. I think they were Muslims.

20 Q. Were they fired from their job?

21 A. They were not because they placed themselves

22 in the service. They found somebody who would read

23 those lies on the radio, and they found her. That is

24 my opinion, when I call her a traitor.

25 Q. That is precisely what I wanted to refer to.

Page 1889

1 Is a Muslim who was in favour of the survival of

2 Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia a traitor?

3 A. At first it was only us Muslims who

4 championed the survival of the former Yugoslavia.

5 However, when we saw what the Serbian military were

6 preparing for us, we were naturally against it.

7 Q. But what was your attitude towards people who

8 favoured, what I could call, a Serb option, the

9 Muslims?

10 A. Before the war I respected the former state;

11 I admit that and speak in sincerity. As soon as the

12 war began, I started to hate them. I think you

13 understand why.

14 Q. You said that there were certain changes in

15 the media. You no longer listened to the Sarajevo

16 media and that the area of Prijedor was limited to

17 Belgrade media. Can I ask whether the Sarajevo media

18 changed also? For example, the journal Novi Voks, have

19 you ever heard of it, from Sarajevo?

20 A. Never.

21 Q. Were there any changes in the Sarajevo media

22 in that same period?

23 A. I cannot judge. I always read Sarajevo

24 papers; they were closer to me. Sometimes I read the

25 Belgrade papers, like Ekspres Politika. I didn't go

Page 1890

1 into the details of any changes.

2 However, when the relay station on Mount

3 Kozara was turned towards the Serb transmitters, when

4 we started viewing only Serb programmes, when we

5 started receiving only Serb press, Borba Ekspres

6 Politika, I believe you will understand why I changed

7 face.

8 Q. My learned friend Fila has already touched

9 upon a question that I wanted to refer to, and that is

10 the Muslim attack, or the resistance, as you call it.

11 Let me just complete that part of the testimony

12 relating to that chapter, if I may call it that.

13 Do you know from what part of the city that

14 resistance movement, if I can call it that, entered

15 Prijedor?

16 A. I think I do. It came from the left bank of

17 the Sana River, the area of Hambarine, Rizvanovici,

18 Carakovo.

19 Q. Is that close to Stari Grad, the old town?

20 A. No, it's not close -- yes, it is close.

21 Yes. It depends on your viewpoint.

22 Q. Do you know that in that conflict there were

23 casualties?

24 A. At the time I did not know. Later when I

25 left the camp, I learnt who had been killed on either

Page 1891

1 side. But at the time of the fighting, I didn't know,

2 nor did it interest me at the time.

3 Q. I assume there were also wounded.

4 A. Probably.

5 Q. Did you learn from those stories, or can you

6 tell us what it is you learnt, at least in broad lines,

7 as to the number of dead, or a rough estimate for both

8 sides?

9 A. I couldn't do that because that would just be

10 guesswork.

11 Q. To go back to your 1994 statement, in that

12 statement, did you say that Slavko Ecim, a Croat, was

13 the head of the resistance movement?

14 A. I think I did.

15 Q. You have already explained what you mean by

16 the resistance movement. But can you tell us whether

17 you know whether, behind that resistance movement,

18 there were any authorities behind it? And I'm thinking

19 principally about the authorities from Sarajevo.

20 A. I don't think they were. I think had they

21 been the result would have been different. But I

22 really can't say.

23 Q. Most of your written statement is devoted to

24 the Ecimovic we mentioned. Did you know him well?

25 A. Yes, I did.

Page 1892

1 Q. You saw him in Omarska, did you not?

2 A. Yes, I did.

3 Q. Do you happen to know that part of his life

4 he spent as a paid worker in the Foreign Legion, a

5 mercenary in the Foreign Legion?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Did Slavko Ecimovic, when there was a beating

8 in Omarska, did he say, "I am an Ustasha"?

9 A. Yes, he did.

10 Q. I didn't hear your answer.

11 A. I said yes. Yes, and I say that in my

12 statement.

13 Q. So that is the leader of that resistance

14 movement.

15 A. Probably it is, yes.

16 Q. Do you know who the Ustashas were in World

17 War II?

18 A. I do.

19 Q. But at the time all the Croats for you were

20 Ustashas.

21 A. No, I'm talking about what he said.

22 Q. Yes. That is why I'm saying that.

23 A. In Omarska they said we and the Croats were

24 Ustashas.

25 Q. In this attempt to liberate Prijedor, did 10

Page 1893

1 to 15 per cent of former criminals take part in this,

2 as you state in your 1994 statement?

3 A. I think a part of them were, yes.

4 Q. In that drive, did Mesic, nicknamed Hadzija,

5 take part?

6 A. Yes, he did.

7 Q. In your written statement, did you say he was

8 a renowned criminal?

9 A. Well, I didn't say he was a renowned

10 criminal, but I said that he had problems with the

11 law.

12 Q. Very well. I think that we can take a look

13 at that statement which has been tendered into

14 evidence, so there's no need to dwell on it.

15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes,

16 Mr. Stojanovic, you don't want to take up the time of

17 the Chamber, but I would like to know what all these

18 details are telling us. I think that it is a very

19 meandering way to arrive at Omarska, and perhaps a

20 repetitive one, so if you could try to pay attention to

21 that. Thank you.

22 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

23 Your Honour.

24 Q. This Hadzija, in May 1992, did he disarm the

25 checkpoint at Berek?

Page 1894

1 A. Yes, he did.

2 Q. What was the composition of the people at

3 that checkpoint?

4 A. I think they were all Serbs.

5 Q. But in your written statement, did you not

6 say that they were of a mixed composition?

7 A. No. The population of Berek, the old Stari

8 Grad and Raskovac, asked that it be a mixed composition

9 because it was inhabited predominantly by Muslims.

10 Q. But did he take the weapons away?

11 A. I don't know.

12 Q. You know about the attack on Kozarac. Do you

13 know where the Kupovic [phoen] settlement is located?

14 A. Yes, I do.

15 Q. Do you know about the incident that took

16 place in that settlement prior to this attack?

17 A. Only -- I didn't take part, I couldn't see it

18 taking place, but I think that what happened was that

19 fire was opened on a Serbian column going from Banja

20 Luka. I think that was how it was.

21 Q. As we're nearing Kozarac, from Omarska, when

22 you were in Omarska, could you see for many days that

23 it was looted and burnt?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Does that mean that during the attack of the

Page 1895

1 24th of May, it was not completely destroyed?

2 A. I cannot claim that. I cannot claim that.

3 However, when I returned from Omarska to Trnopolje, we

4 passed along the Banja Luka-Prijedor road.

5 Q. You came to Omarska, and if I'm correct,

6 according to your statement, you said that when

7 interrogated, when interviewed, you said you were a

8 communist because the Serbs were communist too. Is

9 that correct?

10 A. I said that I was a communist but I did not

11 say that the Serbs were communist too. Of course they

12 were; that is true.

13 Q. Well, your answer leads me to further

14 questions. Was Radovan Karadzic ever a communist?

15 A. Ask him.

16 Q. What about the SDS? Did it have anything in

17 common with the communist orientation?

18 A. They were all former communists, all of

19 them.

20 Q. Are Chetniks akin to communists?

21 A. Well, it would appear to be so in this war.

22 Q. Can you tell us the name of a single Serb

23 communist who was president of the former Yugoslavia,

24 or prime minister?

25 A. I don't know, just like no Muslim was. I

Page 1896

1 think the last time was in 1992. I don't know.

2 Q. You said that in Omarska you spent most of

3 your time on the pista, near the "white house".

4 A. Yes, that's right. That is correct.

5 Q. That means that you were able to see all the

6 comings and goings very well?

7 A. Yes, that's correct.

8 Q. And you could hear voices.

9 A. That's right.

10 Q. Were you in the "white house"?

11 A. Only once.

12 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Excuse me,

13 Mr. Stojanovic, you asked the witness whether he was on

14 the pista and whether he could see who was entering in

15 and going out. You asked him that question. Why

16 repeat that? Why are you repeating what the witness

17 said? You keep repeating. If you have no questions,

18 then move forward, please.

19 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you.

20 Yes, Your Honour.

21 Q. You knew Becir Medjunjanin.

22 A. Not well. I knew his wife better.

23 Q. Did the guards in Omarska, before the event

24 that you started talking about when you were

25 interviewed, show him up as an example to other

Page 1897

1 prisoners? Did they make an example of him?

2 A. Yes, they did.

3 Q. In what sense?

4 A. Becir Medjunjanin was brought to the camp

5 later on with his wife and his child, and I think he

6 was captured in the Kozarac area. And when he arrived

7 in the camp, all three of them had to stand up against

8 the wall and were beaten, and then the guards would

9 turn round and say, "This is the man who led Kozarac,"

10 and so on, things of that kind.

11 Q. Let me remind you. I should like to take up

12 the story where Mr. Keegan left off, if I'm not

13 mistaken, saying that he would return later on to that

14 spot, but in fact he didn't go back to it. But if I'm

15 not mistaken, I think you said that after a particular

16 beating, that Becir Medjunjanin crawled to the door of

17 your room in the "white house"; is that correct?

18 A. Correct, and that is a well-known fact. I

19 described the incident, the same day when Hankin was

20 killed, and him too.

21 Q. We just want you to carry on with that

22 description, because I don't think we have gone back to

23 that event during the examination-in-chief. Could you

24 tell us what happened after that to Becir, when he

25 crawled to your door?

Page 1898

1 A. He was beaten by Dusko Knezevic, nicknamed

2 Duca. However, we were interested in what was going on

3 in our own room at that particular point, what Zeljko

4 Timarac did against a young man called Hankin, what he

5 was doing to him. And when we returned from the "white

6 house", when we had to run out onto the pista, I

7 described Hankin's murder, how it came about. Soon

8 after that, Becir Medjunjanin was taken out.

9 Q. In the room, in the "white house" previously

10 to that, did you sit next to Becir when Timarac and

11 Duca came in and began beating him as you state in your

12 witness statement?

13 A. No, Becir Medjunjanin was in the first room

14 of the "white house". When we came to the "white

15 house", then afterwards Becir Medjunjanin was taken out

16 by Dusko Knezevic. I gave a very clear statement to

17 that fact.

18 Q. In this statement did you say that in Omarska

19 they would force you to watch other people being

20 mistreated?

21 A. No, they wouldn't permit us to look, and I

22 said that we secretly looked.

23 Q. Can you tell us, frankly, whether you know

24 who killed Becir Medjunjanin?

25 A. Yes, I do know. Dusko Knezevic, nicknamed

Page 1899

1 Duca.

2 Q. What did he beat him with? Can you tell us

3 in greater detail?

4 A. With a baton, with his legs, with his arms.

5 Q. After this, did Becir fall down?

6 A. Yes, he did.

7 Q. Did he stay immobile for some time?

8 A. He remained immobile for the rest of his

9 life.

10 Q. Did you see them take him out?

11 A. Yes, I did.

12 Q. Did you see where they placed him?

13 A. In front of the "white house", on the grass

14 there, field.

15 Q. Could you notice any signs of life in him?

16 A. I could note that there were no -- absolutely

17 no signs of life.

18 Q. Was that at the same time when Hankin was a

19 victim?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Who killed Hankin?

22 A. Zeljko Timarac.

23 Q. I should now like to move to the events of

24 (redacted) and Emir Beganovic. Can you remember,

25 in your statement of 1994, what you said? Who beat

Page 1900

1 them?

2 A. Yes, I can remember. I said that they were

3 beaten by Zigic.

4 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation] I would like

5 to ask for the assistance of the technicians, and it is

6 page 12 of the Serbian version and page 15 of the

7 English version.

8 Q. Look at the beginning of the page.

9 A. You said page 12, did you?

10 Q. Yes, the first paragraph of page 12, in the

11 Serbian version. "One afternoon, after I had been

12 taken from the pista to the canteen ..." would you like

13 to read it out?

14 A. Let me explain this to you. You probably

15 want to know why I didn't mention Zigic's name.

16 Q. Yes. Precisely so.

17 A. I remember that event very well, and that

18 event was viewed by 600 people who were with me, in

19 addition to myself. I know that I named Zigic, but why

20 his name is not mentioned there, I don't want to enter

21 into that. However, Zigic, Timarac, Dusko Knezevic is

22 the group which, once or twice a week, would come to

23 the Omarska camp and stay in the Omarska camp together.

24 Q. How many times did you see Zigic in the

25 Omarska camp?

Page 1901

1 A. At least ten times, and two or three times in

2 Trnopolje.

3 Q. We're just talking about Omarska for the time

4 being. Thank you.

5 Did you state that there were no other guards

6 with them? That's what you say. You mentioned Timarac

7 and Duca, and you expressly state that there were no

8 other guards with him, and we're talking about -- there

9 were no other guards presently with them?

10 A. Let me tell you one thing, all the guards in

11 the camp, in the Omarska camp, it was an attraction for

12 them all when Zigic, Timarac, and Duca turned up,

13 because they knew that at that time when they turned

14 up, they would see something that they couldn't even

15 see on film. And when it happened that Zigic beat Rezak

16 or Began or anybody else, all the other guards from

17 the surrounding points would come up to watch, to

18 experience those incidents.

19 Q. Where were you watching all this from?

20 A. From the canteen, the menza.

21 Q. Can you show us on the model, please, where

22 you were standing and where they were, that is to say,

23 where Zigic was standing?

24 A. Zigic, Duca came from this direction.

25 Q. Which means they had already gone out, does

Page 1902

1 it, from the "white house"?

2 A. They were not in the "white house." They

3 were somewhere behind here [indicates]. Where they

4 actually were, I don't know. I was standing here

5 [indicates]. Rezak was here. There was the dirty pool

6 of water, and he washed himself with the dirty water in

7 this area [indicates].

8 Q. So that was after that particular incident,

9 was it?

10 A. Well, it was throughout -- it was all an

11 incident for me. What do you mean "after"?

12 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the witness,

13 please.

14 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation]

15 Q. Let me remind you, in all your statements so

16 far, you make no mention of the fact that Zigic took

17 part in this incident. Can you tell us more

18 specifically, in 1992, this incident took place. You

19 gave your statements after two years. Now eight years

20 later, you mention for the first time, as a new fact,

21 as a novel fact compared to all your previous

22 statements, that Zigic took part in that incident, in

23 that occurrence.

24 A. What occurrence have you got in mind?

25 Q. The beating of (redacted) and Asaf

Page 1903

1 Kapetanovic, and I think here is another – (redacted)

2 (redacted)

3 A. I said that I named Zigic. Why it wasn't

4 entered into the records, I don't know.

5 Q. Did you go through and look through all your

6 statements?

7 A. Well, yes, I did, but you know, after eight

8 hours of interrogation, after interviewing, it was very

9 difficult.

10 Q. Did Timarac take part in the incident as

11 well?

12 A. Yes, he did.

13 Q. Did he beat up these same people?

14 A. I don't know that.

15 Q. You mentioned in your statement that Timarac

16 beat these people. Were you conscious of the fact that

17 he would be responsible, perhaps, towards this

18 Tribunal?

19 A. Yes, Timarac was present with Zigic on the

20 pista when they came back all beaten up, and that is

21 why I said that. You don't have to caution me at all.

22 I know full well what statements I made.

23 Q. Did anybody caution you that your first

24 statement was incorrect?

25 A. May I go back to my seat, please?

Page 1904

1 Q. Thank you, Your Honour.

2 A. Would you repeat your question, please?

3 Q. Did anybody caution you that your previous

4 statements with respect to this incident were

5 incorrect?

6 A. No, nobody did.

7 Q. Did you inform the Tribunal of your change of

8 opinion, as the first is different from this one? When

9 did you change your attitude to this incident?

10 A. I don't know what it says there. I've just

11 got a copy here. I know what I said on the occasion,

12 and the truth is what I said when I was interviewed on

13 the first day here, in this courtroom, when I was

14 questioned in this courtroom on the first day.

15 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] I apologise

16 for interrupting, Mr. Stojanovic. But if you see any

17 contradiction between the different statements of the

18 witness and testimonies, you can ask a direct question

19 to clarify the matter. Otherwise, you enter into

20 argument with the witness. So ask him a direct

21 question. "You said that then, this now. What do you

22 say now at this point?" As we are all here now and it

23 is an oral principle of oral testimony, so without

24 going into a process of argumentation, ask direct

25 questions. Otherwise, we'll never leave this

Page 1905

1 courtroom, Mr. Stojanovic, please.

2 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation] Thank you,

3 Your Honours. I am doing my best to clear up the

4 contradictions and have them explained in the simplest

5 manner.

6 Q. The next contradiction is the following. In

7 all statements so far --

8 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes, and

9 let's see the results, because you're going to make the

10 effort and we'll see the results, Mr. Stojanovic.

11 MR. STOJANOVIC: [Interpretation]

12 Q. Thank you, Your Honour.

13 In all statements given so far, Mr. Oklopcic,

14 you make no mention of this particular incident with

15 Emir Beganovic, but you did mention it for the first

16 time in front of this Tribunal during your present

17 testimony and examination.

18 A. Well, I didn't have time to say many things

19 on the first day, that's how it was. So just as I did

20 not mention Emir Beganovic up until that time, I didn't

21 do many other things when I was questioned that day.

22 So you must understand that it's not simple to come

23 here, either for me or for you or for anybody else.

24 And to make matters clearer, let me say that I know

25 Rezak and Began very well, we were neighbours. So

Page 1906

1 there is no doubt whatsoever that -- I'm not saying

2 something that is contradictory.

3 Q. Well, now you have muddled me even further.

4 I was a bit mixed up by your initial statements. Had

5 you written down what you're saying now, there would be

6 no misunderstanding.

7 Very well. Having witnessed the incident,

8 can you tell us what Zigic's appearance was like at the

9 time? And when I say this, I mean the uniform he was

10 wearing, or perhaps some characteristic personal

11 traits, and so on.

12 A. As far as I remember, Zigic had a red cap.

13 We said -- he called it a French cap in the former

14 Yugoslavia, you know what it looks like, and he had an

15 olive-green military uniform on him.

16 Q. Did he have any bandages on any part of his

17 body?

18 A. Well, it's difficult for me to remember, for

19 me to be able to answer your question.

20 Q. That means you can't remember. Very well.

21 How did you recognise him? Did you know him from

22 before?

23 A. Yes, I did, and I've already answered that

24 question. I said that I knew Zigic from before, but we

25 were not personal friends or anything like that.

Page 1907

1 Q. I don't think we said specifically what time

2 that was. You said in the course of the day that you

3 were standing in a restaurant five, six, or eight

4 hours, but what month was that, or part of a month?

5 A. I think it was the end of June, beginning of

6 July. It's difficult for me to tell you exactly now

7 after eight years have gone by. But it was in the late

8 afternoon, which means between 6.00 and 8.00. How come

9 I know this? I know this because at that time we would

10 be made to go into the central building, where the

11 canteen was situated.

12 Q. If I'm right, you said before this Tribunal

13 that, during this incident, Tadic was present as well,

14 I mean Dusko Tadic.

15 A. I don't know I said that.

16 Q. Did I hear that correctly? I do believe you

17 said that.

18 A. I don't think you heard correctly.

19 Q. Now, these people, and I'm thinking of

20 Mr. Hukanovic, Kapetanovic, and others, did anybody

21 ride on their backs during this incident?

22 A. What I remember most vividly is what I

23 describe. When Rezak was ordered, Hukanovic, to kneel

24 down on the pista and to drink a puddle of dirty water

25 which was on the pista at that time and to wash himself

Page 1908

1 with that dirty water.

2 Q. But you didn't notice anything else which

3 would indicate any similar type of behaviour, inhumane

4 anyway.

5 A. What I did notice is that they were covered

6 in blood, that they were dirty, that they had been

7 beaten, and that they were exhausted.

8 Q. You said that you knew Zigic because he

9 worked in Croatia for a time and then came back to work

10 as a taxi driver.

11 A. I didn't know him when he worked in Croatia,

12 but I knew him when he worked as a taxi driver.

13 Q. Do you know when this was?

14 A. It was prior to the war, just before the

15 war. And when we were in Trnopolje, when Zigic lined

16 us up, he told us that publicly.

17 Q. Yes. We'll get to Trnopolje in due course.

18 If I'm not mistaken, you categorically said that you

19 arrived in Trnopolje on the 5th of August and not the

20 3rd of August, as exists in some documents and we

21 accept that. But you say that in the afternoon in

22 Trnopolje, the representatives of the International Red

23 Cross arrived and journalists from well-known newspaper

24 houses in the world. Can you tell us how long they

25 stayed? Did they stay a long time?

Page 1909

1 A. We arrived from Omarska at about 11.00 or

2 12.00, and at that time none of the International Red

3 Cross representatives were there.

4 Q. You said it was in the afternoon?

5 A. Yes, I did.

6 Q. How long were they there?

7 A. They were there for two or three hours in the

8 afternoon.

9 Q. I see. Two or three hours. Very well.

10 A. That is my opinion, as far as I'm able to

11 recollect.

12 Q. At the end of your statement, written

13 statement, you say you were exchanged. Can you explain

14 what this meant? Exchanged for whom, why you were

15 exchanged?

16 A. Yes, I can do that. You know that I had to

17 fill in a form as soon as possible to leave, and after

18 I left Trnopolje I had to leave Prijedor at the

19 earliest opportunity. As I and my family were not able

20 to leave in any other way --

21 Q. I apologise. I'm talking about the very act

22 of exchange. Who were you exchanged for?

23 A. Well, you're not letting me explain.

24 Q. Well, I don't know. Perhaps it is too

25 involved.

Page 1910

1 A. But this is an essential, vital question.

2 Q. Very well.

3 A. We went to Banja Luka, and at that time there

4 was a woman called Perka [phoen], or something like

5 that, in Banja Luka, and she transferred civilians

6 towards Vlasic from Banja Luka. And on five buses, I

7 and my family were in one of those buses, and we came

8 to the plateau of Mount Vlasic. When we got there,

9 there was a bus which had come from the direction of

10 Travnik with only 10 or 15 people in that other bus.

11 And this was supposed to be an exchange, five buses of

12 us from the Serbian part and one bus coming from

13 Travnik, or wherever. And as I say, in that other bus,

14 there were only 10 or 15 people, not more than that,

15 whereas our buses, our five buses were jam packed with

16 people.

17 Q. These 10 to 15 people, what were they,

18 civilians?

19 A. Yes, they were civilians.

20 Q. Very well. You have drawn up a list of the

21 most responsible people, and my learned colleague,

22 Mr. Jovan Simic, presented that list before me. It is

23 a list compiled in handwriting. You gave that list to

24 the Prosecution. Do you mention Zoran Zigic on that

25 list?

Page 1911

1 A. I don't know. If it's there, then right; if

2 not, then there's no problem.

3 Q. Now, on that list, did you mention expressly

4 who killed Becir Medjunjanin? Do you make mention of

5 that? But you stand by what you said there?

6 A. Yes, absolutely. It just says here that

7 Becir Medjunjanin was killed in the month of July.

8 Q. I'm talking about the list. Look at page 2

9 of the list.

10 A. Here it is, yes Becir Medjunjanin killed in

11 July.

12 Q. What does it say under that?

13 A. Killed by a man named Duca.

14 Q. So you stand by that, do you?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Let us go back to another question, that is

17 to say, one of your answers. You said you saw Zigic

18 some ten times in Omarska. Do you remember any

19 incident with respect to those ten times, except the

20 one that we have just been talking about?

21 A. Yes, I do recall. (redacted)

22 (redacted)

23 (redacted)

24 Q. Was he there when Becir Medjunjanin was

25 killed?

Page 1919

1 Mr. Oklopcic.

2 A. Good afternoon.

3 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] I should like to

4 have some clarifications from you to throw light on

5 your testimony.

6 First of all, some small questions regarding

7 details. You said, I'll begin from the beginning, that

8 when you left towards the hotel -- what was the name of

9 the hotel?

10 A. Hotel Balkan in Prijedor.

11 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Yes, Hotel

12 Balkan. You saw bodies in the street, and your son

13 drew your attention to them. Were they bodies of

14 military men or civilians?

15 A. Civilians.

16 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Civilians. And

17 then you heard the soldiers speaking the Ekavica

18 dialect, and you said it was spoken in various places.

19 How were they dressed? Were they military men?

20 Because military men have different uniforms depending

21 on the country they come from.

22 A. They did.

23 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] How were you

24 able to judge their clothing? Which did they belong

25 to?

Page 1920

1 A. Blue, green, camouflage, SMB olive-grey

2 uniforms, and so on.

3 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Perhaps you knew

4 the different uniforms. Which army was this, did they

5 belong to?

6 A. The Yugoslav army.

7 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] I see. The

8 Yugoslav army. So if I understood you well, Mr. Kvocka

9 was the deputy to the commander Meakic, and they

10 changed every 24 hours. Was there a change in

11 atmosphere in the camp or in the treatment of prisoners

12 depending on who was on duty, Meakic or Kvocka? When

13 did you feel better as human beings?

14 A. When Mr. Kvocka was on duty.

15 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] And then if I

16 understood you well. Mr. Prcac replaced Mr. Kvocka

17 later on. Did the situation improve under Mr. Prcac,

18 or did it worsen?

19 A. You see, for me personally, the last 15 days

20 or so of my stay in the camp, the Omarska concentration

21 camp, was much better than at the beginning of my stay.

22 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Those last 15

23 days were under whose command?

24 A. Under the command of Zeljko Meakic and

25 Prcac. But I must clarify why for you to have a proper

Page 1921

1 understanding. My group, a group of 70 men, was

2 separated and their names read out on the 28th of July,

3 and we were separated from all the other prisoners and

4 put on the pista. At that time, while we were waiting,

5 until the 5th of August, Mr. Ckalja approached me, the

6 leader of one of the groups, and said, "Azedin, today

7 or tomorrow an international organisation is due to

8 come which will carry out an inspection here." They

9 called me Uco, which is short for teacher, and they

10 said, "Uco, do you understand what you have to do when

11 talking to your friends?" I said, "I do." "And what

12 will you say," Kvocka asked. I said that I was okay,

13 that nobody is beating me, that we have enough food,

14 and that nobody is mistreating us. And he answered, "I

15 see that you are a clever guy and you will convey this

16 to your colleagues." I went back and conveyed the

17 message to my colleagues, and they all understood what

18 needed to be said, except for one man who said, "No, I

19 will not do that. I will tell the truth." I said,

20 "Well, do that if you're ready to disappear, do as you

21 will."

22 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] What is

23 your objection now?

24 MR. K. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Mr. Oklopcic

25 was talking about Mr. Ckalja, and he said Mr. Kvocka.

Page 1922

1 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes. That's a

2 slip of the tongue. I meant Ckalja, Ckalja. I'm

3 sorry. I apologise. It wasn't Mr. Kvocka, it was

4 Ckalja.

5 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Very well.

6 Thank you, Mr. Simic. So the correction will be made.

7 Thank you.

8 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Mr. Oklopcic,

9 try and give me coherent answers to my questions. You

10 said that the treatment changed and that it was better

11 under Kvocka's command than Meakic's, and you also said

12 that that depended on each of the shifts. For

13 instance, you mentioned that Krkan's team was the

14 cruelest, and it was under his command that Riza

15 Hukanovic was killed, and some others. Were these

16 teams independent from the command, or was there a

17 certain hierarchy of discipline? Did each team do what

18 they wanted under their team leader, or did they have

19 to answer to somebody above?

20 A. I cannot answer this question with precision;

21 however, my answer will be as follows: The guard

22 shifts were never left to their own resources. There

23 was always present the person who was in charge of that

24 guard -- shift of guards. Whether they coordinated or

25 not, I don't know.

Page 1923

1 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Very well. In

2 other words, if, for instance, the leader was Meakic,

3 of whom you said he was the worst, could the shift

4 leader be tolerant or less severe in his treatment, or

5 did he have to act in accordance with their chief, and

6 vice versa? When Kvocka was on duty, did the shift

7 leaders have a certain degree of freedom of action to

8 do what they could? If you can answer it, that's

9 fine. If not, just tell us you cannot.

10 A. I think the answer is both yes and no. I was

11 never present at an incident involving Mr. Kvocka,

12 beating or something else. I was never present when

13 Mr. Radic was involved in beating. I was never present

14 when Krle or Prcac were involved. But these things did

15 happen during their shift. Who gave the orders, I

16 really don't know and I can't answer that question.

17 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] But you could

18 feel whether there was any discipline or not in the

19 camp, or was it sort of an anarchy when each soldier

20 could amuse himself as he wanted?

21 A. There was discipline.

22 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] There was

23 discipline. And within that framework, Krkan's team

24 was the cruelest, as you said.

25 A. Yes.

Page 1924

1 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Concerning

2 Mr. Kvocka, you indicated that he protected his

3 brother-in-law Riza --

4 A. Sorry?

5 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] His

6 brother-in-law Riza, and he separated him from the

7 others in public. Could any soldier protect somebody

8 in a public manner like that, or only if he had a

9 certain degree of authority? I don't know that, but

10 Mr. Kvocka did that, and not only him, but two other

11 brothers-in-law, my neighbours and friends. But at

12 that time it was very difficult to release anyone from

13 the prison; it was almost impossible.

14 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] And he released

15 them?

16 A. No. He took them away somewhere. They did

17 not enter the room with me.

18 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Did you see

19 anyone else protecting somebody?

20 A. No.

21 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] You often said

22 that each shift had a certain attitude. How could you

23 distinguish between the teams or shifts?

24 A. Hardly at all. But it is a fact that the

25 worst killings, which I saw and experienced, occurred

Page 1925

1 when Krkan's shift was on duty. And another thing, if

2 I may say in quotation marks, "I felt best when the

3 shift from Maricka was on duty as I knew some of the

4 parents of my former students and my former students."

5 But this applies only to me personally.

6 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Yes. But when

7 you say "Krkan's shift," how did you know it was

8 Krkan's shift?

9 A. Because I knew almost all the guards and

10 which shift they were in. Every guard leader would

11 take over duty at the same time as the guards and hand

12 over duty 12 hours later to the next shift.

13 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Yes, but the

14 shift leader was not present during the tortures and

15 the beatings.

16 A. No.

17 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Did you consider

18 complaining to the shift leader?

19 A. We had no chance to do that.

20 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] My last

21 question. The majority of prisoners, were they

22 military men, soldiers, Muslim soldiers, or civilians,

23 according to your knowledge?

24 A. Civilians.

25 JUDGE RIAD: [Interpretation] Thank you very

Page 1926

1 much, Mr. Oklopcic.

2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you too,

3 Your Honour.

4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,

5 Judge Fouad Riad.

6 Judge Wald.

7 JUDGE WALD: Mr. Oklopcic, you referred in

8 your testimony many times to shifts, whether it's

9 Krkan's shifts or Krle's shifts. Now, was it the

10 common practice for all the people detained in the camp

11 to refer to a shift by the name of the shift leader?

12 In other words, if somebody said "Krkan's shift," did

13 that mean Krkan was the shift leader?

14 A. Yes.

15 JUDGE WALD: Okay. The next question is:

16 You say on your paper that you drew up that the shifts

17 changed every 12 hours, and I think you said that in

18 your testimony as well.

19 Since there were three shifts, does that mean

20 that more than one shift was on duty at any one time,

21 or were they over a period of a couple of days, so that

22 you didn't have every shift on duty every 24-hour

23 period? Was there more than one shift on duty at a

24 single time?

25 A. No, but let me explain.

Page 1927

1 JUDGE WALD: Okay.

2 A. I said that the shifts lasted from 7.00 a.m.

3 to 7.00 p.m. and from 7.00 p.m. to 7.00 a.m., so in the

4 course of one day, or 24 hours, two shifts would be on

5 duty. The third shift would be resting for a day and

6 then come to work the next day.

7 JUDGE WALD: Okay. I understand. Thank

8 you.

9 The final question on that was: Did Krkan's

10 shift typically come on in the daytime or the

11 night-time, or did it sometimes day and sometimes

12 night, Krkan's shift?

13 A. What I wrote down, all the killings that I

14 attended occurred in broad daylight. What happened in

15 the evenings, perhaps somebody else will tell you about

16 that who knows more about it.

17 JUDGE WALD: My question, though, was just:

18 When Krkan's shift was on duty, was it usually the

19 daytime? Is that what you're telling me? Just when

20 Krkan's shift was on duty, was it usually in the day or

21 at night?

22 A. You see, if Krkan's shift would start in the

23 morning, or any other shift started in the morning, it

24 would be from 7.00 until 7.00, and then the next day,

25 that same shift would be coming from 7.00 in the

Page 1928

1 evening until 7.00 in the morning. So there was a

2 system of rotation.

3 JUDGE WALD: Right. That's what I wanted to

4 know.

5 Now, you also testified that on one occasion

6 in July, there was an official delegation from

7 Republika Srpska that came to visit the camp, and when

8 asked who was present from the camp leadership, you

9 said -- at least it came through on the transcript --

10 "the commanders and deputy commanders." Now, did you

11 mean by that more than one commander and more than one

12 deputy commander, or was that a mistake, perhaps, in

13 the translation? If so, who actually was there from

14 the camp leadership in July when they came from

15 Republika Srpska?

16 A. Almost everyone who meant anything in the

17 camp; the wardens and the shift leaders were present.

18 I also said "others." From Prijedor, there was Major

19 Slobodan Kuruzovic; from Prijedor also, Simo Miskovic.

20 So I was implying all of them.

21 JUDGE WALD: Right. But I'm most interested

22 in the camp leadership that you remember being there on

23 that occasion. Was Meakic there?

24 A. He was.

25 JUDGE WALD: Who else was there from the camp

Page 1929

1 leadership, besides the shift commanders and Meakic?

2 A. Of the camp leadership, Meakic and Kvocka

3 were the leaders, the chief and the deputy, with the

4 exception of the shift leaders.

5 JUDGE WALD: And that was in July; right?

6 A. Yes.

7 JUDGE WALD: Okay. Now, you also testified

8 that Brk appeared to be very close, the right-hand man

9 of Meakic. How were you able to distinguish between a

10 person like Kvocka or Prcac and Brk? What was

11 different about Brk, who you say was so close to

12 Meakic, that didn't make you think he was a deputy

13 commander but did make you think that Kvocka and Prcac

14 were deputy commanders?

15 A. In the first place, Brk, as they called him,

16 would beat the prisoners, and he was always close to

17 Zeljko Meakic. I said a moment ago that I never saw

18 Kvocka or Prcac beat anyone, as far as I am aware. But

19 Brk, I think his surname is Tadic, known as Brk, he

20 would enter and beat the prisoners. On one occasion,

21 when Becir Medjunjanin and his wife and child were

22 brought in, both he and Zeljko Meakic beat them. So he

23 always moved around with Zeljko Meakic.

24 JUDGE WALD: Okay. So he was more, according

25 to your impressions, like a staff person, an aid to

Page 1930

1 Meakic, than a person with his own command down the

2 line, such as a deputy commander would have?

3 A. Yes.

4 JUDGE WALD: All right. Last question. You

5 mentioned that Medjunjanin's wife and child were beaten

6 on their arrival at Omarska. How old was the child,

7 approximately? And that is your testimony, that the

8 child was actually beaten?

9 A. A young man. A young man, 18 or 20.

10 JUDGE WALD: Okay. How old was Hankin? You

11 referred to him as a young man, but is he about the

12 same age, younger?

13 A. He was older. I was 31 or 32 at the time,

14 and he was two or three years my senior.

15 JUDGE WALD: Okay. Thank you very much.

16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you too.

17 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Thank you,

18 Judge Wald.

19 I am perhaps at an advantage to be the last

20 to put questions as most of the questions have already

21 been asked. Nevertheless, I have two or three minor

22 questions.

23 You answered my colleague Judge Fouad Riad

24 that you managed to identify the guards belonging to

25 the Krkan shift because you knew them. How did you

Page 1931

1 identify the guards in the other shifts?

2 A. First of all, I didn't know them in person

3 before I arrived at the Omarska concentration camp.

4 And how I came to know them was because they called

5 each other by name in public, Zoka, Paspalj, Kricka,

6 Savic, and so on. A second shift, another shift, the

7 shifts from Maricka, as I explained earlier on, was the

8 shift in which there were six to eight of my students

9 and two or three parents of former students. And the

10 third shift, a shift from Omarska, there were a couple

11 of football players that I played against when we had

12 matches between Prijedor and Omarska. So it wasn't

13 difficult for me to identify them at all.

14 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] My second

15 question is the following: At a given point in time,

16 you mentioned Mujo's building or Mujo's room, and they

17 said that there were two Mujos. Why did they choose

18 the name Mujo?

19 A. Because in that shift -- no, I mean in that

20 room that was referred to as Mujo's room, there were

21 all prisoners who came from the centre of town, Stari

22 Grad, Raskovac, Skela, those districts in town. And

23 Mujo was the so-called representative of that room,

24 that large room, and he took those people out to

25 lunch. He would line them up, 30 by 30, and so on.

Page 1932

1 Later on he was joined by Burho. Now, why it

2 wasn't called Burho's room, I don't know. It doesn't

3 matter. It was called Mujo's room. And one night, on

4 the 28th of July, when the two of them disappeared, I

5 took over this shift -- not shift, I mean this group of

6 prisoners, taking them to lunch, I was at the head of

7 them.

8 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] The food of

9 the guards was different from the food you got. How do

10 you know that? How do you know that their food was

11 different?

12 A. First of all, I described what we ate; that

13 is to say, that we would get a piece of bread and had a

14 soup of some kind, made out of a little bit of potato,

15 a little bit of cabbage, and the third time there were

16 beans.

17 The guards would get a different type of

18 food. They would get schnitzels, meat, because the

19 cattle would be slaughtered. Cows were brought from

20 Kozarac, and the prisoners who were butchers by

21 profession or knew something about the butcher's trade

22 went to sort out all this meat that came in.

23 Thirdly, when we had our snacks at around

24 11.00 or 12.00, they would be brought different snacks

25 with coffee, beer, cigarettes, a form of sandwich with

Page 1933

1 salami or cheese or whatever.

2 So that's a big difference between the food

3 they ate and the food we were given.

4 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation]

5 Mr. Oklopcic, you mentioned at one point that the

6 guards were drunk. I must say that I have difficulty

7 in formulating this question, but in your opinion,

8 drunkenness, a state of intoxication, was it by chance

9 or was it regular practice, encouraged? Or is there

10 another hypothesis?

11 A. I can just say one thing, and that is that

12 the guards were far more aggressive when they were

13 drunk. Whether that was encouraged or not, I think it

14 was, but you can understand me when I say that I can't

15 answer that question. But they were far more

16 aggressive when they drank.

17 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] So to

18 restate my question, it is true, from your point of

19 view, that when the guards were under the effects, they

20 were more aggressive.

21 A. Yes, that's right.

22 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Witness

23 Oklopcic, you have answered many questions asked of you

24 by the Prosecution, by the Defence, by the Judges; you

25 have spent a long time here in The Hague. Have you got

Page 1934

1 something to say which has not yet been asked of you

2 and you'd like to say it? Briefly.

3 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I wanted to say

4 something about a question asked of me by Mr. Fila, and

5 I assumed that one of the attorneys would ask me that;

6 not only from the side of the Defence, but also from

7 the side of the Prosecution, and perhaps the Judges as

8 well. I truly did try, Your Honours, to present the

9 truth, and what I have stated here was the truth.

10 When Mr. Fila asked me whether I hate, then I

11 say I hate, and I must hate. But let me repeat once

12 again: The gentlemen sitting here and the others who

13 sat here never in my life would do to them what they

14 did to me and my people and others. And I hope that

15 they will get the sentence they deserve, given to them

16 by God and by you yourselves and by everyone else. And

17 I thank you, one and all; I thank my own attorneys, the

18 gentlemen who defended them. I think that we have

19 cooperated in a proper and correct manner.

20 JUDGE RODRIGUES: [Interpretation] Yes. Very

21 well. We've put that correction as to the name

22 mentioned.

23 The Tribunal is here to analyse and to judge

24 actions committed by individuals, and we should like to

25 note that you were not capable of doing the same