090309ED

Page 32484

1 but, you know, I think that we can pass at this point. If something

2 comes up, I'll sure address to the Court, and I'll leave it to your

3 discretion.

4 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you. Ms. Nikolic.

5 MS. NIKOLIC: [Interpretation] No questions, Your Honour. Thank

6 you.

7 JUDGE AGIUS: Mr. Gosnell.

8 MR. GOSNELL: No questions, Mr. President. Thank you.

9 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you. Ms. Fauveau.

10 MS. FAUVEAU: [Interpretation] No questions.

11 MR. JOSSE: Happy to join the party.

12 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you. And Mr. Mitchell, he is all yours.

13 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

14 JUDGE AGIUS: Remember that he is unemployed, so instead of a

15 cross-examination, perhaps you could offer him a job as a chef for the

16 Office of the Prosecution. I'm sure he will keep you all happy.

17 Cross-examination by Mr. Mitchell:

18 Q. Good morning, Mr. Bajagic.

19 A. God be with you. Good morning.

20 Q. Sir, if at any point when I'm asking you questions I look down,

21 I'm not being rude. I'm just checking that the transcript is coming

22 through correctly.

23 I'd like to start off and ask you some questions about your

24 relationship with Mr. Pandurevic. When did you first meet

25 Vinko Pandurevic?

Page 32485

1 A. Sometime in 1993.

2 Q. And where did you meet him?

3 A. We met at the Main Staff. I think, but I'm not sure.

4 Q. And how often did you see him in 1993 and 1994?

5 A. Not very often, no. I saw him from time to time when he was

6 appointed as the commander of the Zvornik Brigade, but I don't know when

7 that happened. I can't remember.

8 Q. How would you describe your relationship with him? Was it purely

9 professional, or did you regard him as a friend?

10 A. Well, I was not a professional soldier, so our relationship could

11 not have been a professional relationship. I liked the man at the time

12 because he hailed from the same region. He hailed from the Romanija

13 plateau just as I did.

14 Q. Okay --

15 A. The first time I saw him, I found him a bit strange, a bit odd.

16 I looked at him to see who he reminded me of because people looking like

17 him are very few and far between in the region where we come from. There

18 are big and strong men like him, but there are no ginger and freckled

19 people like him.

20 Q. Sir, do you know Milenko Jevdjevic?

21 A. I do, yes.

22 Q. And when did you first meet him?

23 A. He arrived at the command of the Drina Corps when he was

24 appointed as a signalsman, and that's when I met him.

25 Q. How would you describe your relationship with Mr. Jevdjevic?

Page 32486

1 A. Jevdjevic is a poet, and I am a fiddler, so we made a good team.

2 He wrote poetry, and I sang his poetry.

3 Q. So you were friends with Mr. Jevdjevic?

4 A. I don't know what you mean when you say friends. We socialised,

5 yes. There is a difference between just a mate and a friend.

6 Q. Do you still socialise with him?

7 A. No.

8 Q. When was the last time you saw him?

9 A. I can't remember.

10 Q. Do you recall the last time you spoke with him?

11 A. There was a meeting of poets somewhere. I don't even remember

12 where. He passed by my house, and he stopped to say hello. I don't know

13 when that was.

14 Q. Can you recall even the year?

15 A. It was a long time ago. I can't.

16 Q. Do you know Sreten Milosevic?

17 A. No. The name doesn't ring a bell. Can you jog my memory, maybe?

18 Q. The assistant commander for logistics in the Zvornik Brigade?

19 A. I don't remember. I don't know who that is.

20 Q. Miladin Mijatovic [Realtime transcript read in error, "Zlotovic"]

21 from the Zvornik Brigade, logistics organ?

22 A. I know him, yes.

23 Q. Did you socialise with him?

24 A. And what period of time are you referring to now?

25 Q. Between 1992 to 1995, during the war.

Page 32487

1 A. No, I didn't socialise with him. He lives in Zvornik, I live in

2 Vlasenica. The distance between the two is about 50 kilometres, and I

3 don't know why I would socialise with him.

4 Q. But you would have spoken to him regularly as part of your work

5 in the logistics organ; correct?

6 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Sarapa.

7 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] There's a mistake in the transcript

8 in line 12 on this page. It says Miladin Zlotovic. Could the Prosecutor

9 be asked to repeat the family name of the person so that it may be

10 recorded properly, because the person's name is not Zlotovic.

11 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Sarapa.

12 MR. MITCHELL:

13 Q. Certainly. Miladin Mijatovic?

14 JUDGE AGIUS: So Mr. Bajagic, when you said I know him, yes, you

15 were actually referring to Miladin Mijatovic and not to anyone else?

16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, Mijatovic. If that's the

17 person you are asking me about, then I know who you are talking about,

18 yes.

19 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you. I was just confirming with you. Yes,

20 Mr. Mitchell.

21 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

22 Q. So you would have spoken with Mr. Mijatovic regularly as part of

23 your work in the Drina Corps logistics organ; correct?

24 A. No. There was nothing to talk about. He was a logistics man.

25 As far as I know, he was with the Zvornik Brigade and I was with the

Page 32488

1 corps.

2 Q. So isn't it --

3 A. We had our superiors. I don't know what you think that we were

4 talking about. We did speak about bees, honey, and mushrooms, about

5 medicinal herbs because that was his particular hobby, and it still is.

6 I know that for a fact.

7 Q. So you've told us about -- you mentioned Lazar Acamovic the

8 assistant commander for rear services. What was your relationship with

9 him like?

10 A. Well, our relationship was a relationship between a subordinate

11 and a superior.

12 Q. And what about Rajko Krsmanovic? How was your relationship with

13 him?

14 A. The name doesn't ring a bell. Who is Rajko Krsmanovic?

15 Q. Head of transportation service in the Drina Corps?

16 A. Well, it was nothing special. We were very official in our

17 everyday business.

18 Q. Now, as a member of the Drina Corps, you must have known Vujadin

19 Popovic; correct.

20 A. Yes, I did.

21 Q. And you're a logistics man. Do you recall what kind of car

22 Mr. Popovic drove?

23 A. I haven't a clue.

24 Q. So do you know any of the other accused in this case?

25 A. I know General Gvero.

Page 32489

1 Q. And how do you know him?

2 A. Well, he was assistant commander for moral guidance and religious

3 affairs.

4 Q. Did you socialise with General Gvero?

5 A. What? Well, to tell you the truth, it was a bit weird to me that

6 a general and a communist should be appointed assistant commander for

7 religious [Realtime transcript read in error, "logistics"] affairs, but I

8 could see that he was a good man, a good person. And since I am

9 president of the church union in my hometown for almost 35 years now, and

10 I was twice president of the management board in the parish of Tuzla and

11 Zvornik, and there was a drive at the time to achieve a reapportionment

12 between the the church and the army and the military leadership, so on

13 that level we had certain contacts.

14 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Zivanovic.

15 MR. ZIVANOVIC: Just one error in translation. This is page 19,

16 line 1. Instead logistics, he said religious affairs.

17 JUDGE AGIUS: Okay. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Mitchell.

18 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

19 Q. Mr. Bajagic, I'd like to talk to you about when you first joined

20 the VRS in April of 1992. Your statement says that you were drafted;

21 correct?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. So were you ordered to join the army, or did you volunteer?

24 A. It was a mobilisation drive.

25 Q. So you were ordered?

Page 32490

1 A. Well, I abide by the mobilisation. If I had not responded, I

2 don't know, but there would have been certain sanctions, I suppose.

3 Q. Now, prior to that in 1991, you were involved in arming the Serbs

4 in the Vlasenica area in their defence against the Muslims; correct?

5 A. That is not correct.

6 Q. Serb civilians and the Territorial Defence started arming

7 themselves in the Vlasenica area in 1991, didn't they?

8 A. Yes, they started arming, but I did not do that.

9 MR. MITCHELL: Could we please go to 65 ter 4412. I have a hard

10 copy for the witness.

11 Q. Sir, this is an intercepted conversation dated 11 December 1991

12 between you and Radovan Karadzic. I'd just like to read some of the

13 first page. It starts off with:

14 You: "Koljevic?

15 "Yes?

16 "Mr. Koljevic, it's Bajagic from Vlasenica.

17 "Oh, how are you doing?

18 "Well, fine."

19 And Radovan Karadzic comes on:

20 "... Zvonko.

21 "With God's help, and how are you?

22 "May God help you. How are you?

23 "Well, fine. I can hear that you are busy. I'll make it short.

24 "Yes, yes, we have some foreign journalists here.

25 "Well, we are, perhaps you know it, Rajko told you, now before,

Page 32491

1 this now, the plebiscite, when we had rallies, offered mobilisation,

2 voluntary, army to the people.

3 "Yes.

4 "And the response we had, it's simply amazing! About 600

5 volunteers in two days."

6 MR. MITCHELL: Sorry, B/C/S page 2.

7 Q. Radovan Karadzic says:

8 "Brilliant."

9 And then you say:

10 "They have all been clothed and armed."

11 Sir, this is you talking about armed volunteers in 1991; correct?

12 A. Well, I said they were clothed and armed because it was a

13 mobilisation drive. The Yugoslav Army was there at the time. They

14 organised the mobilisation, and it was mostly Serbs who responded to the

15 call-up. There were some Muslims who did so too. It was the Yugoslav

16 Army that provided the equipment and the weapons.

17 MR. MITCHELL: If we can go to the next page in English. If we

18 go down.

19 Q. You say:

20 "We'll bring trumpet players from Uzice, a military orchestra

21 from Sarajevo.

22 "I see.

23 And somebody will ... here, our commander has left to see if he

24 can get General Durdevac to support.

25 "Yes, I see.

Page 32492

1 "And seeing that the party has done it all, the job and the

2 bauxite mine ... will be nice if someone can come and be there tomorrow.

3 "I tell you what, I think that the party should ... what is being

4 done there is great, but now it's finished, and people have been clothed,

5 to avoid the army together accused of being affiliated to a party, I

6 mean, it wouldn't be a good idea for ...

7 "For somebody to come?"

8 "Yes, yes."

9 A. I'm sorry.

10 Q. That's page 2. It should be on the screen in front of you as

11 well.

12 A. All right. I found it.

13 Q. Sir, this isn't the JNA arming these people, is it? It's the

14 SDS.

15 A. Well, the JNA, if they drafted him, they will give him weapons,

16 not a shovel.

17 Q. Sir, we see you saying:

18 "And seeing that the party has done it all ..."

19 That's the SDS, isn't it?

20 A. No, I don't mean the SDS. What did the party do? Tell me where.

21 Where did I say that?

22 Q. It's close to the bottom of the second page. It's the sixth box

23 from the bottom, your name, and it says:

24 "And seeing that the party has done it all, the job and the

25 bauxite mine, it will be nice if someone could come and be there

Page 32493

1 tomorrow."

2 So is the reference to the party, is that a reference to the SDS?

3 A. Well, I was a member of the party and we organised ourselves to

4 prepare that a lunch for the troops to the best of our ability and to get

5 the bauxite mine to help with organising the lunch and the celebration

6 and the feast, to bring the music, the wheel dance, et cetera, the

7 singing. We got involved to organise that part of it.

8 Q. And when you say you were a member of the party, you were a

9 member of the SDS party; correct?

10 A. Yes, the SDS, but to me this is a popular movement, a movement of

11 the people. I was never a member of the political party, and I don't

12 accept that. 90 per cent of the Serbs were in that movement in 1991

13 until it all started.

14 Q. Sir, that answer is not very clear. Were you or were you not a

15 member of the SDS in 1991?

16 A. Yes, I was part of the SDS, but I accepted that SDS as a movement

17 for the salvation of the Serbian people, not politically.

18 Q. And how long were you a member of the SDS party for?

19 A. Until -- I don't know which year, maybe 2002, 2003.

20 Q. Okay. Let's move to another topic. I'd like to talk about your

21 promotion during the war. You told us that you joined the army as a

22 private; correct?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. And you left the army as a 2nd lieutenant?

25 A. As a 2nd lieutenant.

Page 32494

1 Q. Sir, do you recall in 1993 that General Zivanovic recommended

2 that you be promoted from private to captain 1st class?

3 A. 1993? I don't know, maybe. Well, how can you be promoted

4 straight from a private to a captain?

5 MR. MITCHELL: Can we please look at 65 ter 4410.

6 Q. Promotion from a private to a captain 1st class is a big jump,

7 isn't it, sir?

8 A. Oh, I wish. I wish, because where I live, captains are much more

9 popular than colonels.

10 Q. Okay. Let's take a look at this order or this recommendation for

11 Zvonko Bajagic, private, recommendation for exceptional promotion. If we

12 go down, he is recommending that you be promoted to the rank of reserves

13 captain 1st class at the technical services, and we see your name. If we

14 can go to the next page of the document in English, and I'd just like to

15 read out some of this explanation to you:

16 "Since the first days of the battle of the Serbian people, the

17 above named has engaged himself to the utmost as well as his family,

18 relatives, and friends, selflessly dedicating himself to materially

19 equipping the Serbian soldiers and units. Since the day of the formation

20 of the corps, he has been put in a very responsible position, which he

21 maintains very successfully. As is the nature of this work to handle

22 goods of high material" --

23 THE INTERPRETER: Please slow down.

24 MR. MITCHELL:

25 Q. "... a person of weaker morals would succumb to temptation;

Page 32495

1 however, we may proudly state that Zvonko is a truly honourable Serb,

2 whose decency honouring orthodoxy manifests the guiding star towards the

3 salvation and victory of the Serbian people. All those sincerely wishing

4 well to the Serbian people can regard an ideal in the character of Zvonko

5 Bajagic. This command recommends to the Superior Command to promote the

6 above named to the rank of reserve's captain 1st class of the Army of

7 Republika Srpska. The rank we are recommending will be given to a man

8 who will never and nowhere underestimate or belittle it."

9 And this goes to the organ for personnel matters of the

10 Main Staff. Sir, do you know why General Zivanovic proposed this

11 exceptional promotion in July 1993?

12 A. I would like to get this to leave it to my grandchildren for my

13 family archives. I'm really proud to have something as nice as this

14 written about me.

15 Q. Well, do you recall why General Zivanovic proposed that you be

16 promoted?

17 A. Well, you see, it's beginning to come back to me now. Being in

18 the corps command and in that service for procurement, serving as a desk

19 officer for procurement, it had to be someone with a rank, whereas I was

20 a private, so maybe it was a requirement of the personnel department that

21 I be given a rank, I suppose.

22 Q. Sir, I'd like to suggest to you that while your military position

23 may have been just a clerk in the Drina Corps logistics organ, you were

24 actually a very wealthy, influential man in Vlasenica at the time; isn't

25 that correct?

Page 32496

1 A. Well, it depends what you call wealthy. Define wealthy. I was

2 wealthy in spirit first. I was one of the well-off people in my area,

3 having created all I had with my own hands, praying to God all the time,

4 and I never worked for a state-run company. I always worked in private

5 business. I was always self-employed, and that was always the thorn in

6 the side of the Yugoslav authorities. Private initiative and

7 entrepreneurship was not allowed to develop, but I did as I did.

8 And as for influential, I wouldn't call it influential.

9 Influential would be something else. I was a prominent head of household

10 in my parish, and that reputation was well earned among the Serbs and the

11 Muslims by my loyalty and faith and honourable work. In my business, I

12 never cheated anyone. I never owed money to anyone. If I wasn't able to

13 help a person, I did not do them any harm either.

14 Q. You were entrusted with some very important work in the Drina

15 Corps, weren't you, sir? You used to deal with important issues such as

16 the procurement of fuel from Serbia for the use of the VRS; correct?

17 A. You say important work. Other people did it before me, but when

18 materiel and equipment had to be collected from somewhere, taken over, I

19 always really only collected, whereas the people who did that job before

20 me, collected something and brought it, it turned out that something was

21 always missing. As for myself, whatever I brought back, nothing was ever

22 missing, and that was well respected.

23 Q. Sir, did you used to talk to General Mladic and General Perisic

24 about the procurement of this fuel?

25 A. Well, I did talk to them on friendly terms as a host, nothing to

Page 32497

1 do with the affairs of the Main Staff and the military leadership. I

2 mean, who was I to talk to them about such things? Perisic called on me

3 sometimes at my home, visited, if that means anything. But the fact that

4 everybody visited, I can tell you it's explained by the fact that

5 everybody was curious to see the inside of my house. I can tell you that

6 you won't find a house anything like mine in all of Republika Srpska or

7 in Montenegro or in perhaps Serbia. My house is more than a museum. It

8 has so many artifacts and exhibits of the history of Serbs, that maybe

9 not even the museum in Cetinje can boast that much. I even have the

10 remains of Archdeacon Stephane, one of Christ's martyrs, and the way I

11 live is practically the same way of living that was practiced by St.

12 Sava. We always pray before meals, we respect God, we make toasts

13 regularly, and this house protocol, which is the church protocol, was

14 always well respected where I live.

15 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, sir. I think it's time for the break,

16 Mr. President.

17 JUDGE AGIUS: Time for a break. 25 minutes. Thank you.

18 --- Recess taken at 10.29 a.m.

19 --- On resuming at 10.59 a.m.

20 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Mitchell.

21 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

22 Q. Sir, I just asked you about you dealing with important issues

23 such as the procurement of fuel from Serbia. There were occasions where

24 you donated fuel personally to the VRS; isn't that correct?

25 A. You said the army of Serbia?

Page 32498

1 Q. To the VRS. You donated fuel to the VRS?

2 A. No, not me. How could I?

3 Q. You also met regularly with President Karadzic in 1994 and 1995,

4 didn't you?

5 A. Not in 1994, but in 1991.

6 Q. So not in 1994?

7 A. From 1991 to 1996.

8 Q. You met with him regularly?

9 A. I don't know what you mean when you say regularly. We met in

10 1991 at pre-election rallies, and then in the course of the war,

11 sometimes he would pop over to my house, sometimes I would visit him in

12 Pale. That's how often we met. Those were our meetings.

13 Q. Okay. Well, we'll look at that more closely in a minute. I'd

14 just like to go back to this -- what you said at page 26 when I asked you

15 did you talk to General Mladic and General Perisic about the procurement

16 of fuel, and you said:

17 "Well, I did talk to them on friendly terms as a host, nothing to

18 do with the ... Main Staff and the military leadership. I mean, who was

19 I to talk to them about such things?"

20 MR. MITCHELL: So if we can have a look at 65 ter 4416, page 2 in

21 the English, page 1 in the B/C/S. I have a hard copy for the witness.

22 Perhaps I can just hand it straight it to him.

23 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, go ahead.

24 MR. MITCHELL:

25 Q. This is a conversation dated the 21st of April, 1995, 1955 hours,

Page 32499

1 and it's between General Zivanovic and Zvonko Bajagic. I'd just like to

2 read out the first part of this intercept:

3 Zvonko, how are you?

4 "Don't ask.

5 "What is it?

6 "What can I tell you, not even Mladic was able do anything today.

7 "Why, what happened? The cargo did not go through?

8 "Right.

9 "O, boy, what will happen now?

10 "I have almost gone crazy.

11 "So, nobody can transport it now?

12 "Well, Mladic cannot, and neither can Perisic, I spoke to them

13 three times today.

14 "Yes.

15 "Mladic called from our place, but that papa did not give a green

16 light. They have been been avoiding all contact, and we could see what

17 was going on.

18 "Is there any hope?

19 "There is hope, but they said after Sunday, and since it cannot

20 go through right now, we brought it all back.

21 "Of course, and did you right bringing it back; you wouldn't want

22 it to go to ruin, do you.

23 "It was very awkward, and I'm having a hard time with this, I

24 feel sick.

25 "All right. We will talk later, I understand everything, it is

Page 32500

1 clear to me."

2 So in this intercept, you said that you spoke with Mladic and

3 Perisic three times that day; correct? Let me take a step back. Do you

4 recall this conversation, sir?

5 A. I don't.

6 Q. Do you doubt that this intercept is correct?

7 A. I can say that it may have happened that I went and take over

8 some of the materiel and equipment, and then those could not be

9 transported across the Drina, and since Perisic came to my house, we

10 socialised and we were on first-term basis. I may have called him; I may

11 have told him, Why did you give it to us if you don't allow us to take it

12 over the border? That may have been the gist of that conversation, I

13 suppose.

14 Q. So you were talking to General Mladic and General Perisic about

15 bringing cargo in across the border?

16 A. I may have spoken to him about that cargo. Maybe they did not

17 allow the cargo to go through. Maybe that's why I called him to help me

18 have the cargo go through. That may well be the case.

19 Q. Do you recall what this cargo was?

20 A. I don't recall that, and it doesn't say here. There are all

21 sorts of cargos. I don't know which cargo is this particular one.

22 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Let's take a look at 65 ter 4417.

23 Q. Sir, did you have a nickname during the war?

24 A. I did.

25 Q. And what was that?

Page 32501

1 A. Duga Puska. Translation: Long Rifle.

2 Q. Okay. Sir, so this an intercept dated the 7th of June, 1995, at

3 1005 hours between Zvonko Bajagic, aka Puska, from the Drina Corps

4 Command in Vlasenica and a certain Misko from Valjevo. So do you know

5 who Misko from Valjevo is?

6 A. I can't remember.

7 Q. Do you recall the name Mitar Lazarevic?

8 A. If you could jog my memory if you know who he is. Could you

9 please jog my memory? I can't remember who that person is.

10 JUDGE AGIUS: Since he suggested this, you can put a direct

11 question, a leading question.

12 MR. MITCHELL:

13 Q. Sir, our information is that Mitar Lazarevic was involved with a

14 transport company in Serbia in Valjevo.

15 A. I really can't remember.

16 Q. Okay. If we look at the first part of this intercept. I'm not

17 going to read it all out, but we can see here that you are organising to

18 get 10 tonnes of petrol from Beopetrol in Belgrade, and it's to come

19 across the border before 2 a.m. that night. Do you recall this

20 transaction?

21 A. Well, there were several such transactions. I can't remember the

22 one that you are asking me about.

23 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. If we can go to the next page in English.

24 Q. And see here you say:

25 "Tonight.

Page 32502

1 "How should the man return?

2 "Nothing. He will be escorted, and he will cross it tonight and

3 return tomorrow.

4 And M says something that wasn't picked up.

5 And: "It doesn't matter. It's not a problem. It has been

6 agreed upon at an upper level 01-01."

7 Who is 01?

8 A. 01 was General Mladic.

9 Q. You were saying 01 to 01. So who is General Mladic talking to?

10 A. Probably 01 is probably Perisic. Gvero was 04.

11 Q. Sir, we are seeing documents in this case from the Drina Corps

12 5th Engineering Battalion for the pontoon company, he's organising ferry

13 crossing points across the Drina river, at Samsko, Fakovici, Patricia

14 [phoen] and Sapotnik. Do you know what came across at those ferry

15 points?

16 A. When I went to take over different means and equipment in Serbia,

17 I never brought anything across the pontoon bridges. I don't know

18 anything about them or where they were. I transported everything across

19 the regular bridges, as it were.

20 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. One more intercept on this topic,

21 65 ter 411. That's page 3 in the English, page 2 in the B/C/S, just down

22 at the bottom of that page.

23 Q. This is an intercept dated the 8th of June, 1995, so the next

24 day. If you can just take a moment and read through it. Let me know

25 when you've finished.

Page 32503

1 MR. MITCHELL: Can we go to the next page in English.

2 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Do you want me to read from here?

3 MR. MITCHELL: Yes.

4 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Sarapa.

5 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] Could we see the second page as

6 well. What we can see is only four lines of a conversation between

7 Basevic and Bajagic.

8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] What I'm reading here is not my

9 dialect, if I can comment upon this. Well, I see on the second page,

10 this is not my dialect. This is not the way I speak. These are not my

11 words. I did not utter this. This was uttered by some Serbians who say

12 "brej" [phoen] which I never would.

13 MR. MITCHELL:

14 Q. Do you doubt the accuracy of this intercept or the authenticity

15 of this intercept?

16 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Haynes.

17 MR. HAYNES: Well, there are three on that page. Which one is he

18 talking about?

19 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, do you wish to comment on that?

20 MR. MITCHELL: The intercept we're talking about, Your Honour.

21 JUDGE AGIUS: The one we see on the screen now, in other words?

22 That's the second page?

23 MR. MITCHELL: It started off at page 2 in the B/C/S and went

24 over onto page 3. It's the only one with his name on it.

25 MR. HAYNES: Well, I don't actually recall the witness being

Page 32504

1 directed to any particular intercept. On page 2, there were three

2 separate intercepts.

3 MR. MITCHELL: He's got a hard copy.

4 JUDGE AGIUS: Okay --

5 MR. HAYNES: Tell him to read the bottom of page 2 over to page 3

6 and then ask him for his comment.

7 JUDGE AGIUS: Let's start with the first page, please.

8 JUDGE KWON: Second.

9 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, but the first page, what I mean is page 2

10 where the intercept starts. So, Mr. Mitchell.

11 MR. MITCHELL: It's the intercept down the bottom of the second

12 page, Mr. President.

13 JUDGE AGIUS: Which starts at the bottom in both languages?

14 MR. MITCHELL: Correct, and then goes on to the next page.

15 Q. Mr. Bajagic, it might be more helpful if you just look at the

16 screen instead of the hard copy.

17 Now, is this the intercept that you said you didn't think was

18 your dialect?

19 A. It's not me. I use different words. I use a different dialect.

20 I don't use the words that I read here. I can see the word "cretin,"

21 which is not part of my vocabulary. What I did was honest, was lawful.

22 I never smuggled any cigars or cigarettes like I can read here. Those

23 were some thiefs.

24 Q. Sir, what about the first intercept that we talked about this

25 morning, the one from 1991 between you and Radovan Karadzic. Was that

Page 32505

1 you on that intercept?

2 A. Yes. When we were talking about the lunch that had to be

3 prepared before the lining up of the battalion in Milici; is that what

4 you're referring to?

5 Q. That's right. That was you on that intercept? Okay.

6 A. Yes, yes.

7 Q. I'd like to go back to something else you said just after the

8 break, and I asked you:

9 "There were occasions where you donated fuel personally to the

10 VRS ..."

11 And you said:

12 "No, not me. How could I?"

13 MR. MITCHELL: If we can look at 65 ter 4415.

14 Q. That is Drina Corps report dated 29 November 1994, listing the

15 amounts of fuel received from municipalities, enterprises, and donators

16 in the period from the 1st of September to the 15th of November, 1994.

17 If we can go over to the second page. About halfway down the page, we

18 see your name.

19 MR. MITCHELL: If we can blow that up a little bit.

20 Q. Can you see your name there, sir? It's 1, 2, 3, 4 from the

21 bottom.

22 A. I can.

23 Q. And it says that in October 1994, Zvonko Bajagic from Vlasenica

24 donated 8.270 litres of D2 diesel and 14.690 litres of petrol to the

25 Drina Corps. So how did your name end up on this document as a donator

Page 32506

1 of fuel to the Drina Corps?

2 A. Well, it could have been some company or some private persons who

3 donated that, and maybe I took the quantities over and brought them back,

4 but it's really beyond my comprehension that you could think that I was

5 in a position to donate those quantities of fuel to anybody.

6 Q. So this document which went to the Main Staff is mistaken?

7 A. A hundred per cent.

8 Q. I have one other thing I'd like to ask you about before we get to

9 1995. Now, sir, you said -- I asked you whether you met regularly with

10 President Karadzic, and you said sometimes he would pop over to your

11 house, sometimes you would visit him in Pale. "That's how often we met.

12 Those were our meetings."

13 Whereabouts in Pale did you meet?

14 A. Sometime in his office, sometime in his house.

15 Q. Can you give us a rough idea of how often? Once a month, once

16 every six months?

17 A. It was not very often, from time to time; it all depended. When

18 he needed to see me or wanted to see me, he would call me and he would

19 say, Can you come over, have lunch or dinner. That's what it all boiled

20 down to. It was not that often. There were some official visits

21 regarding the civilian authorities in Vlasenica, and so on and so forth.

22 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. If we can look at 65 ter 4413. If we can

23 go to page 25 in the B/C/S and page 16 in the English.

24 Q. Sir, this is President Karadzic's appointment diary from 1994,

25 which was picked up during his arrest last year. Now, this is the entry

Page 32507

1 for the 25th of February, 1994, and the fourth name down is

2 Zvonko Bajagic. That's you; correct?

3 A. Yes, I can see that, and yes, this is my name.

4 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. If we go to page 18 in the English, page 29

5 in the B/C/S. If we can scroll down in the English.

6 Q. We can see your name again there, can't we, sir?

7 A. Yes, we can. I can.

8 Q. So you met with President Karadzic on these two dates; correct?

9 A. I can't remember. I can't remember either the days or the times.

10 It may have happened this way. It was a long time ago.

11 Q. [Previous translation continues] ...interview the secretaries,

12 and they say that that plus sign is an indication that you came. So you

13 must have met with the president on those days; correct?

14 A. Well, if it's recorded in his notebook, then I must have been

15 there, but I can't remember. It was such a long time ago. I don't have

16 the recollection of the event.

17 Q. Well, sir, if we went through this diary page by page, your name

18 would be there I believe 18 times. That's an average of more than once a

19 month, isn't it? We're talking just about 1994 here.

20 A. What are you saying? I don't know. It's nothing.

21 Q. Sir, I'm saying that you met with President Karadzic 18 times in

22 1994, and that's an average of more than once a month, isn't it?

23 A. If that's what it says in there, then it's correct.

24 Q. So how is it that a clerk from the Drina Corps logistics organ is

25 meeting with the president that regularly?

Page 32508

1 A. I told you that I met Radovan the first time in 1991, during the

2 election campaign at rallies. My great grandfather, late Bozo Bajagic,

3 who was actually not my grandfather but my grandfather's first cousin,

4 was living in Niksic and was neighbours with late Vuko Bajagic [as

5 interpreted], Radovan Karadzic's father. They were very good friends.

6 And when I went to Niksic as a child and as a student or a teenager, as

7 the popular word has it nowadays, I really liked to go to Vuk's house

8 with my late grandfather Bozo, and I would listen to them speaking in a

9 very nice way, and I particularly liked listening to Radovan's late

10 mother.

11 Q. Sir, my question was --

12 A. May I finish, please.

13 Q. Certainly.

14 A. I did not know Radovan. I just knew he was Vuko's son. I mean,

15 I didn't know him until 1991, and he knew that I was Bozo, and he knew

16 that I was related to his father's friend. And when we first met, he

17 asked me, Are you the one? And I said yes, and then this acquaintance

18 turned into a friendship.

19 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Sarapa.

20 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] On page 36 in line 8, it says

21 Vuko Bajagic, Radovan's father. It must be a mistake.

22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] It's Vuk Karadzic.

23 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] Yes, but what we have in the record

24 now is Vuko Bajagic. It has to be corrected.

25 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you. Let's proceed.

Page 32509

1 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

2 Q. So these are all just family, friendly visits with President

3 Karadzic?

4 A. Mostly, mostly. They were friendly family visits. There were

5 some private calls on him at his home, I don't know if that's recorded

6 anywhere, whether the 18 visits that year include those.

7 Q. When you say "mostly," sir, does that mean that there were some

8 business meetings, as well, or it's all just friendly meetings?

9 A. There were some official talks as well.

10 Q. That was my previous question, sir. What is a clerk from the

11 Drina Corps logistics section doing meeting the president on business?

12 A. That had nothing to do with the army. I mentioned before, it had

13 to do with some civilian issues regarding our municipality, our area,

14 humanitarian aid, accommodation of refugees, this sentiment among the

15 people, the talks, et cetera.

16 Q. In what capacity were you meeting him?

17 A. Well, you see when our chief, the president of the municipality,

18 needed to see Radovan officially, he would always ask me, saying, Zvonko,

19 please, can you come with me? You know when you are with me, it's easier

20 to get through. There's always a long line of people. I get to see

21 Radovan more easily when you are with me. But it's all based on that

22 friendship and mutual respect.

23 Q. So who was there when you met with the president on business?

24 A. Well, whoever I went with. Sometimes I would leave them there to

25 talk. I would go out. I have a relative at Pale. I would go and visit

Page 32510

1 that relative, have coffee with him, until they are finished.

2 Q. And who was the president of the municipality who you mentioned a

3 moment ago?

4 A. In Vlasenica, three of them changed during the war.

5 Q. And who --

6 A. Maybe even four.

7 Q. Can you tell us their names?

8 A. At first, it was Milorad Lukic. He was the first one. Wait a

9 minute. Then there was Vojo Mitrovic, that's two; Milan Gostanic

10 [phoen], three; and afterwards, it was Dr. -- what is his name.

11 Q. Rajko Djukic?

12 A. What did you say?

13 Q. Rajko Djukic?

14 A. Rajko Djukic, no. No. You mean Rajko Dukic? There was no

15 Djukic, D-j-u. I don't even know a Djukic. There was

16 Ostoja Dragutinovic, I now remember, Ostoja Dragutinovic, but that was

17 after the war.

18 Q. Who is Rajko Dukic?

19 A. Director of the bauxite company in Milici, but that's another

20 place.

21 MR. MITCHELL: If I can have a moment, Mr. President.

22 [Prosecution counsel confer]

23 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you.

24 Q. Sir, I'd like to turn to a different area now, and that's your

25 meetings with Mr. Pandurevic's Defence team.

Page 32511

1 When did you first speak with someone from Mr. Pandurevic's

2 Defence team?

3 A. The first I heard from them was when I got a telephone call from

4 a lawyer by the name of Rubes in early December 2007.

5 Q. Sir, did you know Mr. Rubes from during the war when you were a

6 member of the Drina Corps?

7 A. Yes, I did.

8 Q. What was his position in July 1995?

9 A. I don't know about his position, but he was -- I think he was in

10 the command of the Drina Corps. He was.

11 Q. He was an administrator in the Drina Corps legal department,

12 wasn't he?

13 A. Maybe.

14 Q. Okay. So the first contact you had was a telephone call from

15 Mr. Rubes in December 2007. Tell us about that telephone conversation.

16 A. He called me on the phone and asked me if he could drop by

17 together with a lawyer from the Defence team of General Pandurevic. They

18 [as interpreted] wanted to talk to me.

19 Q. Did they say what they wanted to talk --

20 A. I said okay.

21 Q. Did they tell you what they wanted to talk with you about?

22 A. Not on the phone.

23 Q. Okay. So when did you meet with them?

24 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Sarapa.

25 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] It was misinterpreted a moment ago

Page 32512

1 when the witness said that he talked on the phone when Rubes called. The

2 interpretation seems to imply that they talked on the phone in plural.

3 JUDGE AGIUS: What did the witness say according to you?

4 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] The witness said that the

5 investigator, lawyer Rubes, called him, saying that a defence lawyer

6 wanted to speak to him. And then the Prosecution asked, What did they

7 talk to you about, whereas the witness had said that Rubes spoke to him

8 alone, not two people.

9 JUDGE AGIUS: All right. Thank you. Is that clear in your mind,

10 Mr. Mitchell?

11 MR. MITCHELL: Yes, Mr. President.

12 JUDGE AGIUS: Okay. Let's proceed, then. Thank you. Thank you,

13 Mr. Sarapa.

14 MR. MITCHELL:

15 Q. Sir, after this telephone conversation with Mr. Rubes, you then

16 met with people from General Pandurevic's Defence team; correct?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Who was at that meeting?

19 A. Lawyer Rubes and lawyer Djordje and myself.

20 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes. If you look at line 20, Mr. Mitchell, you see

21 that your question doesn't show up in the transcript.

22 MR. MITCHELL: Yes, Mr. President.

23 JUDGE AGIUS: For the record, if you could kindly repeat it,

24 please. Thank you.

25 MR. MITCHELL:

Page 32513

1 Q. Sir, I asked you, who was present at that meeting? And you

2 answered:

3 "Lawyer Rubes and lawyer Djordje and myself."

4 Is that correct?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Was Mr. Sarapa taking notes during this meeting?

7 A. When they came, Sarapa asked me about the dinner I had prepared

8 in Bratunac, and I told him, and I signed the record in my statement.

9 Q. What precisely did he ask you, sir?

10 A. He asked me if I remembered carrying that dinner to Bratunac. I

11 said yes. He asked me, Do you remember when you brought that dinner? I

12 said yes, because it had to do with the patron saint's day, which I

13 hosted, and because I prepared meat-free food for the St. Peter's Day's

14 fast, and the next day we ate meat. And that dinner, I brought it on the

15 eve of St. Peter's Day on the 11th, the night of the 11th to Bratunac.

16 Q. So you didn't need any time to refresh your recollection about

17 these -- you just remembered and told him during that first meeting?

18 A. I'm not good with dates, and I'm even worse with names. And when

19 he said that my household said that -- had more than 172 godchildren,

20 baptised godchildren, I had difficulty believing that. But when church

21 holidays are concerned and church dates, I remember all that perfectly.

22 That's why this is etched in my memory.

23 Q. Sir, have you ever spoken to Vinko Pandurevic about this dinner?

24 A. No.

25 Q. What about Milenko Jevdjevic? Have you spoken with him?

Page 32514

1 A. No, no.

2 Q. How many times in total have you met with a representative from

3 Mr. Pandurevic's Defence team?

4 A. Later in April, Rubes called on me, but that was the next year,

5 2008. And I signed that record, and the following day I went to Zvornik

6 to have that record certified at the office of a notary public in

7 Zvornik. That's where I signed.

8 Q. Just going back to that first meeting for a moment, who first

9 brought up the topic of the dinner?

10 A. Sarapa. He asked me if I took that dinner there. I did, and I

11 asked, Why is this interesting? And he says, Would you testify for

12 Vinko; he suggested you as a witness, and would you testify that you did

13 indeed carry that dinner? And I said yes.

14 Q. So Mr. Pandurevic suggested you as a witness?

15 A. That's what the lawyer told me.

16 Q. Sir, did you follow the trial of General Krstic?

17 A. No.

18 Q. You know that General Krstic also said that this meeting was on

19 the night of the 11th, or this dinner was on the night of 11 July?

20 A. I don't know.

21 Q. Did you ever speak with General Krstic's Defence?

22 A. I don't even know who his Defence are.

23 Q. Okay. Let's talk about July 1995 now, and I'd like to go through

24 a couple of days either side of this dinner with you and get you to

25 briefly explain to the Court what you were doing on each of those days.

Page 32515

1 So if we can start off with the day before you went to this dinner in

2 Bratunac. Can you tell the Court what you were doing on that day?

3 A. That day or the day before?

4 Q. The day before the dinner,

5 A. I went to Loznica to buy the fish. That's in Serbia.

6 Q. Sir, you told us that you got an order from Colonel Acamovic on

7 the afternoon of the dinner. Why did you go and buy the fish the day

8 before?

9 A. Because you can't buy fish anywhere closer than Serbia. We all

10 went to buy fish there. I mean, it needed to be fresh, and we needed a

11 lot of it for a lot of people.

12 Q. Why did you buy fish?

13 A. Because I told you, this is St. Peter's Day fast that takes 14

14 days.

15 JUDGE AGIUS: It has been explained and explained already. Thank

16 you.

17 MR. MITCHELL:

18 Q. Sir, you were in the Drina Corps logistics organ. You must have

19 been aware that the VRS was involved in a major operation around the

20 Srebrenica enclave on that day; correct?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Can you tell us what happened militarily that day?

23 A. Which day?

24 Q. The day before the dinner. We're still talking about the same

25 day.

Page 32516

1 A. The 10th?

2 Q. The day before the dinner.

3 A. I don't know. I don't know. I went to Loznica to buy the fish.

4 Then I was at home cooking.

5 Q. Had Srebrenica fallen on the day that you went to buy the fish?

6 A. Colonel Acamovic told me when he called me in the afternoon of

7 the 11th around 5.00 p.m. He was the first who told me that our army had

8 entered Srebrenica. That's the first I heard of it.

9 Q. Did he tell you that they had taken over the entire enclave?

10 A. No. He just said that the army had entered Srebrenica.

11 Q. So you already had the fish by the time the VRS entered

12 Srebrenica; correct?

13 A. I bought the fish on the 10th, and I heard the news towards the

14 evening on the 11th.

15 Q. Okay. Let's talk about the day of the dinner. What did you do

16 that day, in the morning?

17 A. Well, the preparations for that dinner, that meat-free dinner,

18 had started, and I had guests at my home, and this lean dinner was served

19 at my home. And at the same time, we were roasting suckling pigs and

20 lamb for the next day. That's what we were doing on the 11th.

21 Q. Sir, this was a massive logistical operation around Srebrenica,

22 and you're on the logistics organ. How is it that you are at home in the

23 middle of all this, cooking food?

24 A. Right.

25 Q. How is this possible?

Page 32517

1 A. What have I got to do with the operation? I'm not a soldier in

2 the battle-field. I just went to buy supplies. Whenever I had orders, I

3 went to pick up the goods wherever and bring them to the depot of the

4 corps, and especially on the 12th. I don't know if you understood it,

5 but I said that I was a sponsor of the church, the sponsor of the

6 luncheon, and the host at this celebration of St. Peter's Day for

7 Vlasenica. I had over 1.000 guests the next day for the luncheon at the

8 hotel, not at my home. Vasilije Kacevanola was the guest of honour to

9 break the cake with us as the custom requires.

10 Q. Okay. What time did you leave Vlasenica to go to Bratunac?

11 A. Around half past 8.00 is the time when I left to bring the food.

12 I told Acamovic I couldn't do it any earlier. He asked me when I could

13 do and I said, Lazar, I'm sorry. I can't do it before half past 8.00. I

14 have things to do. And he said, Okay, do it when you can.

15 Q. What type of car did you drive?

16 A. A Golf. My own Golf.

17 Q. Do you remember the registration plates?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Did you put any fuel in the car before you left?

20 A. No. The car was full, I think.

21 Q. Was anyone with you?

22 A. My older son.

23 Q. What about Zoran Sekulic? Was he with you?

24 A. Possibly. I don't know whether he was. He sometimes drove me.

25 He was a driver in the brigade, not in the corps, and sometimes he would

Page 32518

1 drive me. And at that particular occasion, I don't know if it was me and

2 my son -- it is possible that that person, the driver went with us.

3 Q. What about Stevan Stevanovic? Did he go with you?

4 A. I don't think so, not on that occasion, no.

5 Q. What about Mile Kosoric?

6 A. Mile Kosoric was the brigade commander. How would you expect him

7 to come with me?

8 Q. Okay. What route did you take?

9 A. Vlasenica, Milici, Konjevic Polje, Bratunac.

10 Q. And what time did you reach Bratunac?

11 A. It took us slightly less than an hour to get there.

12 Q. Did you see any Muslims on the way? Any Muslim men?

13 A. No, there was only a police patrol in Konjevic Polje. It was

14 already late in the afternoon. There was a police patrol in

15 Konjevic Polje, and then there was another one in Kravica, I believe.

16 Q. Did you see the MUP police stationed along the road, the

17 Konjevic Polje-Bratunac Road, every hundred, metres or so?

18 A. I don't remember. I didn't notice any such thing. I remember

19 having seen a patrol. I remember that a hundred per cent, and I also

20 remember the other one in Kravica.

21 Q. So we've heard evidence in this case that before the fish dinner,

22 there was a meeting at the Bratunac Brigade headquarters that was

23 attended by General Mladic, General Krstic, Vinko Pandurevic,

24 Radomir Furtula, Milenko Jevdzevic, Mirko Trivic, and others. What do

25 you know about this meeting?

Page 32519

1 A. When I arrived, we brought the dinner. There were some soldiers

2 on duty there. I reported to them, and I said to them, I brought dinner.

3 Where am I to serve it, in which room? Then we went to that room. We

4 left. Before we did that, we laid the table. Then I wanted to return,

5 but then I was asked to wait for some five or ten minutes more, and some

6 officers appeared after they had ended the meeting. I greeted Mladic.

7 He thanked me for having brought the dinner. I also said hello to

8 Krstic, and then I went home. I had guests in my own house. I couldn't

9 stay any longer. I was rushed to go back.

10 Q. Was the dinner in a different room from the meeting?

11 A. In a different room, yes. We laid a table, and we served dinner

12 in a different room. I don't know whether they actually had the dinner

13 where we left it or whether they took the food somewhere else after we

14 left. I wouldn't know that.

15 Q. So was the fish on the table when they came into the dinner, or

16 did you go into the meeting room with the fish?

17 A. We served the fish on oval plates in that room, and we left some

18 wine and some brandy there, and I met with all of them in the corridor

19 after I had laid the food on the table in that room. I greeted them, and

20 then I left. I went home.

21 Q. So you didn't walk into the meeting with the fish?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Okay. Now, you've had a lot of time to think about this dinner.

24 Can you tell us who was there?

25 A. I don't know who actually attended dinner. I only saw them in

Page 32520

1 the corridor as they were leaving the meeting room, and I told you that I

2 said hello to Mladic and Krstic. I also saw Jevdjevic, and I saw Vinko

3 as well.

4 Q. What about Mirko Trivic?

5 A. I don't remember. I didn't -- no, I don't remember who else was

6 there.

7 Q. Did you see General Zivanovic?

8 A. I don't remember. No, I didn't, no. What do you mean? What are

9 we talking about? You said that I mentioned him that evening?

10 Q. No, sir. You said you saw these officers come out of the meeting

11 room and you saw them in the corridor, and I'm trying to get you to tell

12 us which officers you saw in the corridor. Did you see General Zivanovic

13 in the corridor?

14 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, I notice Mr. Sarapa standing.

15 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] The witness did not say the officers

16 leaving the meeting room. He said that he saw them in the corridor once

17 they had all come from the meeting.

18 JUDGE AGIUS: Okay. But I think -- let's proceed anyway. I'm

19 happy with what we had in the transcript in any case. Mr. Mitchell.

20 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

21 Q. So besides General Mladic, General Krstic, Milenko Jevdjevic, and

22 Vinko Pandurevic, you don't recall who else was there, who else you saw

23 in the corridor?

24 A. No, I don't. No.

25 Q. Now, you said that you left Bratunac that night and went back

Page 32521

1 home; correct?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Did you see the buses and trucks in Bratunac that night?

4 A. I did not. It was already dark. It was night, and before the

5 gate of the command did not see anything. The command is at the entrance

6 to Bratunac. I never entered the town itself. And the command building

7 is actually on the main road. You turn left, and you leave Bratunac.

8 Q. What about the next day? What did you do the day after the

9 dinner?

10 A. Around 8.00 the following day, I went to church. The liturgy

11 started at 9.00. I went there early to prepare everything in the church,

12 to have a word with the priest and discuss the protocol because the

13 Episcope Vasilije was coming, and on that day the liturgy is a festive

14 one different to the one served by a common priest.

15 Q. What time was the dinner that you --

16 A. I did not finish my answer. You asked me about the whole day,

17 and I only told you about the morning, I beg your pardon.

18 Q. Please go on.

19 A. Shall I continue, then?

20 Q. Yes.

21 A. And the service in church lasted until about one hour because

22 after the liturgy we had a procession through the town. Church icons and

23 standards are brought out of the church, and everybody who attended the

24 mass in the church walk behind the icons and standards. They walked in a

25 circle in one part of the town, and then we returned to the church. Then

Page 32522

1 the celebration cake or the festive cake is broken in the church, and

2 after that we went to have lunch in the hotel, and General Zivanovic also

3 attended that lunch in the hotel.

4 Q. What time was that lunch?

5 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the Prosecution, please.

6 MR. MITCHELL:

7 Q. What time was that lunch?

8 A. I remember that the church service ended around 1.00, and after

9 1.00 we went to the hotel, and we stayed there until midnight. We were

10 sitting in the hotel socialising. We were singing. The atmosphere was

11 very festive.

12 Q. Did you see buses go through the middle of Vlasenica that day,

13 buses full of Muslims?

14 A. No, not in the morning. My house is on the road, and I didn't

15 see anybody passing by it. The church is in the very centre of the town.

16 I didn't see anything there, and then we went to the hotel, and there was

17 nothing going on around the hotel.

18 Q. Okay. What about the following day? What did you do that day?

19 Just briefly.

20 A. On the following day, it was a -- everybody was hung over. Some

21 people had breakfast, those who overnighted at the hotel, and then we

22 continued socialising until noon. I believe that it lasted until noon,

23 but we were pretty much hung over from all the brandy that we had the

24 previous day. We saw our guests off, we tidied up the hotel, and then

25 the waiters and the cooks who had served us the day before joined us the

Page 32523

1 following day for a bit of socialising, and then they shared the

2 leftovers with us. It's a good thing to do. You are not supposed to

3 throw leftovers. It's better to eat them.

4 Q. Did you go anywhere that day? Did you leave Vlasenica?

5 A. I can't remember. Either on that day or on the following day I

6 went to Srebrenica, but I can't remember exactly when.

7 Q. And what was your purpose in going to Srebrenica?

8 A. My best man and I went there, out of curiosity. We wanted to see

9 what Srebrenica looked like from inside.

10 Q. And what did you see there?

11 A. The town was deserted. It was empty. It looked ghastly. All

12 the buildings were covered with smoke, and there were logs and woods on

13 the roads, and there were some elderly people roaming around the town.

14 There were some soldiers as well. That's what I saw.

15 Q. Did you go to Potocari?

16 A. I passed through Potocari, yes.

17 Q. And what did you see there?

18 A. There were people in Potocari. On both sides of the road were

19 soldiers and police and UNPROFOR soldiers and people. Yes, I did pass

20 through there.

21 Q. Did you see any VRS officers there?

22 A. No. I did not stay any time there. I just passed through.

23 Q. Did you see Muslims there? Is that the people you were

24 describing on either side of the road?

25 A. Yes. Muslims in Potocari, yes.

Page 32524

1 Q. Were there buses there?

2 A. At that time?

3 Q. Yes.

4 A. Yes, there were.

5 Q. And what was happening? Were the Muslims being put on the buses?

6 A. As we were passing through, I could see people getting on the buses.

7 Q. Could you see the men being separated from their families before

8 they were getting on the buses?

9 A. No. We slowed down. We moved slowly. We passed by and we looked.

10 I did look at the people, but I did not see anyone being separated.

11 I did not see it there.

12 Q. You said you went there with your best man. Can you give us his

13 name?

14 A. Stevan Stevanovic. You mentioned him just a minute ago as a

15 driver.

16 Q. You took the same car that you took to Bratunac, the Golf?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Okay. What about the day after you went to Srebrenica? Did you

19 go anywhere that day?

20 A. No, I didn't go anywhere. I stayed in Vlasenica.

21 Q. You didn't go to Pale?

22 A. I did go, but I don't know whether it was on that day or the day

23 after. I know that I went to Pale for a day, but I don't know which day

24 it was.

25 Q. What did you go there for?

Page 32525

1 A. I went to see President Karadzic.

2 Q. For what purpose?

3 A. Because on the following day they took all the people somewhere.

4 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter missed a word, but I believe

5 that it was Kladanj.

6 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] That people were taken to Kladanj,

7 and that's what I asked President Karadzic about. I asked him who those

8 people were and where they were taken.

9 JUDGE AGIUS: You mentioned a place. Did you mention Kladanj?

10 Was it Kladanj?

11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, people were driven in the

12 direction of Kladanj. That's what I mentioned.

13 JUDGE AGIUS: Thank you.

14 MR. MITCHELL:

15 Q. Which people?

16 A. What? What are you referring to? What people?

17 Q. Sir, you said people were driven in the direction of Kladanj.

18 I'm asking you which people are you talking about?

19 A. Well, Muslims in the buses, the Muslim population.

20 Q. The Muslim population from where?

21 A. Probably from Potocari or Srebrenica. Those people, they were

22 all brought and taken from there.

23 Q. So you went to ask President Karadzic about these people, the

24 Muslims being taken from Srebrenica to Kladanj. What did he say?

25 A. Yes. He was fuming with rage. He was very angry. He was in no

Page 32526

1 mood to talk about anything. He told me, Puska, go home, mind your own

2 business. I never saw him so angry. Never before.

3 Q. Is that all he said?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. What was he angry about?

6 A. How should I know? He was angry. I've never seen him so angry

7 before.

8 Q. And how long did this meeting last for?

9 A. A minute.

10 Q. Can you recall what time of day it was?

11 A. In the evening or late afternoon.

12 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Can we please go to 65 ter 4409.

13 May I have a moment, Mr. President.

14 [Prosecution counsel confer]

15 MR. MITCHELL:

16 Q. Sir, this is a document dated the 20th of November, 1992. You

17 can read it there:

18 "Upon evident necessity and in order to ensure preconditions for

19 the implementation of official tasks for the needs of Military Post 7111

20 Han Pijesak, I order to hand over to Zvonko Bajagic passenger vehicle

21 VW Golf, registration number P7105."

22 Is that your car, sir?

23 A. That was the car I had originally, and it was stolen from me in

24 Sabac; that's in Serbia. And then I used my car to drive around, but its

25 registration plates were changed into military registration plates.

Page 32527

1 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Can we please look at 65 ter 4418.

2 Q. Sir, this is a vehicle log for VW Golf with the registration

3 plates P7105 for July 1995, and you are the first name on there; correct?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Sir, I have the original here. This might be easier for you to

6 look at.

7 Now, according to this vehicle log, it was refueled with 45

8 litres of fuel on the 12th of July. Did you refuel this car with 45

9 litres of fuel on the 12th of July?

10 A. It wasn't me. I'm sure.

11 Q. Is that your signature on the line that says 12 July?

12 A. No, it isn't. No, none of the signatures is mine.

13 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Let's look at a couple of other documents

14 that might help refresh your recollection. Can we go to 65 ter 4419.

15 Mr. President, it's break time. We might be able to do this

16 after.

17 JUDGE AGIUS: How much longer do you reckon you'll be putting

18 questions, Mr. Mitchell?

19 MR. MITCHELL: It's taken longer than I expected, Your Honour.

20 It could be -- I will finish today, but it could be most of the last

21 session.

22 JUDGE AGIUS: Okay. 25 minutes.

23 --- Recess taken at 12.29 p.m.

24 --- On resuming at 12.59 p.m.

25 JUDGE AGIUS: Yes, Mr. Mitchell. Let's try to conclude, please.

Page 32528

1 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

2 Q. Sir, we were talking about the refueling of your car with

3 45 litres of fuel on the 12th of July, and you said that it wasn't you.

4 So I'd like to show you a couple of documents to help refresh your

5 recollection.

6 MR. MITCHELL: If we can go to 65 ter 4419.

7 Q. Sir, this is an authorisation to refuel a vehicle with the

8 registration plates P7105 with 45 litres of fuel. It's authorising to

9 you refuel that car. It's dated the 13th of July. Can you tell us why

10 the vehicle log would say 12 July but the authorisation says 13 July?

11 A. Well, you saw earlier that I did not receive it, didn't sign for

12 it, and I have no idea. I see my name is written here, but where did I

13 sign? You must have my signature somewhere so you can compare.

14 Q. Whose signature is that?

15 A. How would I know?

16 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Can we please look at 65 ter 4420.

17 Q. This is the Drina Corps fuel distribution list from 10 to

18 13 July. You can see the very last entry on the page, 45 litres of fuel;

19 that same vehicle, P7105; Zvonko Bajagic; and your signature underneath.

20 A. This is not my signature. Somebody forged this. It's obvious

21 that it's not mine.

22 Q. Okay.

23 MR. MITCHELL: If we can go back to 65 ter 4418, the vehicle log.

24 If we can go to page 2 in both the B/C/S and the English.

25 Q. Now, sir, that's a trip. If we look at the entry on the

Page 32529

1 13th of July: Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Vlasenica. That's your trip to

2 Srebrenica that you told us about; correct?

3 A. I see there must be some confusion here. This is a military

4 vehicle. I saw there in the order the name Mile Kosoric, commander of

5 the brigade, and Sekulic and I; and I told you earlier I also had my own

6 private car, and I never poured military fuel in my private car. That's

7 the confusion. Out of the three persons mentioned there, one must have

8 tanked up in my name.

9 Q. Sir, we saw your name on the front of this vehicle log. Is that

10 or is that not your trip to Srebrenica on the 13th of July?

11 A. I went in my own car. I told you that.

12 Q. Sir, this is not the car you went in; is that your testimony?

13 A. Yes. Yes, I did not go in that vehicle, and I did not take any

14 fuel. I did not take petrol.

15 Q. So it's just a mistake that this vehicle log lists a trip to

16 Srebrenica on the day you said you went there and you signed -- there's a

17 fuel authorisation for 45 litres in your name. You don't know anything

18 about that?

19 A. Let us see who signed that. Let's compare my signature and the

20 signature on that paper. It's not mine, and you can see all the people

21 who are authorised to use this vehicle.

22 Q. So we can see there's also a trip on the 14th of July:

23 Vlasenica, Pal, Vlasenica, Loko. Now, you told us that you went to see

24 President Karadzic around this time; correct?

25 A. Yes.

Page 32530

1 Q. Did you take this vehicle?

2 A. On that day, yes.

3 Q. So you took it on the 14th, but you didn't take it on the 13th?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Sir, you might want to have a look at the original here. The

6 handwriting on the 13th and 14th is almost identical.

7 A. I can see that, but I did not fill in any orders or logs.

8 JUDGE KWON: Mr. Mitchell, can you ask the witness to read the

9 route again for me.

10 MR. MITCHELL: On the 14th, Judge Kwon?

11 JUDGE KWON: Yes.

12 MR. MITCHELL:

13 Q. Mr. Bajagic, can you please have a look at the vehicle log and

14 read out the route --

15 JUDGE KWON: Or we may zoom up a little bit.

16 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can see that. Do you want me to

17 write it all down the way it's written here and then you can compare?

18 JUDGE KWON: Could you read the route which is written on the

19 date of 14th July.

20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Vlasenica, Pal, Vlasenica, Loko.

21 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Did you say Pale?

22 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Pal. It's actually written P-a-l,

23 like, short for Pale, or it could be Vlasenica Loko, Vlasenica Loko, one

24 of the two. No, no, this is not Pale either.

25 JUDGE AGIUS: My attention has been drawn that Mr. Pandurevic

Page 32531

1 would like to consult his counsel. Yes, so Mr. Sarapa, I suppose you are

2 the only one who can approach him.

3 Mr. Sarapa, I understand that your client wishes to have a word

4 with his Defence team. Since you speak the language, I suggest that you

5 either approach him or you go somewhere and see what he needs.

6 MR. SARAPA: [Interpretation] We can talk here.

7 [Defence counsel and accused confer]

8 JUDGE AGIUS: Do you need to consult with Mr. Haynes, Mr. Sarapa,

9 or not?

10 MR. HAYNES: Not now.

11 JUDGE AGIUS: Not now. All right. Okay. Thank you. It may be

12 too late afterwards. Let's continue.

13 Mr. Mitchell.

14 MR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President.

15 Can we please go to 65 ter 3876, page 41 in the English and

16 page 91 in the B/C/S.

17 Q. Sir, this is Radovan Karadzic's appointment diary for 1995, which

18 was obtained when he was arrested last year. On 14 July, we can see two

19 entries with your name. The first is call Zvonko Bajagic, and the second

20 is a meeting between you and President Karadzic between 12.35 a.m. on the

21 morning of the 15th and 1.25 a.m. Earlier, you told us that you met with

22 the president for about a minute. That's a 50-minute meeting, isn't it,

23 sir?

24 A. Which day?

25 Q. The last entry on the 14th.

Page 32532

1 MR. MITCHELL: Sorry, we need to scroll down. The last entry on

2 that page.

3 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I can see it.

4 MR. MITCHELL:

5 Q. Sir, my question was, earlier today you testified that when you

6 met with President Karadzic he was very angry, and you stayed there for

7 about a minute.

8 A. That was the evening of the 13th, and this is the 14th.

9 Q. Sir, you told us, you testified under oath that you went to Pale

10 the following day after the day that you went to Srebrenica. You went so

11 Srebrenica on the 13th; you went to Pale on the 14th. This is what

12 President Karadzic's appointment diary says on the 14th.

13 A. When you asked me the next day, I thought the next day after the

14 patron saints day, which would be the 13th, and this is the 14th, because

15 my sighting of those buses taking people somewhere was on the 13th, as I

16 have already said.

17 Q. Sir, when we were talking about the 13th, I asked you did you see

18 any buses, and you told me that your house was on the main road and that

19 you -- you didn't see any buses.

20 A. I didn't see any on the 12th. On the patron saint's day, I

21 didn't see any. That's what I said.

22 Q. Sir, did you meet with President Karadzic at any other point in

23 July 1995?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. When?

Page 32533

1 A. I think I was there that night, as you see written here.

2 Q. Did you meet with him on any additional occasions apart from this

3 meeting that we can see on the 14th?

4 A. I can't remember. Maybe, if you remind me.

5 MR. MITCHELL: Can we please go to page 38 in the English,

6 page 85 in the B/C/S.

7 Q. On the 3rd of July, we can see at 1400 hours Zvonko Bajagic, he

8 left, and there's little minus sign at the start of that, at the start of

9 that entry. So that means that you went to Pale but you didn't actually

10 get to meet with the president; is that correct?

11 A. I don't remember.

12 MR. MITCHELL: Okay. Well, let's go to page 44 in the English,

13 page 100 in the B/C/S.

14 Q. And we're looking at the entry under 31 July.

15 JUDGE AGIUS: You have to scroll it down, I think. Yes.

16 MR. MITCHELL:

17 Q. Zvonko Bajagic meeting with President Karadzic for two and a half

18 hours. Do you recall what that meeting was about?

19 A. I don't remember, really. On the 31st, I don't know.

20 Q. Well, that's just after the Muslim population has been bussed out

21 of the Zepa enclave. Did you talk to him about that?

22 A. No. On the 31st, no. I don't know anything about Zepa, when

23 people were taken away or anything. I don't know where they were taken

24 either.

25 Q. But you can't recall what you spoke with him about for two and a

Page 32534

1 half hours?

2 A. I can't.

3 MR. MITCHELL: If we can go back to 65 ter 4418. It's page 2 in

4 the English and page 2 in the B/C/S. If we can blow that up again, those

5 trips on the 13th and the 14th.

6 Q. Sir, you'll agree with me that there's no trip recorded in this

7 vehicle log for the 11th of July, 1995, is there?

8 A. What do you mean? I don't understand the question.

9 Q. There's no trip recorded in this vehicle log for the 11th of

10 July, is there?

11 A. I can see there's no record.

12 Q. Sir, I'd like to suggest to you that you did fill out this car

13 with 45 litres of fuel on the night of 12th July, as the front of the

14 vehicle log indicates, right before you left for this dinner in Bratunac;

15 and on 13 July you went to Srebrenica, returned to Vlasenica where the

16 vehicle log and the fuel authorisations were filled out; then on 14 July,

17 you went to Pale, and you met with President Karadzic for 50 minutes as

18 we saw in his appointment diary. So isn't this really what happened on

19 the 12th, 13th, and 14th of July, 1995?

20 A. Could you break that question into three short ones.

21 Q. Sir, I think we've been through this in a lot of detail over the

22 last couple of hours.

23 A. What did you mean to ask me a moment ago?

24 Q. Sir, I'm suggesting to you that you did fill up this car on the

25 night of 12 July on your way to this dinner at Bratunac. The next day,

Page 32535

1 you go to Srebrenica; then you return to Vlasenica where those fuel

2 documents were filled out. Then I'm suggesting that on the 14th of July,

3 you took this vehicle to Pale and you met with the president, and we saw

4 --

5 A. Slowly. Let's take things at a time. Now you are saying that I

6 brought that dinner on the 12th? Give me a document to say that I

7 signed, and I will tell you that I didn't. I gave you my answer already.

8 The dinner was on the 11th. You are mixing things. That car could have

9 been driven by anybody, whoever came to take it. You can see that there

10 are three names on the travel log for that day. You can see the names of

11 the people who were allowed to drive the car. I'm offering to show you

12 how I sign my name. I'm offering to show you my signature so you can

13 compare what you see before you and my signature.

14 Q. Sir, the authorisations for 45 litres of fuel were made out in

15 your name; correct?

16 A. I've seen that, yes.

17 Q. Sir, it's the Prosecution's position that we've proven beyond a

18 reasonable doubt that this meeting and the dinner at the Bratunac Brigade

19 headquarters happened on the evening of the 12th of July, and that you

20 are not telling the truth as you sit here today.

21 A. You say what you want. How could it have been on the 12th? On

22 the 12th was the day when you were supposed to eat meat. This would be

23 like not eating meat on Christmas or asking me if I eat meat at Christmas

24 or not, if I eat fish at Christmas.

25 Q. Sir, let me confirm something you said earlier. You told us

Page 32536

1 about a big celebration at Vlasenica where there was over a thousand

2 people there.

3 A. I didn't not say a thousand. No, sir. I said that there were

4 about 200 guests at the dinner. There were about 200 people on the day.

5 On the eve of St. Peter's Day, there were about 40 people; and on St.

6 Peter's Day, there were about 200 invited guests.

7 Q. Okay. And this big party, this big gathering in Vlasenica was

8 the day after you took the fish to the Bratunac Brigade headquarters;

9 correct?

10 A. Are you understanding me when I say the 11th and -- when I say

11 the 11th? The 11th is on the eve of the St. Peter's Day, the day of

12 fasting, which ends at midnight. The 12th, St. Peter's Day, we no longer

13 fasted on that day. We had this big lunch to celebrate the day, on the

14 12th.

15 Q. That's what I'm asking, sir. This big lunch was the day after

16 the dinner at the Bratunac Brigade; right?

17 A. Yes.

18 MR. MITCHELL: Can we please have 65 ter 4434 in e-court. I

19 apologise, we don't have a translation of this in e-court yet.

20 Q. But, sir, can you take a look at this document and tell us what

21 it is? Sir, I'm told that what this document says is the assistance is

22 being issued for preparation of celebration of patron saint's day at the

23 Vlasenica SO and the Vlasenica SDS to Zvonko Bajagic, the host from

24 Vlasenica, who is the host of the celebration. The president and

25 vice-president of the RS are going to attend the celebration. The items

Page 32537

1 should be registered and discharged as assistance.

2 A. And what date was that?

3 Q. That was just what I was going to ask you, sir. Can we scroll

4 back up. They are talking about preparations for this on the 13th of

5 July, aren't they, sir?

6 A. 13 July? That's not correct.

7 Q. So this is a mistake?

8 A. A mistake. Take the church call calendar and see when

9 St. Peter's Day is, when it is celebrated. And let me just explain one

10 more thing: This may have been taken for the celebration as starters,

11 but the paper may have still been issued on the 13th. And look here, why

12 would we need fruit marmelade or liver pate? Why would we need tinned

13 food? We had pork, lamb, cake, stews, cooked food. Why would we need

14 any of the tinned food? Why would we need bacon? What would that be

15 for? And can you scroll down a little. It says that president and

16 vice-president would attend. That's what you read out, isn't that?

17 President and vice-president are to attend the celebration. This is also

18 a mistake. They were not there, not at all.

19 Q. Okay. Sir. I want to ask you one last question. Do you know

20 Lieutenant-Colonel --

21 A. I apologise. I'm begging your pardon. And this, again, is not

22 my signatures where it says issued to personally.

23 Q. Sir, I'm not saying that that is your signature.

24 Who is Lieutenant-Colonel Ljubo Sobot.

25 A. Lieutenant-Colonel Ljubo Sobot was the assistant commander for