Page 10956
1 Friday, 28 May 2010
2 [Open session]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.08 a.m.
5 THE REGISTRAR: Good morning, Your Honours. Good morning to
6 everyone in and around the courtroom. This is case IT-08-91-T, the
7 Prosecutor versus Mico Stanisic and Stojan Zupljanin.
8 JUDGE HALL: Thank you, Madam Registrar.
9 Before I ask for the appearances, I note for the record that we
10 reconvene this morning under Rule 15 bis, Judge Delvoie being absent.
11 Yes, may have I the appearances, please.
12 MR. OLMSTED: Good morning, Your Honours. Matthew Olmsted,
13 Joanna Korner, and Crispian Smith for the Prosecution.
14 MR. ZECEVIC: Good morning, Your Honours. Slobodan Zecevic,
15 Slobodan Cvijetic, Eugene O'Sullivan, and Ms. Tatjana Savic, appearing
16 for Stanisic Defence this morning. Thank you.
17 MR. PANTELIC: Good morning, Your Honours. For Zupljanin
18 Defence, Igor Pantelic and Dragan Krgovic. Thank you.
19 JUDGE HALL: Thank you.
20 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the Judge, please.
21 [Trial Chamber and Legal Officer confer]
22 JUDGE HALL: Before the witness is recalled to the stand, in
23 respect of the outstanding motion by the Prosecution as to whether the
24 witness Riedlmayer, who is scheduled to testify next week, would be
25 classified as an expert witness, we have decided that we will so treat
Page 10957
1 him, and our written reasons will follow.
2 MS. KORNER: I'm very grateful. Can we say, Mr. Hannis will be
3 leading the witness, and I understand he is going to discuss with the
4 Defence the parameters of the testimony.
5 We will be limiting - can I make this absolutely clear - part of
6 the -- the opinion evidence he can give to matters that we hope will be
7 non-contentious.
8 JUDGE HARHOFF: You have two hours; is that correct?
9 MS. KORNER: I believe we asked for two hours, yes, that's right.
10 JUDGE HALL: Thank you.
11 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honour, if I may I have a correction to the
12 transcript with regards to the numbers assigned yesterday on page 10953.
13 The number -- the documents tendered by the Prosecution will be
14 assigned the exhibit numbers P1386 through P1392 because two of them are
15 already admitted into evidence.
16 JUDGE HALL: Thank you.
17 [The witness takes the stand]
18 JUDGE HALL: Mr. Radulovic, good morning to you. Before
19 Mr. Olmsted --
20 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Good morning.
21 JUDGE HALL: Before Mr. Olmsted winds up his
22 examination-in-chief, I remind you you're still on your oath.
23 Yes, Mr. Olmsted. You have one thing to do.
24 MR. OLMSTED: Thank you, Your Honour.
25 WITNESS: PREDRAG RADULOVIC [Resumed]
Page 10958
1 [Witness answered through interpreter]
2 Examination by Mr. Olmsted: [Continued]
3 Q. Good morning, Mr. Radulovic.
4 A. Good morning.
5 Q. Do you recall attending the Security Day Parade in Banja Luka
6 May 1992?
7 A. Yes. In the capacity of an operative.
8 Q. During your proofing, you had an opportunity to review a -- some
9 video footage, and I want to show that to you now.
10 MR. OLMSTED: We're going to bring it up on Sanction, and it's 65
11 ter 3596.
12 [Video-clip played]
13 MR. OLMSTED:
14 Q. We are about 3 minutes -- 34 minutes and 48 seconds into this
15 video.
16 Mr. Radulovic, we're looking at a number of armoured personnel
17 carriers and tanks that are painted blue. Do you recognise these
18 vehicles?
19 [Video-clip played]
20 A. Well, can I recognise them. As far as I know, the armaments, the
21 equipment, and the logistics were those of the JNA. It was probably
22 given to the police, and we only painted those vehicles. These vehicles
23 were not manufactured for the police. They were taken from the arsenals
24 of the former JNA.
25 Q. Did you see the Banja Luka special police detachment using
Page 10959
1 vehicles such as these?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And where would you see them in use, in operation?
4 A. I'm not sure whether there were any other special units with such
5 vehicles, but I did see such blue vehicles in the area of Prijedor and
6 Kotor Varos. One of these was even in Teslic during the operation when
7 we confronted the Mice Group.
8 MR. OLMSTED: Let's fast-forward to 49 minutes.
9 [Video-clip played]
10 MR. OLMSTED:
11 Q. Mr. Radulovic, we're looking at three men in uniform about to
12 give a review of a number of police officers. And I want to see if you
13 can recognise, identify the three men. We'll pause it at a point here.
14 [Video-clip played]
15 MR. OLMSTED:
16 Q. Tell us if you recognise any of them.
17 A. As far as I can tell, there's Stojan Zupljanin. There's the late
18 Stevan Markovic. I cannot be certain, but I think there's also Mr. Mico
19 Stanisic, the one in military uniform.
20 Q. Thank you. Let's move ahead to -- by the way, do you know where
21 this review is taking place? Could you tell us where it is?
22 A. The location is easily recognizable to anyone who was in
23 Banja Luka. This is the square in front of the Boska department store.
24 Even today most mass rallies take place there. Yeah, that's it.
25 MR. OLMSTED: Let's move ahead to 52 minutes and 10 seconds.
Page 10960
1 [Video-clip played]
2 MR. OLMSTED:
3 Q. Mr. Radulovic, can you identify who is coming out of the door
4 here?
5 A. I apologise for what I'm about to say, because -- this is a kind
6 of a funny question because everybody would recognise Mr. Radovan
7 Karadzic and there's also Krajisnik. But I understand that you need
8 confirmation.
9 In the background, I can see an employee of the former SJB. He
10 was later director of a power station and -- but he died in the meantime
11 from a tumour.
12 Q. We just saw a man with greyish hair and a pointy beard. Who was
13 that?
14 A. I apologise, but I recognise Predrag Radic. He is turned towards
15 the camera.
16 Q. And the man in the suit with the -- with the beard?
17 A. Oh, him. Yes. It's clearer to me now. This is Dr. Vukic.
18 MR. OLMSTED: Let's play a little further.
19 [Video-clip played]
20 Q. Who else do you recognise in this lineup?
21 A. And there's Predrag Radic next to him.
22 MR. OLMSTED: Keep on playing.
23 [Video-clip played]
24 MR. OLMSTED: Let's fast-forward to 55:05 -- 55 minutes and 5
25 seconds.
Page 10961
1 [Video-clip played]
2 Q. Do you recognise the man at the far end in the camouflage? Is
3 that someone you can identify?
4 MR. OLMSTED: Maybe back a little.
5 A. I think that this is Mr. Mico Stanisic. Well, I can see him here
6 in the courtroom too. I'm not sure that's him, because it's been a long
7 time. But as far as can I tell, this is Mico Stanisic.
8 MR. OLMSTED: Let's go to 55 minutes and 33 seconds.
9 [Video-clip played]
10 A. So Mico Stanisic is the first and then Predrag Radic, then Vukic,
11 Karadzic, and Krajisnik. These are all the people we can see in this
12 still image.
13 Q. Thank you. Who's -- who's that next to Mr. Stanisic, to the
14 right of him?
15 A. This is Milan Martic.
16 MR. OLMSTED: Okay. Let's go to 55 minutes and 44 seconds, and
17 we're going to --
18 [Prosecution counsel confer]
19 MR. OLMSTED:
20 Q. Do you recognise the man to the right of Mr. Martic?
21 A. No. I remember seeing him, but I don't know his name.
22 Q. And who is the man, you can see him in the second row, you just
23 see his head. He's between Mr. Martic and Mr. Stanisic?
24 A. This is Nedeljko Kesic, the chief of the National Security
25 Service in Banja Luka.
Page 10962
1 MR. OLMSTED: Let's go to 55 minutes and 44 seconds. And we're
2 just going to play the speech of Mr. Stanisic. It's quite short.
3 [Video-clip played]
4 MR. OLMSTED: Let's stop it and restart it. If the interpreters
5 could translate it.
6 [Video-clip played]
7 "[VOICEOVER]: On St. George's Day many Serb families were rooted
8 out in the area of Srebrenica. The Muslims say many were breaking in
9 houses, killing hosts together with their guests and burning down houses.
10 The situations were not rare when Serbs were used as human shields or
11 they deployed them in strategic spots for which they believed that could
12 be the target of our attacks. There are equally numerous examples, you
13 are all aware of them on your own territories, so there's no need to
14 quote them further. The service gathered intelligence that they are
15 trying to establish some private ... on the particular territories of the
16 Serb republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina which are targeting the Serbian
17 people and everyone living in the territory of the Serb republic of
18 Bosnia-Herzegovina. With the arrival of freedom what expects us,
19 although we can say that outside the appearance of the situation in the
20 territory of the Serb republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina
21 have to take into conversation that the service gathered numerous facts
22 that are indicating ...
23 MR. OLMSTED: Okay. And now we are at 56 minutes and 57 seconds,
24 and we're not going to have this speech interpreted, but could you tell
25 us, Mr. Radulovic, who is speaking.
Page 10963
1 [Video-clip played]
2 MR. OLMSTED:
3 Q. And just could you repeat who is the speaker. I don't know if
4 the record picked it up.
5 A. Now I can see Mr. Stojan Zupljanin.
6 Q. And just, very quickly, if we can go to 1 minute -- or 1 hour, 6
7 minutes, and 5 seconds.
8 [Video-clip played]
9 MR. OLMSTED:
10 Q. And, of course, who is now giving a speech?
11 A. Here in this still image I can see Radovan Karadzic.
12 MR. OLMSTED: Let's go to 1 minute -- or 1 hour, 14 minutes and
13 32 seconds.
14 [Video-clip played]
15 MR. OLMSTED: Now what we see in front of us appears to be a
16 meeting and on the -- what is displayed on this footage is the date, 30
17 July 1992.
18 Can we skip ahead to 1 hour 5 minutes and 11 seconds?
19 Q. And perhaps you can identify, Mr. Radulovic, who is heading this
20 meeting?
21 A. I can see Stojan Zupljanin and Djuro Bulic, if you mean the
22 people sitting at that table, chairing the meeting.
23 MR. OLMSTED:
24 Q. Where is this meeting taking place?
25 A. I cannot say with certainty. I can suppose that it -- this is in
Page 10964
1 the CSB building of Banja Luka because I see green tablecloths that we
2 used to use in our building in this hall on the fourth floor, or maybe on
3 the third. I'm not sure which floor it was.
4 Q. Can you tell us, do you know who is speaking right now? If you
5 don't know, that's fine.
6 A. I can't see anybody speaking; that's the problem.
7 Q. [Previous translation continues] ... it's --
8 A. Yeah, I see now. I know him from sight, but I really don't know
9 the man's name.
10 Q. Do you remember what municipality he is from?
11 A. But I can see next to him Vladimir Tutus.
12 Q. Now during your proofing --
13 A. You asked me about the municipality. I'm sorry, sir. You asked
14 me if I could identify the municipality from which he was, and as far as
15 I remember, he was from Sanski Most.
16 Q. Now, Mr. Radulovic, during your proofing you had an opportunity
17 to review the -- I don't think the whole meeting but quite a bit of it
18 and it goes for quite a length. But, generally, who are the participants
19 at this meeting?
20 A. Let me first say that I didn't have a position in the service by
21 virtue of which I would attend such meetings. But I was able to
22 recognise most of the people, and, thus, I can draw the conclusions that
23 they were the chiefs of the police stations from the Banja Luka region.
24 Q. Were any -- when you review this footage, did you see any of your
25 superiors in state security?
Page 10965
1 A. Yes, I can see them now in the background. There's Vojin Bera.
2 He's sitting next to the Prijedor chief, Vladan Vesic.
3 Q. The Prijedor SJB chief, is that who you said?
4 A. No, no, no, Vladan Vesic. It's actually Gradiska, I misspoke.
5 It's Gradiska. Mr. Vladan Vesic was the chief from Gradiska, and I can
6 see him sitting next to Bera, Vojin Bera.
7 JUDGE HARHOFF: What colour of the shirt is he wearing, Mr. Bera?
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Is he wearing a white shirt. We
9 can see him in profile. And he's wearing glasses, as far as can I see.
10 So he's the chief of the police station in Gradiska. His naming is
11 Vladan Vesic.
12 In front of him, half his face is covered but can I recognise him
13 anyway, also dressed in a white shirt, there's Vojin Bera.
14 MR. OLMSTED: And just for the record that's at 1 hour, 16
15 minutes and 46 seconds.
16 Can we move ahead to 1 hour, 24 minutes and 30 seconds -- or I --
17 yeah, exactly.
18 [Video-clip played]
19 Q. Who is standing up right now, right in the front, right there?
20 A. As far as I can tell, this is the head of Nedeljko Kesic. And on
21 the right, I see a man whose name I think was about Brane Bukovac. He
22 was head of the criminal investigations department.
23 Behind him there's the chief of fire security at the CSB in
24 Banja Luka. Next to him there's Skundric, I believe. Vaso was his first
25 name. He had a position in the police inspectorate. And on the left I
Page 10966
1 just said that this man recently died, died of a tumour. He was in the
2 service, and later on, he was the manager of a power plant in Banja Luka
3 And behind him, I can't really recognise who these other people
4 are.
5 Q. That's fine. Let's go ahead to 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 12
6 seconds.
7 [Video-clip played]
8 MR. OLMSTED: Pause.
9 Q. We see a man who's got his back to us wearing camouflage and his
10 head is slightly profiled. Who is that?
11 A. Well, the one whose face is turned toward us is the chief from
12 Jajce. And the one we see from the back is Simo Drljaca.
13 MR. OLMSTED: May this exhibit be tendered into evidence. We
14 have the transcripts from the other speeches as well as the transcripts
15 from the speeches made at this meeting as well. Of course, we're not
16 going to play those at this time.
17 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
18 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit P1393, Your Honours.
19 MR. OLMSTED: No further questions.
20 [Prosecution counsel confer]
21 MR. OLMSTED: Just to clarify, both the video and the transcripts
22 are -- are admitted? Yeah.
23 JUDGE HALL: That's what I thought [Microphone not activated].
24 [Trial Chamber confers]
25 JUDGE HALL: Cross-examination.
Page 10967
1 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you, Your Honours.
2 Cross-examination by Mr. Zecevic:
3 Q. [Interpretation] Good morning, Mr. Radulovic.
4 A. Good morning.
5 Q. Mr. Radulovic, you're a member -- or you have been a member of
6 the Ministry of the Interior since 1976.
7 A. Since November 1976.
8 JUDGE HALL: Just a moment, please. Mr. Radulovic, especially
9 with cross-examination by counsel who speak the same language as you, it
10 is necessary to allow a pause between question and answer so the
11 interpreters can keep up and we have an accurate record.
12 Thank you, Mr. Zecevic.
13 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you, Your Honours.
14 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you. I'll do my best.
15 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
16 Q. If I'm not mistake you worked for the intermunicipal SUP of
17 Doboj, which is approximately like the CSB nowadays, right?
18 A. Yes, correct.
19 Q. Just make a pause between my question and your answer, please.
20 A. Yes. Thank you.
21 Q. You worked in public security until 1981, right?
22 A. Correct.
23 Q. In 1981, you went from public security to state security, also at
24 the intermunicipal SUP of Doboj; correct?
25 A. That's partly correct. Because the State Security Service was
Page 10968
1 not organised to be under the authority of the intermunicipal SUP.
2 Instead, it was directly linked to the level of the republic, or directly
3 below the level of the republic.
4 Q. So, as opposed to the public security, it had direct links with
5 the republican level; correct?
6 A. Correct.
7 Q. Since 1983, I believe, you have dealt specifically with matters
8 concerning sects, NGOs, and the like?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. Owing to your knowledge of these matters, you established
11 contacts with the federal State Security Service, the military security,
12 and the state security of Serbia
13 A. Correct. But also contacts with representatives of the services
14 in other republics of the then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
15 Q. In 1987 you were transferred from Doboj to Banja Luka; is that
16 correct?
17 A. Yes, that's correct.
18 Q. Upon your arrival in Banja Luka, you remained inspector of the
19 SDB; is that correct?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Between 1987 and your transfer to Banja Luka, what matters were
22 the main focus of your work?
23 A. Intelligence matters.
24 Q. That -- these are the matters that are mainly dealt by the 01
25 administration of the security service, the intelligence matters; is that
Page 10969
1 correct?
2 A. Yes, that's correct.
3 Q. Could you please tell me after the multi-party elections in 1990,
4 certain changes, or re-shuffling of positions which followed the pattern
5 of relations between different parties, and that happened within the SDB
6 as well; isn't that correct?
7 A. Yes, that's correct.
8 Q. My question related practically to the entire organisation of the
9 state, in all segments of society, including the Ministry of the
10 Interior, this re-shuffling occurred.
11 A. As far as I know, not one single segment remained without certain
12 type of changes occurring based on this principle that you put forward;
13 namely, the national principle.
14 Q. You told us that you're a Communist by your beliefs, and you did
15 not agree with these ethnic or national parties and their programmes, not
16 even on the idealogical level; is that correct?
17 A. Yes, absolutely correct. These are my views still today. I'm
18 still a Communist.
19 Q. There's no point in asking you whether you were a member of any
20 of the national parties.
21 A. I was always member of the League of Communists, and at the
22 moment, I'm the president of the association of Communists in
23 Bosnia-Herzegovina, and I'm proud to say that.
24 Q. In accordance to this coalition agreement between the parties
25 that won the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1990, appointments to
Page 10970
1 leading positions in the MUP were, according to the law, done by the
2 minister of the interior, Alija Delimustafic. Is this correct?
3 A. Yes, that's correct. I know about this only in general terms.
4 Q. It is a fact, isn't it, that, according to a decision by the
5 minister at the time, Mr. Delimustafic, CSB Banja Luka chief, then
6 security service chief, Nedeljko Kesic and your boss, Vojin Bera, were
7 also appointed?
8 A. Yes, it should have been like that.
9 Q. Do you know that back in 1991, they were appointed to these
10 positions by the MUP of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina?
11 A. Yes, I'm aware of that. That's how the procedure looked like.
12 Q. Could you please tell me, it is a fact, isn't it, that Ljuban
13 Ecim and Zdravko Samardzija were also members of MUP back in 1991, maybe
14 even before that?
15 A. Before that. If you want specifically, Ecim joined public
16 security service in 1987 or 1988 or maybe even earlier, whereas,
17 Samardzija joined during the 1980s.
18 Q. So both of them signed the contract or became part of MUP at the
19 time while it was still MUP of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Republic
20 of Bosnia-Herzegovina?
21 A. Yes, that's correct.
22 Q. Thank you. Mr. Radulovic, this Milos [Realtime transcript read
23 in error "Mice"] Group, if I understood it well, it was operative
24 intelligence group; is that correct?
25 A. Yes.
Page 10971
1 Q. And if I remember your testimony, this group was established on
2 the 28th of July, 1991. You told us that specific date.
3 A. Yes, that's correct.
4 Q. I think during the first day of your testimony you confirmed that
5 this operative intelligence group was established in co-operation with
6 the SDB of Serbia, and I think that, on Tuesday, in your testimony, you
7 stressed, although it may have not been recorded in the record, that it
8 was in direct contact with State Security Service and not with the public
9 security service or MUP of Serbia. Is that correct?
10 A. Absolutely correct.
11 Q. That was done because, I assume, there was a need to ensure
12 secrecy of your work and the matter of your contacts with Serbian
13 security service.
14 A. Yes, that's correct. However, that was not the only reason.
15 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Excuse me, Your Honour, there may be a matter
16 that is not properly recorded, and Mr. Zecevic might want to clarify it.
17 I'm looking at page 15, line 20, the question is: Thank you,
18 Mr. Radulovic. This Mice Group. I'm not sure Mr. Zecevic said
19 Mice Group.
20 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you very much, Mr. O'Sullivan.
21 Q. [Interpretation] Yes. Here on page 15, line 20, it is stated
22 Mice Group, and we were talking about the Milos Group.
23 A. Yes, the Milos Group. I would like to ask for that to be
24 immediately corrected.
25 Q. It is already.
Page 10972
1 A. Yes, I can see.
2 Q. Sir, it is a fact, isn't, it, and I'm saying this for the purpose
3 of showing you the context, on the 20th of July, 1991, the Republic of
4 Slovenia
5 Federative Republic of Yugoslavia
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. I assumed that may have been one of the reasons why your
8 operative intelligence group was not linked up with the federal State
9 Security Service but instead with the Serbian one because the federal
10 State Security Service, after the cessation of the two republics, broke
11 up along the ethnic lines. Am I correct?
12 A. Yes, that's correct.
13 Q. Let us try and illustrate the situation in late 1991 and early
14 1992 on the basis of your reports.
15 I would first like to ask you to comment on the document, P1353,
16 item 25. It is a document that was shown to one of the witnesses before
17 your turn, and we tried to help the Trial Chamber to clarify the
18 situation. Madam Korner opposed this at the time, saying that the author
19 of the document would come as a witness, and that you would be a better
20 person to clarify the situation. Since she didn't do it, I will do it
21 now.
22 Sir, this document is dated 13th of April, 1992. The -- it says
23 Milos
24 A. Yes, of course, I remember it excellent.
25 Q. Could you please explain in brief what the problem was and what
Page 10973
1 was the reason for this memo.
2 A. This -- this is a department store that could provide weapons to
3 people who had proper documents, and I'm talking about personal weapons
4 and hunting rifles. And among those who made payments were people of
5 various ethnic groups. As far as I can remember, most of them were even
6 Bosniaks.
7 Since I knew the general manager of this department store, and
8 bearing in mind that the payments were already made, it wasn't, of
9 course, important how we knew each other, what I did was I asked Belgrade
10 to deliver the weapons to the department store Merkur by the Promet
11 Zastava company in order to avoid already existing problems, problems
12 existing because the weapons were already paid for but were not
13 delivered. I personally -- or, rather, the Milos Group was escorting and
14 providing security for the weapons that were brought from Belgrade to
15 Teslic.
16 Q. It is a fact that Zastava Promet was one of the biggest
17 organisations related to the manufacturer of personal weapons. Zastava
18 Kragujevac, which according to regulation, was authorised to trade and
19 sell hunting weapons and personal weapons, small-arms. Is that correct?
20 A. Yes, yes, that's correct.
21 Q. In any case, during normal conditions in the country, in the
22 Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, transport of weapons of such
23 sort would involve some security issues; namely, there would be a
24 security escort with delivery, with the supply?
25 A. Yes. Mainly if larger amounts were being transported.
Page 10974
1 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Can we please have 1D00-2804 on the
2 screen, tab 55. Page 4, please. First, first page and then fourth page.
3 Because I would like to ask the witness to verify that he's the author of
4 the document.
5 Q. Sir, this is a report. You will see the last page. There it is
6 stated that the date was the 4th of June, 1992, signed by Milos.
7 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please have page 4 of the
8 document in the Serbian version.
9 Q. Can you see it?
10 A. Yes, can I see it. I recognise it.
11 Q. Is it -- is the document yours?
12 A. Yes. I can recognise the document as a Milos document. But
13 evenly without Milos
14 typewriter. It's a very specific one.
15 Q. Thank you.
16 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could we now have, again, the
17 first page of the document, please.
18 Q. In this report of yours, you report that current information
19 point out to certain facts that may have not been familiar to -- at
20 certain period of time. You said on 10th of June, 1991 SDA held in the
21 police building in Sarajevo
22 formation of independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed national security
23 council and started preparations for an armed conflict.
24 Is that correct?
25 A. Yes. However, Mr. Zecevic, these were not my first information
Page 10975
1 about arming and paramilitary organisation of the SDA party. I provided
2 first information about that in 1989, when I received first information
3 that certain armed formations were established in the area of Sasine.
4 You must understand that this contains only information I had in relation
5 to 1992. This does not refer to intelligence starting in 1989. At the
6 time, I -- correction, 1987, when I reported about same thing in the area
7 of Republic of Croatia
8 because I realized there's a threat to my country, Socialist Federative
9 Republic of Yugoslavia
10 Q. Unfortunately, I don't have these reports of yours. What we have
11 disclosed is only your reports signed by Milos and those reports related
12 to 1992, and this is what I'm showing to you.
13 But in any case, the report submitted by you was --
14 MR. OLMSTED: Sorry to interrupt. But I just want to clarify,
15 the Prosecution has disclosed everything in our possession with regard
16 to -- to the Milos
17 1988 or 2001. I know that's an extended period, but we have disclosed
18 everything that we have.
19 MR. ZECEVIC: It wasn't -- it wasn't meant as a criticism of OTP.
20 I was just explaining to the witness why am I show to go him the Milos
21 report. And the Milos
22 1994, as -- as I understood the testimony of this witness.
23 So it wasn't meant as a criticism.
24 MS. KORNER: [Microphone not activated]
25 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
Page 10976
1 Q. Sir, let us go back to my question.
2 This report that is in front of you, the one that you sent, do
3 you doubt the veracity of facts listed there? Do you have any doubts
4 concerning that? Was the information about that meeting held on the 10th
5 of June, 1991, verified when the Council for National Security of the SDA
6 was established?
7 A. Yes, absolutely verified. This information was verified.
8 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could this document be admitted
9 into evidence, unless there's objections by the OTP.
10 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
11 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D278, Your Honours.
12 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
13 Q. The next document is 1D03-3437, tab 92.
14 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Unfortunately, the CLSS has
15 informed us that due to a large volume of documents, they are unable to
16 translate this in time for today's session, but I assume that it will be
17 translated by next week.
18 MR. OLMSTED: Your Honours, I have to object to these documents
19 that are on the list of Defence that have not been translated.
20 These documents versus been available to the Defence, I believe,
21 for about a year now. They're not very long these Milos reports, as
22 we've seen, and it is very difficult for me to follow along when I can
23 only see a B/C/S version.
24 Perhaps my learned friend could delay showing this witness this
25 document until Monday if that -- maybe that perhaps is a solution,
Page 10977
1 otherwise it is really difficult for myself and I assume the
2 Trial Chamber as well to follow along. And I think that these reports
3 were in their possession long enough that they could have this had them
4 translated.
5 JUDGE HALL: Mr. Zecevic, what practical course would you
6 suggest? Do you accept Mr. Olmsted's suggestion as being the way we
7 should solve this problem?
8 MR. ZECEVIC: Well, Your Honours, I have to first comment on
9 this.
10 The Defence -- it is the truth that the Defence has in possession
11 these documents for one year and a half.
12 JUDGE HALL: You notice I was trying to avoid asking you to
13 respond to that, I don't want to get into who is responsible for what.
14 I'm looking at a practical -- the -- the handicap, which Mr. Olmsted has
15 identified, is perfectly understandable. As he said, the Trial Chamber
16 is in the same position. So I'm trying to find a -- [Overlapping
17 speakers] ...
18 MR. ZECEVIC: [Overlapping speakers] ... well, Your Honours, I
19 suggest the following course.
20 I would ask the witness to confirm this document, the
21 authenticity of this document. And I will only ask that it be admitted,
22 as Mr. Olmsted did yesterday, on a list of documents once the -- the --
23 the translations are -- are -- are available.
24 [Trial Chamber confers]
25 MR. ZECEVIC: Yes, I assume that that might create a problem for
Page 10978
1 Mr. Olmsted for re-direct if we still don't have the -- the document.
2 JUDGE HALL: So since it isn't it English, we would admit them on
3 the list as you suggested but marked for identification.
4 MR. ZECEVIC: Yes, that is correct, yes.
5 [Prosecution counsel confer]
6 MR. ZECEVIC: I -- it's up to Mr. Olmsted, if he has any --
7 JUDGE HALL: Sorry, how many documents are we talking about?
8 MR. ZECEVIC: Well, I believe, Your Honours, we are missing
9 translations of maybe seven or eight documents, not more than that. We
10 received a number of maybe 25 in last two, three days, but these seven,
11 eight are missing. They might be even available today, but I cannot
12 guarantee because the CLSS complained that the deadlines were pretty
13 short for them.
14 JUDGE HALL: And you're satisfied that all seven of these are
15 relevant, and you would wish to have all seven of them treated in the way
16 that we've described.
17 MR. ZECEVIC: That is correct, Your Honours.
18 MR. OLMSTED: Your Honours, that's fine with the Prosecution so
19 long as we have a chance to look at them and determine whether they're
20 actually relevant to this case and make any objections before they're
21 admitted. Otherwise we don't mind them being marked for identification
22 at this stage at least.
23 JUDGE HALL: Okay. So that is the course that we will proceed --
24 that we will -- that is the course that we would adopt. I'm sorry.
25 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you very much. I appreciate Your Honours'
Page 10979
1 indulgence.
2 Q. [Interpretation] Sir, this document is dated the 1st of March,
3 1992. This is a report by the Milos Group?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Do you recognise this document?
6 A. I certainly do.
7 Q. In this document, you give an overview of the situation.
8 A. Yes, a brief overview. A cross-section of the situation which,
9 unfortunately, had terrible consequences in the village of Sijekovac
10 Bosanski Brod when a large number of Serbs were killed in a horrendous
11 manner.
12 JUDGE HALL: [Previous translation continues] ...
13 MR. OLMSTED: I think this was my original objection is that we
14 don't want the Defence to lead evidence on a document we don't have
15 translated and that they can mark it for identification for now but not
16 lead evidence until we see the English translation. Without the English
17 translation, there is no way we can determine whether he is accurately
18 reflecting what's in the document, whether there's anything in there that
19 is contrary to what is being asserted. It just makes it very impossible
20 for us given the length of these document have been in their possession
21 and their shortness, I think it's fair to the Prosecution that he
22 certainly can mark them for identification now and come back to them on
23 Monday.
24 MR. ZECEVIC: I appreciate -- I appreciate what Mr. Olmsted
25 said, except that I would assume that the Prosecution would be diligent
Page 10980
1 enough to -- to translate all these documents because they had it in
2 their possession for at least seven or eight years. But I will -- I
3 will -- understanding the position of Mr. Olmsted, I will not ask the
4 questions on -- on these documents.
5 Q. [Interpretation] Sir, please tell me, you were telling us about
6 that tragic incident in the village of Sijekovac
7 it, that in early 1992, the Republic of Croatia
8 conflicts from its territory into the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina at
9 any cost.
10 A. Mr. Zecevic, with all due respect to you as a lawyer, you are now
11 asking me to give my opinion.
12 My opinion at this point in time is irrelevant. What is relevant
13 is what I stated back in 1992, and that's precisely what I put back then,
14 that there was a desire to transfer the problem from the territory of
15 Croatia
16 Q. Thank you.
17 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I ask that this document be marked
18 for identification.
19 JUDGE HALL: Yes, so marked.
20 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit D1D279, marked for identification,
21 Your Honours.
22 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] 65 ter 10185. Could this please be
23 shown to the witness.
24 Q. Sir, before we comment on this document, let me ask you
25 something. You are familiar with the genesis of the problem in Bosnia
Page 10981
1 and Herzegovina
2 agree with me that in October 1991, a declaration was adopted at the
3 Assembly, a declaration on independence and that it was done in a manner
4 that represented a violation of the constitution?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And then again in -- soon thereafter, Presidency and the
7 government of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina asked the
8 European Union to recognise the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina
9 Would you please repeat your answer.
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You must know that, in late 1991, and in early 1992, European
12 Union
13 resolution of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina established a
14 commission and started negotiations, which were popularly known -- a
15 commission and a plan, which were popularly known as the Cutileiro Plan,
16 after the then minister of foreign affairs of Portugal who was in charge
17 of those negotiations on behalf of the European Union?
18 A. Yes. I'm familiar with the plan and with the negotiations, and I
19 remember well how it all ended.
20 Q. The essence of the plan was that Bosnia and Herzegovina was to be
21 split in three entities, with central organs of power which would remain
22 in Sarajevo
23 which were established on the basis of an ethnic principle, would have a
24 large degree of autonomy, even when it comes to police affairs.
25 Are you familiar with that?
Page 10982
1 A. Thank you for reminding me, but I am quite familiar with that.
2 And I also know who did not accept it. I'm just sparing you trouble if
3 you wanted to clarify that. I don't want you to waste time on it,
4 because I'm quite familiar with all of the events leading up to the
5 breakout of the conflict.
6 Q. It is a fact, isn't it, that representatives of all three
7 national political parties accepted that agreement, then after some time
8 had passed in late March, Mr. Izetbegovic withdrew his signature from
9 that document.
10 Are you familiar with that?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Sir, your report dated 6 March 1992 speaks of the fact that there
13 is discontent among the employees of the public and state security, who
14 were of Croat and Muslim background, due to their lack of agreement to
15 work in a service that would have a --
16 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel please repeat the question.
17 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I apologise. I apologise to the
18 interpreters.
19 Q. So this report of yours speaks about the discontent among the
20 employees of MUP, those who worked for public security and state
21 security, and who were Croats and Muslims, because, according to your
22 information, they did not want to work for a service which would have a
23 larger degree of autonomy than the MUP of Bosnia-Herzegovina?
24 A. Yes, correct.
25 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] On page 27, line 14, it shouldn't
Page 10983
1 be "than" it should be "from;" that they would have a larger degree of
2 autonomy from MUP of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3 Q. Is that what you had in mind?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Sir, it is a fact that back on the 6th of March, 1992, there was
6 some discussion about how the MUP of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and
7 Herzegovina
8 accordance with this EU plan?
9 A. Yes. And you have to understand that the employees of the
10 National Security Service were informed about this much better on average
11 than your regular citizen or your regular employee of the public security
12 service.
13 Q. Thank you.
14 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] If there are no objections, could
15 this be admitted into evidence, please.
16 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
17 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D280, Your Honours.
18 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
19 Q. Sir, it is a fact, isn't it, that, at that time, the MUP of the
20 Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina didn't function in a regular
21 way -- or, rather, there were some divisions along ethnic lines, right?
22 A. Mr. Zecevic, I was there. I walked the ground. I was out on the
23 field. And the situation was that of great confusion. So, in March and
24 in April, already an employee of the public security could not freely
25 move in the territory of Gracanica
Page 10984
1 always barricades erected there already. Everything was coloured there
2 along ethnic lines and affiliations. In the statement and in my evidence
3 yesterday, I stated quite clearly, and can I repeat it now, that I gave
4 only one, 67 --
5 THE INTERPRETER: Could the witness please repeat his answer.
6 JUDGE HALL: Sorry, the interpreter needs -- Mr. Radulovic, the
7 interpreter requires you to repeat a portion of your answer.
8 MR. ZECEVIC: If I may be of assistance, because I understood,
9 maybe I could lead the witness.
10 Q. [Interpretation] Sir, would you please correct me: You're trying
11 to say that back while giving evidence over the last few day, you said
12 that only one-third of your report, of your documents and information is
13 here in this case, was presented in this case which is 33 per cent;
14 whereas, 67 per cent of your work product is not represented in the
15 documents here, and that pertains to what members of other ethnic groups
16 did in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 1991 and early
17 1992. It also pertains to how they were organised and armed.
18 A. Yes, correct. You just said late 1991 and early 1992, but my
19 data goes back to 1987, and we should not overlook these three years.
20 Q. I really don't want to underestimate it, but I explained to you,
21 that, unfortunately, we don't have these documents.
22 Tell me, sir, the State Security Service at the time, and I'm
23 referring to late 1991 and early 1992, was headed by Mr. Branko Kvesic;
24 correct?
25 A. You mean at the level of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, yes.
Page 10985
1 As far as I remember, yes, he did. He was relatively briefly in that
2 position.
3 Q. You as a long-standing member of state security certainly will
4 know that the SDB, figuratively speaking, was -- had as many holes as a
5 sieve, and confidential information would be given to the media, ethnic
6 parties, individuals and without authorisation; correct?
7 A. Yes, absolutely correct. And if I may add, the SDB was divided
8 along ethnic lines. The SDB members who were Bosniaks worked in the
9 interest of the SDA; Croats, in the interest of the HDZ; and some of the
10 Serbs worked for the SDS. But there were still shows who believed in the
11 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and didn't signed with any of --
12 didn't side with any of these counts.
13 Q. It's a fact, isn't it, that at the headquarters of the SDB in
14 Sarajevo
15 only Muslims there as staff, right?
16 A. Yes. This transformation was observed in 1990, and there was no
17 one Serb left in the intelligence administration, which was a clear
18 indication of something. And whoever knew the intelligence culture could
19 draw his conclusions that something was happening.
20 Q. There's still some time, so tell me about this document that we
21 see here. On the 7th of March, you speak about the MUP leadership
22 decided to have 100 employees retired, mostly Serbs, and hire 250 Muslims
23 and Croats.
24 A. I can't see that document on my screen. But I remember the
25 contents. You have reminded me.
Page 10986
1 Q. I apologise. I asked for document 1D03-3349 to be displayed.
2 The document is dated 7 March 1992.
3 MR. OLMSTED: I'm sorry, which tab was that?
4 MR. ZECEVIC: Tab 4.
5 JUDGE HALL: Perhaps we should pick this up after the break.
6 MR. ZECEVIC: Yes, Your Honours.
7 [The witness stands down]
8 --- Recess taken at 10.25 a.m.
9 --- On resuming at 10.58 a.m.
10 MR. ZECEVIC: Your Honours, a couple of things.
11 First, I would like to express my apology to the interpreters,
12 that's one thing, and I promise that I will make sure that I control
13 myself and control the witness as much as I can. That's one thing.
14 The second thing, we have received some translations in the
15 course of -- of the trial and it's been uploaded at the moment. However,
16 I talked to my friend, Mr. Olmsted, from the -- from the Office of the
17 Prosecutor, and we -- we basically agreed that Mr. Olmsted would not have
18 a problem if I offer some of the documents exactly the same -- the same
19 way as -- as he did yesterday, on assumption that all these documents are
20 Milos
21 witness. I think it would shorten the time considerably of my
22 cross-examination.
23 JUDGE HALL: Thank you.
24 MR. ZECEVIC: Maybe Mr. Olmsted can verify this.
25 MR. OLMSTED: That's fine with the Prosecution.
Page 10987
1 JUDGE HALL: Thank you.
2 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you, Your Honours.
3 [The witness takes the stand]
4 JUDGE HALL: Mr. Radulovic, before Mr. Zecevic continues, I would
5 just wish to remind you that your evidence has -- your testimony has to
6 be interpreted, so if you could remember to slow down in your answers.
7 Thank you.
8 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Thank you, too, Your Honours. I
9 will try.
10 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
11 Q. We took the break when we were dealing with this document,
12 1D03-3349.
13 My question to you was about the contents of this document, and I
14 read it to you. Could you confirm to us the facts mentioned here so we
15 may continue?
16 A. This is a document of the Milos Group. The contents were
17 implemented partly later. The motivation is also mentioned here. And --
18 well, that would be it in a nutshell.
19 Q. Thank you.
20 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I seek to tender this document.
21 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
22 THE REGISTRAR: Exhibit 1D281, Your Honours.
23 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. Sir, could we please see 1D03-3353.
25 Is this a Milos
Page 10988
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Thank you. In accordance with what has been agreed between the
3 OTP and the Defence, I would like to have this document marked for
4 identification until we receive a translation. This is tab 8. The
5 document is 1D03-3353.
6 JUDGE HALL: So marked.
7 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D282, marked for identification, Your
8 Honours.
9 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
10 Q. Sir, let me ask you, you lived in Banja Luka, didn't you?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Do you know that the SDA and the HDZ in the Banja Luka territory
13 wanted that new municipalities be established in that territory?
14 A. Yes. And I wrote about it.
15 Q. Among others, there were the municipalities of Stari Grad and
16 some others, or -- including parts of Banja Luka, where the majority of
17 the population was Muslim or Croatian, right?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Among others, Ivanjska, right?
20 A. Vrbanja, Ivanjska, Stari Grad, almost all neighbourhoods where
21 Bosniaks and Croats were the majority. And where it was possible to
22 establish new municipalities, there was such demands, such interests, and
23 attempts.
24 Q. Thank you.
25 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could we please see 1D03-3363,
Page 10989
1 tab 15.
2 Q. Can you see this report dated 25 March 1992? This is also about
3 a Milos Group report. Correct?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Do you remember this report?
6 A. I certainly do.
7 Q. Here, you mention information about the intentions of the
8 paramilitary units of the Croatian Defence Council to attack some of the
9 municipalities of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the 25th or 26th of March, right?
10 A. Yes. But I must tell you, unfortunately, this report, as many
11 others, was disregarded to a great extent.
12 On the 25th, the 26th, and the 27th, HOS units attacked Sijekovac
13 and massacred the people there, which means that our report preceded the
14 events, which shows that we did good operative work.
15 Q. You're saying that your report dated 25 March -- or, rather, that
16 what was mentioned in your report dated 25 March came true two days
17 later?
18 A. Correct.
19 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I seek to tender this document.
20 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
21 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D283, Your Honours.
22 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. Do you remember, sir, that the chief of the SDB of the CSB of
24 Banja Luka, Mr. Kesic, round about February or March 1992 went to an
25 attend a meeting in Sarajevo
Page 10990
1 subsecretary for the State Security Service, and, on that occasion,
2 brought back a Golf vehicle for the SDB of Banja Luka?
3 A. I really don't remember. But I think his first name was not
4 Bruno, it was Branko. I don't remember that detail. But I know that at
5 that time, the first half, that is, Mr. Kvesic went to meetings -- to
6 attend meetings in Sarajevo
7 Q. Do you remember whether Mr. Kesic, your chief of SDB in
8 Banja Luka, complained to you that in Brane Kvesic's office, that is the
9 office of the subsecretary of the SDB in Sarajevo, he saw a Croatian
10 flag, or the rather, the flag of the HDZ rather than the flag of
11 Bosnia-Herzegovina. Do you remember?
12 A. I remember such stories which I heard from Mr. Kesic. He was on
13 good terms with us, and I remember not only these details but also other
14 details which he found extremely surprising. And he said that the
15 situation in the SDB was total chaos. That is more or less what I
16 remember from those conversations.
17 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] On page 34, line 19, the name
18 should be Kesic, rather than Kvesic. That's the gentleman from
19 Banja Luka who went to attend meetings at Kvesic's office in Sarajevo
20 The surnames are very similar so that's probably why.
21 Q. Sir, do you remember another detail concerning this meeting that
22 Kesic attended in Sarajevo
23 that on that occasion, Brano Kvesic said to him that the SDB of BiH is
24 falling apart and that he would go to Mostar to work for the MUP of
25 Herceg-Bosna, and he said to Kesic, You go back to Banja Luka and take
Page 10991
1 this Golf.
2 Do you remember the detail?
3 A. I remember all of it except for the Golf. I could have continued
4 to say the same thing that you said. I remember him saying that Branko
5 Kvesic was very open with regard to the security situation in
6 Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, actually, this frankness of his was surprising.
7 Q. Mr. Kesic, your chief of the SDB in Banja Luka, related that to
8 you in early 1992, right?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. Thank you. Let me ask you about a document, sir, which was shown
11 to you two days ago, I believe. It's document P1366. It's another
12 report of the Milos Group. You commented on it with my learned friend
13 from the Prosecution.
14 I have some additional questions.
15 It refers to the documentation on the war organisation of the
16 Banja Luka CSB. You remember discussing this document?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. It's a fact, Mr. Radulovic, isn't it, that these defence plans of
19 the MUP and its organisational units, that is, SJBs, and CSBs, that these
20 plans were made in accordance with the Law on All People's Defence and
21 social self-protection. Isn't that right?
22 A. Yeah.
23 Q. On the basis of the said law, you will agree with me, each of the
24 institutions of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia
25 was duty-bound to adopt or prepare a so-called defence plan for
Page 10992
1 situations of wartime or immediate threat of war. Am I correct?
2 A. Yes. These facts are well known.
3 Q. When I speak of all institution, I refer also to schools,
4 universities, hospitals, companies. Do you agree?
5 A. Not only will I agree with you, these are facts, well-known
6 facts.
7 Q. Thank you. Sir, I think it was the day before yesterday, but I'm
8 not sure, you discussed with my friend from the Prosecution events of the
9 3rd of April, 1992, when members of the SOS group blockaded the city of
10 Banja Luka.
11 Do you remember this discussion?
12 A. Yes, of course, I remember the discussion.
13 Q. Sir, it is a fact that on that day, the 3rd of April, 1992
14 VRS, the Army of the Republika Srpska, did not exist, that at the time
15 that the federal army, JNA, was still present in the territory of
16 Bosnia-Herzegovina?
17 A. Yes, that's correct.
18 Q. Do you remember that events that triggered this blockade of
19 Banja Luka was a statement made by the minister of Defence of
20 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jerko Doko. Do you remember that?
21 A. I cannot remember the statement made by Jerko Doko, but I do
22 remember that it was something related to preparing resistance for the
23 events that was supposed to come.
24 Shall I continue?
25 Q. Can you elaborate a bit. Yes, please.
Page 10993
1 A. At the time, institutions and organs in the area of Bosnia
2 Herzegovina
3 there wouldn't have been paramilitary and other formations, and if I may
4 add, the crucial part in the chaos was played by the members of the JNA
5 who were, so to speak, nowhere between heaven and earth. They were in
6 the territory but they were not under the authority of the executive
7 organs of the relevant republics. They didn't know how to handle the
8 situation. Had they known, Yugoslavia
9 Q. I would like to try and remind you, Mr. Jerko Doko, who was at
10 the time minister of Defence of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the 2nd of April,
11 stated for the TV and other media that all conscripts and reserve troops
12 who should take part in the units of JNA and who are citizens of Bosnia
13 and Herzegovina
14 of Croatia
15 asked to show whether they are responsible for that.
16 Do you remember that?
17 A. I do not remember when this was broadcast, but I do remember
18 reactions to these statements of his, namely, parents, especially mothers
19 of mobilised soldiers or soldiers who were, at the time, in the JNA and
20 were members of either Croat or Bosniak people organised rallies in front
21 of basic offices of Secretariats of National Defence in municipalities,
22 asking for their children to be withdrawn, to be demobilized. There were
23 even some situations that were dangerous. There was -- there were
24 involvement of some active soldiers there to try and prevent that because
25 mothers tried to use force and enter the archives of the secretariat and
Page 10994
1 burn all the documents related to mobilisation.
2 I remember that the regional centres and some military commands
3 took out the documentation. It was taken out by the relevant authorities
4 to prevent them from being destroyed.
5 I know a lot about these events, so I'm elaborating. I hope that
6 everyone in the courtroom knows about the events.
7 Q. The crux of my question had to do with the following: Do you
8 remember that this statement by Jerko Doko was one of the reasons which
9 SOS gave as their explanation for the blockade of Banja Luka
10 A. Well, you asked me about my opinion. If you're asking me to give
11 you my opinion, I can tell you that in the context of all the other
12 events, this also had a part. Now whether it had a -- the most important
13 part or the secondary level importance, well, I cannot tell you.
14 Q. Thank you. Do you remember that in the course of your
15 conversation with the Prosecution you were told that there is an linkage
16 between the events in Sarajevo
17 Sarajevo
18 of Banja Luka on the 30th of June -- on 3rd of April, 1992?
19 A. I must say that all your questions I read as something that is
20 part of your interest, but you cannot put to me anything that I would not
21 agree with and then that I agree with that. That would be silly.
22 Q. It is a fact that the two events were caused by completely
23 different sets of events?
24 A. Yes. I would agree with you.
25 Q. Thank you. Sir, since you were a member of the service and since
Page 10995
1 you -- your field of expertise was intelligence, you were shown at the
2 very beginning of our today's session a video recording of the parade
3 that took place on the 13th of May. It is a -- it is true, isn't it,
4 that the day of security services, 13th of May, was something that was
5 celebrated for years before 1992 and that the celebrations were similar.
6 There was a programme, a parade, people would gather. Am I right in
7 saying that?
8 A. Well, yes. That's the day when these services were formed in
9 1994 [as interpreted], when OSNA was formed, and since 1944, celebrations
10 were held until 1992. It was a holiday. People would gather together,
11 enjoy themselves.
12 THE INTERPRETER: Correction to the transcript, it wasn't in
13 1994, it was in 1944.
14 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
15 Q. It is a fact that, on that day, the 13th of May, the Assembly of
16 the Serbian people was also -- its session was held in Banja Luka -- or,
17 rather, of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on that very day?
18 A. I don't remember that, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to evade
19 answering your question, but there were so many events taking place, I
20 can't remember whether it was held on the same day or not.
21 Q. OTP said that you had an opportunity to review the footage, and
22 part of the broadcast included mention of the Assembly session being held
23 in Banja Luka. Do you remember that?
24 A. Yes, of course. But when you ask me about whether I remember
25 that, I don't remember it. I do remember having seen it on the video,
Page 10996
1 but I cannot confirm that I remember the events from 1992.
2 Q. You were shown one part of the introductory speech made by the
3 minister at the time, Mico Stanisic, which included a report on the
4 security situation in the territory of the republic -- Serbian Republic
5 of Bosnia-Herzegovina; do you remember that?
6 A. Yes, yes, of course.
7 Q. Since the video material included only one segment of this
8 address of his, let me ask you whether you remember that at the time or
9 immediately prior to that the incident did take place on the St. George's
10 Day in Srebrenica when the Muslim armed forces attacked and killed some
11 of the Serbian inhabitants there. Do you know that on the basis of your
12 operative information?
13 A. Mr. Zecevic, I knew much more about that at the time than the
14 minister, Mico Stanisic, told the address -- told the people gathered
15 there, and it is what -- what he said was absolutely true. In this
16 shortened version of his address were correct, but the events in the area
17 of Srebrenica were much more tragic than what Mr. Stanisic said about
18 them.
19 Q. You can confirm, then, the part of his statement where he had
20 said that service has information according to which members of Serbian
21 people are used as human shields around certain facilities?
22 A. Yes, that's correct. I can even tell you in which areas and to
23 what degree -- or, rather, how many of people were used as human shields.
24 But, of course, Mico Stanisic - and I hope he won't take it against me if
25 I say this - didn't know about all of that.
Page 10997
1 Q. Do you remember a part of his address -- I'm saying this because
2 the sound of the video-clip was not very good. But do you remember the
3 part of his address where Mr. Mico Stanisic criticises or points out that
4 there is trend of establishing so-called private armies, threatening not
5 only the Serbian people but members of all ethnicities living in the area
6 of Serbian Republic
7 Do you remember that?
8 A. Yes, I do remember. But I'm afraid that this sentence that was
9 uttered by Mr. Mico Stanisic is something that could be found in one of
10 our reports, one of the Milos Group reports. And that's a reason why I
11 would want to say that we, intelligence group Milos, contributed to
12 informing Mr. Mico Stanisic in a proper way. It is impossible that it
13 was just a coincidence that the same sentence was used.
14 Q. Sir, when we discussed your reports, you told us that the
15 Milos Group reports were submitted in two different forms.
16 A. No, to two addresses.
17 Q. When I said "in two different forms," I referred to a shorter
18 dispatch form and a longer detailed form, which was a report.
19 A. Yes, you are right. I apologise. I started answering before
20 having heard you completely.
21 Yes, there were two forms, which deferred by the extent of the
22 information.
23 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Can we please have 1D03-3391 on the
24 screen.
25 Q. This is your report dated the 23rd of May, 1992?
Page 10998
1 A. Yes, correct.
2 Q. And this would be the dispatch form, a shorter report.
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Earlier on, you said that it was sent to two recipients. The
5 first recipient was the SDB of Serbia; and the second one was your
6 immediate superior, Vojin Bera, the chief of department number 01 within
7 the Banja Luka CSB.
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. Sir, earlier on you told us that you recognised the typewriter,
10 because of its special features, the typewriter used to type these
11 reports.
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And this is precisely how your report, the one submitted to Vojin
14 Bera, looked like?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. And this pertains to all of the reports you -- that were put to
17 you here?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. These reports were typed up on a sheet of paper, and then, in
20 that form, they were submitted to your immediate superior, Mr. Bera?
21 A. Yes. Mr. Zecevic, please don't say sheet of paper, because I
22 don't know how else one can type up a report. There's no other way.
23 Q. And you submitted your reports on a daily basis, and sometimes
24 several times a day.
25 A. Yes, Mr. Zecevic. Sometimes there were a dozen of such reports
Page 10999
1 or pieces of information provided in one shape or another, be it as a
2 dispatch or something else.
3 Q. When you say "in one shape or another," either as a dispatch or
4 as a report, you are still referring to a typed-up document?
5 A. Yes, correct.
6 Q. If I remember well the conversation that you and I had, you said
7 that you kept your records of the Milos
8 each of them is numbered, at least far as I could see - and that you kept
9 this record in a special log that was in your safe box?
10 A. Yes, correct. We had an internal log-book. How else would these
11 reports emerge had they not been left and kept in the safe deposit box?
12 We always submitted one copy and then kept one copy for us, because our
13 numbers, our registration numbers, did not correspond with the
14 registration numbers in the main log-book which was kept within the head
15 office of the department.
16 Q. So your internal records, your internal log-book that was kept in
17 your safe deposit box was not shown to you. You don't even know whether
18 it exists?
19 A. I don't know what happened with that log-book. But what nobody
20 has managed to find was the dossiers of our collaborators and friendly
21 contacts because I put it in a safe place.
22 Q. It is a fact, isn't it, that Mr. Bera did not keep a separate
23 log-book for the reports he received from you.
24 A. I know for a fact that he did not have a separate log-book,
25 separate records for that. Rather, he registered our information on the
Page 11000
1 time of their arrival. And then prior to that number, there would be
2 number 10 or 20, depending on how many reports were sent on that
3 particular day.
4 Q. Did you ever see that general log-book, as you call it, after
5 leaving the Banja Luka State Security Service?
6 A. I did not see that log-book after I left, and I also never saw it
7 even while I worked for the State Security Service.
8 Q. So if I understood you well, your claim that it was registered in
9 the log-book is your assumption. You said this, assuming that this is
10 how all reports were registered, but you don't know that for a fact, but
11 you did not see that general log-book either while you still worked
12 there, or afterwards.
13 A. Correct. Absolutely correct.
14 Q. Please tell me, since the reports of the Milos Group, which had
15 been established in July of 1991, were sent, do you know whether the
16 chief of your administration, and also the chief of State Security
17 Service, Mr. Kesic, ever sent your reports to the seat of the State
18 Security Service in Sarajevo
19 A. I don't know. I don't know whether they sent all reports and to
20 what extent or whether they made a selection. I have no idea how my
21 superiors treated my reports, whether they forwarded them or not, and how
22 many.
23 Q. You don't know whether they re-worked your reports and included
24 them in some other reports. You have no idea what they did with your
25 reports.
Page 11001
1 A. I have no knowledge about that.
2 Q. In your evidence here, you said several times -- I apologise. I
3 will get back to that later. In the meantime, we still have the document
4 on our screens.
5 You saw this document and you confirmed it was yours?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. I notice something that was quite interesting to me. In the
8 third sentence of the document, you say: "Based on our previous
9 experience and according to what we know, these departures were observed
10 as a rule, immediately prior to armed operations by Ustasha units and
11 Green Berets."
12 In the previous text you say that a large number of citizens was
13 moving out of the Teslic municipality and then you go on to say that this
14 type of departures en masse were typical on the eve of armed attacks of
15 the enemy?
16 A. Yes, correct.
17 Q. Please clarify this.
18 A. For example, from one part of the Teslic or Doboj municipality
19 there would come requests for moving out from the area, and immediately
20 thereafter, or immediately after allowing Bosniaks and Croats to leave
21 the area, there would ensue bombing of that area by those to whom I
22 referred to as the Ustasha formations and Green Berets in my report. I
23 didn't want to refer to them in any other way, any differently than what
24 they called themselves. By doing so, we wanted to show that there was a
25 certain link between some parts of municipalities, that there was some
Page 11002
1 contact between them and the enemy side in the sense that they were
2 exchanging information between themselves, and this is why we wanted to
3 inform about this in our reports.
4 Q. To summarise your position and the information you conveyed in
5 your report is that this moving out had been coordinated with certain
6 military operations that would typically ensue after the population had
7 moved out.
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. In the very beginning of your answer, you said that there was a
10 request coming from civilians to move out.
11 A. Yes, certainly. There were even centres established to process
12 and forward such requests. Most often those requests were approved so
13 that people could leave the area, literally speaking, whenever they
14 wanted. At one time, whoever wanted to leave could.
15 Q. So if I understood you well, despite the circumstances that
16 existed at the time, that it was wartime and so on, according to your
17 information, there was a co-ordinated strategy in place, whereby the
18 population would first ask to move out, following which, there would be
19 an attack, either by Ustasha forces or the Green Berets, as you referred
20 to them.
21 A. Yes. And this happened very frequently.
22 Q. Tell me, please, sir, it is a fact, isn't it, that this report of
23 yours pertains to Teslic municipality.
24 A. And Doboj as well, I think. Yes, Doboj. In the wider area of
25 Doboj municipality.
Page 11003
1 Q. So if I understood you well, and what is written in your report,
2 this was not an isolated incident typical for this particular
3 municipality. Rather, everywhere, throughout the area there were similar
4 scenarios taking place. By saying this, I'm referring to this request by
5 civilians to move out, following which, there would be an attack by
6 Ustashas or Green Berets.
7 A. As far as I am aware, none of the municipalities in the
8 Banja Luka area, Doboj area experienced anything different than what I
9 described. Mostly there would be transports, buses organised so that
10 people could go where they wanted to go. People mostly went to the
11 territory of the nowadays Federation, and there were certain crossing
12 points agreed between authorities where these convoys would be let
13 through. Bosniaks and Croats, a large number of them, went towards
14 Croatia
15 schedule was determined, the date, the hour, the items they could take
16 with them, and what they needed to do before they moved out. So the
17 situation was identical in all of these areas.
18 The fiercest bombing came from Ustashas and Green Berets in
19 Teslic, Doboj -- Doboj, Samac area and so on. There were cases where
20 3.000 shells were fired in some areas in a single day. I'm just giving
21 you this example as an illustration of what was going on.
22 Q. So if I understood your position well, this departure of
23 civilians was voluntary within that scenario. The civilians withdrew,
24 following which there would be an artillery attack.
25 Did I understand you well?
Page 11004
1 A. Yes, you did. But I want to give another observation,
2 Mr. Zecevic. When you say "voluntary," yes, it was voluntary, but you
3 have to bear in mind that the fact that there was a war going on
4 certainly had its affect.
5 Q. At the very beginning of my question, if you remember, I stated
6 that there were wartime conditions in place?
7 JUDGE HARHOFF: Just for clarification, when you proposed to the
8 witness that the civilians population left the areas in which they had
9 lived, following which there would be a bombardment or an artillery
10 attack of the area, which populations are we talking about?
11 MR. ZECEVIC: I'm pretty sure that the witness was talking about
12 the Bosniaks and Croats and they would pull out of the certain -- certain
13 part of the territory, where, after their -- their departure, the
14 artillery of the Bosniak and Croatian forces will attack that particular
15 part of the territory.
16 That is my understanding and we can ask the witness [Overlapping
17 speakers] ...
18 JUDGE HARHOFF: And that's also the understanding that I got.
19 But I was just surprised to discover -- I was surprised about this
20 because I would wish to discover the reasons why the Croat and Muslim
21 forces would attack the areas where their own population had lived.
22 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
23 Q. Sir, you heard the Honourable Judge's question. Let me not
24 repeat it. Perhaps you can just reply.
25 A. Of course, I can. This referred to the territories and areas of
Page 11005
1 those municipalities where there were mixed populations. There were both
2 Bosniaks and Croats and Serbs. And, of course, this did not relate to
3 Stenjak and Teslic, where Bosniaks lived in a vast majority. Some 99
4 per cent of the population was Bosniak. But this related to certain
5 areas of the town where the ethnic groups were approximately equally
6 present, all of them, Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. And, in my view,
7 that's quite logical, and that it is logical what was my position in 1992
8 as well, because this report is not based on one single event, but,
9 rather, a number of incidents of the same type.
10 JUDGE HARHOFF: Mr. Radulovic, just to be sure, would you be good
11 enough to explain the logic to us.
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Certainly.
13 In a large number of municipalities that were not single -- that
14 were not inhabited by predominantly one ethnic group, the populations
15 were mixed or the ethnic groups lived very close to one another.
16 For instance, in my town, my home town, Teslic, in the town
17 itself, you could not really tell which ethnic group was in the majority,
18 but the villages surrounding Teslic could be actually -- you could
19 actually determine whether they were Bosniak or Serb or Croatian, and
20 such villages were the ones that were shelled at least. Whereas, the
21 greatest number of shells actually landed on the town of Teslic itself
22 and you could see exactly the areas where these shells would land because
23 in these areas where there was a mixed population, Bosniak, Muslim --
24 Bosniak, Croatian, and Serb, as a rule, they would -- Bosniaks and Croats
25 would move out a few days prior to the event, and then a few days later,
Page 11006
1 the shelling would start from those areas where Bosniaks and Croats were
2 active and operating.
3 And, again, I have to repeat, that they referred to themselves as
4 Ustashas and Green Berets than was the terms that -- that was the term
5 that I used as well.
6 So as a rule, in those shellings, Serbs were victims.
7 JUDGE HARHOFF: So the idea was that once the Muslims and Croats
8 had moved out, the shelling by the Muslim or Croat forces was meant to
9 drive out the remaining Serbs who lived there.
10 Is that how we should understand it?
11 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, you've understood me
12 correctly, Your Honour. But I would like to add something.
13 It wasn't their objective to drive them out, but, rather, to
14 destroy them, to kill them.
15 JUDGE HARHOFF: Thank you.
16 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
17 Q. Thank you, sir.
18 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] We would like to tender this
19 document, please.
20 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
21 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D284, Your Honours.
22 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could the witness now please be
23 shown, by way of illustration -- actually, a sample of your extended
24 report information, document 2D02-1314, tab 49.
25 Q. Can you see this document, sir?
Page 11007
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Can you remember it, or would you like me to show you the last
3 page were your signature appears as well as the date?
4 A. Well, I've already said that I recognised the typewriter used.
5 This was the typewriter that we used, and I do believe when you say that
6 it's my signature.
7 Q. Very well.
8 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could the witness now be shown page
9 2, please.
10 Q. And I would like you to tell us a few words about your report.
11 You see in paragraph 2 -- or, rather, this report relates to the
12 Prijedor municipality; correct?
13 A. Well, to be more specific, Kozarica in Prijedor municipality.
14 Q. And you note here that with the help of the democratic action
15 party, Muslim people in the area were issued 1.000 rifles. Here it says
16 long barrels, but I assume that you are referring to rifles and similar
17 weapons. Correct?
18 A. Yes, military weapons.
19 Q. You also learned apparently that that number was far larger but
20 it was your assessment that the -- this figure, 1.000, is about right;
21 correct?
22 A. Yes. We received this information from several different
23 sources. They were reliable sources, sources who had been SDB sources
24 for many years and individuals of Bosniak ethnicity, and we considered
25 this information reliable, especially because our collaborators of
Page 11008
1 Bosniak ethnicity -- especially because of the fact that they were of
2 Bosniak ethnicity, so we did not doubt that their information was
3 correct.
4 Q. Further on, in this information you point out the problem that
5 you have already discussed here - let's not go back to that - where
6 attention should be given to some individuals in smaller groups,
7 Territorial Defence members, from the Republika Srpska area who cruelly
8 treated citizens of Muslim ethnicity and so on and so forth.
9 Can you see that?
10 A. Yes, I can.
11 Q. What I would like to ask you about here is something that you
12 mentioned in the last paragraph.
13 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] In English, that will be on the
14 next page.
15 Q. Where you say that it was your impression - that's in the second
16 paragraph in English - "we are under the impression that the regular
17 units and commanding officers of the Army of Serbian Bosnia and
18 Herzegovina
19 groups which are fighting on the side of the Serbian people for their own
20 personal gain."
21 Do you recall that?
22 A. Yes, of course. You keep asking me whether I recall, do I
23 remember, and I'm getting the impression that you think that I can't
24 recall anything.
25 I remember all this very well.
Page 11009
1 Q. I apologise. You go on to say: "There is the serious danger
2 that extremist individuals from one side may seize power and thus prevent
3 the legal establishment of government."
4 Now tell us, when you drafted this report did you have
5 confirmation for this information that you set out here?
6 A. Certainly.
7 Q. When you say here that you're under the impression that the
8 regular units and commanding officers are unable put a stop to these
9 individuals or informal groups, could you please just elaborate a little?
10 What did you mean by that exactly?
11 A. Well, you see, I had good contacts with military security and
12 active officers, active-duty officers of the former Yugoslav People's
13 Army. I had good contacts with my colleagues from the public and state
14 security in the Prijedor area, and through contacts with these people, I
15 gained the impression that paramilitary units and groups at one point
16 outnumbered the regular troops of the Republika Srpska Army and even some
17 segments of the public -- public security service that was active in
18 Prijedor and operating in Prijedor.
19 Simply put, it was my understanding that the Republika Srpska
20 Army, which was deployed in the area, did not do everything that it could
21 because I always found it strange that if you had under your control a
22 company-strong unit that you were unable to overwhelm a platoon, and
23 especially so if you have under your control a brigade or a division,
24 that you cannot arrest a small number, in percentage points that's a
25 small number, of killers and criminals, and bring them to justice and in
Page 11010
1 this way show that the greatest number of Serbian people, both those in
2 uniforms and civilians, did not approve of such activities, and that is
3 why I blame the army for this as well, if I am the one who can lay blame
4 at anyone's door.
5 Q. Well, the reason I asked you about this is because you said that
6 they were impotent --
7 JUDGE HALL: [Previous translation continues] ... sorry, I was
8 wondering if you were -- if you could finish this off --
9 MR. ZECEVIC: No, I think we can take the break now. Thank you
10 very much, Your Honours.
11 [The witness stands down]
12 --- Recess taken at 12.09 p.m.
13 --- On resuming at 12.34 p.m.
14 MR. ZECEVIC: Your Honours, before the witness is ushered in,
15 there was -- we had a short discussion about the -- the schedule for next
16 week. Well, I informed Mr. Olmsted and Ms. Korner that it is my
17 assumption that I would be, like, 30 per cent less than the time that I
18 anticipated, so I believe -- I used 1 hour 40 minutes, plus this session,
19 and I believe the first session in the morning on Monday, and I will
20 finish my cross-examination, on assumption that I will tender these
21 documents, as we agreed with the Prosecution.
22 And it is my understanding that -- that the Zupljanin Defence
23 required three sessions for cross-examination of this witness, which
24 would enable us to have Mr. Riedlmayer on Wednesday, and we can guarantee
25 that we will finish by Thursday, end of the working hours, with the
Page 11011
1 Witness Riedlmayer.
2 So the -- for this reason, we don't believe that the extra
3 session is needed on Monday. That is --
4 JUDGE HALL: [Microphone not activated]
5 MR. ZECEVIC: Yes.
6 [Trial Chamber and Registrar confer]
7 [The witness takes the stand]
8 MR. ZECEVIC: May I continue, Your Honours?
9 JUDGE HALL: Yes, Mr. Zecevic.
10 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you very much.
11 Q. [Interpretation] Mr. Radulovic, you have before you document
12 1D03-3398. You can see it now on the screen before you. It is dated 5
13 June 1992 and signed Milos
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Do you recall this report of yours?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You talk here about the personnel in the district prison, and you
18 mention that out of eight employees, only one is a Serb while five are
19 Muslims and two are Croats.
20 This is on 5 June, 1992
21 reference to?
22 A. Well, let me just try to bring it up. I think this is in Doboj.
23 Yes, this is the Doboj District Prison, because I never used the
24 term correctional facility in Banja Luka. I did not use the term
25 district prison for that prison, so this must refer to Doboj.
Page 11012
1 Q. When you say eight employee, what do you mean by that? Do -- are
2 you referring to guards there?
3 A. Yes. This is in the investigative department. I don't -- this
4 is not a reference to the entire district prison but just to its
5 investigative department.
6 Q. So, according to this report, on 5 June, which is the date of the
7 report, in the investigations department of the district prison in Doboj
8 there were eight guards, five of whom Muslim, two Croats, and one Serb;
9 correct?
10 A. Yes. But I would like to point out that this is a reference to
11 the investigations department.
12 Q. Well, that's what I said in my question.
13 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I would like to tender this
14 document.
15 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
16 THE REGISTRAR: As Exhibit 1D285.
17 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Can we please see 65 ter 10192.
18 Q. Sir, can you see this report of yours dated 19 May 1992?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Do you remember it?
21 A. I remember the events.
22 Q. Here you speak about Muslims and Croats leaving the area of
23 Bosanska Krajina due to some propaganda, some false information; correct?
24 A. Yes. It was especially present in the areas of Prijedor, Kljuc,
25 and Sanski Most.
Page 11013
1 Q. That false information, who spread it? Where did it originate
2 from; do you remember?
3 A. Of course, I do. The Bosniak side.
4 Q. Thank you.
5 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I seek to tender this document,
6 unless there are objections.
7 JUDGE HALL: Admitted and marked.
8 JUDGE HARHOFF: Mr. Radulovic, again, a small question just to be
9 sure that I have understood this correctly.
10 Why would the Bosnian and Croat side spread deliberately
11 misinformation about a planned attack against them? What's the big idea?
12 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can give my comment.
13 Your Honour, at the time when I wrote this, I did not make
14 comments, or I didn't venture into assessments. After this much time,
15 after all these years, I can state my opinion.
16 JUDGE HARHOFF: Yes, if you would be so good. Briefly.
17 THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] The desire was to depict the
18 situation in the territories controlled by the Serb authorities in -- in
19 the media as unbearable for survival. And then various misinformation
20 reached Bosniaks and Croats about the Serbs allegedly planning extensive
21 military and other operations in those areas and that all Bosniaks and
22 Croats would be killed.
23 The objective was for these Bosniaks and Croats leave the areas
24 they inhabited in Serb-controlled territory and cross over to the Muslim
25 or Croatian-controlled areas with the overall aim of using it for
Page 11014
1 propaganda purposes, and I can only repeat that the role of the mass
2 media was very important at the time.
3 JUDGE HARHOFF: Thank you.
4 THE REGISTRAR: I apologise to the counsel. 65 ter number 10192
5 will become Exhibit 1D286.
6 MR. ZECEVIC: Thank you, Ms. Registrar.
7 Q. [Interpretation] Sir, it's also a fact, apart from the propaganda
8 value, that this enabled Croat or Bosniak forces to get possible
9 reenforcements from the ranks of these newly arrived individuals,
10 reenforcements for their military units, right?
11 A. Mr. Zecevic, you are now eliciting information which is not part
12 of this report; however, the Milos Group did inform the relevant
13 structures about that. These groups leaving for Croatia or for the
14 Federation were a source of manpower for military units, so that your
15 conclusion or assumption is, indeed, in line with the reality on the
16 ground.
17 And if I may add, the Bosniaks who went to Croatia created one of
18 the strongest military units called the the Honorary Berber Platoon, who
19 carried out offensive activities in the Gradiska municipality, which is
20 part of the RS, and there have been instances of mass killings, both of
21 members of the military and police units and civilians too.
22 Q. Thank you. On Tuesday, you gave evidence here, and yesterday,
23 too, you testified that Mr. Kesic, who was chief of state security in
24 Banja Luka, with regard to these reports of yours, as well as to the
25 information you passed on to him orally, had a rather negative attitude.
Page 11015
1 His opinion was that this information was not interesting for the
2 service, that it is not significant, that the service shouldn't do
3 anything about it, et cetera.
4 A. Yes. Let me just point out something extremely stupid.
5 On the list of the documents in possession of the OTP, there's
6 also a report of the Milos Group from 1993, which is a report that we
7 received from a high-ranking expert in the NATO forces that, namely,
8 there would be a bombing of Serbia
9 later -- at a certain point in time. However, this report was stuck in a
10 drawer of Mr. Bera, who was constantly trying to devaluate my work and
11 that of my group, and if you are siding with this Mr. Bera you are
12 humiliating me because I have never been narcicisstic nor have I been a
13 fool. .
14 Q. Sir, that is not my intention at all. I would just like us to
15 know what you know, and I hope that you will help us to achieve that.
16 Such important information submitted by you in 1993 to your
17 immediate superior as well as some previous information was not
18 forwarded -- was not passed on; correct?
19 A. Unfortunately, I found out about that only later, that much of my
20 information never made it to the people that should have received it.
21 They never went further than the National Security Service in Banja Luka
22 And I can provide -- or I can corroborate this statement with facts
23 because there is somebody in this very courtroom who can be a witness to
24 what I have just said.
25 Q. Go on.
Page 11016
1 A. I spoke to Mr. Mico Stanisic for the first time in 1999. We met
2 at the Intercontinental Hotel immediately after Arkan was killed. We
3 wanted to sit exactly where he was killed. Somebody made a joke about
4 that so we chose a different place to sit. And we spoke about the fact
5 that my -- or, rather, I learned that much of my information that I had
6 submitted never made its way to him.
7 It seems to me that Mico Stanisic only changed his mind in 1999
8 because he seems to -- seems to have received information about me
9 depicting me in a very negative light, but that is something that I heard
10 not only from him but also from others; but these others don't matter
11 because they have no connection with these proceedings.
12 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] A moment of leave.
13 Q. Just a moment. It would seem that your answer has not been
14 recorded in its entirety. If I remember well, you said it is only then
15 that I understood that a large number of my reports never made it to him.
16 Actually, not one did.
17 Is that what you said?
18 A. Yes, exactly. I am referring to these most important reports and
19 the most complex information.
20 Q. Thank you.
21 A. Do you want a full answer? So -- because for my sake I would
22 like to give you a complete answer.
23 I understood after the end of the war many of my reports were
24 edited and changed to suit the expectations of their consumers.
25 Sometimes they were toned down, sometimes they were amplified, and the
Page 11017
1 key roles in that process were those of Vojin Bera and Nedeljko Kesic.
2 I'm taking about the reports that were made for the RS. But this sort of
3 editing couldn't be applied to the reports that went to Belgrade.
4 Q. It couldn't because you submitted such information directly to
5 Belgrade
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. And the facts that you have related to us just now were something
8 that you learned about only after the war, right?
9 A. Yes. Among others, in the conversation with Mico Stanisic. But
10 that was only one of the conversations with one of the persons after the
11 war. I also learned about that in the conversation with Gojko Glickovic
12 [phoen] toward the very end of the war or after the war. The man was
13 surprised when we spoke, and he admitted to me that I was some sort of an
14 idiot, a fool, that's the way I was presented to him while he was in a
15 high position.
16 So what I'm saying, this wasn't meant -- this wasn't done -- or,
17 rather, it wasn't targeted at me. The purpose was to devalue the
18 information that I passed on, not only about the crimes committed by
19 Serbs because somebody didn't consider that suitable and they were
20 covering it up. And that's the attitude they had to all security-related
21 information, and everything was under a veil of secrecy or something.
22 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone.
23 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
24 Q. Mr. Radulovic, the assistant minister for the SDB of the Serbian
25 Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Page 11018
1 mid-August, that was a position filled by Slobo Skipina. It is a fact,
2 isn't it, that you had no professional contact with Slobo Skipina
3 throughout that period?
4 A. Correct. That was surprising to me, and I was also disappointed
5 because Skipina and I had worked together in the SDB, and we did have
6 contact previously, and I would have thought that he should have either
7 accepted the information that I passed on or take steps against me if he
8 believed that the information I submitted was a heap of rubbish.
9 Q. However, he didn't do either of the two things because he didn't
10 receive your information.
11 A. Well, Mr. Zecevic, that's the only justification of his actions.
12 Q. Could you please tell us, sir, on page 10796 and further of our
13 transcript here, you spoke about a report of yours dated 17th of May,
14 1992. In your testimony you said that the report was a result of your
15 first information related to crimes committed by Serbian forces in Doboj
16 by mid-May. Is that correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. I'm not seeking confirmation, really, I just wanted to make sure
19 that your answer was recorded properly in the transcript. It didn't
20 occur originally, and I have about ten more examples, and I will just go
21 through them to ask for your confirmation.
22 On page 10814 of the transcript, you stated that some people had
23 ID cards of the SNB or police without even knowing what kind of service
24 that was.
25 A. Yes, that's correct.
Page 11019
1 Q. You stated that, unfortunately, the times were such, on page
2 10907, you spoke about paramilitary and para-police groups in Doboj
3 having such ID cards. Do you remember stating that?
4 A. Yes, I do remember, but as I was saying before and I will repeat
5 it, I described these groups as criminal organisations that weren't
6 involved -- involved in the war for the interests of the Serbian people
7 but for the purpose of looting, and to achieve that, they needed to kill
8 people who possessed what they wanted from whom they wanted to take items
9 and then they wanted to kill witnesses of their acts.
10 Q. So you mean just to get rid of the witnesses?
11 A. Yes. I admit I -- my terminology was a bit confused. The way
12 you put it is much better. To get rid of a witness. A live witness is
13 the worst witness.
14 Q. When these paramilitary and para-police groups were discussed,
15 these groups that you described as criminal organisations, you told the
16 Prosecutor in response to his question when he asked you to enumerate
17 them, but I presume because of the time-limits, you were interrupted, and
18 I would like to ask you to now list paramilitary and para-police group
19 that existed in Doboj in 1992.
20 A. There's something that can I ask you to ask the Trial Chamber for
21 us to go into closed session.
22 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] Could we have a private session,
23 please.
24 JUDGE HALL: Yes, we go into private session.
25 [Private session]
Page 11020
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25 [Open session]
Page 11029
1 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.
2 MR. ZECEVIC: May I continue, Your Honours.
3 JUDGE HALL: Yes, please.
4 THE INTERPRETER: Could the counsel please repeat the transcript
5 page number.
6 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation] I apologise. On page 10942 of the
7 transcript, you said that some of the leaders in Teslic knew what the
8 Mices had done and the crimes they had committed before even you were
9 informed, and you mentioned, among others, the president of the court and
10 the then public prosecutor in Teslic. The public prosecutor, for whom
11 you claim that he knew what was going on in Teslic, was Mr. Peric;
12 correct?
13 A. Yes, Mr. Branko Peric.
14 Q. On the next page of the transcript, 10943, do you remember, you
15 were then shown an article from Slobodna Bosna, and you were asked to
16 comment on it, and the Prosecutor suggested then that -- put it to you
17 that your action followed only after the Mice Group began to commit
18 crimes against Serbs as well, and that you -- or, rather, the group that
19 you led only intervened because of that and not because they had
20 committed the crimes against Muslims.
21 A. Well, I would rather not say anything about this. This is
22 absolutely untrue. It's a red herring, let me put it mildly. We
23 intervened even earlier to protect Bosniaks and Croats. We intervened
24 after those event, in order to protect Bosniaks and Croats. We
25 intervened also, I mentioned the incident with the 600 Romas on that
Page 11030
1 cross-roads, so this is very offensive to me and to my sense, my ethical
2 beliefs, so nothing of that sort should be put to me. No one in this
3 courtroom should put anything like that to me because I managed to keep
4 my dignity in far worse situations than this.
5 And if you allow me, I would like to take this opportunity to say
6 something here. Somebody suggested here that I may feel uncomfortable
7 testifying as a Serb against Serbs. I would just like to stress this:
8 I'm not testifying against Serbs. I'm testifying about the events that I
9 was a witness to and that I heard about, and I consider that those who
10 committed those crimes were in no way related to me in any way, and that
11 had nothing to do with them being Serbs, and that would not characterise
12 Serbs. And if I were to make a choice between a human being and a Serb,
13 I would always choose a human being.
14 Q. Thank you. You've actually pre-empted one of my questions.
15 On the next page of the transcript, 10944, you testified about
16 the situation immediately following the arrest of the Mices and the --
17 and you also talked about the group that you led in this operation. And
18 you said that, at that time, the chief of the security services in Doboj,
19 Mr. Bjelosevic and you, were on bad terms. And you said in the end that,
20 according to you, he was not well-informed and did not know fully what
21 these people had done.
22 You concluded that based on a conversation with him; correct?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Do you know that Mr. Bjelosevic, as the chief of the CSB, from
25 early May was resubordinated as a commander of a police unit to the army
Page 11031
1 in the battle-field. Do you know that?
2 A. Yes. And I can tell you where exactly on the front line he was.
3 He was in the operation zone that was fighting in order to try and break
4 through the corridor, open up the corridor. And literally, he was, on a
5 daily basis at the operations centre.
6 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter did not hear the last words.
7 MR. ZECEVIC: [Interpretation]
8 Q. You said, in -- at the operations centre. Could you just tell us
9 slowly what was the name of that operations centre or the place where it
10 was?
11 A. Well, it was the command, the operation centre at Duge Njive.
12 Q. You said Duge Njive?
13 A. Yes, that's what it was called.
14 Q. Please tell us, the command centre at Duge Njive, was that the
15 operative group command centre?
16 A. That's correct.
17 Q. When I say "Operational Group," I'm referring to the Army of the
18 Republika Srpska.
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. Please tell me, this location, the place where the operations
21 centre was at Duge Njive, how far was that from Doboj or from Teslic?
22 Can give us an idea?
23 A. It's about 70 kilometres from Teslic and about 30 kilometres from
24 Doboj. Depends on the road you took. That, too, would make a
25 difference.
Page 11032
1 Q. Very well. The operation to break through the corridor, open up
2 a corridor, were conducted in the course of the summer 1992; correct?
3 A. Well, it took quite a while, so please don't ask me specifically
4 at what point.
5 Q. Even after the corridor was established, road communication was
6 very difficult all the way through August up until September.
7 A. Even later. The road was often shelled from Orasje and Gradacac
8 so you had to drive carefully and -- even after the corridor,
9 conditionally speaking, had been established.
10 Q. Thank you, sir. I have finished for today.
11 MR. ZECEVIC: Your Honour, I'm pretty well near the end of my
12 cross-examination, but I would like to stop here at three minutes so I
13 can consult overnight and be able to focus my cross for tomorrow morning,
14 in order to -- to save as much time as possible -- on Monday.
15 JUDGE HALL: We understand what you mean, yes.
16 MR. ZECEVIC: I'm sorry, thank you.
17 [Trial Chamber and Legal Officer confer]
18 MS. KORNER: Your Honours, I was going to ask whether given
19 there's a minute or so whether Your Honours had prepared to rule on the
20 reconsideration application in respect of the articles. Which is either
21 a yes or no.
22 JUDGE HALL: [Microphone not activated] ... well, not at this
23 moment.
24 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for the Judge, please.
25 JUDGE HALL: [Microphone not activated]
Page 11033
1 MS. KORNER: Well --
2 JUDGE HARHOFF: Does it make any difference at this moment?
3 MS. KORNER: No, it doesn't, Your Honour, but I know this is my
4 pet thing, but we're building up again a lot of very compendious amount
5 of -- of requests and motions and whatever that are unanswered.
6 JUDGE HARHOFF: We are painfully aware of it.
7 MS. KORNER: I know. So I was just wondering if something that
8 was relatively simple could be dealt with, and could be dealt with by way
9 of an oral ruling. But if Your Honours feel not, then I'm not pressing
10 it.
11 JUDGE HARHOFF: We had prepared a ruling, but we still need to
12 consider it one more time.
13 JUDGE HALL: So we will take the adjournment for the weekend and
14 reconvene in Courtroom III on Monday morning.
15 And I wish everyone a safe weekend. Thank you.
16 [The witness withdrew]
17 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 1.43 p.m.
18 to be reconvened on Monday, the 31st day of May,
19 2010, at 9.00 a.m.
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