Milosevic Transcript 2002-11-26

¹³⁴⁸⁶

Tuesday, 26 November 2002

[Open session]

[The witness entered court]

[The accused entered court]

--- Upon commencing at 9.14 a.m.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. We're just being handed, marked D57, the transcript of the interview. Yes.

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honour, I just wanted to mention that you find in the interview a part shaded in grey, and these are the parts that were not played.

JUDGE MAY: Very well. We've got the entire interview in front of us.

Yes, Mr. Milosevic.

WITNESS: WITNESS C-[Resumed]

[Witness answered through interpreter] Cross-examined by Mr. Milosevic: [Continued]

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Today, to begin with, let us start with the map that this witness commented on. I think it was not in private session, so I assume we don't have to go into private session now.

JUDGE MAY: This, I take it, is the map of the RSK.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes. That is the map that this witness started his testimony with. So --

JUDGE MAY: Just a moment. For the record, it must be noted it's Exhibit 326, tab 11. The witness has a copy? Yes. Yes.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Before I continue, I should just ¹³⁴⁸⁷ like to draw attention to the fact that, according to my accounts, the examination-in-chief lasted 24 hours. You told me I would have 20 hours. So would you please reconsider and establish whether my calculations are right. I may be wrong. It is quite possible that I made a mistake.

JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, let me deal with that. You are wrong, in fact. It was 20 hours. I noted it.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. First of all, is it true to say that this was no secret map?

A. This was a public document.

Q. I see. A public document. It was all over the Krajina. It was like a leaflet; isn't that right?

A. No, not a leaflet but what it is; a map with data.

Q. Yes, with data: A summary, information on the back of the map, even a summary in the English language should it have to be shown or distributed to foreigners.

A. I don't know for what purposes it was used. I obtained it in 1994.

Q. And this was issued by the Serbian army of Krajina with the help of the journal Vojska from Belgrade; is that right?

A. Yes. That is what it says, with the assistance of the publishing institution Vojska of Belgrade.

Q. And there's the stamp of the Republic of Srpska Krajina, and the stamp of the Serbian army of Krajina?

A. Yes. The new emblem from 1994, or coat of arms. ¹³⁴⁸⁸

Q. Would you now please comment, as you did before, with regard to this map, but first of all, before you do that, please tell me, what was the percentage share of the population in Knin municipality by ethnicity. In Knin municipality.

A. Knin municipality had about 90 per cent of the population were Serbs, or up to 90 per cent, and 10 per cent were others. Nine per cent were Croats, about 1 per cent were Yugoslavs.

Q. So that would roughly be the composition in 1981.

A. I may be wrong, plus or minus 1 or 2 per cent.

Q. Do you remember that the leadership of the Republic of Srpska Krajina would frequently emphasise the fact that Croats in Knin were living on a footing of equality like all other citizens and that the authorities of the Republic of Srpska Krajina are not behaving towards the Croats in the way in which the Ustasha authorities are behaving towards the Serbs? Is that right or not?

A. The Croats know best how they lived in Knin, as do the people from Serbia and Knin. I will give you just three examples. There is no doubt that they didn't feel at ease during the time of inter-ethnic disagreements and conflicts, but it is also a fact that already in October some citizens of Croatian ethnicity and Albanians suffered damage because of the events in Knin.

In April 1991, the police of Krajina selectively started seizing weapons from citizens - not all of them, but from Croats - and this especially happened in the village of Potkonj in Kninsko Polje, and Vrpolje. They experienced unpleasantness or worse than that, certain ¹³⁴⁸⁹ suffering. The inhabitants of the Croatian village of Kijevo, on the 26th of August, 1991, during the attack of the JNA.

Also in 1993, Croats in Knin felt not only unsafe, but they were physically mistreated by refugees from Benkovac after the attack of the Croatian army on Ravni Kotari, especially people from Islam Grcki and the surroundings who would come to Knin. The police brought them there in an organised fashion and instigated them to move into Croatian houses so that the Croats had to flee and seek shelter in the centre in Vrpolje, and then the police organised their resettlement by buses via Zitnic towards the territory controlled by the Croatian government. That is as far as Knin is concerned. I don't want to be cynical, but the Croats in Knin fared better, in spite of what I just said, compared to how they fared in areas where there were armed conflicts.

Q. I remember, for instance, that Milan Martic said with pride that Croats in Knin were living in conditions of complete equality, which we received with the greatest measure of approval, and another colleague of yours, a protected witness, not quite as protected as you but also protected, confirmed that in Knin, the Croats did indeed live on a footing of equality. Are you denying that now?

A. I'm just telling you how equal they were.

Q. So you are claiming that they were not equal in Knin.

A. I don't -- I know that they didn't feel comfortable and that I know many Croats in Knin who felt in jeopardy.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation] ¹³⁴⁹⁰

Q. You held a very important position. I won't name it now in public session. If you found that there were such cases of mistreatment, why didn't you prevent it?

A. The authorities in Knin acted in several ways to calm the situation. First of all, the staff for the defence of Knin, for the barricades, was disbanded. It was formed in Golubic or, rather, to be more precise, it was formed on the 16th of August, 1991, in Padjeni, and it was based in Golubic. And then also, efforts were made to disband the Council of National Resistance which caused the greatest amount of confusion and disturbance when that was not necessary. And also, endeavours were made through the government of the Republic of Srpska Krajina to place the police under the control of the government and civilian authorities, and a lawyer was appointed to the position of Minister of Internal Affairs in the government of SAO Krajina. Also, at the beginning of August, also through the government of Krajina, measures were undertaken for the police and the DB to be subordinated to the legal authorities of Krajina. This was also done on the 21st of November, 1991, through the Assembly of SAO Krajina. Such measures were also taken in February 1992, but by then, the position of the authorities that were behind these measures had weakened. This was not achieved because you supported those structures.

Q. Well, this witness, your colleague who spoke before you, said quite the opposite. Which structures? I hear for the first time this term of parallel structures. This is information that I received from you now, that you had parallel structures in Krajina. ¹³⁴⁹¹

A. These were structures formed by the DB of Serbia, Jovica Stanisic, Frenki, and you personally. Those structures, in 1991, on the 16th of August, 1990, sought to obtain legitimacy by winning support of the Serbian Democratic Party, and they did get it at a meeting of the Main Board in Padjeni on the 16th of August, 1990. However, those structures started operating in a manner that was not originally thought necessary. The idea was for the Croatian government should not affect the position of the Serbs regarding autonomy. However, those structures that were formed in Golubic referred to the authority of the SDS and the authority of the president of the municipality, and they didn't form a staff to control the barricades but a war camp. And upon the initiative of the president of the Assembly, the Executive Board of the SDS, at the beginning of September 1990, decided that those structures be disbanded. And the president of the Assembly persisted in that direction, and that camp was disbanded. Martic was in charge of it in a wood at a first, then in a meadow, then at Cinobadova Glavica, the memorial home, then the Knin fortress. And from the 30th of September onwards, it moved to the police station in Knin.

Jovica Stanisic, in August 1990, was already in contact with those structures. And those structures took over control over the Centre for Information of Knin municipality.

JUDGE MAY: One at a time. Let the witness finish. But can you keep your answers fairly short, Witness C-061, so that the accused can have the opportunity to ask his questions.

Is there anything more you want to add to what you were just ¹³⁴⁹² saying about the structures?

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This structure started to be formed in 1990. It was publicly announced over the Council for National Resistance, and later on, that structure operated in conjunction with the Secretariat for Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Interior of SAO Krajina as a parallel structure to the extent that they were not subordinated to the legal authorities of the SAO Krajina, though the authorities of Krajina did take part in the nomination of certain individuals in that structure for a particular purpose, such as was the case with Milan Martic.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. There's a Serbian saying which implies causing confusion. Now, tell me specifically, who were the people who constituted that parallel structure? Tell me the names of the people in that parallel structure in 1990 in Knin and the surroundings. Who were they?

A. Milan Martic, Jovo Vitas, Nebojsa Mandinic, Jovica Stanisic, the journalist Cvetkovic, an unknown individual whose name I don't remember from the room for encoding, and other people who were connected to them from the SDS and from among the citizenry. That was the structure that I identified in 1990, beginning with August through the autumn, until January 1991.

In 1991, that structure consisted of Jovica Stanisic, Franko Simatovic, Milan Martic, Dusan Orlovic - of course, Dusan Orlovic was there in 1990 as well - and people under their control and influence right through the presidents of the municipalities of Lapac, Korenica, Benkovac, ¹³⁴⁹³ the vice-president of the government, Dusko Starevic. And later, Veljko Matijasevic, the president of the Assembly, under the influence of Stanisic, joined in in 1992. Under your influence and that of Jovica Stanisic and Budimir Kosutic, Mile Paspalj joined in, and from the 16th to the 26th of February, that structure managed to assert its formal and legal authority in the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

Q. I see. It's becoming clearer to me now. Do you consider all the officials in the Republic of Srpska Krajina and, before that, in SAO Krajina, who were in confrontation with you to constitute a parallel structure?

A. No, but those who did not respect the decisions of the government and Assembly of SAO Krajina and who used coercion upon members of the government to be tolerated, they prevented by force the government and the Assembly to assert their legal authority over them.

Q. What were they? Were they a faction in the SDS or were they members of other parties? What were they? What kind of a structure were they?

A. They were members of the DB of Serbia, members of the so-called DB in Krajina, members of the police of Krajina headed by Milan Martic, a part of the politicians in the SDS and outside it, and other people who were not in the SDS but who collaborated with the DB of Serbia.

Q. What do you mean the DB of Serbia in 1990?

A. Cooperation, obedience, coordination. That's what I mean by collaboration. The DB of Serbia had no competence over the territory of Croatia in 1990. In formal terms, it could have no competence to govern ¹³⁴⁹⁴ or to run the police in SAO Krajina and the Republic of Krajina in 1990 and later, and it did that nevertheless. So its presence in the area was illegal.

Q. The fact that the DB of Serbia was not competent in Krajina I quite agree with you.

A. In formal and legal terms, it was not competent, but it did have a command position over the structure, consisting of the people I have listed.

Q. Now, please don't get so excited. Without any excitement --

A. No, I'm not getting excited. I'm trying to be as brief as possible in response to what Judge May has said.

JUDGE MAY: Now, both of you, both of you bear in mind that this has to be interpreted, and bear in mind too what I said earlier, before the cross-examination began, about breaks between question and answer. Yes, Mr. Milosevic.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for Mr. Milosevic.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, of course, Mr. May. I'll join in in what you said, because quite obviously this is highly interesting, not to say amusing.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Now, you've enumerated Martic, Vitas, Orlovic, a man called Nebojsa whose surname you don't know.

A. Mandinic Nebojsa, the president of the Assembly of Associated of Labour of the municipal Assembly of Knin.

Q. And Man -- what was the other name? ¹³⁴⁹⁵

A. Mandinic.

Q. Right, Mandinic, the president of a Chamber of the municipality of Knin because the chamber had the Chamber of Associated Labour and the Citizens' Chamber.

A. No, socio-political one.

Q. All right, socio-political.

A. Socio-political and the Chamber of Associated Labour.

Q. Well, one of the presidents of the three chambers. And what was Martic? Tell me that.

A. He was a police inspector at the police station in Knin.

Q. At the time that the SAO Krajina was formed, is that it?

A. Yes. When the SAO Krajina was formed, he was in the Council for National Resistance, and on the 4th of January, 1991, the Executive Council, Provisional Executive Council of SAO Krajina promoted David Rastovic, president of the Municipal Assembly of Knin and vice-president of the Executive Council of SAO Krajina and appointed him secretary of the interior for internal affairs.

Q. You had nothing to do with that, no participation in that, did you?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Well, at the proposal and so on and so forth, as a man behind the looking glass, as you said yesterday. So Martic was Minister of the Interior for Krajina?

A. Secretary of the SUP, the Secretariat for Internal Affairs of Krajina. ¹³⁴⁹⁶ ^{BLANK PAGE} ¹³⁴⁹⁷

Q. And where is Martic from?

A. Martic was born in the village of Zagrovic, near Knin.

Q. So Martic was secretary of the SUP of Krajina. He was from Knin. That first man. Now, who is Vitas? Who is this other one?

A. Jovo Vitas; he was a businessman in Knin.

Q. A businessman in Knin?

A. Well, he lived in Knin. Where he was born, I can't say.

Q. Is he from Krajina, Jovo Vitas?

A. I don't know where he was born exactly. The surname Vitas existed around Bosanska Krupa as well.

Q. All right. That's not too important. But he was in Knin as well; is that what you're saying? And this man Orlovic, what was he? Who was he?

A. Dusan Orlovic was a medical student. He never graduated. And he was a native of Lika. And he sort of did nothing much, went around without a job. But from 1989, we knew that he was always present when any of the events took place in the area, any important events.

Q. And what was his function, his post?

A. He was member of the Council of National Resistance. Martic appointed him as head of the DB, the state security in Krajina.

Q. So the head of the state security in Krajina. And you say that he was originally from Krajina himself. That's right, isn't it? And were they members of any party, any one of them?

A. Martic wasn't. Orlovic, as far as I know, wasn't either. Jovo Vitas, as far as I know -- I'm not quite sure whether he was a member of ¹³⁴⁹⁸ the Socialist Party of Croatia, of a Yugoslav orientation, but he did have some participation in preparations -- in the organisation. Then there was Nebojsa Mandinic, who was a member of the SDS.

Q. All right. Tell me this: This man Nebojsa, Nebojsa Mandinic, apart from the fact that he was president of this Council of Associated Labour, or whatever it was called, of the Municipal Assembly of Knin, did he hold any other post?

A. Post, you're asking about, what post he held. Well, together with Bogoljub Popovic and Martic, he had something to do with some security matters. I can't really be specific what the name and title was.

Q. Well, I assume you were together there. They weren't there alone, the two of them on one side and you on the other side. I assume that all of you were together.

A. Each one of us in our own way.

Q. All right. I understood it --

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for Mr. Milosevic.

JUDGE MAY: The interpreters are having trouble hearing. Is your microphone on?

[Trial Chamber and registrar confer]

JUDGE MAY: The problem is not allowing pauses and not allowing the registrar time to switch it on, so can you bear that in mind.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Okay. So that means that we can -- we have to make pauses; is that it, Mr. May?

JUDGE MAY: Yes.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation] Very well. ¹³⁴⁹⁹

Q. So you were saying Martic, the secretary of the SUP; Vitas was an official there; Orlovic was the head of the DB state security for Krajina; Mandinic was the president of one of the chambers of the municipality of Knin. How can they be parallel structures, then? How can a parallel structure be made up of people who hold official posts in the regular structure, even before the SAO Krajina was proclaimed? What kind of parallel structure were they, then?

A. What they were doing was not the structure of the institutions which were legally elected and established at multiparty elections. They were structures which had illegally cropped up, arbitrarily, on their own initiative, and that is why I call them parallel structures to the legal institutions.

And I said that Martic was elected as secretary of SUP. But the Assembly of Krajina, following a proposal by the Prime Minister, appointed him Defence Minister for SAO Krajina on the 29th of May. And he himself, on that particular day, took the oath of office. And the very next day, having been convinced by Frenki and people from the DB of Serbia, he refused to hand over to the Ministry of the Interior, and to the newly appointed minister, to hand over his office to Dusan Vjestica. And in that way, it was through the force of might, because, together with the DB of Serbia, he had control over the armed formations of both the police force and the paramilitaries which had been set up in the camp of Golubic in April. So quite simply, he had might and power behind him, and the government and Assembly were not able to impose Vjestica, or rather, to force him to hand over his office to Vjestica. ¹³⁵⁰⁰ But one month elapsed, and on the 27th of June, in Grahovo, the Assembly was forced to accept his will in order to avoid an internal conflict in Krajina or a civil war at a point in time when the conflict was escalating with Croatia. So it was in that sense that he and they made up the parallel structure, once again in power in Krajina. They imposed their own will through force.

Q. Now, explain this to me, please: As you have just said - I hope I'm making sufficient pauses, Mr. May - that the Assembly lent its support to the positions of Milan Martic, how, then, did you say that he achieved his goals by force? Did he perhaps cock his rifles at the deputies in the National Assembly, or did he perhaps arrest a national deputy, or did anything else of that kind? So why are you fabricating nonsenses of that kind?

A. Well, he did do that in 1995, and I complained to you personally that units of the police force had stormed the area. They had come in from Bihac and stormed the Municipal Assembly of Knin. I complained to you personally and asked you to intervene to quell the situation. And in 1991, he had the power because he was in control, together with the DB of Serbia, the state security system of Serbia. He controlled the regular police force and the police force of Krajina, the one that was established as the Krajina police, that is to say, the paramilitary formations that had already been formed. And after Dusan Vjestica took over power - or rather, he didn't take over power, I beg your pardon, but the Assembly nominated him and appointed him to the post of Minister of the Interior - he passed decisions to replace at least two deputies, two ¹³⁵⁰¹ of Martic's deputies. And they, Martic and his assistants, tore up those decisions by the newly appointed minister and made fun of him and the decisions. So there was no other structure, nor was there any possibility of imposing -- of having Minister Vjestica take up his role. Now, to avoid an interior conflict, an interior clash and a civil war between the Serbs in Krajina, or amongst the Serbs in Krajina, this was accepted as a fact, that is to say, the authority of the DB and the authority of Martic, who was in command of the police force, because they had their own political goals, that is to say, the same political goals, which were that of defending a Krajina. So from that time, this parallel structure began to function; not only from that time, but it was functioning with those same political goals: to preserve Krajina within Yugoslavia, or rather, within the state that you yourself created. And the interests of the Assembly and government was also to preserve Krajina and defend it from attacks by the armed forces of the Croatian government, and that formed a symbiosis of a kind.

However, this parallel structure - the paramilitary formations, the police of Krajina, the DB of Serbia, with its paramilitary units - did not only protect and defend the inhabitants of Krajina but caused provocations towards Croatian threats to create clashes and to pull in the Yugoslav People's Army, to pull it into the conflict, as you yourself had planned. And that is why the policy of these parallel structures differed from the political goals and endeavours made by the government and the Assembly, that is to say, the legal structures of the SAO Krajina.

Q. Tell me this: Wasn't it your objective too to preserve Krajina? ¹³⁵⁰²

A. I was precisely saying that yes, it was.

Q. Well, let me ask you something now. Did you say, on the first day in court here, that in 1990, what had happened there was that the head of the state security of Serbia turned up, Jovica Stanisic, along with his assistant, or whatever you called him, Franko Simatovic? Isn't that right?

A. Jovica Stanisic came for the first time in August 1990, and at the beginning of April, Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic; Fica; your personal security detail or somebody from your security, Captain Dragan; another man who had a name that associated -- that brought to my mind France; and some other instructors turned up after their meeting with you, that is to say, after the second half of May, in order to -- I apologise.

JUDGE MAY: [redacted] you should remember that -- try and keep your answers fairly short, because otherwise time is going to go on. Yes, Mr. Milosevic.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for Mr. Milosevic. Microphone.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Well, let's see. The head of security of the DB, Jovica Stanisic, was in Knin.

A. I didn't hear the start of your question. The question wasn't interpreted into Serbian.

Q. I'm talking about 1990. The head of the DB of Serbia, Jovica Stanisic, was in Knin?

A. I didn't know his function in 1990. Martic said that it was a man ¹³⁵⁰³ from the MUP of Serbia.

Q. All right. Very well. Now, in 1991, you said again that with Radmilo Bogdanovic, this minister, this head of the DB, attended a meeting that was held at my office in March, and you mentioned something along those lines.

A. Radmilo Bogdanovic at that time was the outgoing minister.

Q. All right. And Stanisic was the head of the DB; right?

A. Well, I don't know whether he was the head of the DB, but from the month of April, he told me that he was the head of the DB, the state security. I heard this in April.

Q. All right. So he told you that. So once again that is another lie. Jovica Stanisic was not head of the DB, either in 1990 or in 1991, when you're talking about this meeting. I didn't even know him in 1991. Nor could he have been there at that particular time on any assignment whatsoever. You could have said that I was in Croatia at the time, because I was holidaying in Dubrovnik, or rather, Kupari. And yes, I was. I was there.

A. He was the head, and he talked to me about his personal conflict with Janackovic, and that was in March. He had these clashes with Janackovic, who was his boss. He had an office right next to Janackovic in the old building of the MUP of Serbia in Knez Milos Street, and he told me about his clashes with Janackovic. After that, Janackovic left, and he was the head. Whether his title was "head" or "chief" or whatever it was, I don't know.

Q. Oh, I see. So you say he had an office in the MUP building of ¹³⁵⁰⁴ Serbia; is that right?

A. The MUP of Serbia had a new building in Knez Milos Street, and his office where he received me was in the old building. Now, whether it was the MUP building, but it was an old building right next door to the new MUP building of Serbia.

JUDGE MAY: One at a time.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. All right. Very well. I heard in part of your testimony that he had an office in my office or, rather, in the building of the Serbian state Presidency, and now I hear he has an office in the MUP of Serbia, and this is quite a large evolution in comparison to your previous statement.

A. In September 1991, his seat was in his office next to Goran Milinovic, I think the man's name was, your man, your chef de cabinet, and he personally showed me, before I arrived at my meeting with you, the reporting room. It was a semi-oval room with a table in it. It had a stand for a map, and the room was empty. And that was in September 1991. And I met him in your office there in the autumn of 1991 and once more, I think. I said that he was in your office in March with Bogdanovic. I met him there once again in September 1994. I met him in your offices. You had invited him to come in April 1995.

Q. All right. When I ask you that, you can tell me your answers. Very well, Mr. Croatia-061.

A. And he had an office later on --

JUDGE MAY: Witness C-061, let the accused finish his question and ¹³⁵⁰⁵ don't interrupt. He should not interrupt you.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I apologise, Your Honour. He interrupted me.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. All right. Let's put it that way. I interrupted you. That's just as exact as what you were saying beforehand.

JUDGE MAY: Don't comment either.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] All right. Very well.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Now, you were mentioning a moment ago that there was some parallel military units set up by them and led by them, and my question to you is the following: Are you aware, do you know that as far as Serbia is concerned - now I'm being quite specific here, Serbia - as far as Serbia is concerned, paramilitary units were only set up by opposition parties? Do you know that? Are you aware of that, Mr. C-061?

A. I am aware of the fact that Serbia or, rather, you, via Jovica Stanisic, Radmilo Bogdanovic, and Franko Simatovic nicknamed Frenki, formed volunteer units, detachments, in the SAO Krajina starting with April 1991, and I know that you instructed and linked up the Secretariat of the Interior or, rather, the police stations on the territory of SAO Krajina, and also that you, through them, set up special units, the ones that the Assembly of Krajina, on the 29th of May, 1991, called the Krajina Milicija, militia.

Q. So the formation of your Krajina police force you considered to be the formation of a paramilitary formation. ¹³⁵⁰⁶ ^{BLANK PAGE} ¹³⁵⁰⁷

A. It was a paramilitary formation because it was not under the control of the government.

Q. How can the police SAO Krajina not be under the control of the government?

A. Well, in the way I explained. It had the right of might and was not subjected to a government that did not have sufficient might.

Q. All right. And what about the Minister of the Interior? Was he at the head of that police force?

A. I explained how he came to be the Minister of the Interior.

Q. Well, you explained that he was nominated and appointed by the Assembly. That's what you said.

A. In such a way that this was done by force, because he didn't wish to hand over his authority which the DB of Serbia and he himself had set up, the structure he had set up.

Q. Is it a fact that Milan Martic was appointed by the Assembly of Krajina to the post of Minister of the Interior? Is that a fact?

A. I said that he even took an oath of office, but he didn't want to. I apologise. He was appointed Minister of Defence, but he didn't want to hand over the Ministry of the Interior, and he took over this position by force.

Q. The Assembly decided that he should hold both posts?

A. In formal and legal terms, the Assembly did grant him both posts because he demanded that and took it by force, and did he not hand over the other office to the Minister of Defence who was supposed to take charge of the special militia. ¹³⁵⁰⁸

Q. Was any information ever published about this or was anybody informed of the fact that this decision by the Assembly of the Krajina on the appointment of Martic came about by force and that he did this by force?

A. It's the people who took part in all this who know that.

Q. You are explaining your quarrels to us as if they are political events. What do I care about your quarrels?

A. These were not quarrels. This was the way you controlled and influenced events in the Krajina. You took over the armed forces in the Krajina through the DB and through Martic.

Q. Since I took over under power in the Krajina, what were you doing there?

A. Fighting for the Krajina in -- by political means and taking part in those armed formations that were defending the Krajina.

Q. Well, let's go back to the paramilitary units. You say that what became the Krajina police was in fact a paramilitary formation. Do you know anything about paramilitary formations? Who set them up? Did the parties you cooperated with, and that was the entire opposition in Serbia, was it they who set up the paramilitary units in Krajina?

A. As far as I'm concerned, I started cooperating with the opposition in Serbia in 1993. In 1991, up to March, we supported you and your policy, and we did this publicly.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Would you please take a look at page SA035981, which you handed ¹³⁵⁰⁹ over as an exhibit. When I say "you," I'm referring to the OTP. I don't know whether you personally gave it to them since you also belonged to the other side.

JUDGE MAY: Now, that's a quite unnecessary comment. Can you identify, so that we can have it for the record, what this is and we'll find the number.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I want to read what it says here, as Ratko Mladic, the Commander of the Knin Corps, is sending his daily combat report to the commander of the 2nd Military District in Zagreb.

JUDGE MAY: What is the date of this document and the author?

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The date is the 8th of April, 1992, and it says:

"In the town of Knin and in the units, leaflets have turned up -" I'm reading slowing - "calling on citizens to attend the ceremonial launching of the brigade of the Serbian army in the village of Kosovo. Another brigade will be established in Lika, and the organisers forming these forces are," and then these are listed. And this was scheduled to take place at a certain time in 1992.

And then it says: "The corps command, with the Main Staff of the Territorial Defence and the police of the Republika Srpska Krajina, have taken appropriate measures to suppress these intentions." So they have taken measures to thwart this.

JUDGE MAY: I'm going to stop you. It's important that everybody else at a least has a copy of what you're reading from. Is this an exhibit? ¹³⁵¹⁰ Can you help, Ms. Uertz-Retzlaff, as to what this is?

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: I do not think that this is an exhibit, and we are trying to find the document with the help of the number given, but at the moment we are not yet successful. We don't know what it is at the moment.

JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, was this one of the documents which were exhibited by the Prosecution or not?

THE ACCUSED: No, Mr. May. This is disclosure Rule 68, 31 October.

JUDGE MAY: Very well. Very well. We'll try and track it down. Witness C-061, can you follow what's being put?

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I can assume what this refers to. If it refers to April 1992, I can assume what this is about. Is the date correct, April 1992?

JUDGE MAY: 8th of April, 1992. Yes, Mr. Milosevic. Finish your question which I interrupted.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Can you comment on the fact that obviously the corps command and the Territorial Defence Staff and the police of the Krajina are taking appropriate steps to thwart these intentions of forming wildcat renegade brigade? And as you can see in this text, because I can't say your name, C-061, you yourself were the organiser of this. And Mladic responded, and the police responded in order to prevent this -- this running wild in the Krajina. Here it is. This was sent to the corps command and yet you are ¹³⁵¹¹ talking of paramilitary formations.

JUDGE MAY: Let the witness answer. Yes, you can comment on that.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, I can. The question was put in the context of cooperation with the opposition in Serbia, but now I also see that it comes within the context of paramilitary structures. The events that took place in April 1992 on Dalmatinsko Kosovo near Knin was the formation of the so-called Serbian army when the Petar Mrkonjic unit was established.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Allow me one question about this. You organised this Petar Mrkonjic Brigade, didn't you?

A. No. If you mean personally, no, I didn't.

Q. I mean you personally organised it.

A. No.

Q. You say you didn't. I will prove that you did. And secondly, is it correct that this brigade consisted entirely of criminals recruited by you?

A. Please may I answer?

JUDGE MAY: Yes, answer. You've already said that you weren't the organiser, so you needn't answer that, but you can give an explanation, if you wish.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This brigade was organised by part of the Regional Board of the SDS headed by Ljubica Solaja and Cubrilo. I personally attended that gathering and gave my support, for political ¹³⁵¹² reasons. In my estimation, this was a political demonstration and a protest against the demilitarisation of the Krajina. I can explain my personal and political reasons to the Court, if necessary, for doing this, but in closed session.

JUDGE MAY: Of course. You can just help us, though, as to what this brigade was. It's been alleged that it was a brigade of criminals. What was it?

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This was a political protest against the demilitarisation of the Krajina.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. May, the witness said that he could explain this but that he had to do so in closed session. I agree. Let us go into closed session for a minute, because I would really like to hear his explanation.

JUDGE MAY: Very well. Yes.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'd like to hear his explanation.

[Private session]

[redacted]

[redacted] ¹³⁵¹³ Pages 13513-13523 - redacted - private session

¹³⁵²⁴

[redacted]

--- Recess taken at 10.30 a.m.

--- On resuming at 10.55 a.m.

[redacted]

[Open session]

THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, we're in open session.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Let us clear up this business around Franko Simatovic, as you are accusing him of participating in the so-called parallel structure. Do you know what his position was in the State Security Service of Serbia?

A. First of all, I'm not accusing anyone. I'm just saying what I know. Secondly, I know that Franko Simatovic was subordinated to Jovica Stanisic and that you advocated, requested, demanded that he be in Krajina. You said that he was a good guy.

Q. Will you please answer my question. What was his position in the ¹³⁵²⁵ State Security Service of Serbia?

A. He was subordinated to Jovica Stanisic.

Q. Very well. Do you know that he was head of the Intelligence Administration?

A. On one occasion before the events in August 1991, you mentioned a man from the administration. I don't remember which number you used. You used a number, the second or third administration, and you said that there were certain criticisms about an individual as to why he was heading that service whereas he was a Croat by ethnicity. And then you said his father was a partisan and that he had chased the Ustashas and that he was a good guy.

At the time, I didn't know who you were talking about. Later on, I learnt that you meant Franko Simatovic, who was a Croat.

Q. Very well. Now you've added another fact. Do you consider that someone who is by ethnicity a Croat had ill-intentions towards the Croats, the Croatian people to which he himself belonged?

A. What are you asking me?

Q. I'm asking you whether you believe, since you yourself have said that he has said that he's a Croat --

JUDGE MAY: Mr. Milosevic, it's not a proper question, that. It's a pure comment. The witness can give evidence about facts as he knows them, and he's given the evidence about this man. That's purely a comment that you're making.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation] ¹³⁵²⁶ ^{BLANK PAGE} ¹³⁵²⁷

Q. I asked: Do you know whether Franko Simatovic was head of the Intelligence Administration?

A. I don't know what he was head of. I know he was subordinated to Jovica Stanisic and to you.

Q. That he was subordinated to Jovica Stanisic goes without saying, as he worked in the state security service. And from the time that Stanisic became head of the state security, he was certainly subordinated to him. But I asked you whether you knew that he was head of the Intelligence Administration, which means that he collected intelligence.

A. I said what I know.

Q. Very well. You said that from the DB of Serbia certain parallel structures had been formed, and you listed all people from Krajina, not from the DB of Serbia; Martic, Vitas, Orlovic, Nebojsa, Martinovic or whatever, and so on. And since you are claiming that the DB of Serbia was omnipresent there, tell me, throughout that five-year period, can you list people, ten names from the DB of Serbia who may have come to Krajina even for ten minutes throughout that five-year period? Can you give us those names?

A. Just now I can remember Jovica Stanisic, Franko Simatovic, Fica, Captain Dragan.

Q. Excuse me. What has Captain Dragan got to do with it?

JUDGE MAY: Let the witness -- let the witness finish what he's saying, then you can ask the questions.

Now, are there any other names that you want to add, Witness C-061, to those names? ¹³⁵²⁸

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Marko, I think, from later years. Just now I can't think of any other names.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. I see. So you've listed four names of which Jovica Stanisic was based in Belgrade.

A. I've said about Jovica Stanisic, who told me that Captain Dragan was in their service in August 1991, and he even mentioned some money.

Q. He couldn't have told you that, because Captain Dragan was never in the state security service.

A. Please. I ask the Court to be allowed to answer the question.

Q. Who is preventing you?

A. Jovica Stanisic told me that in August 1991 in the Seher restaurant in Belgrade.

Q. Very well. That's what you say. You say he told you.

A. Well, his wife was there too, and she was born in the environs of Knin.

Q. All right. Fine. That's great. You were at a private lunch with Jovica Stanisic and his wife.

A. He invited me to explain to me that Captain Dragan was a very strong-headed man and that they found it difficult to control him. Hot-headed.

Q. Well, how could they have trouble in bringing to heel somebody who belonged to their own service?

A. Well, they wanted to divert attention from Frenki. I asked you to withdraw Frenki from this structure, and they wanted a public debate with ¹³⁵²⁹ Captain Dragan and people from the Krajina, as if this were a political conflict, to make it appear as if Captain Dragan was a political personage and not a member of the DB of Serbia.

Q. Well, you know whether he was a political figure or not, but you do know that he wasn't a member of the DB of Serbia.

A. I know he was in the service of the DB of Serbia.

Q. Neither was he in the service of the DB of Serbia, but let's leave that alone and let's move on.

You were shown here a solution or, rather, a judgement by the court in Sibenik where an investigation was launched, and you stated your views about that. I think that was in open session. I think it was the judgement of the court in Sibenik that we were talking about. And the number of that document was 01397042.

JUDGE MAY: Have we got that document?

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Have you got the document. Right.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. You said, as far as I was able to jot down --

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: I just want to clarify whether it is the court in Split or Sibenik, and we would have to go into private session if that is the judgement referring to the leadership of the Republika -- the leadership of the RSK, because that was discussed in private session.

JUDGE MAY: Sibenik was referred to.

MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] May I assist the Court, Your Honours?

JUDGE MAY: Yes. ¹³⁵³⁰

MR. TAPUSKOVIC: [Interpretation] It is the arrest warrant for Milan Martic and the document that attends it.

JUDGE MAY: Have we got the document?

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Yes, Your Honour. It's Exhibit 352, tab 111B, and it was discussed in open session.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. Thank you.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] So it was in open session, I gather.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Now, have you read the document in detail?

A. If I remember correctly, if that is the document that I'm thinking of, there are two parts to the document. One part relates to crimes and the second to political crimes, if that is the document I'm thinking of.

JUDGE MAY: Let the witness just have a look at the document.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] This is a decision made by the District Court in Sibenik, and the decision is to launch an investigation, and it is indeed in two parts in the explanations given. The first part relates to the person in question, and the second statement are reasons, and under number 1 it enumerates crimes, and under 2 it is for political crimes.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please, for Mr. Milosevic.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Is this a public session, an open session? Are we in open session?

JUDGE MAY: Yes.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Very well. ¹³⁵³¹

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. So this decision was discussed in open session. Do you recall that in your examination-in-chief you stated, when you were shown this decision, this decree, that the facts were correct? That's what you stated.

A. Under what is listed in point 1 and point 2.

Q. All right. Very well. So let's look at point 1. It says the following, that from October to the present day, having formed an association of the so-called Council of People's Resistance... From October 1990 until today. So that is the Council of People's Resistance, or National Resistance. And you said that the facts contained therein were correct. Now, if the facts are indeed correct - and according to what you say, they are - then it is also true that the person under number 1 here, listed under number 1, was accused, and an investigation was launched against him. Is that correct, Mr. C-061?

A. I said who the members of the Council of National Resistance were, and when questioned before this Tribunal, in my testimony, and over the past few days I spoke about the facts that I am aware of, stemming from this decision: the mining of the kiosk, and so on.

Q. Please, I'm asking you the following: You gave a very brief answer during the examination-in-chief. When you were shown and presented with these facts and this decision, you said that the facts were correct. Now, the fact stands here that the Council of People's Resistance, as it says here, and as you can see, you are considered responsible. Is that right or is it not? ¹³⁵³²

JUDGE MAY: We'll go into private session.

[Private session]

[redacted]

[redacted] ¹³⁵³³ Page 13533 - redacted - private session

¹³⁵³⁴ Page 13534 - redacted - private session

¹³⁵³⁵

[redacted]

[Open session] ¹³⁵³⁶

THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for Mr. Milosevic, please.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Mr. C-061, what parallel structure are you talking about then?

A. A structure which was not under the control of the government and the Assembly of the SAO Krajina.

Q. Well, I see here that this is precisely, this document that I showed you, is precisely evidence of the opposite, proof of the opposite, that you had that control and not Jovica Stanisic or Franko Simatovic, that it was you yourself.

A. This was a document that was in keeping with the provisions of SAO Krajina and its regulations.

Q. Well, I'm not challenging that. I'm saying that in keeping with the rules and regulations, you functioned to the full possible extent and not that the parallel structure was in operation.

A. This was outside the line of parallel structure. This was along the lines of, first, a political decision to establish the Territorial Defence for SAO Krajina as an independent armed formation under the control of the organs of the SAO Krajina and one which would, in combat, function on the basis of the laws of Yugoslavia and the principles of a total national defence, or, rather, which would, should a war break out, be placed under the command of the competent structures within the JNA and the Yugoslav state Presidency during combat, in fighting. And it was be on the basis of the laws that would be applied as of the 1st of October. The political concept was that this structure should be the ¹³⁵³⁷ ^{BLANK PAGE} ¹³⁵³⁸ exclusive control of the autonomous -- the autonomous control of the legal organs of the SAO Krajina.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.

JUDGE MAY: There's a point being made.

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Yes, Your Honour. It's a technical point --

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone for Ms. Uertz-Retzlaff.

MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: We have just found that it is already in evidence, and it is Exhibit 352, tab 118.

JUDGE MAY: Thank you. Remove the earlier number. Yes.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. All right. Let's go back for a moment to the map that you started off with and its background, because there are a lot of facts on it. I should just like you to comment briefly.

Now, the introductory text that we received from you as to how the Republic of Srpska Krajina came into being, and according to this photocopy that I have here, it is on page 01132357. And it says here: "With the evermore aggressive Croatian chauvinism, the Serb people, in 1989, responded with the formation of the Serbian Cultural and Arts Society, named Zora, in Kistanje, and rallying ranks around national symbols and myths."

Is that correct? Just answer yes or no.

JUDGE MAY: Let's see if the witness has got the passage first. Have you got it, Witness C-061?

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I do now.

JUDGE MAY: Page 9. ¹³⁵³⁹

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] It's correct that the Serbian Cultural Society --

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Please answer with yes or no, because there's no time for you to explain everything. I've read your quotation. Just tell me whether it's correct or not.

A. Conditionally speaking, because I don't know what the word "Croatian chauvinism" means here in this context. We used the word "Croatian nationalism" and "ethnocentrism." What the author wanted to say here, I don't know. The rest is correct.

Q. Very well. Now, please comment on the following passage where it says:

"The Croatian communist government, which together with the clerical nationalists sought for a way in which to trick the Serbs, responded with arrests."

Is this correct? In 1989, you created the Serbian Cultural Society Zora in Kistanje, and the government responded with arrests. Is that correct or not?

A. The arrests came about not because the Zora Society was established but because of the incidents that occurred at the celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo near Knin when Zoran Jovan Opacic, the president of the Zora association, was arrested and a number other participants were detained.

Q. That was in June 1989; is that correct?

A. Yes, when your pictures first appeared in Knin. ¹³⁵⁴⁰

Q. And then they say: "However, the nucleus around which the Serbian people will articulate their political platform was offered by the Serbian Democratic Party which was founded on the 17th of February, 1990, and Jovan Raskovic was elected its president."

Is this correct?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Then it says that: "This party was transformed into a movement of the Serbs, especially after the HDZ won the elections in Croatia in 1990, and their first step was the formation of paramilitary formations and illegal arming, and their platform was founded on secession and threats against the Serbian people." Is this correct or not?

A. Well, I don't know whether it was the first or the second step, the one that refers to the establishment of the paramilitary formations and illegal arming by the Croatian government, but the police formations and the increase in the number of policemen carried out by the Croatian government was understood by the Serbs as being paramilitary formations, and it was so understood by the JNA as well. And there were associations of citizens belonging to the HDZ. And this was spoken of at the time.

Q. And what was the National Guard Corps? Was that the police?

A. As far as I know, this was a police formation, but it was set up like an army. In other words, on organisational terms, it was a military formation but by its position it was part of the Ministry of the Interior of Croatia.

Q. Well, then, tell me -- see what it says here: ¹³⁵⁴¹ "Immediately after taking power, Franjo Tudjman and the clerical nationalists started introducing the symbols and signs of the Independent State of Croatia from World War II, opening up old wounds and inciting fear, often Ustasha genocide."

A. The second sentence, "Franjo Tudjman and the clerical nationalists, immediately after taking over power, started with a party-of-right programme," this is exaggerated.

Q. When was the HDZ established?

A. The HDZ was established in late 1989, and it was legalised a year later. Yes, in 1989.

Q. Did you read the platform of the HDZ?

A. I heard what it was. I also listened to Franjo Tudjman speaking on Zagreb television during the pre-election campaign, explaining the party platform.

Q. And did you read then in the party platform that there was a historical chance of establishing an independent state?

A. I listened to Franjo Tudjman on television saying that Croatia had an irregular geographical shape. It was boomerang shaped, and that it should be shaped by drawing a line along the River Drina. And he showed this on a map. So his conception was that Croatia should consist of the then-Republic of Croatia and the then-Socialist Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Q. So this was the territory that used to be the Independent State of Croatia during World War II.

A. As far as I know about history and the tales of people who were ¹³⁵⁴² alive at the time, this was the territory covered by the Independent State of Croatia which also covered Srem, but the NDH did not cover a long part of the Primorje region which, when Yugoslavia was divided up by the fascist powers, belonged to Italy.

Q. I'm speaking of the second part. Tell me, then, is it correct that what it says here further on, the Serbian Assembly in Srb, on the 25th of July, 1990, issued a declaration on the autonomy of the Serbs in Croatia and a plebiscite of the Serbian people starting from the Avnoj decisions and the rights of nations and peoples to self-determination without denying this right to others. Is this correct?

A. Yes, it is.

Q. Then it says: "The attempt by the Croatian police to hinder the plebiscite by force, to stop it, and the events of the 17th of August, 1990, marked the beginning of the armed struggle of the Serbs for survival on their ethnic and historical territories."

Is this correct?

A. Yes, it's correct.

THE INTERPRETER: Would the speakers please slow down for the interpreters.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. But --

JUDGE MAY: You're both being asked to slow down for the interpreters.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] I haven't finished. Could you ¹³⁵⁴³ please allow me to finish.

On the 17th of August, the resistance to the attempts to prevent the referendum began, and later on during October 1991, this grew into -- into the causing of incidents by the Serbs in Croatia.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. This referendum, what I read to you, was this initiated by someone from Serbia or was it a spontaneous reaction by you in the Krajina?

A. As far as I know, Serbia got involved in these events in such a way as to help the Serbs to organise a plebiscite. Serbia helped to define correctly the question that was to be put at the referendum in order for it to be within a legal framework. Serbia guaranteed with the JNA that the plebiscite, as we called it, or the vote, would actually be carried out.

Serbia later got involved in these events in order to use them for its own purposes. This political conflict was used by Serbia, which got involved by setting up a parallel structure and causing incidents with a view to getting the JNA involved and the federal state to intervene in order to introduce a state of emergency and suspend the Croatian government.

Q. These are your assumptions.

A. May I be allowed to reply?

Q. These are your assumptions as to what happened and what the responses were. Was the initiative -- did it come from Serbia or was it a logical reaction to the pressures and the repression to which the Serbs were exposed from the very beginning? Is this correct or not? ¹³⁵⁴⁴

A. What I said was not my assumption. These are facts for which I have personal knowledge and which I heard from the academician Mr. Raskovic. There are minutes from a session where he said that these clashes -- and he was speaking on the 10th of September in Srb in the evening, and he said there was a third party who wanted conflicts to break out in Croatia, that there were those in Yugoslavia who are bloodthirsty and who want to make use of the clash between the Serbs and the Croats in Croatia to introduce a state of emergency. These are facts, not my assumptions.

Q. Who was he referring to, since you are putting forward these facts? Who in Yugoslavia was able to introduce a state of emergency in Croatia, and who was it who was bloodthirsty?

A. Legally, it could be done by the Presidency of Yugoslavia, or it could be done by the JNA illegally.

Q. Did Raskovic criticise the JNA?

A. He said, literally, that it was a third party who wanted a conflict, not the Serbs and the Croats in Croatia. But I quote what he said: In Yugoslavia there are those who are bloodthirsty and who want to make use of this conflict to have a state of emergency introduced on that territory. And everybody knows who was able to introduce a state of emergency.

Q. You said that Raskovic criticised the army as being impotent.

A. Raskovic criticised you, and in February 1992, he said that the army was weak. In February, after the Spegelj affair, when the army did not arrest Spegelj nor introduce a state of emergency in Croatia, he ¹³⁵⁴⁵ doubted that the army was able to do this. The army did this in a way later organised by you, starting on the 1st of March, 1991, and onwards; as far as I know, from April and May 1991 onwards.

Q. What was it that I organised from April and May 1991?

A. You organised a parallel structure in the Krajina to cause incidents, and then you deployed the army on the confrontation line, in May 1991.

[redacted]

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. -- what is on the map, when the Croatian parliament, the 25th of December, 1990, in brackets, proclaimed Croatia the national state of the Croats and declared the Serbs to be a national minority.

A. I brought this in order -- this map in order to show what the factual situation was and to show the participation of the JNA and the results of the war in the Krajina because of this. And I can comment on what the author here said; the cup runneth over and all of that, this is a literary way of expressing oneself. The rest is correct. In the constitution of 1990, Croatia excluded the Serbs as a constituent nation in the Republic of Croatia. That is correct.

Q. Well, let us go back to the position of the Croats. You said that the government of the Krajina would never do to the Croats what the Ustasha government had done to the Serbs, and that the Croats were safe on the territory of the Krajina. And you even complained that the Croatian ¹³⁵⁴⁶ government was offering luxury hotels, Solaris near Sibenik, and Medena near Trogir, to accommodate citizens from those areas in order to get them away from the territory of the Krajina, and that this was a sly move --

JUDGE MAY: If we're to follow these questions, we need to know what you're referring to, and I take it you're referring to the witness's evidence. If so, you should put the matter shortly to him so he can follow it.

Have you followed this, Witness C-061, what the accused has put to you?

Start again, Mr. Milosevic. What's the question?

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Mr. C-061, is it true that you all said to us in Belgrade that there was nothing for us to worry about because no one would touch a single Croat over there, that the Croats were equal in the Krajina, and that you had no intention of doing what the Ustasha government was doing to the Serbs outside of Krajina? Is that what you all said?

A. As far as I can remember, you were asked to say how you intended to protect the Serbs, that is, to carry out your promise that they would be protected by the JNA. As far as I know, that's what the discussions with you were about.

JUDGE MAY: No. Witness, listen to the question. What is said is that you and others were saying they were not to worry, Croats were equal in the Krajina, there was no intention of doing what the Ustasha government was doing to the Serbs. Was that ever said?

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Yes, things to that effect were ¹³⁵⁴⁷ said. What events exactly were referred to, I don't know, but if it would be put to me, I would comment on it, in early 1991. I have to say that the rhetoric, especially public rhetoric, escalated starting from 1990 and early 1991, after the Spegelj affair, after the outbreak of armed clashes, especially after the outbreak of war operations in the autumn of 1991. The mutual rhetoric, both Serbian and Croatian, escalated, so that in the 1990s, from the Serb side and the Serb Krajina side, the Croatian government and Tudjman and all their supporters were called Ustasha; and on the other hand, the Croatian authorities referred to the JNA as a Serbo-Chetnik army. So there was an escalation of rhetoric from 1990 to the autumn of 1991.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Very well, then. Do you remember that when we asked you questions, saying: If that is so - and we are glad to hear that you are making sure that nobody should be in jeopardy - why are Croatian families moving out of Krajina? And you answered: Tudjman is offering them luxury hotels: Solaris, near Sibenik, on the coast; Medena, near Trogir. These are large hotels. I personally visited them in the old days. And this is attractive to them, so they wish to give the impression that we are doing something against them, and that is not true.

Is that true, that that was how you answered our questions?

JUDGE MAY: We'll go into private session.

[Private session]

[redacted]

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¹³⁵⁵¹ Page 13551 - redacted - private session

¹³⁵⁵²

[redacted]

[Open session]

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I don't see a single reason, Mr. May. You asked for us to go into private session.

THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Is it clear that in 1991 the JNA was legally present within the territory of SFRY, regardless which territories in Croatia we're talking about, not only the territories that are on the map marked as territories of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, but in many cities throughout Croatia, where it had been for 50 years? Is that right or not?

A. What is the question: whether the JNA was the legal army of SFRY?

Q. Yes. Throughout the territory of Croatia, not just Krajina. I'm talking about its legal presence throughout the territory of Croatia.

A. Well, my God. The JNA was the armed forces of SFRY, of course.

Q. Fine.

A. Only it performed illegal acts as of August 1991.

Q. As to what is legal and illegal, let's leave that for later. But you say that in autumn 1991, you wanted to negotiate with the Croatian side, but no talks occurred because of your personal weaknesses. ¹³⁵⁵³ Is that right?

A. I don't understand the question.

Q. You said -- you gave explanations that you wanted to talk.

A. When?

Q. In the autumn of 1991, with the Croatian side. Is that right? You spoke about that here in this courtroom.

A. Yes, there was an opportunity through the international conference to establish a dialogue with Croatia and resolve the issue. That's what I did say. It was a good chance, but unfortunately, it was a missed opportunity, and I was one of those who made errors and omissions not to take advantage of that opportunity. It was a good opportunity.

Q. Yes. You could have answered simply with a yes without going into all those explanations.

You said that you had proposed that Krajina should be a Zupanja in Croatia.

A. In 1990, during the discussions on the new constitution of the Republic of Croatia.

Q. And is it true that up to the formation of the Serbian Democratic Party in Glina and when you became one of the top leaders, you were an official of the League of Communists of Croatia? Is that right?

A. I was in the League of Communists of Croatia, and I held certain positions which I have already mentioned here in this Tribunal at the beginning of my testimony.

Q. Will you please answer with a yes or no so that we can save time. You've already said yes with a rather lengthy, complex sentence. So -- ¹³⁵⁵⁴

A. In substance, no, because when you say "official," that means somebody with executive powers in the body of the League of Communists, starting from the Municipal Committee through the Regional Committees, the Central Committee, et cetera, et cetera. So when you say an official, you mean someone with executive powers in the structure of the League of Communists. So my answer is no, or exactly what I said in answering your question for the first time.

Q. Are you claiming then that you were not in the Presidency of the Municipal Committee of Glina?

A. No.

Q. Were you an official of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and, as such, a delegate at the congress of the League of Communists of Croatia?

JUDGE MAY: We'll deal with this in private session.

[Private session]

[redacted]

[redacted] ¹³⁵⁵⁵ Pages 13555-13561 - redacted - private session

¹³⁵⁶²

[redacted]

[Open session]

THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session, Your Honours.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. You started explaining something to do with the president of the SDS, Jovan Raskovic, which is incorrect, and therefore, I want to ask you the following. I think I can do this in open session. I won't mention your name. ¹³⁵⁶³ Is it correct that you held it against Jovan Raskovic that he went to Zagreb and had talks with Franjo Tudjman and other leaders in Croatia?

A. There were two members in the Main Board. Both were vice-presidents of the party. One was the president of the Executive Board. And they laid great emphasis on such things. There was also a discussion at the Main Board of the party. Jovan Opacic, Zelenbaba, Branko Peric, and several other people asked that Jovan Raskovic be replaced, but they did not gain the support of the majority at that session of the Main Board. Jovan Raskovic was not dismissed. These people left the SDS after that session and went to the Serbian Renewal Movement of Draskovic. They said that the SDS was the Serbian infantry, that it was weak and inefficient and that they were crossing over to the artillery, to the SBO.

Q. It seems to me that things were somewhat different from this. You criticised Jovan Raskovic strongly because of some compromising statements he made in his talks with Tudjman.

A. You probably mean other talks he had later on.

Q. I'm referring to your attacks on Jovan Raskovic. That's what I'm referring to.

A. What attacks? By me or by people from the SDS?

Q. You personally.

A. If you mean me personally, we can discuss that.

Q. Is it correct that it was you, together with someone I will not mention here by name because I would then be in danger of revealing your identity, on his return from America, you not only dismissed him but ¹³⁵⁶⁴ almost hounded him out of the Krajina, out of the SDS, out of all public life; is that correct?

A. First of all, Jovan Raskovic did not live in the Krajina. He lived in Sibenik. Secondly, Dobrica Cosic suggested that he go to Belgrade for certain reasons. And thirdly, the HDZ in Sibenik organised the signing of a petition against Raskovic, Marko Dobrijevic and Branko Popovic. And fourthly, from late 1990, a so-called Krajina faction of the SDS began to emerge within the SDS.

Jovan Raskovic was never dismissed. He died as the president of the SDS in 1992.

Q. Is it correct that it is because of their disagreement with you in the way that Jovan Raskovic was treated that these people, Opacic and Zelenbaba, the people you mentioned who were co-founders of your party, left the party and went over to the SBO? Is this correct?

A. At the moment they were leaving the SDS, I was very close with President Raskovic. They were one faction, and then later on, a harder faction, a pro-Milosevic faction which supported you was established consisting of Marko Dobrijevic and Petar Stikavac who were its leaders, and that's why Jovan Raskovic dismissed them in February 1991. After that, a faction was set up consisting of the Regional Board of the Krajina SDS and President Raskovic said that this was a faction which was not eliminated but tolerated because we were a democratic party. And several political options were allowed. President Raskovic said that anyone who uses his own head thinks a little differently from the next person. ¹³⁵⁶⁵

Q. It seems to me that you mentioned here that I had something against Raskovic, but now you explained that he left for quite different reasons and under quite different circumstances. And now you're saying that there were some SDS members who supported me at the elections. But why did I need their support in Knin when I was running at the elections in Serbia?

A. There are two things: Firstly, in February 1991, you said that Jovan Raskovic should be dismissed. I told you personally he could not be dismissed; he was a popular leader. Secondly, you were waging an election campaign in Serbia in 1991 for the parliament, as the Socialist Party of Serbia, and you yourself were running for president. You had a conflict with the national opposition, and it certainly suited you to have the support of a party defining itself as a democratic and a Serbian party. This suited you politically, in order to gain support among the voters in Serbia, you and your party.

Q. C-061, you said just a moment ago that in 1990 the reach of this party went only as far as Knin and maybe several kilometres beyond Knin.

A. In early 1990, in the elections up to -- leading up to May, but after that, the party founded its first committee in Belgrade and another in Novi Sad. And just before the elections in Serbia, the independent SDS of Serbia was established, which took part in the elections.

Q. Your party was in the opposition at the elections in Serbia.

A. Part of the party split away and established an independent SDS of Serbia, taking part in the elections in Serbia, and part of the people and the Main Board of the central SDS party in Knin supported you, and that is ¹³⁵⁶⁶ a fact.

Q. Very well. They supported me probably in their thoughts, because, as you know, we won those elections by a landslide.

A. The support was in the media. I don't know what media transmitted this.

THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. Tell me, please, since you are denying that you drove Raskovic out --

A. That was your campaign, your underhand campaign, to disqualify him politically.

JUDGE MAY: This argument is of no assistance to us, in which you both interrupt each other. It's impossible to follow. Now, we're going to adjourn again for 20 minutes.

--- Recess taken at 12.15 p.m.

--- On resuming at 12.39 p.m.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. We'll sit now until 2.00, and I understand the Prosecution may want a few moments at the end.

MR. NICE: Just a couple of minutes.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Milosevic.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. To continue: It follows that Raskovic was not handed from Knin in your struggles for political prestige but for other reasons; is that right? ¹³⁵⁶⁷

A. To the best of my knowledge, yes.

Q. Explain, then, whether you launched a campaign in 1995 to replace the then Prime Minister, Borislav Mikelic.

A. In 1995, or rather, in 1994, with the replacement of Mikelic -- actually, this was initiated by the president, the then president of Srpska Krajina, and he was replaced in 1995, in June, I think it was. Mikelic was the Prime Minister, and he had a minority in the Assembly of the RSK.

Q. I didn't ask you about the dates. I have the dates here. What I asked you was whether you were at the head of the campaign to have Mikelic replaced, you and your party.

A. If by that you mean whether there was a political decision to that effect, to have Borislav Mikelic replaced before there was a vote in the Assembly, the answer is yes.

JUDGE MAY: No. That wasn't the question. The question was: Were you at the head of a campaign? Now, it is a fairly straightforward question, Witness C-061, so perhaps you could just answer it simply.

THE WITNESS: [Interpretation] Well, I can, if you tell me what is meant by "campaign." What does the word "campaign" imply?

JUDGE MAY: Let's go into private session. It's a perfectly clear word, what "campaign" means.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Please, just a moment in open session before we go into private session.

THE INTERPRETER: [Interpretation] Microphone for the accused, please. ¹³⁵⁶⁸ ^{BLANK PAGE} ¹³⁵⁶⁹

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] As you want us to go into private session, I'd like to ask one more question in open session, before we go to private session, so that we can clarify some circumstances with regard to the answer I'm going to get to my next question.

MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]

Q. What I want you to explain is this, the circumstances surrounding -- or rather[redacted]

[redacted]

A. It is not correct.

THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] A private session, please.

JUDGE MAY: Yes, we'll go into private session now.

[Private session]

[redacted]

[redacted] ¹³⁵⁷⁰ Pages 13570-13612 - redacted - private session

¹³⁶¹³

[redacted]

[Open session]

THE REGISTRAR: We are in open session.

MR. NICE: There will not now be time to conclude the evidence of the witness next listed before Christmas, and the decision has been taken that it would be inappropriate to have his evidence in two parts. He will therefore not now be taken until January at the earliest, and we will find and identify by Thursday morning at the latest other witnesses to fill the three plus one days remaining after the conclusion of this witness's evidence, by my calculation, on Friday of next week. ¹³⁶¹⁴

JUDGE MAY: Yes. He's got about 14 hours outstanding.

MR. NICE: That's right. As to the next listed witness, there have been a number of difficulties. It is possible that, in respect of documentary provision, we will apply to the Chamber in the next few days for specific assistance, there being time between now and the date when the witness would be coming to Court for the Chamber to assist in dealing with that, a matter we regard as really non-compliance by the provider. Second point: The chronology that the Chamber required has been prepared and will be served tomorrow. It is at the moment sourced mainly to either the indictments or to the pre-trial brief, but of course the paragraphs in those documents provide further sourcing to raw material for most entries. The Chamber might have wanted to say something to the accused about how he might approach this document. We've sought to make the entries in it, entries in it that should be capable of agreement, and by indicating agreement to those entries, time can be saved, time which will thus be available for evidence in chief and in cross-examination.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. Well, we'll see the chronology when it comes. If there are matters which should not be subject of controversy, we'll invite the accused to agree them. You will let the accused have your list of witnesses, or your next witness, as early as you can, so you can prepare.

MR. NICE: It will be tomorrow afternoon, or Thursday morning at the latest.

JUDGE MAY: Yes. Thank you. Very well. We'll adjourn now. ¹³⁶¹⁵ Witness C-061, would you be back, please, on Monday morning. Monday morning.

--- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 2.06 p.m., to be reconvened on Monday, the 2nd day of December, 2002, at 9.00 a.m.