ZAGREB/THE HAGUE, Jan 9 (Hina) - The trial of Slobodan Milosevic before the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal resumed on Thursday when a new witness, a member of the special units of the Serbian Service of the State Security (the
so-called SDB) testified about the assistance Serbia had offered to those units while they had been operating in Croatia.
ZAGREB/THE HAGUE, Jan 9 (Hina) - The trial of Slobodan Milosevic
before the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal resumed on Thursday
when a new witness, a member of the special units of the Serbian
Service of the State Security (the so-called SDB) testified about
the assistance Serbia had offered to those units while they had been
operating in Croatia. #L#
"We enjoyed the full support concerning ammunition, military
uniforms, resources and camps," said the witness who is testifying
under the protected identity as K-2. In 1995 he was conscripted into
SDB special units which were called "the red berets", and was then
deployed in Serb-occupied Croatian areas.
He described close cooperation between the SDB special units'
commander, Frenki Simatovic, and the SDB chief, Jovica Stanisic,
with the Croatian Serb rebels' leadership, including Milan
Martic.
The witness said the "roots of the red berets were in Knin" where
Captain Dragan had conducted the first training of Serb special
forces.
The witness said that at a 1995 meeting of special units, Simatovic
told them that they had to follow all the orders, and added that he
had direct ties with the then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
saying that "the president's door is open" for him.
The Milosvic trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) continued after a two-week-long break
over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The last witness in last
year was the war-time mayor of the Croatian seaside resort of
Dubrovnik, Pero Poljanic.
Milosevic is indicted for crimes against humanity perpetrated
during the war in Croatia and Kosovo and for genocide in Bosnia-
Herzegovina.
During the Croatian section of his trial, 16 prosecution witnesses
have to date taken the witness stand, including the incumbent
Croatian President, Stipe Mesic, a former Montenegrin foreign
minister Nikola Samardzic, some Croatian Serb leaders from early
1990s such as Milan Babic, Serbian reporters, and members of
intelligence services and forces.
They described the Serbian military and financial involvement in
crimes committed in Croatia and Milosevic's control over the
events.
(hina) ms