ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - A former Croatian defence minister, Petar Kriste, spoke on Monday at the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague about an alleged arrangement between the then presidents of Croatia
and Serbia, Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic, in Karadjordjevo in 1991, to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina and attacks by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on Dubrovnik in late 1991.
ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - A former Croatian defence minister, Petar
Kriste, spoke on Monday at the trial of former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague about an alleged arrangement
between the then presidents of Croatia and Serbia, Franjo Tudjman
and Slobodan Milosevic, in Karadjordjevo in 1991, to divide Bosnia-
Herzegovina and attacks by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) on
Dubrovnik in late 1991. #L#
Kriste, formerly a member of Croatia's government of national
unity, said he had been told by his colleagues that Tudjman and
Milosevic might have made an arrangement to divide Bosnia-
Herzegovina, although, he stressed, that had never been officially
confirmed and he had not attended the Karadjordjevo meeting.
At about the same time, he was told by Gojko Susak "on the steps in
the Sabor" that Tudjman "had just decided to annex Herzegovina to
Croatia".
The JNA was trying to implement on the ground the plan on the
creation of Great Serbia along the projected Virovitica-Karlovac-
Karlobag border. As part of that plan, Kriste said, on October 1,
1991, the army attacked Dubrovnik from land, sea and air,
destroying on the first day of the attack the municipal
infrastructure, which left 40,000 people without electricity and
water and severed phone lines.
Kriste said the JNA then occupied the entire area of Dubrovnik,
except from some ten kilometres of the central city area, which was
under siege by 15,000 well-armed soldiers, while the town itself
was defended by some 300-500 Croatian soldiers and armed citizens.
Kriste described how on December 6 a major artillery attack was
launched on Dubrovnik as the last attempt to take the town over.
This was shot by an amateur with a video-camera, which Kriste handed
to the court as evidence. On December 6, 600 projectiles fell on the
city, killing 19 and wounding some 60 people. Nine houses in the
city centre were burned down completely.
Following fierce reactions by the international community, the JNA
command stated that the attack had been launched without its
knowledge, apologised and opened an investigation. On December 7,
an agreement putting an end to the attack was signed. Kriste said he
had not heard that anybody had been punished or accused in the
investigation.
Cross-examining the witness, Milosevic tried to imply that the
conflict in Dubrovnik was caused by Croatia's "militarisation" of
Dubrovnik, in which he said there had been no army presence for
several decades.
The former Croatian defence minister will end his testimony on
Tuesday.
(hina) rml sb