THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - Dragan Vasiljkovic, witness for the prosecution at the Hague trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, on Thursday testified about the archive of his humanitarian fund, part of which was
entered as evidence, and was cross-examined by the defendant, often contradicting his previous testimony.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - Dragan Vasiljkovic, witness for
the prosecution at the Hague trial of former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic, on Thursday testified about the archive of his
humanitarian fund, part of which was entered as evidence, and was
cross-examined by the defendant, often contradicting his previous
testimony. #L#
Vasiljkovic, a.k.a. Captain Dragan, was the military instructor of
Serb troops in the Krajina region in Croatia in the 1990s. For the
past decade he has headed Captain Dragan's Fund in Belgrade which
helps the families of Serb volunteers killed and wounded in the wars
in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The fund's archive includes 67,000 files with comprehensive data on
units and the place where the person seeking help, or on whose
behalf it is asked, was killed or wounded.
The prosecution entered thousands of pages as evidence against
Milosevic as the files document said units' war path in Croatia and
Bosnia.
Vasiljkovic confirmed the authenticity of data in several files.
Asked by the prosecutor to comment on video footage of Milosevic's
tour of a special unit of Serbia's State Security Service (SDB) in
Kula in 1997, the witnesses was far more subdued in his answers than
yesterday.
Speaking of the recording which confirms the SDB unit was active in
Croatia and Bosnia, Vasiljkovic said "the play was staged for
Milosevic" and that he had no idea as to the origin of claims that
the unit had 5,000 members and about its "engagement in Benkovac and
Kostajnica, where no battles were fought".
He assessed that showing footage of all members of a secret service
had turned it into a public service.
Milosevic accused the prosecutor of "manipulating protected
witnesses so that I wouldn't have time to gather data on them".
Vasiljkovic said he did not know he would be given witness
protection and that he learned about it just before leaving for The
Hague. Amicus curiae Steven Kay forwarded to the prosecution a
memorandum with remarks about the previous witness, General
Aleksandar Vasiljevic, who had been given witness protection for
part of the testimony.
The prosecutor said there was no manipulation but that delicate
witnesses often asked that their identity be revealed only when
they were about to testify. He said this had been the case with
Vasiljevic. As for Captain Dragan, he said he himself had asked
confidential contacts, while the SDB wanted him out of Yugoslavia
and the accused that he be removed.
The witness was fully cooperative with Milosevic during cross-
examination, as he had been with the prosecutor yesterday,
contradicting parts of his testimony as to the key role the SDB had
played in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia. He said today the role had
been exaggerated.
(hina) ha sb