THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Oct 9 (Hina) - During the war Slobodan Milosevic controlled Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic and he must have known about the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, General Rupert Smith, the
commander of UN peace forces in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) in 1995, said at the trial of ex-Yugoslav and Serbian President Milosevic before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Oct 9 (Hina) - During the war Slobodan Milosevic
controlled Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic
and he must have known about the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in
Srebrenica, General Rupert Smith, the commander of UN peace forces
in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) in 1995, said at the trial of ex-Yugoslav and
Serbian President Milosevic before the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday. #L#
The British general said he had met with the defendant on 15 July
1995 in Belgrade, four days after the fall of the Muslim-populated
eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica. The Belgrade meeting was
also attended by Ratko Mladic, the then commander of the Bosnian
Serb army, and international diplomats Carl Bild and Thorvald
Stoltenberg.
According to Smith, it was clear that Milosevic was superior to
Mladic and called him by his first name, while Mladic addressed
Milosevic with the respect as demonstrated by one's subordinates.
Milosevic must have been told by Mladic what was going on in
Srebrenica, the British general said.
He went to say that he himself was extremely surprised by the
massacre. At a meeting with Mladic he and the Bosnian Serb commander
agreed on the withdrawal of the UN Dutch contingent from the
Potocari base (outside Srebrenica) and the arrival of UNHCR and
ICRC convoys.
The witness added that by making it possible for UN convoys to pass
through Serb territory, the defendant proved his direct connection
with Mladic.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was denied
access for the reason which we all know today, namely that all
people had been killed, the Briton said.
After they overran Srebrenica in mid-July 1995, Serb forces killed
over 7,000 local Muslims.
Testifying about Milosevic's issuing orders to Bosnian Serbs, the
witness spoke about his role in the release of over 300 UN observers
detained by Serbs after NATO strikes against their targets in
1995.
In addition, the Bosnian Serb army completely depended on the
logistic support of the Yugoslav army, including arms delivery and
wages for officers, the witness said.
Corroborating his statement about links between Milosevic and
Mladic, he spoke about the integrated system of anti-aircraft
defence of the then Yugoslavia and Bosnian Serb-controlled areas.
The former UNPROFOR commander testified about the Serb attack on
the Markale market in Sarajevo on 28 August 1995 when 37 citizens
were killed. The event prompted NATO to strike the Bosnian Serb
army's targets.
An investigation proved beyond doubt that the shell which landed at
the Markale market was fired from Bosnian Serb positions. An
analysis of the crater showed the direction and kind of the weapon
from which the shell had been fired and this was confirmed by
experts, Smith told the ICTY.
Milosevic tried to persuade the tribunal that this incident was "a
symbol of deceit", invented by the Bosnian army.
The trial will resume on Tuesday, 14 October.
Earlier on Thursday, amici curiae -- friends of the tribunal -- in
the Milosevic trial asked the trial chamber in this case to extend
deadlines for preparation of the defence and submission of a list of
witnesses and evidence.
Amici curiae Steven Kay and Branislav Tapuskovic did not say
exactly how much time Milosevic should be given, but they stressed
that the time term should make it possible for them to have
appropriate preparations in light of the defendant's health
condition and extensive evidentiary material.
(hina) ms