THE HAGUE, April 4 (Hina) - On the first day of the cross-examination of General Slobodan Praljak, prosecutor Kenneth Scott persistently questioned the former Croat Defence Council (HVO) commander about his commanding position in the
summer of 1993, when all Moslem population was expelled from the Stolac area.
THE HAGUE, April 4 (Hina) - On the first day of the cross-
examination of General Slobodan Praljak, prosecutor Kenneth Scott
persistently questioned the former Croat Defence Council (HVO)
commander about his commanding position in the summer of 1993, when
all Moslem population was expelled from the Stolac area. #L#
The expulsion of Moslems from Stolac is not contained in the
indictment against Bosnian Croats Mladen Naletilic Tuta and Vinko
Martinovic Stela. General Praljak is a defence witness in the
proceedings against the two Bosnian Croats before the
International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in
The Hague.
The number and precision of questions concerning the expulsion of
Moslems from Stolac in July and August 1993 indicates that this
could be one of the issues of the Hague prosecution's enquiry, and
possibly new indictments.
Praljak replied to all questions by saying he knew nothing.
Some of the questions were based on transcripts of talks held at the
office of former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, who allegedly
claimed that Croat refugees should be settled in Stolac to ensure
the presence of the Croat people there during future demarcation.
The prosecution also concentrated on establishing the authority by
which Praljak, as a senior officer of the Croatian Army, left for
Bosnia in 1992 and 1993, without being relieved of duty in Croatia.
This also interested the panel of judges, who joined in with their
own questions.
The prosecution tried to establish who paid Praljak's salary during
this period.
During the day, Scott presented a number of orders by the then
commander of the Croatian Army's Sector South, General Janko
Bobetko, to HVO commanders, but Praljak categorically denied that
Bobetko had any authority, despite his orders.
The fact that he had commanded HVO units without any formal powers
and rank as part of Croatian troops in Bosnia Praljak explained
saying it was possible because of the "power of his authority".
The prosecution will continue cross-examining Praljak on Friday.
(hina) lml sb