THE HAGUE, April 5 (Hina) - In an effort to determine the exact chain of command in the Croat Defence Council (HVO) in 1993, the prosecution of the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal on Friday continued the cross-examination of a
former HVO commander, General Slobodan Praljak, in the trial of Mladen Naletilic Tuta and Vinko Martinovic Stela, Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
THE HAGUE, April 5 (Hina) - In an effort to determine the exact chain
of command in the Croat Defence Council (HVO) in 1993, the
prosecution of the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal on Friday
continued the cross-examination of a former HVO commander, General
Slobodan Praljak, in the trial of Mladen Naletilic Tuta and Vinko
Martinovic Stela, Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina. #L#
Prosecutor Kenneth Scott returned to the issue of the exact command
position of General Praljak in 1993, when, as he said yesterday,
2,000 Muslim civilians were deported from Stolac, a town in
Herzegovina, and four mosques in the town were destroyed.
Praljak said that he had not commanded the operation in Stolac
because he was in the area of Gornji Vakuf and Prozor at the time.
Naletilic and Martinovic are charged with crimes committed against
Muslim civilians and prisoners in Mostar in 1993. The expulsion of
Stolac Muslims in late July 1993 is not included in the indictment.
Naletilic is charged as commander of a so-called Convicts Battalion
and Martinovic as commander of a unit within the battalion.
Praljak said that Naletilic was not the commander of the Convicts
Battalion and added that he did not know where to place him in the
HVO's command structure.
Praljak started his testimony on Tuesday and the prosecution
started his cross-examination on Thursday.
(hina) rml