RIJEKA, June 18 (Hina) - A former government commissioner for Gospic and head of the town's crisis headquarters in 1991, Drazen Jurkovic, said at the war crimes trial of the so-called Gospic group on Tuesday it seemed to him that the
Lika region crisis headquarters had been headed by indictee Tihomir Oreskovic rather than the headquarters' actual head Ante Karic.
RIJEKA, June 18 (Hina) - A former government commissioner for
Gospic and head of the town's crisis headquarters in 1991, Drazen
Jurkovic, said at the war crimes trial of the so-called Gospic group
on Tuesday it seemed to him that the Lika region crisis headquarters
had been headed by indictee Tihomir Oreskovic rather than the
headquarters' actual head Ante Karic. #L#
During Karic's visits to Zagreb, the meetings of the crisis
headquarters were chaired by Oreskovic, Jurkovic said before the
Rijeka County Court.
Speaking about his relationship with Oreskovic, Jurkovic said it
was good until October 1991, after which it started deteriorating.
This was caused by the overlapping of powers and the fact that
Oreskovic was a member of the Croatian Statehood Movement and the
far right. Oreskovic saw Croatia as an army-run country with no
parliamentary democracy, Jurkovic said, adding that he saw himself
as a representative of civic Croatia.
Jurkovic said he did not know anything about the abduction of
civilians at the time and that he had learned of it in the press.
He learned of the execution of civilians at Lipova Glavica from his
relatives, who had heard reports about it on Slovene television,
the witness said.
The disappearance of Gospic residents was frequently mentioned at
meetings with the then President Franjo Tudjman and government
officials, but there was no mention of executions and abductions,
Jurkovic said.
He claimed that some people had been infiltrated by the enemy into
Gospic at the time, but he did not hear that any sniper or anyone
secretly using a radio station had been arrested.
The witness said that in late 1991 he had been prevented from
carrying out a decision by President Tudjman on replacing the then
commander of the 118th brigade, Mirko Norac. The witness, General
Petar Stipetic, and government commissioner Karic were on their way
to Gospic to carry out the decision, when they were stopped in
Karlobag and told that there were no security guarantees for
Jurkovic and Karic, so Stipetic continued for Gospic alone.
Jurkovic will continue his testimony tomorrow, when the head of the
Lika crisis headquarters Ante Karic is also expected to testify.
"The Gospic group" is accused of organising and carrying out the
abduction and execution of civilians, mostly Serbs, in Gospic in
late 1991.
(hina) rml