SIBENIK, June 19 (Hina) - In the trial against former members of the Croatian army 113rd brigade, Bozo Bacelic, Ante Mamic, Jurica Ravlic and Luka Vuka, indicted for killing two elderly citizens on August 11, 1995, witness Ivica
Vuksic took the stand on Tuesday.
SIBENIK, June 19 (Hina) - In the trial against former members of the
Croatian army 113rd brigade, Bozo Bacelic, Ante Mamic, Jurica
Ravlic and Luka Vuka, indicted for killing two elderly citizens on
August 11, 1995, witness Ivica Vuksic took the stand on Tuesday.
#L#
Vuksic was a commanding officer of the reconnaissance company, of
which the four indictees were members and which was in Prukljan on
the day of the murder.
Vuksic testified that he had been given an order by the commander of
the 113rd brigade to ascertain if there were any enemy soldiers and
weapons and ammunition warehouses in Prukljan.
About thirty members of the reconnaissance company and their
commanding officers went in the action, but Bacelic was not among
them because he left before, he said.
Vuksic said that his unit which was drawing close to Prukljan, first
heard several shots fired. They found Bacelic, Mamic, Ravlic and
Vuka in the village. In the yard where they stood they saw a pile on
fire, and at the time, he said, he did not know underneath were the
bodies of the two elderly citizens, but was told by one of the men.
When he asked Bacelic what he had done, he replied "What do you
care?".
Vuksic said he began suspecting something when Mladen Crljen, the
then assistant commissioner of the SIS intelligence service, had
told him several days ago, "You were not in Prukljan when the
elderly people were killed, were you?".
When he found out that the police were asking questions about the
case ten days later, he asked for talks with the commander of the
113rd brigade, Joso Seric, after which nobody asked about the case
until last year, he said.
Vuksic said he had no control of Bacelic who did what he wanted.
For the other three indictees Vuksic said were brave and good men
who thought they could not oppose Bacelic as their superior.
Another commanding officer of the reconnaissance company, Jeremy
Krasoja, also took the witness stand on Tuesday. He said that
Bacelic left for Prukljan with the entire company and participated
with the rest of them. He changed his statement given during the
investigation when he said that he was not certain whether Bacelic
was with them or not.
The third witness, Davor Lokas, said that he was fishing with his
wife in Prukljan lake. When they saw houses in Prukljan burning,
they went to see what was happening. In the yard of the house on fire
they saw two dead bodies, got frightened and ran. He did not say he
saw soldiers in the village.
(hina) lml