RIJEKA, Aug 14 (Hina) - The president of the crisis centre for the area of Lika in 1991, Ante Karic, who on Wednesday testified at Rijeka County Court in the trial of the so-called Gospic group, said that the accused were guilty
because they did not disclose who gave them the orders for this.
RIJEKA, Aug 14 (Hina) - The president of the crisis centre for the
area of Lika in 1991, Ante Karic, who on Wednesday testified at
Rijeka County Court in the trial of the so-called Gospic group, said
that the accused were guilty because they did not disclose who gave
them the orders for this. #L#
Karic claimed that the then state leadership knew about the events,
from President Tudjman, the premier and ministers particularly the
then state public prosecutor and now the defence attorney of the
accused Tihomir Oreskovic, Zeljko Olujic.
Someone amongst these people gave the order to the accused to
dispose of some people, Karic said.
He said that he found about the disappearance of civilians upon his
return to Gospic after spending several days in Zagreb when he
received a facsimile message from the then deputy prime minister,
Zdravko Tomac, enquiring about the fate of five missing civilians.
Karic added that in December 1991, he found out that the missing
persons had been killed and that he only found out about the so-
called fatal meeting in the Crisis Centre and the killing in
Pazariste during an investigation that preceded the current
trial.
Karic also testified that during a visit to Gospic in November 1991,
the then president, Tudjman said to Oreskovic, 'We know all about
you, decide - army or civil'. Karic added that he had later asked the
president what he meant by that question and that latter had
answered that Oreskovic was a foreign agent.
Ante Karic said that following President Tudjman's visit to Gospic
he heard someone trying to open the shutters on his window. He
thought that someone was going to throw a grenade into his room. He
fired a few shots and then heard someone running away. Karic accused
Oreskovic or some of his close aides of that attempted
assassination, as the witness said.
Speaking about a letter he wrote to President Tudjman late 1991, in
which he described the situation in Gospic, Karic confirmed that he
noted in the letter that the killing of civilians was organised by
Oreskovic.
In the letter, Karic said, he had asked the head of state to remove
Mercep and his men from Gospic and to remove Oreskovic from Lika and
his mob to some other front and that specialist forces should be
deployed to Gospic to bring order to the town.
He also proposed the transfer of Mirko Norac, who proved to be a
brave soldier, to some other battlefield.
Ante Karic will continue his testimony on August 16.
(hina) sp ms