THE HAGUE, Oct 9 (Hina) - Montenegro's leadership knew about crimes committed in Croatia's Dubrovnik but took no steps to respond to reports to that effect, a former Montenegrin foreign minister said on Wednesday at the trial of
former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic before the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague.
THE HAGUE, Oct 9 (Hina) - Montenegro's leadership knew about crimes
committed in Croatia's Dubrovnik but took no steps to respond to
reports to that effect, a former Montenegrin foreign minister said
on Wednesday at the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic before the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague. #L#
"Officially, nothing was done," Nikola Samardzic said when
prosecutor Geoffrey Nice asked if senior politicians ever
discussed the crimes.
The crimes were not discussed at official sessions, Samardzic said
on the second day of his testifying about the part of the Milosevic
indictment referring to crimes committed in Croatia and Bosnia.
He added, however, that he had spoken about them with then
Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, who the witness said was
"appalled."
Prosecutor Nice introduced as evidence an open letter the chairman
of the Croatian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Hrvoje
Cacic, forwarded to Bulatovic in December 1991, pointing to the
Montenegrin leadership's silence and calling on it to stop the
attacks and pillage of Dubrovnik.
Speaking about the looting of the southern Croatian seaport, the
witness said war booty was stored at Vinograd motel at a Croatia-
Montenegro border location before being transferred to Montenegro.
He had heard that units of the former federal army, JNA, had been
implicated in the plunder.
Prosecutor Nice produced an order issued by Admiral Miodrag Jokic
on 28 December 1991 to set up a war booty collection centre at
Vinograd.
The alleged war booty was in truth pillaged property, private and
public, Samardzic said, adding that the transfer to Montenegro was
done through private channels and JNA's help.
He branded Admiral Jokic a "looter".
The witness said that he learned from an acquaintance mobilised in
1991 to work as a guard at the Morinje detention camp that civilians
were detained there as well as imprisoned Croatian soldiers.
"The general situation at Morinje was not good, the treatment was
not merciful," said Samardzic but stated there were no killings.
He also said that the military operations against Dubrovnik were
led by JNA generals.
"As for the navy that was attacking Dubrovnik, Jokic led that," said
Samardzic.
He also described how Milosevic, after Montenegro supported a
cease-fire plan at The Hague in 1991, insisted that Bulatovic
travel to the next session at The Hague aboard the same plane with
him. On that occasion, Samardzic heard that Milosevic's candidate
for the first president of the new Yugoslav federation was Dobrica
Cosic, who was eventually elected. Later he heard that Zoran Lilic
was Milosevic's candidate for Cosic's successor, which also
happened.
(hina) ha