THE HAGUE, Apr 13 (Hina) - The trial of Bosnian Croat General Tihomir Blaskic resumed at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague on Tuesday. Blaskic was cross-examined about the measures he, as
Croatian Defence Council (HVO) commander for Operative Zone Central Bosnia, took to protect civilians during the Croat-Muslim conflict in 1993, and about his transfer from the HVO to the Croatian Army. Blaskic is charged with breaches of the Geneva conventions, the law and customs of war, and with crimes against humanity committed by his units in central Bosnia. The defendant, who received his military education in the former Yugoslav federation, explained that according to standards to which all educated in the former federation abided, commands contained no provisions on the protection of civilians. Blaskic said the commands he forwarded to senior commanders were written as if they had been inte
THE HAGUE, Apr 13 (Hina) - The trial of Bosnian Croat General
Tihomir Blaskic resumed at the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague on Tuesday.
Blaskic was cross-examined about the measures he, as Croatian
Defence Council (HVO) commander for Operative Zone Central Bosnia,
took to protect civilians during the Croat-Muslim conflict in 1993,
and about his transfer from the HVO to the Croatian Army.
Blaskic is charged with breaches of the Geneva conventions, the law
and customs of war, and with crimes against humanity committed by
his units in central Bosnia.
The defendant, who received his military education in the former
Yugoslav federation, explained that according to standards to
which all educated in the former federation abided, commands
contained no provisions on the protection of civilians.
Blaskic said the commands he forwarded to senior commanders were
written as if they had been intended for a subordinate level, "with
a lot more precision and concreteness." Whenever he had the chance
he personally cautioned soldiers about the necessity to protect
civilians.
The prosecutor's attempt to bring into question the verity of
Blaskic's earlier testimony about the functions he performed while
serving in the former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) ended by
completely discrediting the truthfulness of the document submitted
by the prosecution as evidence.
Reminding Blaskic that he previously said his task at the Pivka
garrison was assistant for morality, Gregory Kehoe confronted him
with a JNA document stating that Blaskic's occupation was assistant
for political affairs.
The defendant pointed to the fact that the document in question bore
the incorrect date of his request to be relieved, that two of his
official assessments were also incorrectly dated, and that his
mother's last name was also incorrect. "I did not command a firing
squad," Blaskic concluded.
Further in the cross-examination, the defendant said he was not
familiar with the circumstances which resulted in his transfer from
HVO Chief-Of-Staff to the Main Inspectorate of the Croatian Army in
late 1995.
Last Friday Blaskic said, "No consultations were conducted with me.
I found out about that appointment on (HTV) Croatian Television."
Last week the defendant said he found out about the ICTY indictment
against him in the same way, in early November of 1995, when his wife
told him the news was broadcast on HTV.
Today Blaskic said he was relieved of duties at the HVO in 1995 by
Kresimir Zubak, at that time president of Bosnia's Croat-Muslim
Federation. He did not know however who signed the decision on his
appointment to the Croatian Army.
"I don't know who the signatory is, but I do know the command came
from the supreme commander of Croatia's Armed Forces, Mr Franjo
Tudjman." Blaskic was not sure whether the signature below the
typed name of Croatia's President was that of President Tudjman or
another person from the personnel service.
Prosecutor Kehoe asked whether it was customary for the president
of one country to order an officer from another to report to the army
of the former.
"I don't know whether that was customary or not. I know competition
was possible," Blaskic said.
He added there were transfers from the HVO and the Army of Bosnia-
Herzegovina to the Croatian Army, but was unable to say the
nationality of the officers who were transferred, nor could he name
any.
Blaskic denied meeting a Croatian official on his journey to
Kiseljak, Bosnia, where he had been called to organise the defence,
via Zagreb in 1992.
"I didn't talk with officials of the government of the Republic of
Croatia," Blaskic asserted.
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