ZAGREB, Sept 29 (Hina) - The six-month main hearing in the trial of war crimes suspect Dinko Sakic ended at the Zagreb County Court on Wednesday with the defendant's closing argument. A ruling is to be made known at noon of Monday, 4
October.
ZAGREB, Sept 29 (Hina) - The six-month main hearing in the trial of
war crimes suspect Dinko Sakic ended at the Zagreb County Court on
Wednesday with the defendant's closing argument. A ruling is to be
made known at noon of Monday, 4 October.#L#
Sakic was the commander of Jasenovac, a Croatian World War Two
concentration camp, and is charged with war crimes against
humanity.
"As a soldier, I did not make decisions, but I carried them out
according to conscience, because they were in keeping with my
understanding of the national interests and the preservation of the
biological survival of the Croatian people. Consequently, I
believe this process to be a case of political persecution which has
been ongoing for more than 50 years," the defendant said.
"For half a century the Serbo-Communists have been building the NDH
(Independent State of Croatia, 1941-1945) and Jasenovac myth. The
indictment has been made on the basis of that myth," Sakic asserted,
and told the panel of judges his 32-page closing argument was not
his defence, but the presentation of facts which will help learn the
real truth about him.
Sakic believes the trial was initiated under foreign pressure, and
not to establish the truth. He claims his case has been used to
"vilify (Croatia) again", and cited Ephraim Zuroff, the head of the
Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, and Milan Bulajic, the
director of the Belgrade-based Genocide Museum, as the chief
instigators.
"There has been a persistent mention only of fascist victims, i.e.
of the alleged victims of Ustashi crimes, whereas no mention has
been made of crimes against Croats," the defendant said. It is
understandable that to do so in the former, communist system was
fatal, he explained, but pointed out it was unforgivable that
democratic and sovereign Croatia was keeping quiet.
"The fabricated black legends on NDH were necessary to Tito's
criminal Yugoslavia to cover up and justify its own crimes and
genocide against the Croatian people," the defendant said. He
called former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito a "wood marshal"
and asserted his father was killed by the partisans near Maribor.
"The Chetniks and Greater Serbia Communists came from Serbia to
destroy NDH, yet so far nobody has proven that even one Ustashi had
gone to (Serbian region) Sumadija to hunt for candidates for
Jasenovac," Sakic said. He believes the consequences of the Greater
Serbia propaganda on how genocidal the Croatian people was and on
Jasenovac victims can be seen in the destruction Croatia suffered
in the recent Homeland War.
As in his July defence, Sakic compared his trial to those the former
Yugoslavia held against cardinal Alojzije Stepinac and Andrija
Artukovic, NDH's Interior Minister. The accusations, lacking in
written documents, are based on testimonies which former Yugoslav
secret services "purposefully" collected after WW2 from former
inmates, he said.
Attempting to explain his role in Jasenovac, the defendant said he
was only an administrative clerk. He said he was in charge of
communication with competent bodies, keeping files, admitting and
releasing inmates from the camp, and keeping records on production
in camp premises. The security of the camp and the inmates'
discipline and physical safety was in the hands of the commander of
the first Ustashi defence corps, he added.
Sakic also pointed to the inaccuracy of some witnesses' statements.
He mentioned Jakov Finci, who stated some 200 inmates had been
killed during a transfer from the Stara Gradiska to the Jasenovac
camp. The defendant reminded that according to witness Dragan
Roller, only five or six inmates were killed.
Sakic also mentioned Belgrade-based witness Mihajlo Maric, who
said he had beaten an Ustashi at the camp without any consequences.
The defendant asserted this was at the far end of the "favourite
stories" according to which any Ustashi could kill an inmate out of
spite and go unpunished.
Sakic also commented on "false articles" in the Yugoslav media
which had proclaimed him the mastermind behind terrorist attacks on
Yugoslav embassies in Europe, for which reason, he added, Yugoslav
secret services were after his life.
Most of Sakic's closing argument centred around the chronology of
his last year's extradition to Croatia. Sakic said he led an
undisturbed existence in Argentina between 1947 and 1998. "They did
not find me out, because I hadn't been hiding from anyone. I
travelled around the world freely," he said, adding it was
indicative that Yugoslav authorities had never requested his
extradition, despite knowing his whereabouts.
Sakic said it was not coincidental that his case was initiated at
the time when the Serb crimes in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and
Kosovo were coming to light.
A special part of Sakic's closing argument is dedicated to his view
of the creation and, as he said, of "the real truth" about NDH, the
anti-fascist movement, and the war in the former Yugoslavia.
The defendant asserted Parliament would not launch a serious
investigation of crimes committed by the partisans as long as
sitting in parliamentary benches were those who executed those
crimes.
Panel of judges president Drazen Tripalo warned Sakic to abstain
from insults, to which the defendant responded that he did not
insult anyone, but only said the truth. "If anyone was insulted,
then let him sue me and demand damages," he said.
"I believed and still do in the independence of Croatia's judges,
who shouldn't yield to any internal or external pressure," said the
defendant, asserting he had been "convicted" even before the
commencement of the main hearing. He said he was being used as an
instrument in a trial against Croatia.
Sakic said he was satisfied with his attorneys, Ivan Kern and Branko
Seric. "It would take me two or three months to respond to all the
lies about me, but there isn't time for that. I will state
everything in the book I'm writing," he said, stressing his
conscience was clear.
(hina) ha