ANOTHER WITNESS SAYS HE SAW DOKMANOVIC IN HANGAR ON OVCARA

( Editorial: --> 9669 ) THE HAGUE, Feb 5 (Hina) - Another witness at the trial of the former Vukovar mayor Slavko Dokmanovic testified before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to having seen Dokmanovic in a hangar on the Ovcara farm where civilians and the wounded were abused before their mass execution. According to the ICTY indictment, Dokmanovic aided and abetted the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitary forces to take imprisoned Croats and other non-Serbs from the Vukovar hospital to the Ovcara farm on 20 November 1991, abuse them and finally kill most of them. The remains of 200 civilians and wounded people were exhumed from a mass grave at Ovcara. Some are yet to be identified. Emil Cakalic, former sanitary inspector in Vukovar, took the witness stand on Thursday. He told the Tribunal that Dokmanovic had spoken to him in the hangar with the words, "Look, our inspector, you're here as well!", after which Cakalic was brutally beaten. Cakalic also said he had seen Dokmanovic hit two prisoners with his foot. The same account was given by Dragutin Berghofer who took the witness stand on Wednesday and was questioned by the defence on Thursday. Dokmanovic's attorney Toma Fila intended to prove that Berghofer cannot be believed because he could not remember a person he had not known personally, especially during the time when the witness had "lost a wife, daughter, property, was beaten..." Berghofer replied nobody needed to remind him who Dokmanovic was, as he knew him well from soccer matches and other occasions. Presiding Judge Cassesse asked the witness to say why he thought Dokmanovic was the superior, even though he had issued no orders. Berghofer said the defendant had authority over reserve soldiers, that he was a politician and municipal head, adding that in his opinion, Dokmanovic's order to cease beating the prisoners would have been obeyed. (hina) lm jn 051728 MET feb 98