THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - The trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague resumed on Friday with the testimony of Robert Donia, a history expert witness, who analysed
minutes from Bosnian Serb parliament sessions from 1992 to 1995. He concluded that the aim of the Bosnian Serb leadership, which the accused had supported, was the unification of all Serb territories.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - The trial of former Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in
The Hague resumed on Friday with the testimony of Robert Donia, a
history expert witness, who analysed minutes from Bosnian Serb
parliament sessions from 1992 to 1995. He concluded that the aim of
the Bosnian Serb leadership, which the accused had supported, was
the unification of all Serb territories. #L#
Donia cited a statement Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic
made in the parliament in October 1993: "We must propose full
unification of the Serb people in Yugoslavia, Republika Srpska and
RSK (the Republic of Srpska Krajina)". "Republika Srpska is a
temporary solution, the goal is a single state, which has been
agreed with Serbia and the RSK," said parliament president Momcilo
Krajisnik.
Donia stressed that the Bosnian Serb parliament on 12 May 1992 had
adopted, at Karadzic's proposal, six strategic goals, the first and
most important being "separation from the other two peoples" in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Recalling Milosevic's speech at a session of the Bosnian Serb
parliament on the Vance-Owen plan in May 1993, the witness said that
Milosevic supported the plan, and at the closed part of the session
said that the plan was "a way to accomplish the common goal".
The witness pointed to the Bosnian Serb authorities' full
dependence on Yugoslavia in terms of both military and financial
assistance. Many Bosnian Serb ministers resided in Belgrade and
Bosnian Serb army personnel were paid by the Yugoslav finance
ministry, he said.
The witness also presented data showing that the Yugoslav army sent
Bosnian Serbs tens of thousands of tons of ammunition on top of the
ammunition they took from JNA depots or produced on their own.
Some of the weapons and equipment was paid with booty, the witness
quoted parliament president Krajisnik as saying at a session.
The witness also quoted statements about paramilitary forces,
especially those praising "Arkan's very useful activities".
Asked about Srebrenica, the witness confirmed that Karadzic had
ordered the taking of Teocak, Srebrenica and Gorazde, as he
believed that the international community would not react after the
events in western Slavonia (Croatian operation "Flash"). The
massacre of Bosniaks after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995 was
foreseen and ordered by RS leaders, who later tried to cover it up,
the witness said.
The witness also quoted Bosnian Serb deputy Milorad Dodik as saying
that the Serbs "have taken protected U.N. zones, and one month later
protested against the same being done in Krajina".
Milosevic challenged the witness's testimony by claiming that he
relied on fragments of statements from a large number of sessions
and that his testimony was designed to fit into the previously
defined tasks of the prosecution.
He went on to cite his own two speeches before the Bosnian Serb
parliament, stressing his advocacy of peace and the signing of a
peace agreement.
The hearing of this witness will be completed at a later date. The
trial is to resume on Monday.
(hina) rml