THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Sep 3 (Hina) - A former official of the Serbian Interior Ministry on Tuesday said in the trial against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic that three years ago the authorities in Belgrade ordered the cover
up of the bodies of Kosovo victims found in the Danube river in a cooler.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Sep 3 (Hina) - A former official of the Serbian
Interior Ministry on Tuesday said in the trial against former
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic that three years ago the
authorities in Belgrade ordered the cover up of the bodies of Kosovo
victims found in the Danube river in a cooler. #L#
The former police chief Bor Caslav Golubovic described how in April
1999 after a cooler full of bodies believed to be Albanians from
Kosovo, was found near Kladova in the Danube river, the former chief
of the Security Sector of Serbia and a close associate of Milosevic,
General Vlastimir Dordevic ordered that the bodies be secretly
dragged out and their burial organised.
"He told me that during the night, I should try to transfer the
bodies from the cooler on to some truck," Colonel Golubovic said,
and added that General Dordevic also ordered him to see where the
bodies could later be buried.
According to the witness, Dordevic said that this was an order
issued by the then Interior Minister of Serbia, Vlajko
Stojiljkovic, and then ordered that the cooler be destroyed.
After the bodies had been dragged out, Golubovic was informed that
the trucks headed off towards the direction of Belgrade without any
forensic investigations.
Golubovic confirmed the testimony of the head of an investigation
of mass graves in Serbia, Dragan Karleusa, and the findings of a
police technician from Kladova, Bosko Radojkovic, who testified in
July and described the operation of the cover up of the bodies.
Milosevic then claimed that these were the remains of illegal
immigrants from the east through Rumania into Serbia.
Golubovic will be cross examined by Milosevic on Wednesday.
Prior to Golubovic's testimony the prosecution examined about 15
victims, Albanians from Kosovo who described the organised
deportation and individual crimes committed during 1999 in Kosovo
against the Albanian population.
The prosecution announced that the Kosovo part of the trial could be
completed next week until which time witnesses from both sides
would have to testify including two foreign experts for military
issues as well as a protected witness (K-41) who during the Kosovo
conflict was a member of the Yugoslav army for Montenegro.
(hina) sp it sb