Vukovic and Tomic: Anticipation of destiny

Prosecution protected witness, under the code name D1, testified on the events of 13th of July 1995 when he was captured and taken into the farming cooperative at Kravica in Bratunac municipality. On that day in Kravica, more than 1,000 men were killed. D1 is one out of two survivors of the massacre.

”When the last man entered into the storage, bursts of gunfire started. You did not know who or what is shooting. Bombs exploding and bursts. I lay down and waited for my destiny. People were shouting to be saved by someone but there was no humanity or help there. I did not make a sound,” stated D1 who due to additional witness protection measures testified from another room with a scrambled image and voice.

For the genocide in Srebrenica, the BiH Prosecution holds responsible Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic. Both of them, in accordance with claims in the indictment, were members of the Second unit of the Special police in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska.

D1 said that after the fall of Srebrenica on 11th of July 1995, together with other men he moved through the woods towards Kladanj after two days to be captured and escorted to a meadow in place called Lolici.

”On that meadow, general Mladic arrived and said that Naser left us and that the sheep cannot go from the pen until the doors are open. He told us that we are going to be exchanged and returned to our families. I’ve believed him until one man was killed on that meadow. There I saw that it is our end as well,” remembered D1.

Ratko Mladic, a former general in Army of Republika Srpska (VRS,) is on the wanted list of the Hague Tribunal for more than a decade, because of the charges for the genocide and war crimes in BiH. Naser Oric, commander of the ABiH forces in Srebrenica was discharged for the crimes in this area of eastern Bosnia.

During the cross-examination, D1 added how Mladic addressing to the crowd in the meadow stated: ‘‘its very warm here, we will accommodate you somewhere where it’s cooler”.

The witness stated how they stayed on the meadow until four o’clock after they moved in the file ”escorted by soldiers” towards ”that Kravica” where the shooting at prisoners lasted until nightfall.

According to the D1 statement, after the shooting soldiers transported ”healthy” men by truck towards an unknown destination and killed the wounded.

”After some time, somebody started to shout: ”Salko, Salko”. They cursed his Turkish mother and killed him. Then somebody asked: ”Adila water, Adila water”. After that they started collecting the dead bodies. I’ve heard them talking: ”Cover the dead with the hay. It’s enough for tonight. Wash the asphalt”, stated D1.

This witness said that he stayed overnight in hangar and that he run away, together with another survivor during the night on 14th of July 1995.

On this hearing, the Prosecution heard another witness who asked, in order to protect his identity, not to publish his particularities and the details of his testimony. The Court fulfilled this request.

The trial will continue on 8 January 2009 when another two Prosecution witnesses will give their statement.