Adamovic and Lukic: Neighbourly Chat

Testifying in defence of the second indictee at the trial for crimes committed in the Kljuc area, Dusan Grabez says that Marko Adamovic “never commanded armed forces”.

“He would address members of the armed forces when he gave various types of lectures. He never commanded them. He was in charge of morale issues,” said Grabez, a former soldier.

The witness said that he thought the war in the Kljuc area was caused by an attack on policemen and “young recruits”. Witnesses who previously testified at this trial said that young recruits of the Yugoslav National Army, JNA, were attacked in May 1992.

“On May 27, policeman Dusan Stojakovic was killed and four men were wounded after coming across an ambush in Krasulje. (…) Soldiers were attacked in Busije. Some of them were killed and some were wounded.

“I got on a bus and I saw chaos…things were scattered around. I saw blood and two dead men. I cannot say who attacked them. (…) As of that moment, the situation became totally chaotic. People lived in fear,” the witness said.

The State Prosecution charges Adamovic and Bosko Lukic with having participated, as members of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, in a joint criminal enterprise by committing crimes against the non-Serb population in the Kljuc area.

The indictment alleges that Adamovic, former Commander of the Town Defence Command and Assistant Commander of the Kljuc Battalion, and Lukic, former Commander of the Territorial Defence Headquarters in Kljuc, participated in organising a group of people and abetting their commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes from the end of May to December 1992.

Testifying at this hearing, Mirko Kosic said he was a driver with, he “thinks”, the 17th Light Infantry Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, and he drove indictee Adamovic.

“It happened June 20, 1992 or so. I received an order to drive him to Mageljdol village, Mrkonjic Grad. He visited some captains in that village, but I do not know what he did. We would come back in the evening hours. We kept doing that the same way until I received new orders,” Kosic said.

The witness said that in the mentioned period of time he would stop in his native village Krasulje, Kljuc municipality, together with Adamovic and visit his Muslim neighbours.

“We would stop by without any reason and have a neighbourly chat. I did not notice Adamovic express animosity towards non-Serbs,” Kosic said, adding that he had never heard anyone complain about indictee Adamovic.

The trial is due to continue on December 20, when the Defence will examine new witnesses.

                                                                                                                                    A.J.