Kuvelja: Separation of Men

Mile Janjic, former military policeman with the Bratunac Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, told the Court that men were separated from the others in Potocari and escorted by members of the Special Police of Republika Srpska, who were known as “deserters”, to “a white house”.     
 
“Members of special police forces arrived at the same time as buses and trucks.  Police let groups of people go, while groups of men would go between two lines of special police members before getting on the bus. The lines consisted of members of deserters’ units, whom we recognised by their flashy uniforms,” Janjic said.  
 
Janjic testified at the trial of Bozidar Kuvelja, former member of the Second Squad with the First Company of the “Jahorina” Training Centre with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, MUP of RS, who is charged with having participated in the shooting of more than 1,000 men inside and in front of the Agricultural Cooperative in Kravica, Bratunac municipality in July 1995.
 
According to the charges, on July 12, 1995 Kuvelja participated in the search of Bosniak villages in Potocari area with the aim of gathering the local population into “a collection centre in Potocari” and the separation of men and taking them to “the white house”, where they were detained and mistreated.
 
Witness Janjic said that, while he was in Potocari, his task was to determine the exact “number of persons who were leaving Potocari”. The witness said that he asked members of special police forces why men were separated from women, but he was told that this was done in line with an order issued by Ratko Mladic.
 
“They told me that General Mladic said that women and children should go first towards Kladanj and the men would follow,” Janjic said.
 
Ratko Mladic, former Commander of the Main Headquarters of VRS, is awaiting his trial before The Hague Tribunal to begin. He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and the violation of the laws and customs of war.
 
Janjic recalled that, after women and children had been taken towards Kladanj on June 12, 1995, ten buses arrived in Potocari in order to drive the men, who had been separated, away.
 
“On the first day ten buses left the place driving the men. Each bus could hold about 70 people, which means that approximately 700 people were in the buses. They were taken in the direction of Bratunac . I was convinced that they were going towards Kladanj,” the witness said.
 
However, Janjic mentioned that he noticed that the buses returned very quickly, adding that one of the special policemen told him that they had driven the men to Bratunac and “unloaded them into the ‘Vuk Karadzic’ school building”.  
 
The trial is due to continue on September 6 this year.