Karadzic: Serbian Side Kept Quiet and Waited
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Kingori, who was UN military observer in Srebrenica at the time, denied these allegations, saying that he heard about the evacuation plans from Momir Nikolic and other Republika Srpska Army, VRS officers.
Muslim authorities in Srebrenica and Sarajevo, the UN, the UN General Secretary’s Envoy and colonel Karremans (Commander of the Dutch Battalion of UNPROFOR)…All of you planned the departure of Muslims. On the other hand, the Serb side kept quiet and waited to see what Muslims would say, Karadzic said. Kenyan officer Kingori responded by saying that the UN did not have such plans.
Major Nikolic and Colonel Vukovic told us that Serbs were advocating for the evacuation of all people…This did not come from the UN, but from the VRS, the witness said.
Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska, RS is charged with genocide against more than 7,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica, who were shot by VRS forces, which were under his supreme command, in the days that followed the occupation of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. According to the charges, VRS deported thousands of women and children from the enclave to Bosniak territories.
Besides that, Karadzic is charged with the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terror against civilians in Sarajevo through long-lasting shelling and sniping and taking international soldiers hostages.
In 2006 The Hague Tribunal sentenced Momir Nikolic to 20 years in prison for crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Indictee Karadzic said that the UN protected enclave of Srebrenica was not demilitarized. The witness replied by saying that the demilitarization had already been completed.
You are saying that no soldiers or weapons were present in Srebrenica and that the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH did not conduct any military operations, but all other UN members saw something completely different, Karadzic told the witness.
Kingori responded by saying that one thing is certain the Muslim side had minimal quantities of weapons, although we even saw machine guns, adding that it could not even be compared to the quantity of weapons and equipment possessed by the VRS.
When asked if he could confirm that Srebrenica had been demilitarized, Kingori said that all heavy weapons and most of the infantry weapons owned by ABiH was handed over to UNPROFOR and stored in the Dutch Battalion’s warehouse.
As far as I am concerned, this meant that the demilitarization was completed, the witness said.
When the indictee said that, according to ABiH’s documents, most pieces of weapons, which had been handed over, were broken, Kingori said that he did not check the usableness of those weapons. Responding to indictee’s questions about the 28th Division of ABiH, the witness said that a military division in the real sense could not have possibly existed in Srebrenica.
The cross-examination is due to be continuedon January 13.R.M.
