Mladic: Predominant Serb and American Forces
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After Mladics Defence attorney Dragan Ivetic presented the comparison to him during the cross-examination, Prosecution witness Pyers Tucker responded by saying that the two terms differed in a key issue of civilians being subdued to a dominant force.
Tucker, who used to be Assistant Commander to UNPROFOR Commander Philippe Morillon from 1992 to 1993, stuck to his statement from yesterday that the VRS subjected civilians in Sarajevo to terrorist shelling without any visible military purpose.
Mladic, the then Commander of VRS, is charged with having terrorised population in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina by long-lasting artillery and sniper attacks. Besides that, he is on trial for genocide in Srebrenica, persecuting Muslims and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
Tucker said that the predominantly Muslims forces in Sarajevo opened fire on Serb positions from movable mine-throwers situated in the vicinity of Kosevo hospital and the UNPROFOR Command in the Post Office building.
The witness said that Morillon protested to the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely Alija Izetbegovic and Ejup Ganic, over those attacks, as well as an artillery projectile fired on his residence.
Responding to a suggestion made by the Defence, Tucker said that the strategy of some elements within the Sarajevo government was to provoke VRS attacks on civilian quarters in order to lead to an international intervention.
As he said, to that end they resorted to various tricks aimed at preventing the establishment of regular gas, water and electricity supply for the local population. The witness said that those elements of Sarajevo authorities were very close to the top.
When asked if the VRS had a legitimate right to respond to fire opened from the vicinity of the hospital and other civilian buildings, the British colonel answered affirmatively, but he pointed out that, when responding to the fire, one had to take the nearness of the hospital into consideration.
He said that, as a British artillery officer, he was trained not to respond to fire opened from buildings protected by the Geneva Conventions.
Tucker said that a British military expert in artillery, who participated in an investigation related to the first explosion at Markale market place, told him after the war that the mine-thrower grenade had been fired from positions held by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the charges against Mladic, the grenade was fired from VRS positions. The explosion that happened on February 5, 1994 killed 66 and injured more than 140 civilians.
Tucker confirmed that he knew that tonnes of weapons and military material were transported from Tuzla to Srebrenica, but it was not enough for defending the enclave.
In addition, he said that it was true that Naser Oric, Commander of Muslim forces in Srebrenica, told General Morillon that he was killing between five and 15 Serbs per day.
The trial of Mladic is due to continue tomorrow, when a new Prosecution witness will testify.
R.M.
