Karadzic: Acting in Defence Only
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Two former members of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of VRS Izo Golic and Ratomir Maksimovic repeated previous statements by Karadzics witnesses that, during the Bosnian war the Corps exclusively defended itself from attacks by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Sarajevo and that it did not open fire on civilians.
Lieutenant Golic, former Commander of the Mine-Thrower Squad with the First Romanija Brigade of VRS, said that the enemy infantry forces were targeted and that some of them were situated in civilian buildings in the city.
According to Golic, VRS did not respond to the fire targeting its positions, which was opened from mobile mine-throwers in the vicinity of Kosevo hospital and other protected civilian buildings, because it wanted to prevent civilian victims. The VRS top leaders and Karadzic himself issued a standing order concerning protection of civilians and respect of the Geneva Convention.
We never targeted civilians. We did not have an intention to terrorise them, the witness said, adding that all normal people would remove civilians from the frontlines.
While being cross-examined by Prosecutor Caroline Edgerton, Golic said that he was on the Sarajevo battlefield only until October 1992. He confirmed that two ABiH tanks, which were entrenched in Kosevo, did not open fire during that period of time.
Retired colonel Maksimovic, former Morale Officer with the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps Command, said that the Corps was a defensive unit and that only 15 or 20 professional officers were its members. As he said, the Corps prevented the breakthrough of ABiH from Sarajevo and protected the Serb population.
The witness indicated that he did not know that the division of Sarajevo was the goal of the RS military and political leaders, adding that he knew that Serb leaders advocated for the demilitarisation of Sarajevo, but Muslims refused to do it.
Maksimovic too repeated that strict orders were given to the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps not to shoot at civilians and only target the enemys military positions when responding to fire.
When being presented with certain documents during the cross-examination, Maksimovic confirmed that, in March 1993 he armed a group of volunteers of the Serbian Radical Party, which came to Vogosca in order to help defend it, but he pointed out that those soldiers were disarmed a month later.
After Prosecutor Edgerton had presented him with reports on civil victims in Sarajevo on May 30, 1993, the witness said that, despite the fact that a ceasefire agreement had been signed, the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted an offensive on the strategic road communication between Lukavica and Pale.
According to the witness, none of journalists in Sarajevo paid attention to Serb victims at that time.
Those were decisive combats. Had the Muslim forces broken through to the Sarajevo field, where between 80,000 and 100,000 Serbs lived, a massacre would have happened, Maksimovic said.
He told the Tribunal that Karadzic ordered them to be maximally restrained, so soldiers commented that the President does not allow us to defend ourselves.
Karadzic is charged with genocide in Srebrenica, taking UNPROFOR members hostage and the persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Wartime official with the Serb municipality of Novo Sarajevo – Zdravko Salipur said that, contrary to what the indictment alleges, the municipal crisis committee and wartime presidency in Grbavica were not the instruments for the deportation of the non-Serb population, but they worked on establishing normal living conditions.
While confirming that Serb paramilitary formations were present in Grbavica, Salipur said that the civilian authorities managed to coerce them. He denied that the detention facilities and detainees existed in that neighbourhood.
Just like the previous witnesses from Grbavica, he said that many civilians were killed by sniper bullets and grenades fired from ABiHs positions in the city.
Salipur denied that the VRS completely destroyed the city maternity hospital in Betanija neighbourhood at the beginning of the war, as alleged by some Prosecution witnesses, adding that his son was born at that hospital on April 20, 1992.
Prosecutors will cross-examine witness Salipur tomorrow.
R.M.
