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Testifying in defence of Radovan Karadzic at the Hague, a former Bosnian Serb army commander says that his unit’s response to fire from Sarajevo may have been “disproportionate” but did not target civilians.
Stanislav Galic, the commander of Republika Srpska Army forces in Sarajevo, acknowledged that the army’s response to gunfire from the city was not proportionate, but he denied that his soldiers intentionally targeted civilians.
Responding to questions from Prosecutor Caroline Edgerton, Galic said Bosnian Serb military leaders concluded at “various meetings”-which were attended by Karadzic- that “artillery was used disproportionally and that its usage should be reduced”.
“The issue was mentioned often. Karadzic and all of us were burdened with it…All of us and Karadzic made a clear request to decrease its usage and reduce it to the minimal military needs,” the witness said.
When asked whether Karadzic told him that the disproportionate fire was causing civilian victims in Sarajevo, Gailc said he saw that himself and that others could draw the same conclusion.
“I was saying that collateral losses were possible and that they happened…I am therefore speaking about the disproportionate fire, not about some sort of intentional shooting of civilians and civilian buildings. I think that this represents the essence of the problem,” Galic explained.
In 2006 the Hague Tribunal pronounced a second instance verdict against Galic, sentencing him to life imprisonment for terrorizing the population in Sarajevo through a campaign of artillery and sniper attacks.
Karadzic, meanwhile, is charged with a variety of war crimes, including terrorizing civilians in Sarajevo. Karadzic was the wartime president of Republika Srpska and supreme commander of its army.
“I never opened fire on Sarajevo. I opened fire on enemy forces in Sarajevo… Bascarsija was spared because, in a certain way, it was a symbol of Sarajevo to Serbs, Muslims and me,” Galic said.
Commenting on a recording of a mine-thrower attack on a Sarajevo cemetery while children were visiting their friend’s grave, Galic said it was “an engineered scene”, adding that ABiH opened fire on his unit from cemeteries as well.
During the additional examination indictee Karadzic suggested to the witness that ABiH forces and commands were situated at the locations where murders of civilians mentioned in the indictment took place. Galic confirmed his allegations.
The trial of Karadzic, who is also charged with genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and taking UNPROFOR members hostage, is due to continue on May 9.
