Killing Offered As Revenge for Dead Son
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Cvjetko Savic, a former member of the Sixth Battalion of the Zvornik Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska, said he personally saw nothing related to prisoners in the village of Petkovci near Zvornik, because he was deployed at a position till the end of July, 1995.
About the invitation to kill in Petkovci, the witness first said that he did not remember the conversation about it with his brother-in-law Pero.
“Pero did not say anything about being invited anywhere,” replied the witness.
The prosecutor, Predrag Tomic, then reminded Savic of the recorded statement he gave during the investigation and read the transcript of it “that someone told Pero he could avenge his son’s death, which he refused.”
The witness replied that, if it said that then he stuck by his statement in the investigation, although he previously said Pero’s wife told him about the offer to kill.
“It’s not important, the man did not kill anyone,” said the witness, who did not manage to say which people were invited to go and kill.
Responding to questions from Stanisic’s defence, the witness said he never heard a local or a member of the Sixth Battalion “go to kill people”. He confirmed that Stanisic was the commander of the Sixth Battalion.
According to the indictment, before being taken to the dam near the village of Petkovci where around a 1,000 of them were killed, the prisoners from Srebrenica were being held in the new school and Culture Home in the village.
The prosecution charged Stanisic, former commander of the Sixth Battalion, and his deputy Milosevic, of knowing about the planned execution, and that the escort of prisoners to the dam was organised under their command.
The second witness, Bosko Jokic, recalled going through Petkovci in the second half of July 1995, and the conversation he had with children on the playground of the new school.
“A child said something along the lines of: ‘There was blood here,’ and pointed to the edge of the playground,” said the witness.
The witness said there were “rumours among people that something happened in Pilica, in Petkovci, that some people were brought there.”
He said he never heard defendant Stanisic giving out any order related to prisoners from Srebrenica.
The trial will resume on May 29.
