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Rade Totic, former member of the Second Company with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, said that he and his comrades were deployed to Veletovo village, near Visegrad, in 1992. The witness said that the local Bosniak population from the surrounding villages inquired about evacuation in that period.
“People were afraid. I think that their fears were justified. Some things that caused fear among Muslims, but also Serbs, were happening. Paramilitary formations, which spread fear, used to come. However, I can say that the local residents were not afraid of the Second Company,” the witness said.
Totic told the Court that he heard one day that the Bosniak population left the place with a convoy, but he and his comrades did not have any tasks related to that convoy.
“When the convoy had left, I heard that Ljubomir Tasic had problems with Milan Lukic’s group. I heard that one member of that group wanted to separate somebody from other convoy passengers, but Ljupko did not allow him to do it. They pulled out their guns but the person was not taken away after all,” the witness said.
The Hague Tribunal sentenced Milan Lukic to life imprisonment for crimes committed in Visegrad during the war.
Witness Totic said that Ljubomir Tasic was Commander of his Company.
Tasic is on trial, along with Predrag Milisavljevic and Milos Pantelic, for having participated in the murders, forced resettlement of population, detention, torture, disappearances and other inhumane acts in Visegrad.
According to the charges, Milisavljevic and Pantelic participated in the murder of several tens of Bosniak civilians near the Paklenik pit, Milisavljevic allegedly initiated the shooting of the captives.
Second witness Dusan Neskovic, former member of the wartime Presidency of Visegrad municipality, said that the Red Cross organised convoys for the evacuation of people from that area.
“What I know is that the convoys were organised for security reasons. Numerous military and paramilitary units were present in the town. The situation was not safe for both the Serb and Muslim population,” the witness said.
Neskovic said that he had known indictee Tasic from school days and that he considered that the indictee could not have participated in the organisation of the convoys from Visegrad.
The trial is due to continue on October 1, when Tasic’s Defence will examine three more witnesses.
