Karadzic Did not Want Persecution, Poplasen Says

During the continuation of Radovan Karadzic’s trial Defence witness Nikola Poplasen says that the indictee did not advocate for deportation of Bosniaks and Croats from Serb territories during the Bosnian war.

Poplasen, who was commissioner of Republika Srpska authorities in Vogosca in 1992 and elected President of Republika Srpska after the war, said that he had never heard that Karadzic insisted on ethnic persecution.

When asked by Karadzic what his stand about crimes against Bosniaks and Croats was, Poplasen said that Karadzic “requested application of legal procedures and punishment of perpetrators”. He said that the Republika Srpska judiciary did not have sufficient capacities for that, although “many such trials” were conducted.

Poplasen confirmed that “centres for the detention” of non-Serbs existed in Vogosca in 1992, but he pointed out that, as soon as he found out about them, he requested the Justice Ministry of Republika Srpska to “include detention facilities in the system.”

“Incidents did happen, but they were not part of a systematic policy. They were not approved by Republika Srpska leadership,” Poplasen said.

The indictment alleges that Karadzic, wartime President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of its armed forces, is charged with the persecution of the non-Serb population throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, which reached the scale of genocide in seven municipalities. Besides that, Karadzic is charged with genocide in Srebrenica, terror against civilians in Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

During the cross-examination Prosecutor Caroline Edgerton presented the witness with the fact that Bosniaks and Croats, who were held in detention facilities in Vogosca, were taken to frontlines in order to perform hard labour and be used as “human shields”, adding that some of them were killed and wounded at those locations.

“Do you agree that this would be a crime,” the Prosecutor asked. “It happens in the whole World, including Libya, Afghanistan,” Poplasen said. “Do you agree,” Edgerton repeated her question. “Yes,” the witness responded.

However, Poplasen suggested that the taking of civilians to combat lines was a part of “lawful mobilisation, irrespective of ethnic affiliation”. “Most of them were Muslims, but Serbs too performed their obligatory military duties,” Poplasen said.

When Prosecutor Edgerton reminded him that, in his statement from 2006 he confirmed that the unlawful detention of non-Serb civilians in Vogosca was “a crime”, Poplasen said that it referred to buildings, which he had not seen. “I requested the Ministry of Justice to integrate them in the legal system, or else it would really be a crime,” Poplasen explained.

Opposing the witness’ allegation that the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, top leaders and SDS leader Karadzic did not have authority over municipal crisis committees and the Territorial Defence, TO, the Prosecutor presented Karadzic’s speech in front of the Parliament in 1995, when he said that “the SDS has formed the Army… the TO and Serb brigades”.

Poplasen explained that as “an obligation of civilian authorities to mobilise TO in crisis situations”, which was mentioned in “the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

Responding to witness’ allegation that there was no ethnic cleansing, but just voluntary departure of people caused by “the chaos”, from Vogosca and other places, the Prosecutor presented evidence on deportation of Bosniaks and Croats from Bijeljina and Banja Luka in 1994, when, as she said, “there was no chaos”.

“100,000 Serbs left Sarajevo in that way,” Poplasen responded.

The trial of Karadzic is due to continue on Monday, November 18.