Extremists Responsible for Conflicts in Kljuc

Testifying in defence of Radovan Karadzic before The Hague Tribunal, a witness says that “Muslim extremists” were to blame for the conflict in Kljuc in 1992.

Jovan Kevac said that the conflicts in Kljuc were provoked by “Muslim extremists”, who “started a war against Serbs” by killing six members of the Yugoslav National Army, JNA, in the spring of 1992.

As said by Kevac, following the establishment of Serb authorities, many Bosniaks stayed in Kljuc, while others had previously left, because of “the chaos”.

Neither the authorities nor the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, “ever ordered ethnic cleansing” of Bosniaks, said Kevac, adding that “all those, who had not participated in combats, could stay”.

He said that a number of Bosniaks were killed in Biljani village, Kljuc, on July 10, 1992, but he said that “individuals and groups, who were beyond control, committed the brutal crime”. He said that the perpetrators were arrested immediately.

During the cross-examination Prosecutor Caroline Edgerton said that the crime in Biljani was committed by members of a Republika Srpska Army, VRS, battalion commanded by Kevac and that the witness failed to mention that he was a commander of that unit in order to avoid responsibility.

“No, that is not true,” Kevac said. When Prosecutor Edgerton presented him with a VRS document, according to which he led the “cleansing” operation in Biljani in which “more than 100 Muslim men” were killed, Kevac denied that as well. He said that the Prosecution’s evidence were “insinuations, which I do not accept”.

Prosecutor Edgerton alluded to the witness that his subordinate Marko Samardzija was sentenced before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to seven years in prison for crimes in Biljani. Kevac responded by saying that Samardzija led “an emerging company”, suggesting that he was not under his command, although they maintained contact during the operation in Biljani.

Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of its armed forces, is charged with genocide in seven Bosnian municipalities, including Kljuc, in 1992. Besides that, he is on trial for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats, terror against citizens in Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

According to the charges against Karadzic, Serb forces killed “at least 144 persons” in Biljani.

Dusan Jaksic, an economist from Banja Luka, testified in defence of Karadzic at this hearing. Jaksic said that the establishment of the Krajina Autonomous Region was based on economic reasons due to “the concentration of financial resources in Sarajevo”. He said that Karadzic and SDS had nothing to do with it.

The trial of Karadzic is due to continue on Thursday, January 30.