Ethnic Division of Police Staff

Rade Ivanovic, former inspector with the Public Safety Station in Trnovo, said that the division of police was preceded by murder of policemen from a mixed patrol.
 
He told the Court that he heard that this patrol stopped a truck on the territory of Trnovo on April 21, 1992 and that Muslims soldiers, who were under the awning, killed three policemen.
 
“I think that they were members of ‘Green Berets’,” the witness said.
 
As he said, on that same day police was divided on the basis of its ethnic composition. The witness said that, as per a request by the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, he took over “the Serb police station”. According to Ivanovic, the patrols were divided until May 30, 1992.
 
“A Serb patrol used to patrol one pavement, while a Muslim patrol did the same on the other side of the street,” the witness said, adding that they had mutual contacts.
 
The witness said that he noticed that Godinjak, who was Chief of the Public Safety Station in Trnovo, “behaved strangely in terms of ethnic issues, organized people, motivated them to do evil things” and that he asked a policeman why they did nothing to dismiss him, but he told him: “Oh well, Rade, it is too late now”.
 
Godinjak is on trial, along with Medaric Saric and Mirko Bunoza, for having participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of killing and detaining Serbs in villages on the territory of Trnovo.
 
According to the charges, Godinjak was Chief of the Public Safety Station in Trnovo, Saric was Commander of the Territorial Defence in Trnovo and Bunoza was Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces units.
 
The witness said that his 80-year old father was killed in Milje village, Trnovo municipality, in June 1992.
 
“My father was killed in front of our family house on June 15,” he said.  
 
Among other things, the indictment alleges that Serb civilians, who were too old to leave their houses, were killed in the period from June to November 1992.
 
The witness said that Muslims forces conducted an attack on July 31, 1992 and occupied Trnovo, which had been under the control of Serb soldiers two months before.
 
Witness Ivanovic said that Jovo Eelez, who was detained in a garage in Godinje village, Trnovo municipality, told him that they were guarded by police and that they were beaten up. The witness also heard from him that Godinjak used to come to the garage and say that the detainees must not be beaten.
 
Responding to Defence’s questions, the witness said that Godinjak was appointed Chief of police in accordance with the laws, which were in force at the time, and that this happened prior to first multi-party elections.
 
The Defence claims that Godinjak objected to the changes in the ethnic composition of police staff. It showed a document, indicating that he did not employ a Muslim policeman, because there were no vacant positions.
 
The Defence is due to continue examining the witness on December 2.