Secret Preparations for an Attack on Trnovo

A State Prosecution witness denies a Defence’s allegation that he participated in the planning of an attack on Trnovo on May 31, 1992.

“I cannot agree with your allegations,” witness Rade Ivanovic said, responding to the allegations by Edina Residovic, Defence attorney of indictee Edhem Godinjak that he participated in preparation of an attack on Trnovo. 

The witness began testifying at the trial of Godinjak, Medaris Saric and Mirko Bunoza, who are charged with having participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of killing and detaining Serbs in villages in the Trnovo area, in mid-November.

According to the charges, Godinjak was Chief of the Public Safety Station in Trnovo, Saric was Commander of the Territorial Defence Headquarters in Trnovo, while Bunoza was Commander of the Croatian Defence Forces, HOS, units. 

Residovic presented the witness with reports from meetings of the Serbian Crisis Committee in Trnovo, which he attended, during which participants discussed the attack. The reports indicate that the witness attended the meetings in his capacity as Chief of the Serbian Police Station in Trnovo, which the witness did not deny.

Residovic said that the documents indicated that there was a firm relation between the Crisis Committee and Serbian Territorial Defence in Trnovo on one hand and the Tactical Group of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, in Kalinovik on the other.

The Defence presented an allegation that the witness used to visit Kalinovik in order to establish co-operation, but he responded by saying: “If I went to Kalinovik, I did it due to my private obligations.”
The Defence said that one of the strategic goals of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, was to connect Lukavica with Foca and Kalinovik via Trnovo.

According to Defence attorney Residovic, at one of the Crisis Committee meetings the participants discussed the idea of the Serb population leaving Trnovo prior to the attack, adding that the Police Station, whose Chief the witness was, participated in it.

“I never attended a meeting about evacuation of the population,” the witness said, adding that, prior to the attack, police forces withdrew to “Treskavica” Hotel, because they received information that Muslims would attack them.

According to the Defence’s evidence, the attack was prepared secretly, but a man named Zeljko Spasojevic informed some Muslims about it and told them to tell others to leave Trnovo, which the majority of the people did. 

During the examination the Defence denied the witness’ allegation that the police forces in Trnovo were divided on April 21, 1992, after Muslim soldiers had killed a mixed patrol. As he said, after that they continued with mixed patrols until the Kalinovik Tactical Group’s attack on Trnovo.

A document presented in the courtroom indicated that, on April 3, 1992 the witness received a signed decision by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Serbian Republic of BiH, appointing him Chief of the Serb police in Trnovo.

“I could not have possibly received this on April 3. That is not true,” the witness said.

The examination of the witness is due to continue on December 16.