Comforted by Wounded Rackovic
As the trial of Vitomir Rackovic for crimes in Visegrad continues, a Defence witness says that she saw the indictee, who was injured, in a dispensary on July 19, 1992.
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Dusana Bukvic, who used to work as a medical doctor at the Visegrad Dispensary, said that she remembered that day very well, because her brother, who was severely wounded and whose life was in danger, was brought while she was on duty.
“We needed emergency transport for him. I remember Vito approaching me and calming me down. He said: ‘Look, I am wounded too’. I do not know where his injury was – on his hand, shoulder or back,” Bukvic recalled.
She said that Rackovic came later on, because he had problems with his elbow.
Rackovic, a former member of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, is charged with having participated in the attack on Bosniak villages, detention, torture, forcible disappearances and rape from May to the end of August 1992.
Testifying for the Defence, witness Mihajlo Jelisavcic spoke about the situation in Visegrad prior to, and after the breakout of the war.
“We used to live and work together. Tensions appeared following the establishment of SDA (the Party of Democratic Action) and SDS (the Serbian Democratic Party)… Extremists thought that they could do whatever they wanted,” Jelisavcic said.
He mentioned many incidents and provocations, which, as he said, were caused by a group led by Murat Sabanovic. These included the interception of people and vehicles, burning a Serbian flag, destruction of monuments, threats about opening the water-gate.
The witness said that he heard about most of those things from other people, just like about the capture and mistreatment of 11 Serb policemen and murder of three members of the Tanaskovic family.
According to hs testimony, following the departure of the Uzice Corps of the Yugoslav National Army, “the real war began”.
When asked by Prosecutor Dzevad Muratbegovic whether there were any extremists of the Serb side, he said yes, but not so many as “on the Muslim side, because they were the majority”.
The witness confirmed that the pre-war proportion was 65% of Bosniaks and 37% of Serbs, while mainly Serbs inhabited Visegrad today.
When asked by Trial Chamber Chairman Zoran Bozic about Serb paramilitary groups, Jelisavcic said that they used to come from other places.
“I did not know them. They were not real soldiers, but most of them came just to rob people. They caused much damage,” the witness said.
The trial is due to continue on January 14, when the Defence will present its material evidence.
