Mladic Witness: Muslims Voluntarily Left Kljuc

Kalabic blamed armed “Muslim extremists” for the conflicts in Kljuc in the spring of 1992.

Kalabic, former member of the crisis staff of Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, in Kljuc, denied that the crisis staff was an instrument for taking over the power and persecution of Muslims and Croats.

“SDS was in power in Kljuc before the war and did not have the plan for persecution of non-Serbs,” Kalabic said.

Witness Kalabic said that replacing Yugoslav flag with the flag of Republika Srpska in May 1992 was a routine measure, while The Hague prosecutors said that changing the insignia meant that the SDS took over power.

Kalabic testified at the trial of Ratko Mladic, who is charged with genocide committed in 1992 in several municipalities including Kljuc, genocide in Srebrenica, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats across the country, as well as terrorising the population of Sarajevo and taking UN peacekeepers hostage.

During the cross examination, Kalabic confirmed that there were more than 17,000 Muslims in Kljuc before the war, and only 1,000 of them remained.

Kalabic did not deny that Serbian forces committed mass killings over unarmed Muslims, including women and children, in the villages of Prhovo and Velagici on June 1, 1992, but claimed that Muslim paramilitaries previously attacked the Serb army.

According to the indictment, 38 people were killed in Prhovo, and 77 men in Velagici.

Kalabic said that it is true that Muslims were questioned in Kljuc police station, and that only those “who had weapons and were part of Territorial Defence” were later sent to the Manjaca camp.

The trial continues on January 21.