Prosecution Witness Describes Occupation and Battles Around Trnovo

“There was complete disorder, chaos. People got killed, wounded,” said the witness, Ismet Godinjak.

Godinjak is testifying at the trial of Edhem Godinjak (no relation), Medaris Saric, and Mirko Bunoza. The three defendants are charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at killing and detaining Bosnian Serbs in villages in the area of Trnovo during the Bosnian war.

According to the charges, Godinjak was the chief of the public safety station in Trnovo, Saric was the commander of the Territorial Defence in Trnovo, while Bunoza was the commander of Croatian Defence Forces units.

Witness Ismet Godinjak said that Bosniak police and members of the Territorial Defence withdrew to nearby villages after the occupation of Trnovo.

Godinjak said that the Trnovo police force was ethnically divided prior to the withdrawal in April 1992. He said that Bosnian Serb policemen went to a hotel on Mount Treskavica, where they formed their own police station.

After Trnovo’s occupation, Godinjak said, Bosniak police joined the Territorial Defence. Soon after, defendant Medaris Saric was appointed commander.

“Most probably he was the commander and continued commanding the Territorial Defence and that army,” Godinjak said.

The indictment alleges that members of the police, Territorial Defence, Croatian Defence Forces, and the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina killed more than 90 people.

Godinjak said that he noticed Croatian Defence Forces members in the area of Trnovo. According to Godinjak, they “went wherever they wanted and did whatever they wanted.”

“They bragged about having killed Chetniks on the frontline,” said Godinjak.

According to Godinjak, the Territorial Defence attacked and occupied Trnovo in in July 1992. “There were casualties who were killed by grenades,” he said.

Godinjak said that Edhem participated in combat that took place at the nearby Rogoj mountain pass, and said that Bosnian Serb soldiers were captured during those battles.

He said that Edhem Godinjak acted as a superior to only one group of soldiers during the battles at Rogoj.

When asked about the possibility of a joint criminal enterprise, Godinjak said there had never been an order indicating that the goal of Bosniak police forces and the Territorial Defence was to kill Serbs and destroy their property.

He said that Croatian Defence Forces units did not act in coordination with Bosniak police forces and the Territorial Defence. He said that Bosniak police forces and the Territorial Defence were not satisfied with Croatian Defence Forces units, and had requested that they leave the area.

Godinjak said that he and other soldiers had searched the area after the occupation of Trnovo. He said they found documentation belonging to Bosnian Serb police, the Bosnian Serb Army, and the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). According to Godinjak, the documentation revealed that the SDS had been preparing for war, and had procured weapons and prepared units in 1991.

The trial will continue on March 17.