Andabak Testifies In Own Defense, Claims No Command Function

According to the indictment, former Croatian Defense Council commander Andabak led an operation in the village of Grborezi in Livno on July 21, 1993, in which members of the Second Light Assault Battalion of the military police of the Croatian Defense Council opened fire on civilians in his presence, killing one person and wounding another. The prosecution alleges that the members of the Second Light Assault Battalion then wounded another person, whom Andabak shot in the head.

Andabak is the the former commander of the Second Light Assault Battalion of the Croatian Defense Council’s military police as well as the former assistant chief of the Military Police Administration for the North-western Herzegovina Operational Zone of the Croatian Defense Council. The indictment charges Andabak with killing two civilians, violating the bodily integrity of a civilian in collaboration with his subordinates and the torture of a civilian.

Testifying in his own defense at today’s hearing, Andabak confirmed he was the assistant chief of the Military Police Administration for the North-western Herzegovina Operational Zone at the time of the Grborezi attack.

He said he couldn’t have been the commander of the Second Light Assault Battalion at the same time, as Muamir Jasarevic performed that role. Andabak said he only had a coordinating role in operations involving the disarmament of Bosniaks in the area.

“I’m saying I didn’t attend any of the meetings related to the disarmament of Bosniaks by the Croatian Defense Council in Livno,” Andabak said.

Andabak said the disarmament of the Bosniak members of the Croatian Defense Council in Livno was ordered by the Livanjska Brigade. He said they withdrew from the Gornji Vakuf area in order to execute the order.

On July 20, 1993, Andabak said representatives of the Livanjska Brigade, the HDZ and the SDA discussed a voluntary surrender of weapons. He said the Grborezi operation was probably conducted because this meeting was unsuccessful.

Andabak said firearms weren’t supposed to be used during the operation, and said teams were formed to implement the operation.

He said the brigade’s Information and Propaganda section wrote an announcement which he read to civilians in the villages of Guber, Komorani and Grborezi through a public address system.

Andabak said he read the announcement with a megaphone and said the vehicle he was in had speakers as well. He said he told civilians not to be afraid and informed them of who would conduct the disarmament.

Andabak said one team confiscated weapons, while another team accompanied the possessors of weapons to a bus. The bus then transported them to a school building in the village of Orguz.

According to Andabak, the bus was provided by the logistics service of the Livanjska Brigade. The weapons were loaded onto a vehicle owned by the Light Assault Battalion. He said he didn’t know how many people were disarmed, adding that he didn’t see them.

He said they first arrived to Guber, which they drove through several times as he read the announcement. He said they then went to Komorani, where they completed their disarmament tasks quickly. Andabak said they arrived to Grborezi at around 6:30.

Andabak will continue testifying on February 2.