Koricanske stijene: Destroyed Life

I would like to apologize to the victims, whom I harmed, in any way, as a member of the police force in Prijedor,” Cetic said.

Following Cetic’s testimony and statement of regret, the Trial Chamber accepted the agreement he signed with the State Prosecution. Under this agreement he can be sentenced to between 11 and 13 years in prison.

Cetic, a former member of the First Interventions Squad with the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, Zoran Babic, Milorad Radakovic, Milorad Skrbic and Zeljko Stojnic, members of the same Squad, and Dusan Jankovic, former Commander of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor, are charged with participation in the shooting of about 200 men on Mount Vlasic on August 21, 1992.

The Prosecution contends that the civilians were previously separated from the convoy of more than 1,200 Bosniaks and Croats, who were being transported from Prijedor to Travnik.

Damir Ivankovic and Gordan Djuric previously admitted participation in the crime. They were sentenced to 14 and eight years in prison respectively.

During his testimony Cetic said he became a member of the Interventions Squad of the Public Safety Station in Prijedor in July 1992, confirming that the other indictees were members of the same Squad. He identified Dusan Jankovic as “a senior officer in the Public Safety Station”.

“We worked in shifts. On August 21, when the convoy traveled, we all met in the Police building. The late Commander Miroslav Paras came and ordered us not to leave the place, as we would all be escorting the convoy. He said the convoy was traveling to Vlasic,” Cetic said, adding that he saw “Squad Commander Paras and Petar Civcic” talking to Dado Mrdja and Dusan Jankovic in front of the arsenal of the Public Safety Station on that day.

The Hague Tribunal sentenced Darko Mrdja to 17 years in prison for participation in the crime committed at Koricanske stijene. The trial of Petar Civcic, Sasa Zecevic, Radoslav Knezevic, Marinko Ljepoja and Branko Topola, who are charged with the same crime, is underway before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“As soon as I arrived in Tukovi, I noticed that the convoy had already been formed. There were trucks, and then buses and many policemen and citizens, who were supposed to travel with the convoy. I approached K1. All the members of the Interventions Squad were standing next to the vehicles. Some active policemen, such as Dule Jankovic, were there. Jankovic sat in a police car – a VW Golf,” Cetic said.

According to his estimates, there were between 15 and 20 vehicles in the convoy. He said the first stop was in Kozarac, where vehicles coming from Trnopolje joined the convoy. He said Knezevic, Skrbic and Drasko Krndija were in those vehicles.

Cetic said that on the road between Banja Luka and Skender Vakuf the convoy stopped two or three times in order for “the passengers to refresh”.

“I noticed some bags in a couple of vehicles. They collected money, but I did not do it. In my truck I saw Damir Ivankovic. When I called his name, he got off the truck and gave me some money and jewelry he had been holding in his hand. I put them into my pocket. He just said: ‘Have a drink and keep quiet’,” Cetic said.

The indictment alleges that members of the Interventions Squad “threatened the civilians by saying they would kill them” and took away their money, jewelry and other valuables on several occasions.

The indictee said that after the convoy had passed by Skender Vakuf it was stopped by the Ilomska river, where he “saw almost every member of the Interventions Squad” and heard K1 say “someone was supposed to be executed”.

“I saw Paras and Mrdja talking to Jankovic and making some agreement. Jankovic then left and Paras told me to go to two buses, which were full of civilians,” the indictee said, adding that he entered a bus together with Ivankovic, Paras and Zecevic. He said they “drove for about 15 minutes to a location next to the cliffs”.

“Mrdja ordered the passengers to get off the buses. The civilians came out and knelt. While this was happening, we could already hear some shooting coming from the second bus. We were standing behind them – Zecevic, Mrdja, Paras and me. The shooting started right away. It was unexpected and frightening,” Cetic said.

The indictee said he shot from “a small-caliber rifle”, adding that he fired five bullets only. Some civilians started to run away afterwards.

“Paras came to me, running. He gave me an automatic rifle and yelled at me. I fired just a couple of bullets and everything was over. Later on they told Ivankovic to go down and check whether there were any survivors. This lasted long, but I did not wait. As soon as the first truck came, I got on it and went back to Prijedor,” he said.

Following his testimony, the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina presented its closing arguments, saying that the agreement signed with Cetic would help achieve “a faster and more efficient processing of war crimes”. The Defence called on the Court to hand down “a more benign sentence”.

“Crimes cannot be justified, but the war was going on. The local media and leaders fostered inter-ethnic animosity, so a young man could not form a correct opinion on what was allowed and what was forbidden,” Defence attorney Slobodan Peric said.

The trial of the five other indictees is due to continue on March 22, when the first witnesses will testify for the Defence of Dusan Jankovic.