Karadzic: Forcible Resettlement of Civilians

The protected Hague Prosecution witness, who testified under the pseudonym KDZ310, told the Court he was a member of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps with the Republika Srpska Army, SRC VRS, starting in May 1992.

He testified that members of the Corps committed crimes against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Grbavica, Sarajevo.

“Mass robberies happened. This was done by military and civil policemen, as well as members of the Army. Of course, not all soldiers committed robberies. Not all of them had to do it, but it was bad enough when one man did it,” witness KDZ310 recalled.

The protected witness said that non-Serb civilians who lived in Grbavica were exposed to “restrictive measures”, adding that many of them were “deported from the area”.

“Judging by their faces, I could see that the resettlement of those civilians was forced, not voluntary. If you see a woman crying, it means she is leaving against her own will. Otherwise, she would not have cried or left her property behind so anyone could pillage it.

“Another thing I noticed was Croat and Muslim civilians being hit by Serb soldiers. They pushed them on their backs, hit them and cursed their Croat and Muslim mothers. This means I saw people deported forcibly,” the witness said.

Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and supreme commander of its armed forces, is charged with having participated in genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed from 1992 to 1995.

The indictment alleges, among other things, that Karadzic participated, in collaboration with SRC VRS members, in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of carrying out a sniping and shelling campaign targeted against the civilian population of Sarajevo and aimed at killing, torturing and terrorizing civilians.

The witness said that members of the SRC VRS “opened non-selective fire” from Grbavica “on civilians in the city using snipers, artillery and mine throwers”.

“The frontline was so close that I could clearly see them shooting at areas located behind the frontlines, where there were no soldiers.

“I could determine, on the basis of the mine-throwers’ shots, the locations hit by grenades. I saw tanks firing projectiles and I could see they did not target the frontlines but the background area inhabited by civilians,” the witness said.

The Hague Prosecution considers that the sniping and shelling campaign conducted in Sarajevo consisted of non-selective and excessive attacks on civilians, who did not directly participate in hostilities.

The witness said that some members of the SRC VRS who participated in various crimes have never been brought to court nor have they been punished for their actions.

The trial of Radovan Karadzic is due to continue on December 7, 2010.

D.Dž.