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Adamovic said he was Deputy Commander for Information and Religious Issues with the Kljuc Battalion, explaining that he attended a discussion about the establishment of the Town Defence Command at the Kljuc Municipal Assembly on June 1, 1992.
“They discussed appointing either me or Branko Ribic as commander. Throughout the discussion, the issue of appointment of the town defence command members remained unsolved.
“On the following day, we were informed that they gave up the effort to establish the town defence command. A decision was made to establish the 17th Light Infantry Brigade,” indictee Adamovic said.
The indictment alleges that Adamovic, as former Commander of Kljuc Town Defence Command and Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defence, TD, Battalion in Kljuc, and Bosko Lukic, Commander of the TD Headquarters, organised and executed a broad and systematic attack in the Kljuc area.
The indictees are charged with unlawful arrests, abuse and murder of Bosniaks and Croats from the end of May to mid August 1992.
“I did not participate in the joint criminal enterprise,” Adamovic said.
He added that in late 1993 or early 1994 he signed a form to become a member of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, adding that only in 2008, after he was arrested, did he see the form which says he joined the SDS in the beginning of 1992.
The indictee said he was not a member of the Crisis Committee in Kljuc municipality.
Adamovic explained that his Battalion did not participate in the artillery attack on Pudin han and Velagici villages, when at least 12 civilians were killed, adding he was not aware of the fact that at least 1,161 civilians were taken from Kljuc to Manjaca detention camp, where a number of detainees died after being beaten.
He said that on June 30, 1992, the Kljuc Battalion “occupied” Velagici, Krasulje and Ramici villages, where the Command was based.
The indictment alleges that Bosniak men from Velagici village were invited to come to a police check-point on June 1, 1992, and at least 78 civilians were shot in the evening hours on that day.
“I have heard about the murders committed in Velagici village. Members of the Battalion to which I belonged did not commit the murders. (…) Battalion members carried out their tasks honestly and properly in that area. I am saying that Battalion members did not kill anyone,” Adamovic said.
The trial is due to continue on December 1 this year, when Adamovic will be cross-examined.
A.J.
