Mladic: Situation in Sarajevo Deliberately Deteriorated
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The Prosecution witness, whose identity was protected with pseudonym RM-120, stuck to his earlier statement that the Republika Srpska Army, VRS intentionally attacked civilians with grenades and snipers, saying that this was terrorising of the people.
Mladic, former Commander of VRS, is charged with having subjected civilians in Sarajevo to terror by systematic shelling and sniping activities. Also, he is charged with genocide in Srebrenica and seven other municipalities, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
During the cross-examination Mladics Defence attorney Branko Lukic asked the witness: You are saying that the Bosnian Serb authorities deliberately terrorised the population by opening fire at them. Is it true that UNPROFOR did not know the distribution and strength of Muslim forces in Sarajevo?
RM-120 responded by saying that UNPROFOR had been given an order to stand between the conflicting parties and enable the population to live. The distribution of forces was not its main preoccupation.
When asked by the Defence attorney whether, each time a grenade fell in Sarajevo, UNPROFOR considered that civilians were targeted, because it was not aware of the distribution of First Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina forces, the French Officer said that it was true.
According to the witness, UNPROFOR did not know that the First Corps covered the entire city of Sarajevo.
After having been asked by presiding judge Alphons Orie to explain his answers in more detail, RM-120 said: I cannot say that the population was targeted each time with the intention to be killed, but the general stand was that the population was being terrorised.
Responding to a suggestion by Mladics Defence attorney, the witness said that the mixing of the local population and Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina members in the city happened necessarily.
The witness confirmed that not only Serb forces, but also Bosniak forces opened fire from heavy weapons, whose use was prohibited at the time, during 1994 and 1995.
Also, he confirmed that UNPROFOR was concerned due to the fact that, as stated by Defence attorney Lukic, Muslims authorities deteriorated the living conditions in Sarajevo and presented the situation as much worse than it really was.
Towards the end of this hearing the judges removed indictee Mladic from the courtroom during the part of the session that was closed to public. However, on the basis of what judge Orie said, one could conclude that this was done because the indictee tried to show photographs from a book in the courtroom.
Hague prosecutors are due to continue presenting evidence against Mladic on Thursday, January 31.
