Separation of Men in Potocari

As the trial for genocide in Srebrenica continues, a State Prosecution witness says that he saw the separation of men in Potocari and their taking away to “a white house”.

The transcript of a testimony by Dutch officer Vincent Egbers at a trial held before The Hague Tribunal in 2006 was presented by the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, at a joint hearing of two cases before the Court of BiH.
 
The Defence of Ostoja Stanisic and Marko Milosevic as well as Aleksandar Cvetkovic, cross-examined the witness via video link.  

Egbers said that he came to Srebrenica as a lieutenant with the Dutch Battalion, whose mission was to protect civilians inside the enclave. He said that the local population in the protected zone was obliged to hand over their weapons.

When asked by Milo Peric, Defence attorney of Ostoja Stanisic and Aleksandar Cvetkovic, Egbers said that he saw Naser Oric in Srebrenica, but he did not know about existence of a big army or organising of Bosniaks.
 
Also he said that he heard rumours that people used to go out of the enclaves and attack Serb villages and civilians and then returned to the protected enclave.

The Hague Tribunal pronounced a second instance verdict against Oric, former Commander of Army of BiH forces in Srebrenica, acquitting him of charges for crimes in Srebrenica.  

Witness Egbers said that he witnessed the separation of men from their families in Potocari and that members of Serb forces told him that they were checking whether they eventually possessed weapons or if some of them had committed war crimes against Serb soldiers and civilians.

He said that he was among the escorts of two convoys of women and children from Potocari to Kladanj and that he saw the abuse of Bosniak young men in Nova Kasaba.

Stanisic and Milosevic are on trial for murders committed on a dam, near Petkovci, Zvornik municipality, where about 1,000 previously captured Srebrenica residents, where shot in mid-July 1995. Cvetkovic is on trial for the execution of more than 900 men and boys on Branjevo farm, Zvornik municipality.  

The trial of Cvetkovic is due to continue on August 19 and the trial of Stanisic and Milosevic on July 23.