Bosniak and Croat Officers ‘Not Fired From Serb Army’

Witness Stojan Malisic told former Bosnian Serb military chief Mladic’s trail at the Hague Tribunal on Thursday that the army he commanded always fought according to the rules of war, and that he never heard that Mladic ordered the killing of prisoners or civilians.

During cross-examination, the Hague prosecution claimed that Mladic was faced with the problem of non-Serb officers in the 1st Krajina Corps, and told Bosniak and Croat officers to take vacations.

Malisic responded that the officers were not “cleansed” from the force, but that Mladic treated them humanely by giving them time to decide which army they wanted to be part of.

“The 1st Krajina Corps asked general Mladic for his opinion about what should be done with active Croatian and Muslim officers,” Malisic testified.

“Mladic responded immediately and said that they should take 30 days of vacation. And why 30 days? So they could think what they should do… They should consult their family members to see what was next, because it was big step,” he said.

He added that many Muslim and Croatian officers decided to stay in the Bosnian Serb Army.

“Officers who wanted to stay in the units of the Bosnian Serb Army, they stayed,” he insisted.

He added that some Bosniaks and Croats deserted from the Yugoslav People’s Army and joined their own armed forces.

“Those who stayed were true Yugoslavs, true patriots,” the witness said.

Mladic is on trial for terrorising the population of Sarajevo by conducting artillery and sniper attacks against civilians, as well as genocide in Srebrenica and seven other municipalities, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats, and taking UN peacekeepers hostage.

The trial continues on September 29.