Ex-Bosnian Serb Officer Denies Mladic Srebrenica Illegal Orders
This post is also available in: Bosnian
Savcic testified on Wednesday that he did not know about any plan to kill Muslims in Srebrenica and that his commander Ratko Mladic never gave him an illegal order.
I never got an order which was against the rules of war, said Savcic a former commander of a unit within the Bosnian Serb Army Main Headquarters.
The witness, however, said that he met Mladic several times during the operations in Eastern Bosnia in July 1995.
In his written statement, introduced into evidence, Savcic claimed that his order on treating prisoners of war from Srebrenica which was issued on July 13, 1995 has nothing to do with any plan to kill prisoners.
During cross examination by prosecutor Peter McCloskey, Savcic confirmed that members of his unit guarded more than 1000 prisoners from Srebrenica on July 13, 1995 in the football field in Nova Kasaba.
Asked whether he knew that those prisoners were executed on July 16, the witness replied: I did not know that for many years. Sacic clarified that he later heard from witnesses that some of the prisoners were killed in Branjevo on July 16.
Discussing Savcics claim that he never received an illegal order, prosecutor McCloskey asked him who ordered the killing of Bosnian Army commander Avdo Palic, who was arrested by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995.
I do not know, answered Savcic.
After the prosecutor suggested it had to be someone from the top of the civilian or military ladder, the witness said: I do not agree with you. That could have been done by any irresponsible individual.
Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, is charged with genocide against more than 7,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica in July 1995, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats which reached the scale of genocide in some municipalities terrorising the population of Sarajevo and taking UN peacekeepers.
The trial continues on Thursday.
