Disarmament of Bosniaks in Livno Occurred Voluntarily, Says Witness

The witness, Slavko Buljan, said the conflict between Bosniaks and Croats in Livno occurred in June or July 1993.

“There was a disarmament of Muslims. I do not know who ordered Muslim population to surrender their weapons and that’s it,” said Buljan.

He said that at the time, he was a member of the Special Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Livno, which was on reserve.

“As far as I know, they [the Bosniak population] had withdrawn to the upper town, they had their checkpoint, and they did not allow anyone to enter. It lasted for an hour and it was finished on the same day…Bosniaks surrendered their weapons to the Croatian Defence Council and there were no conflicts since,” Buljan said.

Asked whether there was any exchange of fire, Buljan said he thought there wasn’t.

The defense team asked Buljan whether he participated in any of the activities related to the attack that took place on July 21, 1993. He said he hadn’t.

According to the indictment, Andabak was in command when members of the Second Light Assault Battalion of the Military Police of the Croatian Defence Council opened fire in the village of Grborezi in Livno. They killed one person and wounded another.

According to the indictment, members of the Second Light Assault Battalion then wounded another person whom Andabak killed with a shot to the head.

Andabak has also been accused with the physical abuse of one civilian. He allegedly ordered the civilian to lie on the ground, after which he jumped on his stomach and broke two of his teeth with the butt of his gun.

The trial will continue on April 22.