Krajisnik

Prosecutors at the trial of the former top Bosnian Serb politician Momcilo Krajisnik this week tried to prove that almost every military action during the Bosnian war was coordinated by leading Serb politicians including the defendant, a onetime a ruling party leader and Bosnian Serb parliamentary speaker.

Prosecutors’ military expert Ewan Brown testified at the Hague tribunal that the Bosnian Serb political leaders, including Krajisnik, were in regular contact with both high- and low-level military commanders, working hand in glove and forming a part of a clear chain of command, where politicians gave the ultimate orders.

“Bosnian Serb political leadership led the military on the ground and there was no difference between broader political goals and what the military did," said Brown.

Krajisnik’s defense lawyers have argued he had little knowledge of or direct control over events in the field, which were mainly in the hands of highly independent local authorities.

He is charged with genocide, as well as crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war relating to his alleged role in a campaign to drive the non-Serb population from large parts of Bosnia in 1992.

The indictment against him lists dozens of facilities where Bosnian Muslim and Croat detainees were apparently tortured, beaten and killed. Those detention camps, according to Brown and the prosecution team, were part of the Bosnian Serb politicians' campaign to territorially separate the three Bosnian nations - Serbs, Croats and Muslims - who until 1992 lived ethnically mixed throughout the country.

Brown told the judges this week that it was the now fugitive Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic – indicted by the UN court among others for planning the Srebrenica genocide – who first warned of the consequences of separation and the casualties that would result form it.

The witness said the Mladic, the Bosnian Serb army leader, told the politicians that the separation plan, which existed from late 19991, should remain secret or be presented to the public in an acceptable way. Brown testified about a conversation in which Mladic tells Krajisnik that he will "proceed according to plan" and that he will come down to see Krajisnik the next day "to see the further instructions".

This showed, according to the witness, that the highest military commander was under the control of politicians.

Prosecutor Mark Harmon also presented a telephone conversation between Krajisnik and a local military commander in which the accused asked about the situation on the ground. Brown said this proves the Serb leadership was also well aware of what was happening at lower levels in the army.

He added that even the smallest military action had to be consistent with the main goal of creating ethnically clean areas and be coordinated by the Bosnian Serb political leadership.

Brown’s claims were supported by Republika Srpska, RS, army documents showing the military used the strategic goals adopted by the Bosnian Serb political leadership in May 1992 as the general guideline for planning battles. These included the blockade of Sarajevo, holding the corridor in northeastern Bosnia and establishing ethnically-clean Serb areas along two Bosnain rivers - the Drina in the east and Una in the west.

Prosecutors also noted that the use of the air force could only be ordered by the RS presidency, further linking politicians to military action.

When prosecutors asked Brown to explain the transformation of the parts of the Yugoslav army, JNA, from a multi-ethnic force into the Bosnian Serb-controlled military, Brown said it all began after the war in Croatia started and many JNA officers retreated to Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Brown also explained how the JNA took the side of the Serb nationalists in Bosnian political confrontations and helped to spread weapons among Bosnian Serbs.

“JNA politics were run on two tracks – [to] try to undermine the tensions in Yugoslavia and to get close as possible to Serbs,” said Brown.

Documents presented to the tribunal this week also showed how the non-Serb population was transported to detention camps through coordinated actions between police and the military, illustrating the close links between the armed forces and local municipalities in executing the goals given by politicians.

Defense lawyer Chrissa Loukas tried to undermine Brown’s evidence, pointing out changes in his testimony this week compared with last year when he appeared as an expert witness at the trial of Radoslav Brdjanin.

Brdjanin was Krajsinik’s deputy and thus the first vice-president of the RS assembly at the time when it adopted the political programme aimed at separating Serbs, Muslims and Croats. A Krajisnik subordinate, he was found guilty of crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws and customs of war, and sentenced in 2004 to 32 years imprisonment.

Loukas said all Brown’s claims were simply his own opinions and conclusions to which he came after writing the original report for the Brdjanin trial. But the witness responded that he arrived at them after having read new documents from the Krajina Corps, a Bosnian Serb military unit stationed in the northwest of the country. “You haven't been there,” replied Loukas, asking how Brown was sure these documents were correct.

The defense counsel also attempted to downplay Krajisnik’s command responsibility for the situation in the field, alleging there was chaos at both the civilian and military levels. Brown responded “there was chaos, perhaps on civilian, but not on military level”.

The prosecutor will continue outlining the case against Krajisnik until the beginning of the summer recess. It is expected that the defence case may start soon after the court reconvenes in late August.

Goran Jungvirth is an IWPR contributor.