Savic and Mucibabic: Police devoid of responsibility
27 August 2008 Former policemen from Nevesinje claim that they were not responsible for the captured civilians in 1992.
Miodrag Kovac and Dragan Ivkovic, former inspectors with the Public Safety Station in Nevesinje said that the police could not control the situation in this town in 1992, due to "the collapse of security", adding that the buildings in which Bosniaks were detained were not under their responsibility.
Kovac said that the situation in the town was
"unbearable – there was a total catastrophe and collapse of security". He said
that no investigations were conducted concerning the disappearances of Bosniaks
from Nevesinje, as "it was not possible to continue with normal
activities."
"Neither the court nor the prosecutor's office functioned. We did not conduct any investigations at the time," Kovac said. He told the Court that Krsto Savic was commander of the Public Safety Station in April and May 1992, adding that he became commander of the Security Services Centre in Trebinje afterwards.
The State Prosecution charges Krsto Savic, former commander of the Security Services Center in Trebinje, and Milko Mucibabic, policeman from Nevesinje, with having participated in the deportation, forced disappearances, murder, rape and detention of Bosniaks in the course of 1992.
Kovac said that Nevesinje residents told him that Savic had killed a person named Redzo Trebovic, adding that no investigation was opened because he "did not consider that we are responsible for that".
As indicated by Ivkovic, the police did not know anything about the detention of Bosniaks in the tools factory in Nevesinje, claiming that the police did not have any responsibility for those prisoners.
"This was certainly not done by the police. Members of some paramilitary groups may have detained civilians. People were saying that there were some volunteers. Muslim civilians used to come to the police station in order to protect themselves from those soldiers," Ivkovic said, adding that he knew the indictees.
"I know Mucibabic very well. He is a very correct man. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about him. However, I did not have any contacts with Savic, who was our commander," Ivkovic explained.
Protected witness I, who appeared as the third Prosecution witness, recalled having left his birthplace Odzak, near Nevesinje, on June 16, 1992, because he was afraid of "persecution".
"On that day we headed towards Gornje polje, but the army stopped us. We decided to surrender. Our neighbours Andjelka and Milovan Milovic accompanied us and told the soldiers not to do us any harm," the witness said.
As indicated by this witness, following the capture his group was taken to "a square in Nevesinje", where he saw Krsto Savic "giving an order to separate men and women".
As he said the women were then taken to a detention unit in "Alatnica" tools factory, while the men were first taken to the cinema hall in the Yugoslav National Army house and then to a detention camp in Bileca.
The next hearing is due on September 3, 2008.
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
Read more
OSCE: Success of War Crimes Processing Endangered
An OSCE report on Witness Protection and Support in War-Crimes Cases says, among other things, that Bosnia and Herzegovina has neither improved the position of victims and witnesses nor has it won their confidence in criminal proceedings and war-crimes cases.
Read more
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Komentari:
Nema komentara.