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Ivanovic: Sporadic Shooting and a Couple of Detonations

Kravica

26 November 2009  

A Prosecution witness says that special policemen from Skelani escorted the civilians who were taken to Kravica in July 1995.

Marko Aleksic, Commander of the First Special Police Squad from Sekovici, was given a task, "by Commander Cuturic" in July 1995, to deploy his men by the road between Sandici and Konjevic polje, in Bratunac Municipality.   

"In the afternoon hours Cuturic informed me by walkie-talkie, that a group of captured Muslims would pass towards Kravica village, telling me we should be careful. The convoy, consisting of about 500 civilians, was, as far as I can remember, escorted by members of the Special Police Squad from Skelani. The convoy passed by us and nothing unusual happened. There were no incidents," Aleksic said.

The witness mentioned that he heard "sporadic shooting and a couple of detonations" coming from Kravica later that day, but the members of his Squad did not know what this was about. He said that Cuturic informed him in the evening that the task had been completed and they could go back to Bratunac.

Aleksic was testifying for the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the trial of Zeljko Ivanovic, who is charged, as a member of the Second Special Police Squad from Sekovici, with having captured and then shot more than 1,000 men from Srebrenica in Kravica Agricultural Cooperative warehouse on July 13, 1995.

Rade Cuturic was killed in September 1995.

Prosecutor Dubravko Campara reminded the witness of his statement given to the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, which says that Aleksic knew about "the incident" in Kravica Agricultural Cooperative.  

"Your statement, given in October 2005, says that Cuturic informed you of 'an incident' that had happened in Kravica. It also says that Cuturic was wounded on that occasion, while a solider was killed. Besides that, you told the SIPA investigators that, upon your return to Bratunac, soldiers told you that a number of Muslims had been shot in Kravica and they were scared because they did not know what would happen to them," the Prosecutor said.

Answering, Aleksic said that he had given this statement under pressure, because SIPA members wanted him to remember everything that had happened in that period of time.

"I realized the examination would last a very long time, so I decided to tell them what I saw and what I found out later on," Aleksic said.

During cross-examination the witness confirmed that he knew Zeljko Ivanovic, who was a member of the Special Police Unit from Sekovici, but he said that this was not the same person who was present in the courtroom as an indictee.

The trial is due to continue on December 3, when two more Prosecution witnesses will be examined.