CR 2006/28
International Court Cour internationale
of Justice de Justice
THHEAGUE LAAYE
YEAR 2006
Public sitting
held on Monday 27 March 2006, at 3 p.m., at the Peace Palace,
President Higgins presiding,
in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)
________________
VERBATIM RECORD
________________
ANNÉE 2006
Audience publique
tenue le lundi 27 mars 2006, à 15 heures, au Palais de la Paix,
sous la présidence de Mme Higgins, président,
en l’affaire relative à l’Application de la convention pour la prévention et la répression du
crime de génocide (Bosnie-Herzégovine c. Serbie-et-Monténégro)
____________________
COMPTE RENDU
____________________ - 2 -
Present: Presieigtgins
Vice-Prsi-Kntasawneh
Ranjevaudges
Shi
Parra-Aranguren
Owada
Simma
Tomka
Abraham
Keith
Sepúlveda
Bennouna
Judges ad hoc Mahiou
Kre ća
Couevrisrar
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ - 3 -
Présents : Mme Higgins,président
Al-K.vsce-prh,ident
RaMjev.
Shi
Parra-Aranguren
Owada
Simma
Tomka
Abraham
Keith
Sepúlveda
Bjnnosuna,
MaMhou.,
Kre ća, juges ad hoc
Cgoefferr,
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ - 4 -
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is represented by:
Mr. Sakib Softić,
as Agent;
Mr. Phon van den Biesen, Attorney at Law, Amsterdam,
as Deputy Agent;
Mr.Alain Pellet, Professor at the University of ParisX-Nanterre, Member and former Chairman of
the International Law Commission of the United Nations,
Mr. Thomas M. Franck, Professor of Law Emeritus, New York University School of Law,
Ms Brigitte Stern, Professor at the University of Paris I,
Mr. Luigi Condorelli, Professor at the Facultyof Law of the University of Florence,
Ms Magda Karagiannakis, B.Ec, LL.B, LL.M.,Barrister at Law, Melbourne, Australia,
Ms Joanna Korner, Q.C.,Barrister at Law, London,
Ms Laura Dauban, LL.B (Hons),
as Counsel and Advocates;
Mr. Morten Torkildsen, BSc, MSc, Tork ildsen Granskin og Rådgivning, Norway,
as Expert Counsel and Advocate;
H.E. Mr. Fuad Šabeta, Ambassadorof Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
Mr. Wim Muller, LL.M, M.A.,
Mr. Mauro Barelli, LL.M (University of Bristol),
Mr. Ermin Sarajlija, LL.M,
Mr. Amir Bajrić, LL.M,
Ms Amra Mehmedić, LL.M,
Mr. Antoine Ollivier, Temporary Lecturer and Research Assistant, University of Paris X-Nanterre, - 5 -
Le Gouvernement de la Bosnie-Herzégovine est représenté par :
M. Sakib Softić,
coagment;
M. Phon van den Biesen, avocat, Amsterdam,
comme agent adjoint;
M. Alain Pellet, professeur à l’Université de ParisX-Nanterre, membre et ancien président de la
Commission du droit international des Nations Unies,
M. Thomas M. Franck, professeur émérite à lafaculté de droit de l’Université de New York,
Mme Brigitte Stern, professeur à l’Université de Paris I,
M. Luigi Condorelli, professeur à la fact de droit de l’Université de Florence,
Mme Magda Karagiannakis, B.Ec., LL.B., LL.M.,Barrister at Law, Melbourne (Australie),
Mme Joanna Korner, Q.C.,Barrister at Law, Londres,
Mme Laura Dauban, LL.B. (Hons),
comme conseils et avocats;
M. Morten Torkildsen, BSc., MSc., Tork ildsen Granskin og Rådgivning, Norvège,
comme conseil-expert et avocat;
S. Exc. M. Fuad Šabeta, ambassadeur de Bosn ie-Herzégovine auprès duRoyaume des Pays-Bas,
M. Wim Muller, LL.M., M.A.,
M. Mauro Barelli, LL.M. (Université de Bristol),
M. Ermin Sarajlija, LL.M.,
M. Amir Bajrić, LL.M.,
Mme Amra Mehmedić, LL.M.,
M. Antoine Ollivier, attaché temporaire d’ense ignement et de recher che à l’Université de
Paris X-Nanterre, - 6 -
Ms Isabelle Moulier, Research Student in International Law, University of Paris I,
Mr. Paolo Palchetti, Associate Professor at the University of Macerata (Italy),
as Counsel.
The Government of Serbia and Montenegro is represented by:
Mr. Radoslav Stojanović, S.J.D., Head of the Law Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Serbia and Montenegro, Professor at the Belgrade University School of Law,
as Agent;
Mr. Saša Obradović, First Counsellor of the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro in the Kingdom of
the Netherlands,
Mr. Vladimir Cvetković, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro in the
Kingdom of the Netherlands,
as Co-Agents;
Mr.Tibor Varady, S.J.D. (Harvard), Professor of Law at the Central European University,
Budapest and Emory University, Atlanta,
Mr. Ian Brownlie, C.B.E., Q.C., F.B.A., Member of the International Law Commission, member of
the English Bar, Distinguished Fellow of the All Souls College, Oxford,
Mr. Xavier de Roux, Master in law, avocat à la cour, Paris,
Ms Nataša Fauveau-Ivanović, avocat à la cour, Paris and member of the Council of the
International Criminal Bar,
Mr. Andreas Zimmermann, LL.M. (Harvard), Professor of Law at the University of Kiel, Director
of the Walther-Schücking Institute,
Mr. Vladimir Djerić, LL.M. (Michigan), Attorney at Law, Mikijelj, Jankovi ć & Bogdanovi ć,
Belgrade, and President of the International Law Association of Serbia and Montenegro,
Mr. Igor Olujić, Attorney at Law, Belgrade,
as Counsel and Advocates;
Ms Sanja Djajić, S.J.D., Associate Professor at the Novi Sad University School of Law,
Ms Ivana Mroz, LL.M. (Indianapolis),
Mr. Svetislav Rabrenović, Expert-associate at the Office of th e Prosecutor for War Crimes of the
Republic of Serbia, - 7 -
Mme Isabelle Moulier, doctorante en droit international à l’Université de Paris I,
M. Paolo Palchetti, professeur associé à l’Université de Macerata (Italie),
cocomnseils.
Le Gouvernement de la Serbie-et-Monténégro est représenté par :
M. Radoslav Stojanović, S.J.D., chef du conseil juridique du ministère des affaires étrangères de la
Serbie-et-Monténégro, professeur à la faculté de droit de l’Université de Belgrade,
coagment;
M. Saša Obradovi ć, premier conseiller à l’ambassade de Serbie-et-Monténégro au Royaume des
Pays-Bas,
M. Vladimir Cvetković, deuxième secrétaire à l’ambassade de Serbie-et-Monténégro au Royaume
des Pays-Bas,
comme coagents;
M. Tibor Varady, S.J.D. (Harvard), professeur de droit à l’Université d’Europe centrale de
Budapest et à l’Université Emory d’Atlanta,
M. Ian Brownlie, C.B.E., Q.C., F.B.A., membre de la Commission du droit international, membre
du barreau d’Angleterre, Distinguished Fellow au All Souls College, Oxford,
M. Xavier de Roux, maîtrise de droit, avocat à la cour, Paris,
Mme Nataša Fauveau-Ivanovi ć, avocat à la cour, Paris, et membre du conseil du barreau pénal
international,
M. Andreas Zimmermann, LL.M. (Harvard), professeur de droit à l’Université de Kiel, directeur de
l’Institut Walther-Schücking,
M. Vladimir Djeri ć, LL.M. (Michigan), avocat, cabinet Mikijelj, Jankovi ć & Bogdanovi ć,
Belgrade, et président de l’association de droit international de la Serbie-et-Monténégro,
M. Igor Olujić, avocat, Belgrade,
comme conseils et avocats;
Mme Sanja Djajić, S.J.D, professeur associé à la faculté de droit de l’Université de Novi Sad,
Mme Ivana Mroz, LL.M. (Indianapolis),
M. Svetislav Rabrenovi ć, expert-associé au bureau du procureur pour les crimes de guerre de la
République de Serbie, - 8 -
Mr. Aleksandar Djurdjić, LL.M., First Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and
Montenegro,
Mr. Miloš Jastrebić, Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro,
Mr. Christian J. Tams, LL.M. PhD. (Cambridge), Walther-Schücking Institute, University of Kiel,
Ms Dina Dobrkovic, LL.B.,
as Assistants. - 9 -
M. Aleksandar Djurdji ć, LL.M., premier secrétaire au ministère des affaires étrangères de la
Serbie-et-Monténégro,
M. Miloš Jastrebi ć, deuxième secrétaire au ministère des affaires étrangères de la
Serbie-et-Monténégro,
M. Christian J. Tams, LL.M., PhD. (Cambridge), Institut Walther-Schücking, Université de Kiel,
Mme Dina Dobrkovic, LL.B.,
comme assistants. - 10 -
The PRESIDENT: Please be seated. The Court will now hear the next witness called by
Serbia and Montenegro, Mr. Vladimir Milićević. The witness may now be brought into court.
[Witness enters and takes his place at the rostrum]
I take this opportunity to explain to the Pes that JudgeKoroma, for reasons that have been
explained to me, is unable to sit with us this afternoon.
I call upon Mr.Mili ćević to make the solemn declaration for witnesses as set down in
Article 64 (a) of the Rules of Court.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : I solemnly declare upon my honour and
conscience that I will speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The PRESIDENT: I now give the floor to Mr. Cvetkovi ć to begin his examination of the
witness.
CMVr. TKOVI Ć: Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon, Mr. Mili ćević. Would
you please begin your testimony by reading the statement you have prepared.
MMIL.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Madam President, distinguished Members
of the Court, my name is Vladimir Mili ćević and I was born on 15 October 1947, in Vlajkovci, a
village in Brus municipality. After high school, I went to the teacher training college in Kosovo,
from which I graduated as a teacher. In 1970, I starte d work in the Ministry of the Interior, in the
crime prevention department of the public security branch of the Kosovo police. I worked in the
crime prevention department until 1987, when I became head of the section for border affairs,
foreign nationals, travel documents and weapons of the district of Rasina. I was in this position
until I retired in 2000.
At the beginning of August 1995, a large number of people crossed over from Bosnia and
Herzegovina into the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It wa s later established that
these people were members of the army of Bosn ia and Herzegovina and were mostly between
18and 55 years of age. They were first acco mmodated in the Braniško Polje reception centre,
which everyone called Šljvovica. Since there was not enough room in Šljvovica for all of them, it - 11 -
was decided to form another reception centre to hou se and feed half of the fleeing Muslim soldiers
in the territorial defence training centre in Mitrovo Polje in Aleksandrovac municipality.
On 4 August 1995, the first group of the Muslim who had fled arrived in the reception centre
under police escort. All the others arrived during the next two to three days until the Mitrovo Polje
reception centre, which could accommodate 450 people, was completely full. The identity of these
people was established on admission on the basis of the sparse documentation they had on them.
From conversations I had with the Muslims, I l earned that they were poorly educated and had
completed only elementary school or not even that, and had been on various courses to learn trades
such as carpentry, bricklaying and concrete work. All the people who came to Mitrovo Polje were
in a very poor psychological and physical state. It was clear that they had been starving for a long
time and that it had been some time since they ha d bathed and changed their clothes. They were
immediately given baths and a change of clean clot hes. Food was provided for them with the help
of the territorial organs of the civilian authorities of Kruševac municipality and the district of
Rasina. Food and personal hygiene items were provi ded in this way for the first month, and after
this aid began to arrive from the UNHCR and the ICRC.
The Serbian Ministry of the Interior decide d to form a staff in the Mitrovo Polje reception
centre whose tasks were to ensure that the people in the centre were safe, had food, their health was
looked after and they had all other forms of as sistance needed for decent accommodation and their
further transfer with the help of the interna tional community to countries which were willing to
receive them and allow them to stay in their terr itories. I headed the staff of the Mitrovo Polje
reception centre following a decision of the Admini stration for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Nationals
and Travel Documents of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia.
Madam President, Your Honours, the conditions at the Mitrovo Polje reception centre were
good. The facility had toilets and lavatories, dr inking water, bathrooms and oil-fired central
heating. I would add that the members of the Serbian police were in charge of security at the
reception centre and the people who had been memb ers of the Muslim army were served from the
same kitchen, except that food for the members of the Muslim army was prepared by their cooks.
The grounds of the Mitrovo Polje reception centre di d not have any special fencing. The Muslims
were able to walk and move freely in all parts of the grounds and they spent a lot of time on the - 12 -
basketball, five-a-side football and volleyball p itches. The centre was guarded by uniformed
members of Serbia’s Ministry of the Interior. The guards and the Muslims did not come into direct
contact because the policemen were given a writte n order prohibiting this. The guards and other
members of the police were warned that any co nduct which infringed the police rules of service
would be punished most severely.
Immediately after the Mitrovo Polje recepti on centre was formed, representatives of the
international community and international organi zations began to visit it and register all the
members of the Muslim army who were in the centre. The representatives of the international
community ⎯ the Ambassador of Australia, the First Secretary of the United States Embassy in
Belgrade ⎯ and the representatives of international organizations ⎯ the Red Cross from Geneva
and the United Nations ⎯ were able to speak to anyone they liked without the presence of any
member of the Mitrovo Polje staff. The repr esentatives of the embassies and international
organizations arranged their visits directly with the Serbian Interior Ministry’s Administration for
Border Affairs and Foreign Nationals. Letters were also exchanged with the families through these
representatives. The representatives of the embassies and international orga nizations never made
any complaints about conditions in the centre ex cept for proposing that the kitchen be enlarged
because its capacity was insufficient for the number of people who were registered to be fed from
it. They promised to provide funds for its enlarg ement but never kept this promise for as long as
the centre was there.
During the time that the centre was in opera tion it was visited by a total of 43foreign
delegations: 17representing the ICRC, 23representing the UNHCR, and three representing the
foreign embassies in Belgrade. Health care was provided when a dispensary was established at the
centre, where a doctor and a dentist from the Al eksandrovac Health Centre were on duty. A
request to see a doctor was submitted each day to the senior person in the dormitory, who was one
of the people staying in the centre. People with more serious medical problems were immediately
taken to Kruševac Hospital, or the health centres in Druz or Aleksandrovac. During their stay,
there was an outbreak of enteric typhoid fever whic h doctors from Belgrade confirmed. They also
established that the typhoid ⎯ the contagious disease ⎯ had been brought from Bosnia. Current
medical and hygiene measures successfully over came the outbreak of typhoid and prevented a - 13 -
wider and more serious epidemic. One person died while staying at the reception centre; he died
in the Druz Health Centre, with a diagnosis th at he had an intestinal obstruction. Outside
investigation was performed by the investigati ng judge of the Aleksandrovac municipal court and
an autopsy was performed by the Forensic Medicine Institute of the medical faculty in Niš, which
made a record of the autopsy and gave its findings and opinion on the cause of death. The
representatives of the international communityasked the people in the reception centre which
country they would like to go to, because none of them wanted to return to Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Most of them were able to go to the countries they had chosen. Buses of the
Ministry of the Interior of Serbia took the people from Mitrovo Polje to Belgrade Sur čin Airport,
from where they were transferred to third coun tries. Representatives of the international
community were always at the airport to witness their departure. The pe ople left Mitrovo Polje
during January and February 1996 and the centre was closed in February 1996. The opening of the
Mitrovo Polje centre coincided with the arrival of a large number of Serb refugees from the Knin
Krajina in Croatia. Some of these refugees were accommodated near the reception centre in
separate locations, where the conditions were far wo rse than in the centre where the Muslims were
staying. On several occasions living conditions of the Serb refugees provoked revolt among the
refugees and local people from Mitrovo Polje. Fortun ately, this revolt was not widespread and had
no serious effect.
The PRESIDENT: Thank you. Mr. Cvetković, do you wish to proceed with examination?
CMVr.TKOVI Ć: Yes, Madam President, I have a couple of questions.
MMilri. ćević, you mentioned that in addition to the reception centre you were in charge of,
there was another centre, called Šljivovica. C ould you tell the Court if you have some knowledge
about the other centre and, in particular, was there any difference between the two centres?
MMIL.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Yes, there was another reception centre at
Šljivovica near Užice. The reception centre actually occupied the grounds of the construction
company from Belgrade. Judging by what I had seen, accommodation conditions there were
somewhat different from the conditions at Mitrovo Polje. While primarily it was reflected in the - 14 -
fact that that facility had no central and other conditions of accommodation were similar
or identical to the ones in Mitrovo Polje.
MVr. TKOVI Ć: Could you tell us, please, was there any difference in status of the
people accommodated in your reception centre and the reception centre of Šljivovica?
MIr. I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : I think that thatus was absolutely
identical for people who were accommodated in both centres. And I think also that the
representatives of the international community visited both Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje.
CMVr.TKOVI Ć: You said in your statement that one of the Bosnian Muslims died during
his stay in the centre. Could you give us some more details on the circumstances of his death?
MMIL.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Well, yes. Unfortunately one person died
with the diagnosis that he had obstruction of the intestines. It was a young man who had terrible
stomach pain and he was taken by car at 2 a.m. to the hospital in Brus. Unfortunately by the time
they arrived there it was all over and there was nothi ng that could be done to save his life. In the
same car with him was his cousin who was actually staying in the same dormitory at the reception
centre, with the man that I am speaking about, and his name čer Dizdarević, and he was
actually a Muslim medical worker who communi cated, who actually helped the communication
between the doctors and refugees in the centre.
CMVr.TKOVI Ć: One last question. Mr. Milićević, you also mentioned in your statement
that all the Bosnian Muslims in your centre were members of the armed forces. How do you know
that, how do you know that they were members of the armed forces, and do you know under whose
command they were in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, it is absolutely indisputable, because
from conversations that I had with a large number of them they had stated that they were members
of the 1stLight Brigade from Žepa. When thearrived at the centre, a smaller number of them
wore military uniforms. And almost all of them had army shoes when they arrived in the centre, or
boots. Also from conversations with them, they l earned that there were seven companies in this
brigade. And they all stated unswervinglat their chief military commander was Naserć.i
And their brigade commander was a person whose name was Palić ⎯ as far as I can remember. - 15 -
MVr.ETKOVI Ć: Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. This concludes our
examination-in-chief.
The PRESIDENT: Ms Korner, you have the floor for cross-examination.
Ms KORNER: Thank you. Mr. Mili ćević, you were able to give the Court very accurate
figures for how many and which international ozations had visited the camp that you ran:
43 foreign delegations, 23 from UNHCR, and so on and so forth. Can I take it that, in preparation
for testifying before this Court, you checked the records which still exist of this camp?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, in preparation for this brief statement,
I have checked no documentation, because thiumentation was in the hands actually of the
Ministry of the Interior. The only document that I actually had insight to which I took was the
post-mortem record from the investigating judge of the municipal court in Aleksandrovac.
Ms KORNER: Are you telling us that in your accurate recounting of these figures you are
relying on your memory?
MI. I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Yes, I exclusively relied on my own
memory and on conversations that I had with the colleagues with whom I had worked.
Ms KORNER: Can you tell us please, how many people were in the camp that you ran, until
it was closed down in 1996.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : I think that I have given very precise
figures about that; I said that there were 450 people there at the centre.
Ms KORNER: Right. And again, that is from your recollection.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, I don’t see how the figures that I have
already read out in my statement ⎯ I mean, what would be so difficult about remembering this
figure.
Ms KORNER: And those 450, each and every one of those peo⎯ you tell us ⎯ was a
member of the BiH army, aged between 18 and 65.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Yes, because it was according to the
statements that I had made, that they had been mobilized for the 1st Light Brigade, from Žepa. - 16 -
Ms KORNER: Mr.Mili ćević, I want you to be quite clear on this. You conducted
investigations of who these people were, using their identity documents. Is that correct?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Well, to be very precise, these were the
documents that were collected by members of th e Užice police when these people crossed over to
their territory, and when they were actually received there.
Ms KORNER: Were you aware that the Bosnia and Herzegovina Government conducted, or
had a commission investigate the facts of what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, yes. But I read about this only in the
papers and I could not testify on what I hain the papers. I could not give you any more
concrete details, given the nature of the work that I performed.
Ms KORNER: I understand that. But I want to know this: were you aware that the Minister
of the Interior supplied the lists of persons who were held in your camp and the other camp, for the
purposes of this commission? Were you aware of that?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: No.
Ms KORNER: Because I am going to suggest to you, and I suggest that you were fully
aware of this: that many of the men in tmp were under the age of 18. Do you agree with
that?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: In my centre, of all the people in my centre,
there were only eight boys under that age and ac cording to the testimony, or statements by those
who were members of that brigade, they were actually couriers in the brigade.
Ms KORNER: You were able to remember a ll of this from your memory, without having
checked a single document about the matters that occurred in 1996?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Well, I’ve already said that twice. And I
would not like to repeat it for a third time.
MsKORNER: Yes. Well,Iamgoingtosugg est to you that many more than eight were
under the age of 18. But I want to turn, please to your description of these people. Do you agree
that you told the Court that they were poorly educated?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: No. What I said in my statement is what I
have learned from conversations with them, because each of them had a personal file and there was - 17 -
a column in that file on their educational background that had to be filled in. And these are also the
information and the data that was also available to the ICRC.
Ms KORNER: In a poor psychological and physical state?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Yes.
Ms KORNER: Starving for a long time?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Yes.
Ms KORNER: These were people, weren’t th ey, who were refugees from the events that
had taken place in Srebrenica and Žepa.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, from conversations with them, it was
learned that they had crossed over unlawfully to th e territory of Yugoslavia and that they had left
the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where war was waged.
Ms KORNER: Are you trying to avoid answering the question, Mr. ćević? Because I
am suggesting to you that those people who were in your camp were refugees from the killings that
took place when Srebrenica and Žepa were overrun in July 1995.
MMI.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : They never actually mentioned it in the
conversations that we had with them.
Ms KORNER: Did you ever draw any connection between what had happened in Srebrenica
and Žepa and these refugees all arriving on the doorstep of Serbia at the beginning of August?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: No, it was not actually my duty to establish
any such connection. My duty was to receive the refugees and provide accommodation and food
for them and provide decent living conditions for them.
Ms KORNER: In order to get into Serbia, these people had to swim the Drina River, did
they not?
MMI.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Well, we learned from conversations that
we had with them that they did not swim over; th at they used make-shift rafts to cross the River
Drina.
Ms KORNER: But if they tried to cross othe bridges or they were caught crossing the
river, it was the policy, was it not, of the border police to return them to Republika Srpska? - 18 -
MMI.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : To my knowledge, they made an illegal
crossing because they did not use the regular borde r point where the border police were stationed,
which meant that they had made an illegal einto the territory of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Ms KORNER: Quite. Within your knowledge is it not, Sir, as a member of the border
police, that people who were caught in July fleeing Srebrenica were returned to Republika Srpska?
MMI.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : I never made any such comments and no
such information is known to me.
Ms KORNER: So, are you saying that evenhough you were the head of the section for
border affairs in Rasina, you unaware of people who werecaught being returned to the
Republika Srpska.
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: No, because the district of Rasina does not
border on Republika Srpska.
Ms KORNER: But the district of ⎯ let me get this name right ⎯ Bajina Bašta does, does it
not?
MMI.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : Yes it does, but I was not working in the
district of Bajina Bašta.
Ms KORNER: How far is that from where you were operating?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: I cannot say exactly, but it is between 350
and 400 km.
Ms KORNER: 350 to 400 km from where you were operating?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Yes.
Ms KORNER: And you never heard anything about any hand-backs from that particular
municipality?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: I am sorry . . .
Ms KORNER: You never heard anything ab out any hand-backs that took place in Bajina
Bašta, returning them to the Republika Srpska?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: No, I did not. And I think that I am giving
you this answer for the second time. - 19 -
Ms KORNER: Fine. Just one more question. Did you not have some of the people in the
centre who had been picked up at Bajina Bašta?
MMIL.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian] : No, I am not aware of anything like that.
All the refugees crossed over to the territo ry of our country at a place called Peru čac. At least this
is what they stated in their statements. There they surrendered to the army of Yugoslavia and then
the police and the International Red Cross immediat ely got involved in their reception. Not all of
them surrendered to the army of Yugoslavia, whic h they did in mostly smaller groups of about ten
people or so. This is what I gathered ftheir accounts, because I was not personally present
when they crossed over the border into the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Ms KORNER: You could have given us, c ould you not, completely accurate information
about all of this if you had asked the Minister of the Interior in Serbia if you could have a look at
the records?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, I am not sure what the documentation
contained and if any such records were actusubmitted by the secretariat of the Interior from
Užice to the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia. I do know that I myself submitted such data for the
centre in Mitrovo Polje.
Ms KORNER: Just one last thing on Šljivovica: how often did you go there?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Actually, I was there only once.
Ms KORNER: So, anything you have told us about that is based on one visit?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: It is based on what I personally saw as well
as on the daily conversations that I had with my colleagues ⎯ and we had such conversations on a
daily basis, talking about the conditions of d stay in these centres. The topics of these
conversations mostly were the difficultieswe had to overcome in providing the food, the
clothing, the toiletries, required for tople in the centres, and these difficulties were
pronounced until the UNHCR came to our assistance.
Ms KORNER: Thank you.
The PRESIDENT: Mr. Cvetković, do you wish to re-examine?
CMVr. TKOVI Ć: Yes, Madam President, two short questions. Mr. Mili ćević, could you
repeat, please, how long was the reception centre open? - 20 -
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: You are referring to Mitrovo Polje? It was
open from 4 August 1995 until 9 February 1996,nd a number of people remained after the
closure. Their number was actually 194. They were then, in agreem ent with the UNHCR,
transferred to Šljivovica, the idea being to redu ce the costs incurred fo r the accommodation and
food and a larger number from both centres having already been transferred to third countries.
CMVr. TKOVI Ć: And for those six months, a few days more than six months, that the
centre was open, how many hours per day were you spending in the centre?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: Well, I spent very long hours at the centre,
as a matter of fact. I had a place to sleep there at the centre, although I had a room for me at a
nearby hotel. I was responsible for everything that happened in the centre. I was to know even if a
bird flew over the centre, I was to immediately inform in a timely⎯ or forthwith if the
Ministry of the Interior ask⎯ Serbia about all such developments, more specifically the
Administration for Border Affairs, Foreign Nationals and Travel Documents.
CMVr.TKOVI Ć: One last question. Having in mind that the centre was open for that long
and that you spent that much time in the cand in addition that you were responsible and in
charge of all affairs at the centre, would you agree that it is rather normal that you remember, even
now, ten years later, most of the details about the centre?
MMIr.I ĆEVIĆ [interpretation from Serbian]: But of course, then it is not as if they were
details that one could not easily recall.
CVr.ETKOVI Ć: Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Mili ćević. Thank you,
Madam President.
The PRESIDENT: Thank you. The Court will now retire, but the Parties and the witness
should remain in the vicinity of the Great Hall of Justice. If the Court wi shes to pose questions to
the witness, it will return to the courtroom within the next 15 minutes. If the Court does not wish
to put any questions to the witness, it will not retu rn to the courtroom and the Registry will inform
the Parties and the public accordingly. The Court now rises.
The Court rose at 4.20 p.m.
___________
Audience publique tenue le lundi 27 mars 2006, à 15 heures, au Palais de la Paix, sous la présidence de Mme Higgins, président