30 May 2013 - ICTY

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Simatović almost every day, and received orders from him over the phone, as set out in
chapter 6.4.4.
1810. In a Mladić notebook entry of a 3 October 1995 meeting with Dragan Filipović a.k.a.
Fića, and Radojica Božović, Filipović is recorded as stating that Arkan’s men were under the
control of Pećanac. 3635
1811. Based on the evidence above, particularly considering the operative orders from Kovač
and Karadžić in September and October 1995 calling on Arkan and the SDG to join the rest of
the MUP units and to arrest deserters from the front lines, the Trial Chamber finds that the
involvement of the SDG in the Banja Luka operations was directed by the leadership of the
Bosnian-Serb Republic, notably Tomislav Kovač and Radovan Karadžić. This is confirmed
by evidence indicating a directing function of their subordinates; the Chief of the Banja Luka
CSB, Brane Pećanac, and Simo Drljača, head of the SJB in Prijedor. Noting that the testimony
of Pelević indicates that General Momir Talić gave orders to Arkan, the Trial Chamber finds
that the involvement of the SDG in certain aspects of the combat operations in the area of
Banja Luka was directed by Momir Talić.
1812. The evidence set out above suggests two possible ways in which the Accused might
have directed the involvement of the SDG in Banja Luka. The first way is through a direct,
yet “informal” command, meeting directly with Arkan in Belgrade. The second way is
through indirect command, via Simo Drljača. In this regard the Trial Chamber notes that
Witness JF-027 testified that his SDG unit was commanded by Drljača, and that Witness JF-
057 testified that Drljača came to Belgrade in September and October 1995 to meet with
Arkan and Simatović. The Trial Chamber however considers that the evidence on the
meetings is inconclusive in relation to the question of whether the Accused directed the
involvement of the SDG in the Banja Luka operations, as it does not specify the content of the
meetings, or the effect of them. This is equally applicable to the evidence indicating the direct
control of Simatović over the involvement of the SDG in Banja Luka. The Trial Chamber
further notes that the basis of Witness JF-057’s knowledge that the Banja Luka DB was under
the “informal command” of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović is unspecified and that this
information is uncorroborated by other evidence. Consequently, the Trial Chamber has not
relied on this part of Witness JF-057’s testimony. For a general discussion on the reliability of
Witness JF-057, the Trial Chamber refers to chapter 6.4.5.
3635 P2546 (Excerpt from Mladić's diary, dated 3 October 1995), p. 1.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 638
30 May 2013