30 May 2013 - ICTY

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and providing them with uniforms, equipment and vehicles. 4694 All staff were recruited
locally. 4695 Most had previously worked for the police, and were primarily Serbs, though there
were also Ruthenians, Hungarians, Croats “who declared themselves as Yugoslavs”, two
Muslims, and one Kosovo Albanian. 4696
2224. Witness JF-032, a former police officer from the SAO SBWS, 4697 testified that in June
or mid-July 1991, the policemen who had left Vukovar because of the tensions between
Croats and Serbs in late 1990, as well as the witness, were invited to a meeting at the local
commune in Borovo Selo, with the purpose of establishing a civilian police force in Borovo
Selo, a sort of a Vukovar police in exile. 4698 According to the witness, the initiative came from
the local population, which wanted that law and order be restored, but he stated that it must
have also been supported by Serbia, in view of all the subsequent support from the Serbian
MUP they received. 4699 The meeting was chaired by Ilija Kojić and Goran Hadžić, and Ante,
a former police officer, who cooperated with the Serbian DB was also present. 4700 The witness
only learned in 1995 that Ante’s full name was Radovan (Rade) Kostić. 4701 Judging by his
conduct, the witness concluded that Kostić was superior to everybody; he could have even
been superior to the Minister of Interior Bogunović. 4702 Kojić, who was Minister of Defence,
was in charge of all the police operations and was responsible for organising the TO. 4703
2225. With regard to the SBWS TO, Borislav Bogunović testified that TO staff existed in all
territories that had been taken over by Serb forces and were responsible to Ilija Kojić as
Minister of Defence. Kojić co-ordinated matters relating to the TO with the JNA, and reported
directly to the Government, though the witness himself only spoke with Kojić occasionally on
the telephone or at Government meetings. 4704 Although it was not the witness’s responsibility
to recruit TO members, Hadžić gave him specific instructions regarding new recruits. In
4694 P553 (Borislav Bogunović, witness statement, 6 June 2003), para. 12.
4695 P554 (Borislav Bogunović, witness statement, 8 February 2007), para. 6.
4696 P553 (Borislav Bogunović, witness statement, 6 June 2003), para. 12.
4697 P401 (Witness JF-032, witness statement, 17 May 1999), pp. 1-2; P402 (Witness JF-032, Slobodan Milošević
transcript, 29-31 January 2003), pp. 15119, 15217, 15291; Witness JF-032, T. 4672-4673, 4743, 4795.
4698 P401 (Witness JF-032, witness statement, 17 May 1999), pp. 2, 4; P402 (Witness JF-032, Slobodan
Milošević transcript, 29-31 January 2003), pp. 15133-15134, 15261-15263; Witness JF-032, T. 4769-4770.
4699 P402 (Witness JF-032, Slobodan Milošević transcript, 29-31 January 2003), pp. 15138, 15261-15263, 15312,
15344.
4700 P401 (Witness JF-032, witness statement, 17 May 1999), p. 4; P402 (Witness JF-032, Slobodan Milošević
transcript, 29-31 January 2003), p. 15136; Witness JF-032, T. 4646-4647, 4700-4702, 4752, 4763-4764, 4770-
4771; P406 (Series of Documents Concerning Radoslav Kostić).
4701 P401 (Witness JF-032, witness statement, 17 May 1999), p. 4.
4702 P401 (Witness JF-032, witness statement, 17 May 1999), p. 4; Witness JF-032, T. 4731-4735.
4703 P402 (Witness JF-032, Slobodan Milošević transcript, 29-31 January 2003), pp. 15126, 15133, 15201,
15279-15280; Witness JF-032, T. 4703, 4705-4707, 4726-4727.
4704 P553 (Borislav Bogunović, witness statement, 6 June 2003), paras 56-57.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 794
30 May 2013