30 May 2013 - ICTY

49289
left for us to do. […] Or we’ll exterminate them completely so let’s see where we’ll end up.”
Karadžić agreed. Stanišić added: “No, if they want it, they’ll have it. Then they’ll have an allout
war. […] Better do it like decent people”. 4954
2308. The Prosecution argues that this conversation shows that Stanišić viewed killing and
extermination as appropriate ways to achieve the common goals in Croatia and that the
remark about extermination cannot be dismissed as “a figure of speech”. 4955 The Stanišić
Defence argues that the conversation should be viewed in light of other conversations
between Stanišić and Karadžić around the same time, dealing with the two persons’
frustration with Babić and the RSK leadership for not coming to an agreement with
Croatia. 4956 According to the Stanišić Defence, “[t]he proposition that a single remark can
stand as any evidence of Stanišić’s criminal intent is a distortion of the remark and the context
of the conversation”. 4957
2309. The Trial Chamber considers that the exchange between Karadžić and Stanišić appears
to have been about the conflict in Croatia, and the difficulties and risks should there be no
agreement between the conflicting parties. In this respect, Karadžić expressed that Serbs and
Croats could, “with elasticity and goodwill”, come to an agreement and the two men spoke
about what could happen if Serbs and Croats failed to do so, which according to Stanišić
included killings. The majority, Judge Picard dissenting, considers Stanišić’s reference to
killings and his remark that “we’ll exterminate them completely” to be too vague to be
construed as support for the allegation that Stanišić shared the intent to further the alleged
common criminal purpose. In this respect, the majority considers that Stanišić later spoke of
having an “all-out war” and ended the exchange with “[b]etter do it like decent people”.
2310. The Prosecution further argues that Stanišić shared the intent to advance the common
criminal purpose by his words and actions during a meeting in Belgrade on 13-14 December
1993. 4958 According to the relevant excerpts from Mladić’s diary, Stanišić attended this
meeting together with, among others, Milošević, Perišić, Sokolović, Tepavčević, and Mrkšić
from Serbia and Karadžić, Krajišnik, Mladić, Milovanović, and Kovač from the Bosnian-Serb
4954 P690 (Intercepted telephone conversation between Radovan Karadžić and Jovica Stanišić, 22 January 1992),
pp. 6-7.
4955 Prosecution Final Trial Brief, 14 December 2012, paras 687, 689; T. 20193.
4956 T. 20284-20287. See also P683 (Intercepted telephone conversation between Radovan Karadžić and Jovica
Stanišić, 5 January 1992); P686 (Intercepted telephone conversation between Radovan Karadžić and Jovica
Stanišić, 7 January 1992); P687 (Intercepted telephone conversation between Radovan Karadžić and Jovica
Stanišić, 12 January 1992).
4957 T. 20287.
4958 Prosecution Final Trial Brief, 14 December 2012, paras 139, 695.
Case No. IT-03-69-T 829
30 May 2013