Writ of summons - Van Diepen Van der Kroef

lives had been lost. In the case in point there was no question of that. Any otherinterpretation of the Post Airstrike Guidance is incorrect. In spite of this, Dutchbatplaced the emphasis incorrectly not on the defence of the observation post and thus onthe civilian population of the Safe Area, but entirely on itself. No actual dangerthreatened Dutchbat, only the fear of coming into danger. During the entire attack on theSafe Area the VRS fired in the direction of Dutchbat merely to intimidate Dutchbat. TheVRS later even admitted that (see pages 2106 and 2107 of the NIOD Report).Portents/prior knowledge of the attack on the Safe Area78. Intelligence reached Duchtbat from 25 May 1995 that an attack by the VRS on the SafeArea was impending (see page 1989 of the NIOD Report).79. General Manfred Eisele, retired, declared on 5 April 2002 in the previously cited radioprogramme, ‘Argos’:‘The British UN Commander regularly informed us that the Serbs were makingpreparations for a possible attack on the Safe Areas. We received regular reports inNew York on the situation on the ground that clearly showed that the Bosnian Serbspossibly wanted to attack the Safe Area.’Eisele confirmed with this statement an anonymous source within the Department ofPeacekeeping Operations of the UN. That source told that pointers were available therealready in March 1995 – inter alia, on the base of American satellite photos – that theBosnian Serbs were preparing for a large-scale attack on Srebrenica. There were reportsalso from UNMOs (United Nations Military Observers), among others, of preparationsat Bratunac, to the north of the Safe Area, regarding bunkers and pathways in the woodsthat were being constructed for troop reinforcements and tanks.80. The Public Prosecutor of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, Mrs C. Del Ponte, has also expressedherself in similar terms in a recent Article in Paris Match (week 44, 2006, page 41 etseq.). She states (also cited in the radio broadcast of 22 December 2006 and 3 January2007, ‘De ochtenden, Argos’) that the international community was aware that the Serb© Van Diepen Van der Kroef Advocaten 2007www.vandiepen.com42