Bosnia Begins with Bijeljina

With a ceasefire in Croatia, war moved into Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bijeljina, strategically located between Serbia and the Krajina, became one of the first battlegrounds. Battleground is a bit of a misnomer since Bijeljina fell to local Serbian forces, headed by paramilitary Zeljko Raznatovic (Arkan), in no more than a few days. Local Muslims were able to mount only a light defense, barricading two roads. They were greatly outnumbered by Arkan's forces which included the White Eagles, reservists, civilians, soldiers and others, well-armed and equipped with mortars, cannons and heavy artillery.

While the Croatia phase of the case against Slobodan Milosevic has not been completed, the prosecution has begun to present evidence about the war in Bosnia. It is anticipated to be the largest part of the three-part indictment, just as it was the largest part of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia which spanned nearly a decade. Milosevic has been indicted for war crimes that occurred in 45 municipalities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In its opening brief, the prosecution singled out 14 municipalities about which it planned to introduce comprehensive evidence. The first of these is Bijeljina.

Protected witness B-1003 is the first witness to testify in open session about events in Bijeljina (others have testified about imprisonment in the region). An employee of the Ministry of the Interior in Bijeljina, he was away on the night of March 31, 1992, when Arkan's forces surrounded and assaulted the town. By the time he arrived next day, the fighting was all but over and many people were dead. The witness saw the bodies of 48 people lying in the streets, all wearing civilian clothes, none with weapons. They ranged in age from 10 to 70 years. He testified that more people were killed but their relatives had removed and buried the bodies in the cemetery.

The day after the fighting, local police officers were required to take a loyalty oath to the Serbian authorities, and non-Serbs were dismissed from certain posts. Reports that had once been sent to Bosnian authorities were now sent to Serbian authorities and to the Federal Minister of the Interior (SUP). A shipment of Serbian police berets and badges arrived soon after and it became mandatory for local police to wear them. The witness provided another connection of the local police force to Serbia when he testified that his police chief traveled there regularly.

According to witness B-1003, Arkan and the local Crisis Staff were linked from the very beginning of the conflict. Together, they gave instructions to the local police. He also identified 'Mauser' as the commander of the Crisis Staff and said that everything went through him.

Following the fighting, police of Serb ethnicity were given a list of local Muslims who were to be arrested. All, according to the witness, were owners of local businesses and companies of some significance in the town. Also after fighting had ended, all mosques in the town were destroyed. Witness B-1003 testified that he arrived on the scene of one destroyed mosque and was able to determine that it had been mined with explosives and blown up.

Prosecutor Dermot Groome read a list of several nearby villages which the witness confirmed had proclaimed their loyalty to the new Serbian authorities. Within a matter of months, however, the Muslim inhabitants fled out of fear.

From his cross examination, it appears Milosevic's defense is that Muslim extremists started the fighting in Bijeljina by erecting blockades, that they fired on and killed Serbian civilians from machine gun nests and sniper locations, that it was a local conflict in which local authorities had requested Arkan's assistance and neither the JNA or the Serbian police took part, and that both the police and Army of the Republika Srpska (RS) were multi-ethnic and, therefore, not trying to ethnically cleanse the region of non-Serbs. The witness either disagreed with his propositions or said he did not have information. Judge May repeatedly reminded Milosevic to listen to the witness's answers and not continue questioning him as if he'd answered the way Milosevic wanted.

Milosevic read a long list of names of Muslims who allegedly served in the RS Army from the region. While the witness knew only a few of them, he testified he did not think they were serving voluntarily since their families remained in the area under Bosnian Serb control.

According to the indictment, Bijeljina was the beginning of a campaign of ethnic cleansing, terror and genocide that lasted four years and swept across Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bijeljina is but the beginning of the story the prosecution hopes to unfold over the next months.