Following Orders: VJ Soldier testifies he was ordered to kill civilians

Brigadier General Peter De la Billiere, a military expert, concluded that if the indictment's allegations of widespread killings, lootings, property destruction and forced deportation by theYugoslav Army (VJ) and Serbian forces are proven, then they could only have been carried out under the direction and authorization of the highest military and political authorities. 'It was no rogue operation . . . , but a concerted political policy being acted upon by the military and police.'

He further testified that his review of VJ documents and orders showed a highly disciplined army with commendable written rules that required strict adherence to the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. If what the army is alleged to have done is proven, he declared, their actions were 'totally out of line and in no way reflecting the very commendable structure and doctrine [of the VJ].'

According to witness K-41, a soldier in the Yugoslav Army, he was never told about the Geneva Conventions and the individual soldier's obligation to disobey orders to commit crimes against civilians, prisoners of war and unarmed combatants. In fact, K-41 testified that his and two other companies were ordered to clean up a village by burning all the houses and killing anyone they found. The order, he said, was given by Captain Pavle Gavrilovic.

During the operation against the village of Trnje, he and other soldiers entered and burned from 10 to 15 houses before any people were discovered. Fifteen women, children and elderly men were forced out of their house at gunpoint and made to sit on the ground. K-41's sergeant ordered most of the company to leave, but about four or five soldiers, including K-41, to remain. Then he ordered them to shoot the civilians, which they did.

In answer to the prosecutor's question, K-41 described what happened to the people: 'The people shot at began falling down one over the other. What I remember most vividly is how -- I remember this very vividly -- there was a baby shot with three bullets, screaming unbelievably loud.'

It was that baby's scream that haunted this young soldier for 3 ½ years. And it was the baby's scream and the testimony of another young soldier that brought him to the Tribunal to give evidence.

'I came forward to give my evidence because I wanted in this way to express everything that is troubling me, that has been troubling me for the past three years since I completed my service. Never a night goes by without my dreaming of that child hit by the bullets and crying. I thought if I came forward and told the truth that I will feel easier in my soul. It is the only reason I am here.'

On cross examination, Milosevic claimed he had statements proving that all soldiers obeyed the written rules for the treatment of civilians, contained in an official handbook provided to them. Witness K-41 responded, 'Mr. Milosevic, that is not true. That is what all the soldiers from the logistics battalion know. None of us had this handbook.'

When Milosevic persisted in his claims that not a single officer ordered him to kill civilians, K-41 gave his understanding of the chain of command and the effects on ordinary soldiers of carrying out such criminal orders. 'That is not correct. I heard this [the order to not leave anyone alive] and also ten soldiers from my company can confirm it and in no way can you deny that. I was there, I heard it and . . . You, as Supreme Commander, could have come down there and seen what it was like for us. You were issuing shameful orders to be carried out.'

The young soldier's testimony confirms General De la Billiere's conclusions, 'I felt the army was disciplined. Therefore, one must discount that what they did was the acts of independently motivated rabble.' Milosevic, too, hastened to make it clear that orders came from the top and not from lower level commanders. 'I hope you [General] are not claiming that any senior commander, from a brigade commander up to me as supreme commander, used any justification and said what was done was done by lower down commanders going against the law or acting contrary to orders. This would have been shameful if superior commanders would justify themselves . . .'

Of course, Milosevic does not agree that crimes were committed by his forces. Nevertheless, his cross examination shows (though it is not evidence) his agreement that he was in charge of and directed the military forces in Kosovo. Milosevic's cronies (Radomir Markovic, Ratomir Tanic) as well as international interlocutors (Paddy Ashdown, Knut Vollebaeck, Wolfgang Petritsch, Klaus Naumann) and local politicians and activists (Ibrahim Rugova, Veton Surroi, Adnan Merovci) have provided testimony to support this view. Added to this is General De la Billiere's expert conclusion that operations such as those alleged to have occurred in Kosovo could only have been carried out with a disciplined army at the direction of the highest military and civilian authorities.

In this situation, Milosevic's responsibility for the acts of his troops in Kosovo may not be as much of an issue as many commentators believe. The issue that has emerged over the course of the trial-- and that Milosevic has focused on-- is whether the Yugoslav military forces committed widespread killings, deportations and property destruction. A large number of victim witnesses have testified that they did. Added to their voices is the emerging voices of the soldiers, like witness K-41, who ended his testimony in reply to Milosevic's question whether any promises had been made to him in exchange for it: 'Mr. Milosevic, I am here of my own free will. Mr. Milosevic, when I tell this truth to the person who, in my opinion, is the most responsible for all the crimes, it already makes me feel better. I don't need more.'