Yugoslavia's Last Prime Minister Breaks 12 Year Silence to Testify

Dobrila Gajic-Glisic began her testimony for the prosecution in the trial of Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes by thanking the Accused for saving her life. She went on to provide some of the most damning testimony yet about Mr. Milosevic's involvement in the war in Croatia.

Ms. Gajic-Glisic was chef de cabinet to General Tomislav Simovic, Serbian Minister of Defense from September 26 to December 12, 1991, when he was ousted. She continued at the Ministry for another month. Under General Simovic's direction, she wrote a book called 'Serbian Army,' criticizing Milosevic's illegal mobilization of people from Serbia to fight in Croatia and Slovenia. Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice added a sentence from her written statement, 'He [General Simovic] also said the current events in Yugoslavia were something the whole world would prosecute us for.' The witness emphatically agreed that was her former boss's conclusion.

General Simovic was well-placed to know about the 'Serbian Army' since his primary task as Minister of Defense (MOD) was to write a draft law for its establishment -- to do it quickly and in secret. Ms. Gajic-Glisic was apparently not told of its confidential nature. At her initiation, an interview with General Simovic appeared in the press stating clearly that the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) was the foundation of the Serbian armed forces and, together with territorial defense (TO) units was protecting 'the population of Serb borderlands through combat activities.' This directly contradicts Milosevic's contention that the JNA remained the army for all the people of Yugoslavia and was in Croatia to separate two warring sides. According to Ms. Gajic-Glisic's testimony, it was there as the Serbian Army.

Despite the General's high position, the witness testified that he had no power at all. 'He used to say he didn't even have the powers of an accountant,' she told the Court. Everything he did, he did at Milosevic's direction. Before presenting reports to the Serbian Assembly, he took them to Milosevic for review and correction. When he included matters Milosevic did not like, such as praise of Seselj's war exploits, they were removed.

Milosevic also ordered him to make lists of 'incompetent' generals to be pensioned off. Though the general lacked power to do that, he didn't contradict 'his' president. The generals, of course, were generals of the JNA, over which neither Milosevic nor his Minister of Defense had de jure control. General Simovic also remained a JNA officer during his tenure as Serbian Minister of Defense, a post for which Milosevic selected him.

Judge Robinson interrupted examination in chief to ask Ms. Gajic-Glisic if Simovic didn't have the power, who did? 'Under our law on national defense, power that had to do with defense of Serbia, territorial defense and SUP (later called 'MUP') was in the hands of President Milosevic and I quoted provisions of the law in my statement. It gives all power to the President of the Republic.'

On September 26, 1991, the MOD learned from a volunteer that weapons were being transferred from Serbia to combat zones. General Simovic went to see Milosevic. 'When General Simovic got back from seeing President Milosevic, he was very angry,' the witness testified. He learned that a battalion of 200 volunteers from Serbia was to be established, with additional volunteers mobilized from the war-affected areas. The volunteers would be sent for training at camps established by Arkan (Zeljko Raznjatovic) and Captain Dragan (Dragan Vasilkovic) under direction of the Serbian State Security Service (SDB) in Erdut and Knin before being sent to local TO units in the war-affected areas. Milosevic's orders also included giving material and military assistance to Goran Hadzic, president of the Serb Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem (SAO SBWS) and to introduce him to the media.

Ms. Gajic-Glisic testified that Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Zoran Sokolovic told her and General Simovic that Arkan's Tigers were under the authority of his MUP. On one occasion Sokolovic told them criminals were released from prison and had gone to the battlefield with Arkan. 'General Simovic was astounded. 'How could that happen?' he demanded. 'Who allowed it?' Minister Sokolovic shrugged and said 'boss.' I understood it to mean the President but I am not certain today who all the bosses were.'

Minister Sokolovic also told them Captain Dragan, head of the training center in Knin, was 'their man,' meaning he worked for the SDB. Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice introduced a document signed by Dragan Vasilkovic on 8 November 1991, roughly stating, 'I have an obligation toward the SDB and my activities within the Territorial Defense (TO) have to be fully in accordance with the rules of service.' If further corroboration of Captain Dragan's connections were needed, the witness testified it came directly from him. Captain Dragan told them, the SDB, through Jovica Stanisic its chief and Radmilo Bogdanovic, previous Minister of Internal Affairs, had invited him to the country and assigned him to work with volunteers.

The information the MOD received about Arkan, Captain Dragan and the training camps was included in reports that went directly to the Accused. Ms. Gajic-Grisic personally took the reports to his office, though she did not hand them to him personally. She also told the Court that the training centers were established by decree before she and General Simovic were at the Ministry of Defense, but 'I do believe President Milosevic had to have known about a decree like that,' she added.

On another occasion, when Arkan was trapped in the encirclement of Vukovar, Milosevic told General Simovic to ask the Yugoslav Air Force to fly over Vukovar so the volunteers could pull out, which he did. Arkan appeared in the government office building the following day. When Simovic met with him, the General asked what Arkan did with prisoners. Arkan replied, 'General, we have taken prisoner only two hens. As for others, there are no prisoners.' When the General asked how that was possible in war, Arkan merely repeated, 'General, we have no prisoners.' Making a throat slitting gesture, he added that they liquidated 24 Ustasha. Ms. Gajic-Grisic testified, 'I was horrified and he said leave the room if you can't take this. And the General said she's more of a man than you think.'

General Simovic gave a report on this meeting to President Milosevic, according to the witness. She told the court that Simovic said 'he would never again meet with Arkan or have further conversations with him because he, as a general, couldn't talk with someone waging war without taking prisoners. It is not possible to be on the battlefield with him.'

The Prosecution interjected a video clip of Arkan, saying in English, 'We take no prisoners.' He justified it by showing gruesome photos which he said were of two of his soldiers who had been killed, one of them a 19 year old boy tortured to death. He added that 33 members of his own family had been killed by Ustasha in WWII, as if the ancient law of blood vengeance still ruled.

Yet another piece of evidence tied Milosevic to paramilitary activity in Croatia. When the MOD informed him of reports that 'Ustasha and ZNG [Croatian National Guard]' were using Vukovar's sewer system to get behind and liquidate large numbers of JNA soldiers and Serb volunteers, Milosevic ordered that Arkan's volunteers be given the task of mining and stopping up the sewers with concrete. Radovan Stojicic Badza, by then Deputy Minister of Serbian MUP, was to assist. The witness also worked on the plan with Badza.

To give Arkan's men equal status with JNA conscripts and reservists, General Simovic was to appear on television with him. At the last minute, JNA Colonel Kovacevic usurped his position. It surprised the witness and her boss because Kovacevic had been denying he (and the JNA) had anything to do with volunteers and paramilitaries. It apparently also surprised General Kadijevic, head of the JNA. 'I will never forget General Kadijevic's expression,' the witness testified, imitating his astonishment in asking, ''What is this!?''

Milosevic also wanted the number of volunteers from Serbia who were fighting in Croatia to appear much lower than the witness believes it was. During a meeting with Slavko Jovic, Milosevic corrected the figure of 1000 volunteers that he gave to a UN representative. It was 500, Milosevic asserted. Ms. Gajic-Grisic, who was in charge of provisioning those volunteers, testified that she always received requests in the thousands -- generally for 6000 to 8000 of whatever item they needed.

Information on other war crimes committed by paramilitaries likely made its way to Milosevic, the witness said. She learned about crimes committed by units such as Dusan Silni from soldiers (mostly invalids) returning from the front and mothers whose sons were imprisoned in Croatia when they demonstrated in front of the government building. The mothers, she said, feared retaliation against their sons for the crimes perpetrated by paramilitaries. The witness said Dusan Silni and other unnamed paramilitary groups were operating on their own and not part of the system as Arkan's and Seselj's men were.

Ms. Gajic-Grisic provided the Court with first hand testimony about financing for the Serb 'volunteer' fighters in Croatia. It was she who brought in a financial expert with business and foreign contacts. General Simovic passed on her suggestions to Milosevic who authorized that a special account be established for this assistance. A businessman provided a check for 750,000 to one million Deutschmarks ($375,000 to $500,000 US), though he wanted concessions in return such as his own television station. The account was used to pay the Zastava company for military equipment and weapons for the Serb volunteers in Croatia.

There was also a need for foreign currency to purchase military supplies not available within the country. With authorization from Milosevic, the businessman and the Minister of Industry, along with Klara Mandic, went to Israel where they obtained assistance from the Israeli State Security Service.

Despite Ms. Gajic-Glisic's gratitude to the Accused, her direct testimony assisted him little. On one point, she told the Court that political party volunteers operated outside the system. In other words, Serbian authorities and Milosevic had no control over Dusan Silni and other paramilitaries who went to Croatia on their own and were blamed for atrocities. The other point concerned Goran Hadzic, who eventually became President of the Serb Autonomous Region of the SBWS. Her testimony that Milosevic didn't even know him when the SBWS sent him to negotiations in The Hague contrasts with testimony of prior witnesses who claimed Milosevic pretty much controlled events in SBWS, including informal selection of its leaders.

As he began cross examination, Mr. Milosevic seemed positioned to win over another prosecution witness, as he had with several other 'insiders,' former subordinates who served him when he was at the peak of his power. Ms. Gajic-Glisic asked the Court's permission to make a preliminary statement, which they allowed. In it, she once again thanked Milosevic -- this time for not banning her book. She said it was a 'report to my people' which she never imagined would become evidence in court. She then explained that she had agreed to testify 'not only as a witness for the prosecution, but also to tell everything else I know about that time.' If Milosevic were encouraged, he should not have been.

Despite addressing the Accused as 'Mr. President' or 'Comrade President,' Ms. Gajic-Glisic was not deferential, at least not to the point of allowing him to reframe her testimony to suit his case. For the most part, she stuck firmly to her 50 page statement and oral evidence.

While agreeing that the political party volunteers were outside the system, the witness nevertheless insisted MUP head Sokolovic told her and Minister Simovic that Arkan and Captain Dragan were connected to the MUP of Serbia. Even when Milosevic advised her that Captain Dragan had testified he came to Serbia on his own, she reiterated her testimony that Sokolovic said he was invited by the SDB.

Ms. Gajic-Glisic agreed that Goran Hadzic appointed Radovan Stojicic Badza head of the SBWS TO, but said she was not aware Badza went to the SBWS as a volunteer. He was a Serbian policeman who went there with a special unit, according to her. On re-examination by Geoffrey Nice, she testified that Badza was sent to SBWS by the Serbian MUP to help Arkan. 'Whether he volunteered to go, I don't know.' That gives 'volunteer' a quite different meaning, since it shows the institutional role in sending personnel, whether ordering employees or asking for volunteers among them.

Milosevic was more successful when he prompted her to speak of the plight of Serbian refugees from Croatia, which she did with great emotion. She also agreed with her former president that the JNA had to intervene because the Ustasha were threatening genocide against the Serbs. She added that Serbia was threatened with attack -- and, in fact, Sid was attacked from across the border with Croatia. (It was the only attack on Serbian soil during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia.)

The Accused read from an interview with General Simovic, her former boss, where the general stated that the JNA was turned into an army of Serbs by leaders who encouraged non-Serbs not to join or accept mobilization. The witness merely agreed that Simovic had said that.

The witness would not agree, however, when Milosevic challenged her testimony that Simovic had been tasked with drafting a law to establish a Serbian Army. The Accused insisted, as he has throughout the trial, that he favored continuation of Yugoslavia and supported the JNA as an all people's army. Ms. Gajic-Glisic agreed he took that position publicly, but persisted in her testimony that simultaneously and secretly they worked on a draft for an armed forces of Serbia. Both agreed the idea was not well received when it became public.

The two also clashed over what the witness called a coup d'etat leading to the Prime Minister's forced resignation and General Simovic's ouster in mid-December 1991. Milosevic attempted to characterize it as an ordinary political occurrence. Ms. Gajic-Glisic, however, stated that it was anything but normal.

She first heard something was amiss when Milosevic's secretary telephoned to tell her General Zivota Panic, JNA Chief of Staff, had stormed into Milosevic's office in full combat gear. A little later, General Simovic returned from a government meeting and told her the government had fallen. Panic apparently accused Milosevic of creating a Serbian Army and demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister. Though the Accused asked the witness if she didn't find this highly improbable, she stuck to her version of events, even when he belittled it as 'what secretaries talk about.' 'I am here under oath and remember very well to the present day the sound of her words and I stand by what I said. That is what Mira [Milosevic's secretary] told me,' the former chef de cabinet told her former president.

When Milosevic persisted in his attempts to characterize the events as normal, Ms. Gajic-Glusic agreed that would be true, 'except for the terrible repression that followed.' That apparently included Simovic's forced resignation from the JNA at gunpoint, as well as an order that she be liquidated (from which Milosevic allegedly helped save her).

An attempt by Milosevic to misrepresent the witness's evidence was thwarted by Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice. The Accused quoted a passage from her book to the effect that chaos on the battlefield was caused by political party volunteers who were not under JNA or TO control. Mr. Nice went on to read her statement that it is not possible to set up armed units in a communist or former communist country without prior approval of the competent authorities. Milosevic insisted these units operated outside the system. The witness asserted they were connected to the SDB.

In another attempt to separate Milosevic from responsibility for paramilitary units operating in Croatia, Amicus Branislav Tapuskovic quoted from the witness's book about a television interview with Arkan in which the paramilitary leader said he didn't recognize anyone. 'We do everything on our own.' Mr. Nice took the opportunity on re-examination to put the quote in context. First, when he was asked what authority he acknowledged, Arkan said nothing. The witness wrote that she and General Simovic expected him to say Simovic because the General had recently been quoted in the press as saying that volunteers were the backbone of the Serbian Army. Instead, Arkan said 'Patriarch Pavle,' and everyone laughed. It was just Arkan's way.

Ms. Gajic-Glisic also reiterated that Milosevic had asked General Simovic to request that the Air Force fly over Vukovar not out of concern for civilians (Serb or Croat) but 'precisely because of the situation Arkan found himself in.' Nor did it seem the former president had to 'entreat' General Simovic to make this request of the Air Force, as Milosevic had suggested. The witness testified that the only time he didn't do what Milosevic asked was when he had no power to do it, such as dismissing incompetent JNA generals.

The former chef de cabinet of the Serbian Minister of Defense was a dramatic and assertive witness. Her testimony sometimes appeared too dramatic for the judges, such as her description of a manuscript she wrote on returning from a visit to America when she was young. In the manuscript, which she said was banned from publication, she revealed a prediction about the fall of communism, the dismantling of the Soviet Union and the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia -- just as it happened. She told the Court she learned this from someone close to then President Reagan. Milosevic led her into this irrelevant and hard-to-believe testimony and Judge May didn't stop it. Instead, he remarked casually before a break that it might have affected her credibility. It might also have been true. That's the problem with conspiracy theories and unbelievable stories -- as it is with human conduct that is beyond our experience.

Despite Judge May's off hand remark, the judges will weigh the witness's testimony with that of other witnesses which either corroborate or undermine it. Unfortunately, few witnesses can tell the whole story -- and none have yet in this trial. From her position, Ms. Gajic-Glisic added to the growing and seemingly Herculean task facing the judges of sorting and weighing as they search for the truth.