In his cross-examination, former interior minister in the self-proclaimed Serb entity in Slavonia Borislav Bogunovic agreed in part with the suggestion made by Jovica Stanisic’s defense that his government had been ‘influenced’ rather than ‘controlled’ by Milosevic. Bogunovic recounted that Goran Hadzic would return from Belgrade and would either say that something ‘must’ be done or that ‘it would be good’ to do it


The lawyers defending the two former chiefs of the Serbian state security service, Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, today cross-examined prosecution witness Borislav Bogunovic, and tried to play down the role of their clients and the authorities in Belgrade in the events in Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem in early 1990’s. In 1991, the witness was interior minister in the self-proclaimed Serb Autonomous Region (SAO) in that part of Croatia. Bogunovic claimed in his examination-in chief and in the two statements he gave to the OTP investigators that the government and its president Goran Hadzic were controlled by Milosevic’s regime.

Stanisic’s defense counsel Jordash put it to the witness that Hadzic had not been ‘controlled’ but ‘influenced’ by Belgrade. The witness agreed, but only to some extent, claiming that ‘there was both control and influence’. When he returned from meetings with Milosevic, Hadzic sometimes said that certain things ‘must’ be done, and at times he would say that ‘it would be good’ to do something. ‘We received suggestions and orders from Belgrade that we had to implement as we depended financially on Milosevic’s government’, Bogunovic explained. One of the orders was to dismiss the witness from the post of interior minister in late 1991.

In his statement to the OTP investigators the witness said that Radovan Stojicic Badza and Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan controlled things in the field. As for Stanisic, he was a link connecting Stojicic and Raznatovic with Milosevic, Bogunovic said. The witness admitted today that he had no first-hand knowledge of that; he heard it from Hadzic, the witness said.

As for first-hand information, yesterday the witness described several meetings he had with Stanisic in 1991. One of the meetings was in Backa Palanka; defense counsel Jordash noted that Stanisic didn’t remember it. Asked if he was sure that his memory served him well, Bogunovic said that the meeting was held in Ljubo Novakovic’s place. Stanisic only wrote down notes and didn’t speak. The defense counsel didn’t explore the witness’s claims about a previous meeting in Novi Sad. According to Bogunovic, on that occasion Stanisic arranged the purchase of uniforms and arms for the Serb police in Slavonia.

Replying to Simatovic’s counsel Vladimir Petrovic, the witness admitted that he had no direct knowledge of who actually commanded the Red Berets, the unit which came to Ilok in late 1991 when the witness was already dismissed from the post of interior minister. However, the witness heard from the unit members that Franko Simatovic Frenki was their ‘chief or commander’.

Today the witness said he heard in the fall of 1991 that Arkan and his men had executed 15 Croatian prisoners in Dalj in retaliation. Simatovic’s defense counsel denied that there was a link between the Serbian state security service and Arkan, putting it to the witness that Arkan was close to JNA general Biorcevic: Bogunovic said he didn’t know anything about that.

Next Monday, another protected prosecution witness, JF-050, will testify about Arkan’s crimes. The witness, a Bosnian Croat, appeared today in the courtroom to confirm ‘the accuracy and veracity’ of the statements he had given to the OTP investigators in 1998 and 1999. In his statements, the witness described what he had gone through and what he had seen in the years of detention in various Serb prison camps. Stanisic and Simatovic are charged with crimes the Red Berets, Arkan’s men and other paramilitary and police formations committed in the wars in Croatia and BH.

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