Momcilo Krajisnik had "enormous authority with SDS members and sympathizers" and played a "crucial role in the implementation of the SDS platform," witness Stjepan Kljuic testifies at the trial of the former Bosnian Serb political leader.

Momcilo Krajisnik was a "level-headed" politician who did not make "irritating statements," but he nevertheless implemented SDS plans and programs "flawlessly," Stjepan Kljuic testified at the trial of the former Speaker of the Bosnian Serb Assembly. Kljuic noted that Krajisnik and Radovan Karadzic were "the top tier in the SDS, while other politicians in the party were some kind of window-dressing."

Krajisnik is indicted as one of the SDS leaders responsible for planning the campaign of persecutions and genocide against non-Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Before war broke out in BH—and up until the fall of 1992--Kljuic, as president of the HDZ BiH, often came into contact with Krajisnik and Karadzic in parliament and at inter-party talks. The prosecutor invited him to present his assessment of SDS goals and the accused’s powers.

Krajisnik had "enormous authority among SDS membership and sympathizers," Kljuic testified, adding that the accused "kept the 72 deputies of the party under control." The witness explained that the SDS presented the other parties with an ultimatum: either honor the "will of the Serbian people" or "Bosnia would cease to exist." Kljuic did not hear Krajisnik state that there would be war, but he noted that people could be separated as the SDS said only by war.

The prosecution tendered several dozen intercepted conversations of Krajisnik's, including his talk with the commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, Ratko Mladic. From the way that Mladic reported to Krajisnik and his announcement that he would come to get new instructions, "it is apparent that Mladic complied with political directives," the witness noted. "Although Krajisnik was formally the Speaker of the Bosnian Serb Assembly, he obviously had a lot of influence in the day-to-day functioning of the party…. The developments on the ground required that the SDS leadership be in charge of all operations, including military ones," Kljuic added.

Stjepan Kljuic will continue testifying tomorrow.

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