Trial of ex-VJ chief under way at Hague

"I believe that the indictment against me is unique in the history of war crimes law,” General Momcilo Perisic said at the beginning of his trial at the Hague. Perisic, the former chief-of-staff of the Yugoslav Army (VJ) told the Trial Chamber that “the chief-of-staff of one army has never been found guilty of crimes committed by the members of the army of another country.” Trial of ex-VJ chief under way at Hague In response to accusations that he was the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Srpska (VRS) and Republic of Serb Krajina (VRSK) armies, he said that the families of former JNA members, whose families had lived in the former republics, had came to Serbia “highly frustrated, without any possessions and on the verge of poverty.” Perisic then said that he had become chief-of-staff at an extremely difficult time, when the war in Croatia was on and off, and while the war in Bosnia was raging. He said that he was convinced that he had deserved credit for preventing the war from spreading, and for conducting reforms in the army which had made it the most democratic institution in the country at the time, a fact confirmed by citizens during protests against electoral fraud. "I want to reiterate my initial plea that I’m not guilty on any count of the indictment. I want to tell you, your honours, that I am convinced that you will listen to the arguments from both sides carefully and professionally, without any prejudice, and deliver a just and honourable verdict,” he told the court. "We brokered the release of UN members and French pilots taken prisoner by the VRS during the NATO bombing of the Bosnian Serbs,” he said. "That enabled the signing of the Dayton Accords in Paris, which is something, I hope, the French and my colleague, the chief-of-staff, have not forgotten,” Perisic said. He said that he had never feared dismissal from his post, even though the threat had been omnipresent. “I tried to influence the regime using all means, apart from a coup,” "When I realized in October 1998 that they were leading the country towards disaster, I publicly warned about the possible consequences of refusing to cooperate with the international community, regarding the Kosovo issue,” Perisic said, adding that he had been fired soon after. The general told the judges that he had been born in Serbia, his wife in Sarajevo, while his sons had been born in Croatia and Montenegro. “The four of us were born in one country, now we come from four different countries,” Perisic said. The former VJ chief-of-staff said that he had spent 80 percent of his service outside Serbia, and that throughout his service, the army had been multi-ethnic. "As a professional soldier I despise war, because I am completely aware that every war, especially the one that happened in the former Yugoslavia which was of a civil, religious and national nature, is the worst social phenomenon,” he said. Perisic ended his address to the judges by saying: "I have felt the atrocities of war, I despise it for its consequences, for the lies it thrives on, for the hatred it brings, for the dictatorship that eliminates democracy, and for the misery that it leaves behind.” Perisic, and through him the entire VJ, would face very serious charges, said the prosecution yesterday during its opening statement, adding that it was a lie that Serbia had never participated in those conflicts, and that the VJ, under Perisic’s command, had helped in the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, by arming the VRS and giving every other kind of help. The prosecution claimed that VRS and VRSK officers, formerly of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), had taken their orders from Belgrade, which had never done anything to punish the perpetrators of the crimes in Croatia and Bosnia. Prosecutor Mark Harmon also said that Ratko Mladic had been under Perisic’s command, that he had been his friend and that Perisic had protected him and enabled him to hide in army facilities. The prosecution alleged that besides the aid the VJ had provided, it had directly participated in certain operations, namely, those around Sarajevo in December 1993.

Trial of ex-VJ chief under way at Hague

In response to accusations that he was the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Srpska (VRS) and Republic of Serb Krajina (VRSK) armies, he said that the families of former JNA members, whose families had lived in the former republics, had came to Serbia “highly frustrated, without any possessions and on the verge of poverty.”

Perišić then said that he had become chief-of-staff at an extremely difficult time, when the war in Croatia was on and off, and while the war in Bosnia was raging. He said that he was convinced that he had deserved credit for preventing the war from spreading, and for conducting reforms in the army which had made it the most democratic institution in the country at the time, a fact confirmed by citizens during protests against electoral fraud.

"I want to reiterate my initial plea that I’m not guilty on any count of the indictment. I want to tell you, your honours, that I am convinced that you will listen to the arguments from both sides carefully and professionally, without any prejudice, and deliver a just and honourable verdict,” he told the court.

"We brokered the release of UN members and French pilots taken prisoner by the VRS during the NATO bombing of the Bosnian Serbs,” he said.

"That enabled the signing of the Dayton Accords in Paris, which is something, I hope, the French and my colleague, the chief-of-staff, have not forgotten,” Perišić said.

He said that he had never feared dismissal from his post, even though the threat had been omnipresent. “I tried to influence the regime using all means, apart from a coup,”

"When I realized in October 1998 that they were leading the country towards disaster, I publicly warned about the possible consequences of refusing to cooperate with the international community, regarding the Kosovo issue,” Perišić said, adding that he had been fired soon after.

The general told the judges that he had been born in Serbia, his wife in Sarajevo, while his sons had been born in Croatia and Montenegro.

“The four of us were born in one country, now we come from four different countries,” Perišić said.

The former VJ chief-of-staff said that he had spent 80 percent of his service outside Serbia, and that throughout his service, the army had been multi-ethnic.

"As a professional soldier I despise war, because I am completely aware that every war, especially the one that happened in the former Yugoslavia which was of a civil, religious and national nature, is the worst social phenomenon,” he said.

Perišić ended his address to the judges by saying: "I have felt the atrocities of war, I despise it for its consequences, for the lies it thrives on, for the hatred it brings, for the dictatorship that eliminates democracy, and for the misery that it leaves behind.”

Perišić, and through him the entire VJ, would face very serious charges, said the prosecution yesterday during its opening statement, adding that it was a lie that Serbia had never participated in those conflicts, and that the VJ, under Perišić’s command, had helped in the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, by arming the VRS and giving every other kind of help.

The prosecution claimed that VRS and VRSK officers, formerly of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), had taken their orders from Belgrade, which had never done anything to punish the perpetrators of the crimes in Croatia and Bosnia.

Prosecutor Mark Harmon also said that Ratko Mladić had been under Perišić’s command, that he had been his friend and that Perišić had protected him and enabled him to hide in army facilities.

The prosecution alleged that besides the aid the VJ had provided, it had directly participated in certain operations, namely, those around Sarajevo in December 1993.