"Corpses were tossed into well"

At the trial for war crimes committed in Banski Kovacevac in Croatia, a witness has said that accused Pane Bulat ordered dead bodies to be tossed down a well. Marko Mamula, a former soldier in the Republic of Serb Krajina Army, told the Belgrade District Court’s War Crimes Chamber that one night, while on guard duty, he had heard gunshots, whereupon a man, who he later learned was called Rade Vranesevic, had come up to him and told him to go with him. "Corpses were tossed into well" The witness said that they reached a garden in the village where they saw the bodies of civilians strewn around, while Bulat himself was standing next to a well. “He told me to throw the bodies into the well, but first to look inside their pockets to see if they had any money,“ said Mamula. He said that he had been appalled by Bulat’s words, and that he had refused point blank. The witness said that they had left the scene of the crime and that, as far as he was aware, the bodies were removed from the well three weeks later. These civilians, he said, had died “more from greed than ethnic motives.“ The accused, cross-examining the witness directly, dismissed the allegations, calling them lies. He repudiated the testimonies of a number of witnesses that he had taken part in the displacement of Croat civilians from Banski Kovacevac in March 1992. The witness, however, was unable to identify in court today the other accused, Vranesevic, as the man who had approached him on the night in question, saying that he had never seen him before. Bulat and Vranesevic, who were members of the Republic of Serb Krajina Army’s security organs, are accused of murdering six civilians, mainly elderly people who had left Banski Kovacevac with the rest of the population, between March 19 and 23, 1992. Five women and one man between the ages of 63 and 81 were taken to the garden on Bulat’s orders, where they were shot at first by Bulat, then by co-accused Vranesevic. The bodies were then thrown into a nearby well, which was subsequently mined. The victims were Grga Mihalic, Bara Mihalic, Kata Mihalic, Veronika Krupic, Mara Lesar i Mara Djerek. The trial resumes tomorrow.

"Corpses were tossed into well"

The witness said that they reached a garden in the village where they saw the bodies of civilians strewn around, while Bulat himself was standing next to a well.

“He told me to throw the bodies into the well, but first to look inside their pockets to see if they had any money,“ said Mamula.

He said that he had been appalled by Bulat’s words, and that he had refused point blank.

The witness said that they had left the scene of the crime and that, as far as he was aware, the bodies were removed from the well three weeks later. These civilians, he said, had died “more from greed than ethnic motives.“

The accused, cross-examining the witness directly, dismissed the allegations, calling them lies.

He repudiated the testimonies of a number of witnesses that he had taken part in the displacement of Croat civilians from Banski Kovačevac in March 1992.

The witness, however, was unable to identify in court today the other accused, Vranešević, as the man who had approached him on the night in question, saying that he had never seen him before.

Bulat and Vranešević, who were members of the Republic of Serb Krajina Army’s security organs, are accused of murdering six civilians, mainly elderly people who had left Banski Kovačevac with the rest of the population, between March 19 and 23, 1992.

Five women and one man between the ages of 63 and 81 were taken to the garden on Bulat’s orders, where they were shot at first by Bulat, then by co-accused Vranešević.

The bodies were then thrown into a nearby well, which was subsequently mined.

The victims were Grga Mihalić, Bara Mihalić, Kata Mihalić, Veronika Krupić, Mara Lesar i Mara Đerek.

The trial resumes tomorrow.