Hague: Witness says Mladić "suffered stroke"

Ratko Mladic suffered a light stroke toward the end of the war in Bosnia and had kidney problems, General Manojlo Milovanovic said at the Hague Tribunal. According to Milovanovic, who was the former Bosnian Serb military leader's deputy at the time, Mladic had his stroke before the fall of 1995. Hague: Witness says Mladic "suffered stroke" Milovanovic, who was a head of the Republic of Srpska (RS) Army Main Staff, testified at the trial of Zdravko Tolimir, Mladic's intelligence and security affairs assistant. Tolimir is accused of genocide against Srebrenica Muslims in the summer of 1995. “He told me once at the time, 'I had a light stroke and sometimes I don't know that two and two is four. Tolimir had a stroke as well, so don't always take him seriously either',“ the retired general said and apologized to Tolimir. According to him, Mladic “started cursing colonels and other staff members of the RS Army Main Staff“ about that time. “He told me to warn him when he started doing that by kicking him under the table,“ he explained and added that a half an hour later Mladic had started cursing one of the colonels because of a sheep he had seen in front of the RS Army headquarters in Han Pijesak. “I kicked him and he told me that what he had told me half an hour ago didn't apply anymore,“ the witness stated. Ratko Mladic Mladic, Karadzic “craved power“ According to Milovanovic, Mladic often came into conflict with RS President Radovan Karadzic over “who was going to be first“, since both of them “craved power and were charismatic“. The witness explained that in the end Mladic “understood“ that Karadzic was a commander in chief and added that the RS Army “only obeyed Karadzic's orders“. “Mladic did not make decisions on his own, without consulting the RS Army Main Staff members until mid-1994. Then he made a decision without the Main Staff several times in order to achieve something fast, but it turned out not to be working,“ Milovanovic said. According to him, Mladic suffered from a kidney disease at the time but did not spend much time at the hospital. He often consulted Tolimir, whom Milovanovic called “Mladic's eyes and ears“. “He had a lot of confidence in Tolimir and Ljubisa Beara. I understand why Tolimir, but I never figured out why Beara,“ he stressed. Colonel Beara was head of the RS Army Main Staff Security Department at the time and he was sentenced to life in prison for genocide in Srebrenica by the Hague Tribunal last year. “RS Army must have known about Operation Storm“ Milovanovic claimed that RS Army intelligence service “must have known“ that Croat army was preparing the Operation Storm, bearing in mind that Croat troops had been deployed to critical areas. “RS Army intelligence service must have known that and they didn't tell me a single word and they let me attack Muslims near Bihac. The blood will be on their hands if they knew and didn't tell me,“ he stressed. He described how Tolimir often stood next to Mladic while he was on the phone or radio and warned him not to say certain things “because Muslims were wiretapping“. “For example, in a recording in which Mladic gives orders to hit the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency headquarters in Sarajevo and says 'blow their minds', one can also hear his words 'All right, Tolimir'. That probably means that Tolimir was warning him not to say that. Radio Sarajevo later played it every morning, as an opening theme,“ the witness concluded.

Hague: Witness says Mladić "suffered stroke"

Milovanović, who was a head of the Republic of Srpska (RS) Army Main Staff, testified at the trial of Zdravko Tolimir, Mladić's intelligence and security affairs assistant.

Tolimir is accused of genocide against Srebrenica Muslims in the summer of 1995.

“He told me once at the time, 'I had a light stroke and sometimes I don't know that two and two is four. Tolimir had a stroke as well, so don't always take him seriously either',“ the retired general said and apologized to Tolimir.

According to him, Mladić “started cursing colonels and other staff members of the RS Army Main Staff“ about that time.

“He told me to warn him when he started doing that by kicking him under the table,“ he explained and added that a half an hour later Mladić had started cursing one of the colonels because of a sheep he had seen in front of the RS Army headquarters in Han Pijesak.

“I kicked him and he told me that what he had told me half an hour ago didn't apply anymore,“ the witness stated.

Mladić, Karadžić “craved power“

According to Milovanović, Mladić often came into conflict with RS President Radovan Karadžić over “who was going to be first“, since both of them “craved power and were charismatic“.

The witness explained that in the end Mladić “understood“ that Karadžić was a commander in chief and added that the RS Army “only obeyed Karadžić's orders“.

“Mladić did not make decisions on his own, without consulting the RS Army Main Staff members until mid-1994. Then he made a decision without the Main Staff several times in order to achieve something fast, but it turned out not to be working,“ Milovanović said.

According to him, Mladić suffered from a kidney disease at the time but did not spend much time at the hospital.

He often consulted Tolimir, whom Milovanović called “Mladić's eyes and ears“.

“He had a lot of confidence in Tolimir and Ljubiša Beara. I understand why Tolimir, but I never figured out why Beara,“ he stressed.

Colonel Beara was head of the RS Army Main Staff Security Department at the time and he was sentenced to life in prison for genocide in Srebrenica by the Hague Tribunal last year.

“RS Army must have known about Operation Storm“

Milovanović claimed that RS Army intelligence service “must have known“ that Croat army was preparing the Operation Storm, bearing in mind that Croat troops had been deployed to critical areas.

“RS Army intelligence service must have known that and they didn't tell me a single word and they let me attack Muslims near Bihać. The blood will be on their hands if they knew and didn't tell me,“ he stressed.

He described how Tolimir often stood next to Mladić while he was on the phone or radio and warned him not to say certain things “because Muslims were wiretapping“.

“For example, in a recording in which Mladić gives orders to hit the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency headquarters in Sarajevo and says 'blow their minds', one can also hear his words 'All right, Tolimir'. That probably means that Tolimir was warning him not to say that. Radio Sarajevo later played it every morning, as an opening theme,“ the witness concluded.