| |
|
|
| Ljajić: Mladić footage from before 2002 |
| 11 June 2009 | 10:17 -> 16:58
| Source:
B92, Tanjug |
BELGRADE --
The footage of Ratko Mladić screened by Bosnian Federal TV is eight years old and has already been submitted to the Hague Tribunal, say the Serbian authorities.
 | Rasim Ljajić (FoNet, archive)
|
The Hague Tribunal has confirmed that it has the footage in question in its possession.
The program, “60 Minutes”, features amateur footage of the Hague’s most wanted fugitive, parts of which, Federal TV believes, were filmed last or this winter.
Chairman of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajić says that none of the footage is less than eight years old.
Ljajić told a press conference that the release of the material was an attempt to disavow Serbia and her attempts to complete cooperation with the Hague.
The clips were part of material that Serbia had submitted to the tribunal in March this year, he said, adding that it consisted of 215 audio and video cassettes seized from Mladić’s home in Belgrade last December.
The National Council chairman then enumerated the different clips, quoting exact dates of when they were filmed.
“The clip where Ratko Mladić is seen holding his grandson in his hands: April 28, 2001."
“The clip from his son’s wedding: June 21, 1997.”
“As for the clips of Ratko Mladić in military facilities, we couldn’t give an exact date, but I can tell you that Mladić last stayed in a military facility on June 1, 2002, at the Krčmari facility near Valjevo.”
“The picture from the funeral, the clip that is, is from March 25, 1994.”
“The clip where it says that Mladić is in the company of his wife and daughter walking in the snow was allegedly filmed in 2008, as we heard yesterday. You’ve now heard that the funeral of Mladić’s daughter was on March 25, 1994.”
Ljajić told the press conference at government HQ that Belgrade was adamant that it should be established how the footage leaked into the public eye.
“I’m afraid that the purpose of releasing the footage was to prevent a Dutch change of heart as regards visa liberalization, and to put us in the dock once again and make us defend accusations that we’re not doing all we can to complete cooperation,“ he said.
“I don’t know who is keen for Serbia not to continue her path to the EU, but it’s clear that someone in the international community doesn’t have the best intentions,“ Ljajić reflected.
Dušan Ignjatović, director of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague, told B92 that the footage was being analyzed, but that it was probably quite old.
“Right now, we can't say exactly where the footage came from. However, our guess is that the footage is old and was seized at various locations in Serbia, and then submitted to the Hague prosecution,“ said Ignjatović.
“Therefore, no-one wanted to hide them, no-one wanted to play around with them, and they could have if they’d wanted to. That’s further proof that Serbia is doing all in its power to bring Ratko Mladić to justice,“ he said.
“The majority of that footage was compiled—it can clearly be seen—during the Nineties and the early 2000s—2001 or 2002—I don’t know exactly when. As regards the clips purportedly filmed in 2008, this winter to be precise, right now we cannot say exactly whether they were or not, but we don’t believe they were shot in 2008,“ said Ignjatović.
The director of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague believes that the purpose of the footage is to show something that is not—that Mladić is protected in Serbia.
“We all know Ratko Mladić was protected in Serbia during the Slobodan Milošević government and that’s nothing new. Currently, however, Mladić is not protected here. Ratko Mladić, if he is here, is hiding. We’re pulling out all the stops to catch Ratko Mladić and extradite him to the Hague, and no-one should be in any doubt as to that,“ he stressed
Hague prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said that she did not know anything about yesterday’s program and that she would be able to supply more information during the course of the day.
The bulk of the footage, Bosnian Federal TV (FTV) said, had been shot in the Belgrade district of Košutnjak , where Mladić is seen freely mingling with friends and family.
FTV also shows Mladić and his family in one of the barracks of the former Yugoslav Army, where, they say, he was residing, and where he can be seen walking and playing table tennis with friends.
The former Republic of Srpska (RS) Army commander is also filmed at the wedding of a former aide in East Sarajevo in the RS, in the Kula restaurant.
The program’s producer, Bakir Hadžiomerović, did not wish to reveal to B92 how FTV had obtained the amateur footage.
“The clips show everything, covering a long period of over 10 years. From images from the funeral of Mladić’s daughter Ana, who, as is known, killed herself, where he appears, even though there was even talk that he was never even at that funeral, through to footage that is believed to have been shot this or last winter, somewhere in the snow,” said Hadžiomerović.
“There are celebrations of various descriptions—private parties, visits to restaurants, and what’s most important in the whole story is that we have footage of that war criminal’s stay in military facilities in Serbia, in Topčider and others,” he said.
“We have footage of his contacts with accused war criminals—Perišić, Tolimir, his contacts with Manojlo Milovanović and other people,” Hadžiomerović added.
“What’s interesting is that all the clips, which are spread out over a long time period, feature more or less the same people in the background, in Mladić’s vicinity,“ he noted.
“It’s hard to retell that now, given that we’ve managed to come across over an hour’s worth of material. Of that hour, Mladić is in shot for at least 50 minutes. We’ve released around 35 minutes’ worth,“ said Hadžiomerović.
|
|
|
|
Archive: Thursday, 11 June 2009 |
 |
|
|
|
| Archive |
|
| More... |
|
|
search b92.net
B92 live 
"The situation in Europe is dire. After years of profligate spending, Greece is becoming overwhelmed. Barring some sort of large-scale bailout program..."... 
What we need in Belgrade, really, is a suspension bridge. We need a bridge that will suspend our doubts about ever having enough viable bridges. We need a bridge that will suspend our disbelief about the dangers
...
