Prosecution of BiH witness in Dobrovoljačka case: Soldiers from barracks terrorized Sarajevo citizens long before May 3rd

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

Prosecution of BiH witness Sakib Avdibegović testified today before the Court of BiH in the "Dobrovoljačka" case. He spoke about his direct knowledge of the events of May 3rd in Dobrovoljačka street, when the JNA column was leaving the Command of the Second Military District, answering questions from prosecutor Mladen Vukojičić.

Until February 1992, Avdibegović held the position of commander of the Territorial Defense of Stari Grad Sarajevo, after which he was dismissed and replaced by Hamid Bahto.

In his testimony today, the Prosecution's witness stated that the people gathered at Bistrik were citizens of Sarajevo who had gathered there because they wanted the JNA to leave the city, which had been shelling, terrorizing, killing civilians, and digging trenches around Sarajevo in the preceding months with the aim of besieging it.

Given that his testimony today differed partially from the statement he gave in 2011, Avdibegović explained that he had said at the time that it concerned members of the Territorial Defense, because in that period all citizens who resisted the aggressor were called "territorials".

"On May 3rd, I set off from Mejtaš towards Skenderija, to my in-laws. I met Jovo Divjak, who invited me to go with him. We went to Bistrik, in front of the Command of the Second Military District. There were citizens there. I also saw Alija, who was captured. The goal of everyone was for the JNA to leave Sarajevo and to leave the city peacefully. People were outraged – they shelled us, they killed us," said Avdibegović.

When asked by the prosecutor whom he saw in front of the command, Avdibegović said that he might have seen Delimustafić and "some other people," but that he did not see Jusuf Pušina, whom he did not know at the time, nor Bakir Alispahić.

"I didn't see them. I saw Alija. Divjak was trying to make everything pass peacefully. The JNA soldiers were provoking. They weren't young soldiers, they were loading trucks, but the officers and superiors were saying: 'Do you want me to cut you down'," Avdibegović stated.

After the column started moving, he and Divjak headed towards Skenderija and stopped at the "Dva ribara" facility.

"Then I headed towards my father-in-law's and saw a white transporter from which Alija was peeking out. He told me to call Divjak. I called him, and he told me to talk. Of course, I didn't, who was I to talk to the president. Then Divjak arrived and climbed onto the transporter. It is true that one guy accidentally fired a shot from a pump-action shotgun out of fear, after which Divjak shouted: 'Don't shoot'. I was standing next to the vehicle. I hadn't heard any shooting before that. Then three or four special forces members and Čegar arrived. After that, I returned towards Bistrik. I had a rifle because I was a member of the Territorial Defense," said Avdibegović.

He emphasized that during those events, a radio communication was heard from the transporter, with someone saying: "Forget Alija, all of them should be captured."

"There was no organization at all then. There were various groups that only joined the Territorial Defense in 1994. It was a chaotic situation. What commander of the TO – no one could command them," Avdibegović emphasized.

During cross-examination, Avdibegović confirmed that JNA members were confiscating weapons from the Territorial Defense, which they justified by security concerns.

"On April 13th, they took 6,000 long firearms from Faletići. They were taking out weapons that ended up in the hands of Serbs," Avdibegović confirmed, answering questions from lawyer Jesenka Rešidović.

Ejup Ganić's lawyer, Lejla Čović, asked the witness to clarify what he meant when he said that JNA members were provoking the gathered crowd.

"They were pointing their rifles at us, at the citizens, and saying they would 'cut us down'," said Avdibegović.

To lawyer Mirna Avdibegović, the witness confirmed that the stance of the population of Sarajevo, and even those who had the authority to make decisions, was that the members of the Yugoslav Army should leave the barracks as soon as possible to stop terrorizing the population and shooting at Sarajevo civilians, to which they had been exposed from the barracks earlier.

Judge Darko Samardžić asked the witness how many members of the Territorial Defense of Stari Grad there were, to which Avdibegović replied that he did not know. The judge also asked if he, as a member of the TO, had received any call for May 3rd, which the witness denied.

"No, I didn't receive any call, and I don't think anyone else did either," said Avdibegović.

Prosecutor Vukojičić submitted the minutes of the hearing from 2011, with defense objections that the minutes lacked the translator's signature and that a foreign investigator had questioned him.

The trial in this case continues on February 18th.