Closing arguments in Mladić trial: Proud of the siege of Sarajevo

Prosecutors at the trial of Ratko Mladić before the Hague Tribunal argued today, in their closing statement, that it has been proven that Mladić and his army terrorised the population of Sarajevo with a campaign of artillery and sniper attacks.

Prosecutor Adam Weber said that, during the three and a half years of war, the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) opened indiscriminate artillery fire on Sarajevo and targeted civilians with snipers, reported BIRN, as carried by NAP.

As evidence that Mladić ordered and approved these attacks, the prosecutor played in the courtroom a recording of an intercepted conversation from May 1992 in which Mladić orders artillery fire on the neighbourhoods of Velešići and Pofalići "because there aren't many Serbs there."

- To blow their minds, so they can't sleep - Mladić is heard on the recording, which, according to the prosecutor, is proof that the goal of the shelling was "spreading terror" among the population.

The VRS subjected civilians in Sarajevo, as Weber stated, throughout the war to "massive bombardment that covered the entire city" or sporadic shelling, depending on Mladić's decision.

The prosecutor referred to testimonies of UN officials, such as David Harland, according to whom Mladić, together with Radovan Karadžić, used attacks on the city as a means of pressure on the authorities in Sarajevo and the international community.

- No part of the city was spared... Hospitals were targeted, people at funerals, in lines for water and food... Mosques were not spared either - said Weber.

Proving that VRS snipers, at the same time, targeted civilians in Sarajevo, the prosecutor cited a 1994 UNICEF figure that "40 percent of children in Sarajevo were directly exposed to sniper fire."

In response to the defence's claim that Mladić banned "offensive fire" and "attacks on civilians," the prosecutor, by showing orders, pointed out that the general specified "without my approval." "That is not the same as a ban," Weber assessed.

As evidence of Mladić's attitude towards civilians, Weber quoted his words from a recording shown in the courtroom: "Whenever I come to Sarajevo, I kill someone in passing."

Rejecting the defence's claim that Mladić "did not give orders for civilians to be sniped," the prosecutor reminded that Mladić himself admitted to UNPROFOR commander Rupert Smith in 1995 that sniper attacks had intensified.

The prosecutor called the defence's claim that the VRS "only reacted" to attacks by the Army of BiH from Sarajevo "false."

Weber also said that the defence's claim that the ABiH committed most of the attacks on civilians in Sarajevo was "baseless, i.e., based on non-existent evidence."

The finding of the defence's ballistics expert Zorica Subotić that the two explosions at the Markale market were caused by planted mines was dismissed by the prosecutor as a "conspiracy theory."

- She made it all up - the prosecutor emphasised.

Weber said that the defence seeks to portray Mladić as a "heroic saviour" of civilians, by claiming that he ensured the "well-being" of the population.

- Nothing could be further from the truth - Weber assessed.

According to the prosecutor, Mladić, on the contrary, denied exhausted civilians in Sarajevo humanitarian aid, electricity, water, and gas, which he "used as a tool" to achieve his goals.

- The defence's claim that Mladić did not order the denial of aid is bizarre. Mladić controlled and limited aid and basic necessities - said Weber.

The prosecutor proved this by quoting from Mladić's order: "Immediately cut off the water, electricity, and gas supply to the Muslim part of Sarajevo."

Contrary to the defence's claim that civilians in Sarajevo "always had freedom of movement" and were "never blocked," Weber emphasised that Mladić "was proud of the siege of Sarajevo."

- The VRS blocked all roads out of the city and fired on civilians who tried to leave it - said the prosecutor.

As evidence, he quoted Mladić's words that "only birds can fly," as well as the general's directives to "prevent the lifting of the siege" and "tighten the noose."

Rejecting the defence's claim that Mladić repeatedly offered "demilitarisation of Sarajevo" and to remove heavy artillery around the city, Weber said that he only offered this under the threat of NATO bombing, after the first explosion at the Markale market in February 1994.

The prosecution continues with its closing argument.

Mladić is charged with genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Muslims and Croats throughout BiH, terrorising the population of Sarajevo through prolonged shelling and sniping, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.