Drawing-slim
05-15-2013, 09:38 AM
Serbian Police Official Apologises for Kosovo War Crimes
Former high-ranking Serbian interior ministry official Vlastimir Djordjevic admitted war crimes were committed against Kosovo Albanians during the 1999 conflict and apologised to civilian victims.
Marija Ristic BIRN Belgrade
“In Kosovo in 1999, war crimes took place. I didn’t want those war crimes and if I could turn back time, I would act differently,” said Djordjevic, former assistant to the Serbian interior minister, during an appeal against his war crimes sentence at the Hague Tribunal on Monday.
“I have deep regrets about all the victims in Kosovo and for the suffering their families lived through. Without any reservations, I apologise to all Albanian civilians who lost their lives,” he said.
“I apologise to refugees as well. I hope the future of this region will be dedicated to peace,” he continued.
Djordjevic said that he only found out about war crimes committed by Serbian forces when bodies of Kosovo Albanians were found in a truck in the River Danube in 2001.
“Yes, I was involved when trucks with bodies were coming to Batajnica [a mass grave near Belgrade], but I didn’t know when the crimes were committed. I didn’t confront those who tried to mask and hide the crimes and I didn’t take any measures to find those responsible for war crimes, which I was supposed to do,” Djordjevic admitted.
“I honestly regret that, and I regret that I didn’t resign my post at the time,” he added.
Speaking about the conflict in Kosovo, Djordjevic said he spent most of the time in Belgrade, and denied he had participated in operations against the Kosovo Liberation Army.
In September 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY sentenced Djordjevic to 27 years in prison for persecution on political, racial or religious grounds, murder and deportation.
According to the verdict, “forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia, acting at the direction, with the encouragement, or with the support of Vlastimir Djordjevic perpetrated crimes which resulted in the forced deportation of approximately 800,000 Kosovo Albanian civilians”.
“To facilitate these expulsions and displacements, forces of the FRY and Serbia deliberately created an atmosphere of fear and oppression through the use of force, threats of force and acts of violence,” the verdict said.
During Monday’s session, the prosecution asked for a life sentence for Djordjevic, arguing that he was a crucial figure in concealing the bodies of Albanians killed in Kosovo in 1999.
But the defence asked for the first-instance verdict to be reduced because Djordjevic’s role in the Kosovo crimes “has been exaggerated by the prosecution”.
Djordjevic was arrested in 2007 in Montenegro after being on the run for four years.
He was an assistant to interior minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic, who was also charged by the ICTY but killed himself in Belgrade in 2001.
The date for the appeal verdict has yet to be set.
Former high-ranking Serbian interior ministry official Vlastimir Djordjevic admitted war crimes were committed against Kosovo Albanians during the 1999 conflict and apologised to civilian victims.
Marija Ristic BIRN Belgrade
“In Kosovo in 1999, war crimes took place. I didn’t want those war crimes and if I could turn back time, I would act differently,” said Djordjevic, former assistant to the Serbian interior minister, during an appeal against his war crimes sentence at the Hague Tribunal on Monday.
“I have deep regrets about all the victims in Kosovo and for the suffering their families lived through. Without any reservations, I apologise to all Albanian civilians who lost their lives,” he said.
“I apologise to refugees as well. I hope the future of this region will be dedicated to peace,” he continued.
Djordjevic said that he only found out about war crimes committed by Serbian forces when bodies of Kosovo Albanians were found in a truck in the River Danube in 2001.
“Yes, I was involved when trucks with bodies were coming to Batajnica [a mass grave near Belgrade], but I didn’t know when the crimes were committed. I didn’t confront those who tried to mask and hide the crimes and I didn’t take any measures to find those responsible for war crimes, which I was supposed to do,” Djordjevic admitted.
“I honestly regret that, and I regret that I didn’t resign my post at the time,” he added.
Speaking about the conflict in Kosovo, Djordjevic said he spent most of the time in Belgrade, and denied he had participated in operations against the Kosovo Liberation Army.
In September 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY sentenced Djordjevic to 27 years in prison for persecution on political, racial or religious grounds, murder and deportation.
According to the verdict, “forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia, acting at the direction, with the encouragement, or with the support of Vlastimir Djordjevic perpetrated crimes which resulted in the forced deportation of approximately 800,000 Kosovo Albanian civilians”.
“To facilitate these expulsions and displacements, forces of the FRY and Serbia deliberately created an atmosphere of fear and oppression through the use of force, threats of force and acts of violence,” the verdict said.
During Monday’s session, the prosecution asked for a life sentence for Djordjevic, arguing that he was a crucial figure in concealing the bodies of Albanians killed in Kosovo in 1999.
But the defence asked for the first-instance verdict to be reduced because Djordjevic’s role in the Kosovo crimes “has been exaggerated by the prosecution”.
Djordjevic was arrested in 2007 in Montenegro after being on the run for four years.
He was an assistant to interior minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic, who was also charged by the ICTY but killed himself in Belgrade in 2001.
The date for the appeal verdict has yet to be set.