OPERATION STORM VIDEO - PROSECUTOR LAUNCHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000948 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO; EUR/SCE - HOH, DAVIS; S/WCI WILLIAMSON, BERG; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2016 TAGS: KAWC PREL PGOV HR WAR CRIMES SUBJECT: OPERATION STORM VIDEO - PROSECUTOR LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION Classified By: Pol Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4(b) & (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic has forwarded the war-time video recently aired on Belgrade's B-92 television to the Ministry of Interior and requested a full investigation of the crimes shown. After watching the video and reviewing an extensive analysis done by Croatia's Counter Intelligence Service, Bajic told PolOff August 8 that he believes it depicts war crimes committed in August 1995 by the 505th Brigade of the BiH army, indicated by unit patches, green arm and head bands, Bosnian dialect, and dialogue invoking Allah. At least some of the crimes, which include execution of at least one unarmed civilian or POW and the destruction of villages, appear to have taken place on Croatian territory near the villages of Rujavac, Gornji Zirovac and Donji Zirovac. Members of the Croatian Army's "Black Mambas" unit appear in the final segment of the 40-minute video searching a column of refugees for weapons but are not shown committing any crimes. Post has reviewed a copy of the full video provided by Bajic's office and sees nothing that contradicts the prosecutor's conclusion. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS: LIAISON WITH SARAJEVO -------------- - ¶2. (C) Bajic told PolOff he contacted the state prosecutor in Sarajevo to request assistance. According to Bajic, his BiH counterpart said he has been conducting an investigation into the crimes on the video for several months and was upset by the public release of the video, as persons who are identifiable on the tape may now flee justice. Bajic requested any additional tapes or information related to these crimes from prosecutors in both Sarajevo and Belgrade. He obtained another video August 9 that contains additional footage (potentially from the same original tape) depicting more war crimes he believes were committed by the same unit of the Army of BiH. ¶3. (C) Bajic noted that it is not surprising to see BiH troops operating within Croatia in 1995, as the Split Agreement gave Croatian and BiH troops clearance to operate on both sides of the border in the defense of Bihac. While Bajic's office has jurisdiction over any crimes that took place on Croatian territory, the perpetrators are most probably in BiH, so the prosecutor in Sarajevo may ultimately be the one best positioned to pursue criminal charges. Bajic has also officially requested assistance from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),which has agreed to help as much as it can. DELAWIE