Gotovina Defense: The Artillery Diaries Were Hidden by UN Peacekeepers

Vecernji List

4/26/2010

In the final phase of the trial of three Croatian generals in The Hague, Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and 
Mladen Markac, Gotovina`s defense claims that it has found evidence that part of the requested documentation, 
the so-called artillery diaries and maps of the Croatian Army, were concealed or destroyed by the UN’s 
own military observers as early as 1995. Ante Gotovina’s defense lawyer Luka Misetic submitted to the 
Zagreb Municipal State Attorney a criminal complaint against three UN colonels - Russian Alexander Tchernetsky, 
British (now Major General) Peter Gage Williams, and Russian Viktor Tarusin. Misetic says all are guilty 
of concealment and/or destruction of archives belonging to the Republic of Croatia (327th Article, 1st 
of the Criminal Code of Croatia).

Misetic says in the report that at undetermined date in September 1995, at an undetermined location, 
two km away from the Veliki Mracaj and later that same day at the location of two to 2.5 kilometers southwest 
of the Bosnian Grahovo, a member of the UNMO (UN military observers) A. Tchernetsky found the military 
documents from the Croatian Army which concern the use of artillery in Operation Storm. According to 
the criminal complaint, Tchernetsky then handed the Croatian Army documents to the UNMO deputy chief 
military observer British colonel PG Williams, in Zagreb. After review, Williams gave the documents to 
the chief of military information, Colonel V. Tarusin. According to Misetic, the chain of custody of 
the documents ends here.

According to Misetic, these facts are based on the testimony of A. Tchernetsky in The Hague, where, 
as a prosecution witness has testified 21st May 2008. The Russian colonel testified that - in September 
1995 he went on patrol with another observer in order to reach Grahovo and to track events and the dislocation 
of the HV (Croatian Army). However, they were stopped near Grahovo, so they turned another way and arrived 
at about two kilometers from V. Mracaj, where they found an earlier command post of a Croatian brigade. 
They found some documents and went on. In the woods two to 2.5 kilometers from Grahovo they then discovered 
the former command post of Croatian artillery battalions. Here the colonel testified he found some "operational 
documents, including maps and artillery support plan ... I`ve studied the documents and realized that 
the Croats were deliberately marking on maps nonexistent military targets within populated areas, where 
there was no
heavy weapons or other military positions ...". Next Tchernetsky testified that on orders of his superior 
(Steiner) he handed over the documents to Williams, who in turn after examination handed them to Colonel 
Tarusin.

- I believe that these documents are of great importance and need to be found - argued Tchernetsky at 
the trial. Tarusin testified that the HV documents bore the label "secret".

Misetic concludes that these documents are not in the archives of the UN, which Gotovina Defense has 
already "searched". - Thus there is reasonable suspicion that the three colonels concealed or destroyed 
the documents. It is proposed that the Croatian State Attorney`s Office and the police take over the 
prosecution.

Croatia has already for almost two years (June 13 is the biennial of the Prosecution’s request) been 
denied access to the EU, and Chapter 23 is unopened due to the missing so-called artillery diaries. This 
new evidence indicates that the mentioned missing artillery diaries and maps are possibly in the possession 
of UNMOs. The fact that, if true, these documents could constitute strong evidence of indiscriminately 
shooting HV, which the prosecution tries to prove from the beginning of the trial, shows that Brammertz 
speaks to the wrong address when criticizing RH. Or else these diaries simply don’t exist, which means 
that these UNMO’s were testifying from memory, and not from the displayed documents.

Luka Misetic: The Documents Would Support Gotovina

We filed a criminal report because from the submitted statements and testimony it is known that these 
three individuals were the last known persons to be in possession of the documents which the Prosecution 
is seeking. Even before, we insisted that these documents be found because we believe they will go in 
favor of General Gotovina, and perhaps this is the exact reason why they are being hidden or destroyed. 
We filed a criminal report with the State Attorney’s office because our warnings to date have been ignored 
by the Hague Prosecution.