Zaric: Arrests of Serbs another attempt to politicize the Racak case

Sladjana Zaric, journalist and editor at Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) and author of the documentary "Kosovo Dossier – Racak," which was cited today by Kosovo Special Prosecutor Iljir Morina as evidentiary material in the war crimes investigation that led to the arrest of five Serbs, told Kosovo Online that this represents yet another attempt to politicize the case and an effort by Pristina to portray a legitimate police operation as a war crime.

Zaric recalled that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ultimately abandoned the Racak case due to a lack of evidence.

"I feel very sorry for the people who have been arrested. It should be remembered that the Hague Tribunal placed Racak as the first count in the indictment against Milosevic and other police generals, that the largest number of witnesses before the Tribunal testified specifically about the Racak case, and that, in the end, the charge was dropped. That indicates that it was absolutely impossible to prove. Had they been able to prove it—given that it was the first and principal count of the indictment—they certainly would have proven that a war crime had occurred in Racak," Zaric said.

She assumes that Morina was referring to footage recorded on January 15, 1999, namely material filmed by the Associated Press.

"On January 15, AP was accompanying the Serbian police. What they are getting wrong is that these were not Goran Radosavljevic's units; these were legitimate Special Police Units (PJP). Therefore, I do not know what identifications they are referring to, because the mere presence of individual police officers in Racak during a legitimate police operation absolutely cannot link those individuals to a war crime," she emphasized.

Zaric also pointed to statements made by the commander of the KLA unit in Racak acknowledging that bodies had been moved and removed from the scene during the night.

"I sincerely hope that, if a trial unfortunately takes place, they will also use the photographs I presented in the documentary, which clearly show that those whom they claim were civilians were in fact members of the KLA, carrying weapons, wearing uniforms, and displaying visible KLA insignia," Zaric added.

She further stated that during her research into both the Racak and Dubrava cases, she encountered numerous inconsistencies that, in her view, do not support the claim that a war crime occurred in Racak.

"In Dubrava, there was virtually an attempted uprising by KLA prisoners. When you examine the case, you see that they were unable to obtain what is known as evidentiary material; they could not prove that a massacre had occurred there. Therefore, I see this as yet another attempt to politicize the story," Zaric concluded.