Gen. Philippe Morillon was commander of UN forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 and 1993. As a direct observer of important episodes during the conflict, in 2004 Morillon testified as a witness at the trial of Slobodan Milošević conducted by the ICTY in the Hague. In the excerpted transcript that follows the Defendant cross-examines Morillon about the background of the events that took place in Srebrenica. On page 32029 Morillon confirms his statement that in Srebrenica “Mladić [commanding general on the Serbian side] walked into a trap,” though he does not elaborate (nor does the Defendant pose the question) what is to be understood by this enigmatic formulation. He goes on to say that the massacre is ultimately attributable to the “amount of hared that accrued” and, interestingly, that in his personal opinion Mladić did not order it. Most enigmatically, Morillon also states that “the population of Srebrenica was the victim of a higher interest, of a state reason, the raison d’etre, but this higher interest which was located in Sarajevo and New York but certainly not in Paris,” again without being prompted to elaborate further on this curious allusion. At that point (page 32030) the representative of the French Government, who was in attendance, intervened and asked for a consultation. The presiding judge granted a brief recess. After the consultation, the transcript reflects a certain backtracking on Morillon’s part (e.g. page 32031), though he reaffirms the severity of the atrocities committed by forces within the enclave which, presumably, engendered the atmosphere of hatred ultimately resulting in the 1995 massacre (page 32031 – 32032).
General Philippe Morillon’s testimony in the trial of Slobodan Milošević
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Thursday, 12 February 2004
20 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
21 Q. General Morillon, as I was saying, since Mr. Robinson has just
22 given me half an hour more, I’ll do my best to be as concise as possible
23 and to refer to some of your observations that I would like to establish
24 and discuss.
25 You said that the Bosnian forces had withdrawn before the fall of
Page 32029
1 Srebrenica and that Naser Oric left the enclave one week before Srebrenica
2 fell, and it was sufficient for his forces to lay mines on the road and
3 enable the tanks to pass. I’m quoting you. “I said that Mladic had
4 entered an ambush in Srebrenica, a trap, in fact. He expected to find
5 resistance, but there none. He didn’t expect the massacre to occur but he
6 completely underestimated the amount of hatred that accrued. I don’t
7 believe that he ordered the massacres, but I don’t know. That is my
8 personal opinion.”
9 And I share that personal opinion of yours, General Morillon. And
10 as you presented it publicly before the deputies of the French National
11 Assembly, I assume you did so with full responsibility when you presented
12 that view of yours. Isn’t that right, General?
13 A. Yes. For the Chamber and in order to make the Chamber understand
14 all this, this about the fall of Srebrenica, the final episode of
15 Srebrenica when it fell in 1995 when I had left the territory two years
16 ago.
17 Q. Yes. But you had this experience with General Mladic for a long
18 time. And you go on to say also in the French parliament, I think where
19 you were asked questions, you say, “I was convinced that the population of
20 Srebrenica was the victim of a higher interest, of a state reason, the
21 raison d’etre,” as you put it, “but this higher interest which was located
22 in Sarajevo and New York but certainly not in Paris. Had I been able to
23 evacuate all those who had wanted me to do so at the time that I
24 intervened in Srebrenica, we could certainly have saved a number of human
25 lives.”
Page 32030
1 JUDGE ROBINSON: Mr. Groome is on his feet.
2 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
3 MR. GROOME: The representatives of the French government wish to
4 consult with me. Could I ask that we go into private session and could I
5 have just a moment to hear from them and then address the Court?
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, but please do it very quickly.
7 [Private session]
8 (redacted)
9 (redacted)
10 (redacted)
11 (redacted)
12 (redacted)
13 (redacted)
14 (redacted)
15 [Open session]
16 THE REGISTRAR: We’re in open session.
17 MR. MILOSEVIC: [Interpretation]
18 Q. Thank you. Well, otherwise I have here the report of the
19 Assemblee Nationale Record d’Information and who presided, and so on and
20 so forth, so I’m quite sure General Morillon will remember that all very
21 well. And at any rate it was a public document and I’m not going beyond
22 that scope at all.
23 Now, as I was saying, you say yourself that: “The authorities of
24 Izetbegovic were the ones who stood up against the evacuation of those
25 towards Tuzla for all those who wanted to, and there were many of them who
Page 32031
1 wanted to. And I said that Naser Oric in my opinion succumbed to the
2 orders that he received from Sarajevo to leave the area. I don’t wish to
3 say that Sarajevo intentionally created this drama. This was done by the
4 Presidency. This was done by Izetbegovic. Naser Oric in Sarajevo
5 listened to the Presidency. Naser Oric in Sarajevo listened to the
6 Presidency.
7 “When I say that he, Mladic, entered into a trap and the trap was
8 an intentional one, I’m not criticising Izetbegovic. In my opinion, he
9 had no other way of causing what he wanted, that is to say the — putting
10 the international community on his side.”
11 Is that right, General Morillon? To provoke a reaction on the
12 part of the international community and against the Serbs. Is that right?
13 Is that —
14 A. Maybe, Mr. Milosevic, but one thing is sure: The real responsible
15 is the one who started the offensive. It’s Mladic. It’s Mladic who two
16 years earlier foiled the plan, and let us not reverse factors. I just
17 said everything you said, and I remain convinced that the real one who is
18 responsible for all the misfortunes, not only of the population of
19 Srebrenica but all the unfortunate things which happened, was Mladic. I
20 never said anything else. Thank you.
21 Q. Very well. Now, asked by a member of the parliamentary mission,
22 Mr. Pierre Brane, “How do you explain this terrible massacre?” And you to
23 that say the following: “Accumulated hatred. There were heads that
24 rolled. There were terrible massacres committed by the forces of Naser
25 Oric in all the surrounding villages. And when I went to Bratunac at the
Page 32032
1 time when I intervened, I felt that.”
2 I assume that that is not in dispute, General Morillon.
3 A. No, of course not. But I said it again in the first part of this
4 hearing, and it is because I was convinced of this hatred that I thought I
5 had to act when I did so, that is two years earlier.