Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

A. He did not countermand the major’s orders.
When he learned what had happened, he decided to
seek an opportunity to question the prisoners
further before the Serb police proceeded with their
investigation. The Zvornik authorities decided not to
relinquish custody, but did agree that IFOR and the
IPTF, whose mission is to monitor police procedures,
could observe and even participate in the
questioning of the suspects.
4. How long did IFOR hold the men before they were
handed to the RS Police, and how long were they
questioned?
A. They were in our troops’ custody for just over
2 hours, from about 1240 when they reached the IFOR
position until approximately 1440 when they left for
Zvornik. They were questioned by IFOR from 1300
and in the presence of Military Police and the IPTF
from approximately 1400.
5. Do you not think that if there was a possibility that
those men were from Srebrenica, and it would appear now
that there is, that you had a moral duty to ensure that they
did not fall into the hands of those they had been trying to
escape from for the past 9 months?
A. The war is over. Civilian policing and justice
are now the order of the day. Just as the
international community has the right to investigate
those responsible for war crimes and crimes against
humanity, so do both of the entities created at Dayton
have the right to investigate crimes that occur within
their jurisdiction. The IPTF will monitor the
progress of this investigation and ensure that proper
standards of police behavior are applied.
6. Have you issued new instructions to the MNDs as a
result of this incident?
166