This is a part of a statement given by Alun Roberts to Feral's journalist. Alun Roberts is a UN official in Knin, and he was there when the Croatian Army liberated the city. Asked to back up his claims with a proof, Roberts responded:
On Thursday night, 10 August, UN representative for human rights, counted along 18 kilometers of the road between Drnis and Knin 45 houses in flames. Smoke was coming out of some of them. They had been set on fire minutes earlier.
Q: What are your informations about the situation in Knin? What happened during the military operations?
As far as as we could tell, in the streets outside of the city center, almost all houses and apartments looked as they had been broken into and looted. We found clothing and furniture, children toys and other similar items at the city dump, not far from the center of the city. We can not talk about the number of civilian victims or about the behavior of the Croatian Army immediately after the the end of military operations since we left the camp for a first time on Tuesday.
Q:Why?
UN observers and civilian police did not get the Croatian military authorities permission to enter the city. Only on Tuesday afternoon, when everything had been already finished, after a lot of effort, a regular patrol was allowed to walk through the city. Therefore it is impossible for UN to tell whether the Croatian Army behaved appropriately or not.
Q:Croatian authorities have, however, informed the UN about the start of operation "Storm"?
That is correct but it does not offer much comfort. Several hours before the start of operation "Storm", UN military headquarters in Zagreb received the Croatian authorities warning that the definite attack would start on Friday at 3 a.m. - maybe 3:15 a.m. - and that the bombardment would commence 2 hours later. That is how it happened. Everybody left the city on Friday afternoon or during the Friday on Saturday night. Street fighting occured on the outskirts of the city, where every sign of civilian life had disappeared.
Q:You have about 600 people from the Knin area in your camp. According to the information published in the local daily press, alleged war criminals are among them. What can you tell us about that?
We know about that and we immediately took a stand on that issue. According to the Akashi's agreement, alleged war criminals will remain under the jurisdiction of the military authorities in sector South until the Croatian authorities start legal proceedings against them. Cases like those require careful investigation which can not be conducted carelessly or quickly. Until the evidence against alleged war criminals is revealed, in detail and clearly, they will, regardless of what anyone might think about that, remain in the sector South camp. They cannot leave the camp - neither voluntarily or under pressure - since helicopter link between Zagreb and Knin is only maintained in case of emergency and used by UN officials.
Q:Have the Croatian military authorities tried to reduce tensions in the area?
Yes, they have, but their methods are rather strange. For example, work of UN commander for sector South has been hampered by Croatian police which, unfortunately, keeps doing the opposite of what it should and keeps provoking clashes. The commander of sector South simply cannot transfer the message of reconciliation between these two separated communities, which both suffer from the tragic consequences of the war.