UNTV WEEKLY NEWS 4/11/1993 [Main Title]

Includes news items on a local ceasefire in Sector South, Observation Post Miranje, the efforts of William Fenrick to investigate war crimes, CANBAT in the Medak pocket and a WHO programme to fit prosthetic limbs to people injured during the war.

Interview with one KENBAT officer who says that because of his background, he understands how these people live with so few resources. He says that UNPROFOR needs people from different countries and continents to better understand the people that they are trying to help. He says that his wife works in Mombasa and he hopes that they will have children in the future. UNTV news. First item: Colonel George Oehring, the new Sector Commander of Sector South, has arranged for a week-long ceasefire in Sector South to begin at midnight on Sunday the 31st of October, following negotiations with Serb and Croatian military commanders. UNTV visited an Observation Point set up by CANBAT at Miranje, Sector South. Shots of the Observation Point and CANBAT monitoring the crossing point. One CANBAT officer says that the point of the crossing point is to let both military parties know that the other side cannot cross. This is part of UNPROFOR's efforts to establish a Buffer Zone between the two armed forces. A representative of UNPROFOR says that this is just the start of efforts to restore a sense of normality to people living in the region. Second item: Report of the progress of William Fenrick, Rapporteur of On Site Investigations for the War Crimes Commission in the Former Yugoslavia. In accordance with UN Resolution 780, investigation into events that followed the Croatian incursion into the Medak pocket on the 9th of September 1993 has begun. In the case of Dubrovnik, the Commission has found that the JNA shelling was 'indiscrimate' and at other time 'deliberate' in targeting civilian buildings and sites of cultural importance. The JNA generals will now stand trial. Shots of damaged and destroyed buildings in Dubrovnik. He is also investigating a mass grave containing nineteen bodies in Sector West and Ovčara in Sector East. Clip of interview with William Fenrick. He says that the team deployed at Ovčara on the 19th of October but they were only able to clear the site and pick up surface evidence before the permission granted by authorities in Knin was revoked. They are currently in negotiations with the Knin authorities to regain permission to excavate the site. Third item: In the UNPROFOR Buffer Zone in the Medak Pocket, a CANBAT officer rescued a woman who had been caught up in fighting and shot in the hip. She had survived for thirty-six days living off wild berries and rainwater. A CANBAT officer found her after crossing a minefield. Shots of burnt out buildings. The officer says that when they were told of the woman's situation, it was "the UN's responsibility to take action" and find her. Short clip of interview with the woman in hospital. Fourth item: At a World Health Organisation rehabilitation centre a man adjusts his leg bandage below his knee and stands up with the aid of an artificial limb. He walks out of the room with crutches. Shot of a Red Cross doctor adjusting an artificial limb. Interview with an official (from WHO?) who says that the programme was started because of the evident need for prosthetics in a war in which many injuries are caused by mines. He says that the Finnish Red Cross pioneered the programme and after a positive response at a local demonstration, the current programme was developed. Interview with the Red Cross doctor who explains that the man on crutches was injured in a mine explosion four months ago. He was told he was getting a prosthetic limb last night and was unable to sleep because of his excitement. Interview with the man on crutches, who is very grateful for the artificial limb. Closing shots of a mine field. The Red Cross doctor prepares two artificial legs for a man with both legs amputated above the knee. A silhouette of a man walking unaided with a prosthetic limb.

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