Topic: Justice
KARADZIC No Show Karadzic boycotted the first day of his trial, an act which highlights several reasons why its time to shut down the UN Tribunal.by James Luko
(centrist)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
So international justice got cheated yesterday, the ICTY Prosecutor was robbed of another victim of Victor's Justice. At this point, in my opinion, the case should be repatriated to Serbia and time for the Prosecutor to pack it up. The concern for many of the employees in the Hague is not international justice but stretching out the lifespan of their UN contracts. The reason why the Tribunal tries suspects in an international forum is because previously it was agreed, by the international community (US & UK) that the Former Yugoslav states could not deliver an impartial hearing. At that time, the region was still in turmoil and Serbia under sanctions. Now, things are different and there is NOT a compelling reason to continue these cases in the Hague. As many cases have been remanded to national courts in the Former Yugoslavia, so too should the Karadzic case. UN and European institutions have been reinforcing the judiciary in the Former Yugoslavia for several years now and its time to relinquish "Victor's" Justice in order to retain some vestige of legitimacy on the part of the international community. The Karadzic case is a clear example of gross inequality of arms and there are no longer valid reasons that this case should not be remanded to the national courts in Serbia.
When an international court, such as the ICTY, begins to believe in its own infallibility and self-importance, that is the time to shut it down. Ad hoc international criminal courts are NOT meant to be semi-permanent institutions. The Hague Tribunal is running on 17 years now, many years longer than the conflict lasted itself. In fact, the ICTY has become the largest impeding factor of reconciliation in the Balkans.
One of the main reasons the ICTY, and OTP (ICTY Office of the Prosecutor) itself, has taken so long in preparing the cases is because of a methodic plan of slowing down investigations in order to have employment contracts extended. Many in the OTP are not concerned about the ultimate justice of it all, they are concerned about their jobs and gaining extra monies- (corruption) by not conducting all investigations sincerely in the field. As the former Operations Officer for the OTP in Belgrade, I know, I arranged the visits and know first hand that in many cases, particular phases of investigations were done over many months instead of the days or weeks it could have been completed in. Investigations could have been speeded up by months or even YEARS, had they (investigators) been assigned to live in Belgrade instead of making one visit per month or every few months from the Hague. In fact, our contracts stipulated that for the sake of the investigations, personnel could be assigned to live in the field, Belgrade- not a bad place to live, for months at a time. The investigators fought those ideas and proposals tooth and nail. They wanted the comforts of living in the Netherlands, as well as the extra cash they would pick up with short term visits (short term visits to the field are more financially rewarding than long term visits over 30 days. Can you imagine investigating a crime committed in Chicago but doing the 99% of your work from New York ? Wouldn't it save time and money if you just did your investigation IN Chicago ? Thats what the OTP did and is doing at your taxpaying expense.
So, it's a mockery when the Prosecution stood up yesterday and said that Karadzic wanted to start the trial only when he wanted to, when in fact, it was us, the Prosecution who delayed the work on dozens of cases for the sake of job security and extra per diems. Clearly, it's time to shut down ICTY and remand the cases to the national courts.
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Posted By: Branko Zivanovic
Date: 2009-10-28 15:45:16
I disagree. Karadzic should be tried at the Hague. Serbia and Serbs cannot be trusted. Our people committed genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica. Serbs never demilitarized around Srebrenica, even though they were required to do so unde the 1993 demilitarization agreement. In 1992, three years before the Srebrenica genocide, Serbs burned alive over 1200 Bosnian Muslims - mostly women and children around Srebrenica. Serb army also destroyed over 400 Muslim villages around Srebrenica. Take a loot Serb crimes around Srebrenica in 1992
Posted By: Branko Zivanovic
Date: 2009-10-28 15:46:17
According to the Naser Oric trial judgement,
"Between April 1992 and March 1993, Srebrenica town and the villages in the area held by Bosnian Muslims were constantly subjected to Serb military assaults, including artillery attacks, sniper fire, as well as occasional bombing from aircrafts. Each onslaught followed a similar pattern. Serb soldiers and paramilitaries surrounded a Bosnian Muslim village or hamlet, called upon the population to surrender their weapons, and then began with indiscriminate shelling and shooting. In most cases, they then entered the village or hamlet, expelled or killed the population, who offered no significant resistance, and destroyed their homes. During this period, Srebrenica was subjected to indiscriminate shelling from all directions on a daily basis. Potočari in particular was a daily target for Serb artillery and infantry because it was a sensitive point in the defence line around Srebrenica. Other Bosnian Muslim settlements were routinely attacked as well. All this resulted in a great number of refugees and casualties."
I understand what you're saying. But, let's consider, 1992-93 was 16-17 years ago ! It is difficult for all to reconcile when trials aren't close to both the perpetrators as well as the victims. Continuing the trials in the Hague, so far away from Former Yugoslavia, distances and isolates the feelings of what happened.
Attacks on villages- yes, is that a surprise ? It was a war, of course that happened, but also consider that UN OP (Observation Points) also "recorded" "hundreds" of attacks by Bosniak military and para-military against Serb villages around the Srebrenica area, so, that's what happened "then" and this is "now" 2009. It's time to bring the crimes back home and punish them in your own home, not in a foreigner's land like Holland or a non-national court. Years ago there was no choice but to have an international tribunal, but not now. It's time to finish what Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks did to each other in your own territory- to first, and for once, stand up with some self-respect and morality by exposing your own criminals, and second, to have the self-discipline of giving former enemies- a fair trial. ONLY this way, can you be counted as a civilization, as my 12 years experience during the wars there, including Kosovo, showed me a an uncivilized people's ! This is why the international community could not trust local/ national trials. And Branko, I say that from the perspective as one whose family is from the Former yugoslavia and where I grew up in most of my summers as a child. It's not nice to look at yourself sometimes, but you can't avoid it either. If you want to be counted as a civilization, you must ACT like one.
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