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Exclude Belgrade and Pale from Atlanta’s Olympics, Says Cassese
By Davor Huic
"They must be arrested as soon as possible so that the elections can be held in an unpolluted environment," Cassese told reporters before a speech later on Thursday to a major ministerial meeting on Bosnia in Florence. He was referring to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, his military commander Ratko Mladic, the former leader of the Bosnian Croats Dario Kordic and a Bosnian Croat military commander, Ivica Rajic.
They top the list of indicted war criminals the Hague-based tribunal wants handed over for trial on charges ranging from grave breaches of the rules of war to genocide.
Karadzic's continued presence is seen by many critics as a major barrier to the holding of free and fair elections, which Washington and other major powers want the Florence conference to confirm will proceed by September 14. The peace deal that ended Bosnia's war barred indicted war criminals from holding public office or running in elections.
But Cassese said he feared that a failure to remove figures like Karadzic from the scene would render the elections unfair and undemocratic given their strong influence. "They would still be in power after the elections and in a position to mastermind the policy," he said.
Cassese, an Italian, said the NATO-led peace Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia should "try to detain the four as soon as possible." "The international community should take stronger action," Cassese added. He urged more pressure to be exerted on Serbia and Croatia to cooperate in detaining the four, including a ban on Serbia's athletes from taking part in the Atlanta Olympics. "(The sports boycott) would be a punitive measure which would not bring about suffering to the civilian population," Cassese said.
Croatia and Serbia both have great influence over ethnic kin in Bosnia. Cassese said Croatia had taken some steps in the right direction but needed to do a lot more. Croatia recently adopted a law on cooperation with the tribunal, which Serbia's Milosevic has so far refused to do. The Croatian authorities also convinced one suspect -- General Tihomir Blaskic -- to hand himself over to the tribunal, and last week arrested another minor suspect. But Cassese said that the government should arrest Kordic, who he said often travelled to Zagreb.
Cassese said he did not see the prosecution of war criminals as an obstacle to peace, as some politicians have argued, but rather as a necessary condition for the beginning of the process
of reconciliation.
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FLORENCE, Italy, June 13 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. war crimes tribunal called on the international community on Thursday to help arrest four major Bosnian suspects to enable free and democratic elections. Antonio Cassese also said Serbia should be threatened with sporting sanctions, stopping Yugoslav athletes from competing at this year's Olympic Games, unless President Slobodan Milosevic did more to bring key Bosnian Serbs to justice.
BOSNIA’S ELECTIONS
Berserkistan, June 13 · Bosnia Conference Opens, Compliance Report by Bildt
Berserkistan, June 13 · Bosnia will Fail if Dayton Ignored say Mediators
Berserkistan, June 12 · Clinton: Stick to IFOR Timetable
Berserkistan, June 12 · NATO to Weigh Bosnia Progress on Thursday
Berserkistan, June 12 · OSCE Considers Giving Go-Ahead to Elections
Berserkistan, June 11 · West to Set Election Date at Florence
Berserkistan, June 11 · Bosnia’s SDA Charged with Moving Refugees to Sway Vote
Berserkistan, June 8 · Special Report: In Bosnia, Skepticism over Fair Elections
FLORENCE, ITALY
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