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Tribunal to Reveal Evidence Against Karadzic, Mladic
Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic face genocide and crimes against humanity charges for allegedly masterminding atrocities committed by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia’s bloody civil war. Tribunal spokesman Christian Chartier said Tuesday that the hearings to release evidence against the two would be held, but he did not give a date.
The hearings are “a clear indication that the removal of the accused from the political scene is, in the tribunal’s view, not enough,” Chartier said. He called them “a reminder to the international community to keep its word” and see to it that they are arrested.
The U.S.-brokered peace accord that ended the Bosnian war specified that indicted war crimes suspects could not hold political office and should be arrested. The hearings are certain to provide the fullest evidence yet of the alleged link between the Bosnian Serb leadership and widespread atrocities against Bosnia’s non-Serb population.
Karadzic and Mladic are accused of responsibility for the massacre of about 6,000 Muslims sheltered inside the U.N. protected enclave at Srebrenica in July 1995, as well as the murderous sniping campaign waged in Sarajevo. Both men are also accused of ordering the kidnapping of U.N. peacekeeping troops so they could be used as human shields to deter air strikes against Bosnian Serb positions.
Under the U.N. court’s rules, the two can be held responsible for the actions of troops under their command, ordering atrocities, or for knowing about them and failing to punish them. The hearings, which do not amount to a trial in absentia, are likely to last 10 days and will include witness testimony. An international arrest warrant will likely be issued for both men when they end.
The tribunal has refused to comment on the recent power struggle within the Bosnian Serb leadership in which Karadzic, the self-styled president of the Serb entity in Bosnia, sacked his moderate prime minister, Rajko Kasagic. But Karadzic’s refusal to step down makes it all but impossible for the tribunal to arrest him.
Both Karadzic and Mladic travel with heavily-armed bodyguards and NATO-led peace implementation forces in Bosnia are unlikely to risk arresting them. |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 21 (AP) — The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal plans to hold hearings to make public its evidence against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his army commander. The hearings amount to an admission that the U.N. court has little likelihood of taking custody of the two Serb leaders anytime soon, especially in light of Karadzic’s recent reassertion of power.
Berserkistan, May 21 · NATO Won’t Hunt Down Karadzic
The Indictment Against Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Major War Criminals/Suspects CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia CalTech's Bosnia Site
Coalition for International Justice
CourtTV War Crimes Tribunal Coverage
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