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THE KARAD�I�'S TRIAL BLOG

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Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty: UN Court Rejects Karadzic Legitimacy Challenge (December 8, 2009)

The UN criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia today rejected a motion by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic challenging the legitimacy of the court to try him for war crimes. Link

VOA NEWS: Karadzic Rejects Legitimacy of Hague Tribunal (December 2, 2009)

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has filed a motion with the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, challenging the legitimacy of the court to prosecute him. Link

Nolan Chart: UN War Crimes Tribunal Sabotages Karadzic's Defense (November 22, 2009)

Former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic is penniless. His financial assets were frozen by the international community years ago. As such he is unable to pay for his war crimes defense at the Hague Tribunal. He must therefore rely upon the Tribunal to pay the legal advisors assisting him with the preparation of his defense. Link

Sky News: Karadzic legal team paid maximum (November 12, 2009)

Press TV: Karadzic advisors go on strike over unpaid fees (November 12, 2009)

Legal advisors to Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic have gone on strike over unpaid fees; as Karadzic insists on representing himself at the Tribunal. Link

CNBC: Karadzic seeking appeal to remove appointed counsel (November 12, 2009)

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic asked the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal on Wednesday to hear his appeal against the court's decision to appoint legal counsel after he boycotted proceedings. Link

The New York Times: Karadzic Gets Delay, and Lawyer, in War Crimes Trial (November 7, 2009)

Paris - Judges ordered Thursday that a lawyer be imposed on Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader on trial in The Hague for war crimes and genocide, but halted the trial until March 1, to give a lawyer time to get ready. Their decision effectively gave Mr. Karadzic, who has insisted on representing himself, almost four additional months to prepare his defense, which is more than an appeals court gave him when it ordered the case to begin. Link

The Washington Times: Karadzic attends U.N. court hearing for first time (November 4, 2009)  

Radovan Karadzic has appeared in the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal's courtroom for the first time since his trial began last week to argue for more time to prepare his defense. Link

Examiner: Karadzic continues to boycott his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal (November 2, 2009)

Radovan Karadzic again was a no-show at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, on Monday. In a letter to the judges, he confirmed that he would attend a procedural hearing on his defense case on Tuesday. Link

Times Online: Prosecution snatches back the initiative in Radovan Karadzic trial (October 29, 2009)

RIANOVOSTI: Hague court releases Serbian war criminal (October 29, 2009)

The Hague Tribunal has approved the early release of the former president of the Republika Srpska, Biljana Plavsic, 79, who has served two-thirds of her sentence. Plavsic was the president of the Republika Srpska from 1996 to 1998, and she voluntarily surrendered to The Hague Tribunal in January 2001. In 2003, she pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity and the persecution of non-Serbs in Bosnia in the 1992-95 war. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison and served her term in a Swedish prison. Link

Reuters: Karadzic shuns war crimes trial (October 27, 2009)

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CNN: The Hague, Netherlands (CNN) -- After Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic's failure to appear at the start of his trial on genocide and war crimes charges CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson explains what happens next. (October 26, 2009)

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The New York Times: Karadzic to Boycott Start of War Crimes Trial (October 22, 2009)

CBS News: UN prosecutor expects tough trial for Bosnian Serb (October 20, 2009)

The Hague, Netherlands (AP) - The chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor said Tuesday he expected the trial of Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime leader, to be a tough case - made even more difficult by Karadzic's insistence on leading his own defense. Serge Brammertz said he is confident his prosecution team is ready for the trial and pleased it is finally due to start Monday after 15 months of preparation. Read more

The New York Times: Karadzic Files Appeal to Delay War Crimes Trial (September 29, 2009)

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic filed an appeal on Monday against the start of his war crimes trial, arguing that he has not been given enough time to prepare for the proposed October 19 date. Read more

AP Headlines: Karadzic trial to begin Oct 19, last 2 1/2 years (September 10, 2009)

A U.N. judge Tuesday rejected a plea from former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for more time to prepare his defense and ordered his long-awaited war crimes trial to begin next month. Karadzic, who led the Bosnian Serbs through a brutal three-year ethnic war in the early 1990s, had asked for another 10 months to sort through the "millions" of documents and hundreds of witnesses prepared by the prosecution. Read more

Bris Bane Times: Terror suspects denied the basic rights given freely to others (September 10, 2009)

Malta Today: Karadzic demands info on Malta arms running to Bosnian Muslims (August 9, 2009)

The incriminated former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is formally challenging the Maltese government to come clean on its role in allegedly supplying weapons to the Bosnian Muslim army, which his troops confronted in the bloody Bosnian war between 1991 and 1995. Read more

Voice Of America: War Crime Suspect Karadzic Sues Serbia (August 5, 2009)

Jailed Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic is demanding financial compensation in a claim accusing Serbian authorities of kidnapping him last year when taking him into custody. Karadzic, in a motion filed with the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, says Serbian authorities falsely announced his arrest on July 21, 2008. He says they actually arrested him three days earlier, but did not take him before a judge until July 22. Read more

Dallas News: Serbia may be close to nabbing Gen. Ratko Mladic (August 1, 2009)

Europe's most-wanted war crimes suspect has been on the run longer than Osama bin Laden. But after more than a decade, Serb authorities say they are finally closing in on Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander charged with genocide and other crimes from the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Read more

Dutch News: Karadzic: Dutch soldiers did their best (July 29, 2009)

Karadzic is quoted as saying that it was 'necessary' for the Bosnian Serb army to take action to stop repeated attacks on Serb villages by Bosnian Muslims from the UN enclave. Read more

Serbia's unearned reward (July 24, 2009)

Bosnia was split into two entities (the Croat-Muslim Federation and Republika Srpska) by the Daytona agreement, which was signed by three national leaders, Izetbegovic, Milosevic and Tudjman, under the bullying arm-twisting of Richard Holbrooke, whose Wall Street experience in deal-making has left long-lasting consequences. One of the worst peace deals in recent history, the Dayton agreement has legitimized the genocide by creating the Bosnian Serb Republic, Republika Srpska (a state in all but name and under direct control of Belgrade), thus allowing it definitive powers to obstruct any moves towards Bosnian-EU integration. Read more

Radovan Karadzic's New-Age Adventure (July 23, 2009)

Karadzic came to power in the early 1990s, as Yugoslavia succumbed to the shattering forces of intense nationalism. After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence, Karadzic led Serbs in Bosnia to declare their own republic, allied with Serbia and independent from Bosnia. As the president of the Republika Srpska, and with the aid of Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian government in Belgrade, Karadzic and his notorious military general, Ratko Mladic, carried out a brutal war against Bosnia's Muslims, besieging Sarajevo for three years and perpetrating the worst war crimes in Europe since World War II. Read more

Karadzic seeks high representative's help (July 22, 2009)

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is asking High Representative to BiH Valentin Inzko to help him obtain documents necessary for his defence before The Hague war crimes tribunal, local media reported on Tuesday (July 21st). Read more

Ex-EU Envoy Owen Likely Prosecution Witness At Karadzic Trial (July 16, 2009)

David Owen, European Union special envoy to the former Yugoslavia, is likely to be called as a prosecution witness in the trial of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic. Read more

Srebrenica victims remembered, 14 years on (July 11, 2009)

Fourteen years after the Srebrenica massacre, victims are still being buried and tears are still being shed. Marking today�s anniversary, tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims prayed for the dead. Read more

Court rejects Karadzic claim (July 8, 2009)

The court due to try Radovan Karadzic on genocide charges rejected on Wednesday the former Bosnian Serb leader's claims that a purported deal struck with Richard Holbrooke, the former US peace envoy, granted him immunity from prosecution. Read more

Karadzic immunity claim rejected (July 8, 2009)

The Hague tribunal has rejected the argument by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic that he should not be prosecuted because of an immunity deal. Read more

Bosnian Lobby Responds to Karadzic Trial Delays (July 4, 2009)

The Congress of North American Bosniaks, an umbrella organization representing the interests of 350,000 American and Canadian Bosniaks, is pleased to see the State Department's release of documents pertaining to accusations by Radovan Karadzic, the indicted Serbian war criminal, that the U.S. government had promised him immunity from prosecution for war crimes during the Bosnian war (1992-1995). These documents clarify the US government role in dealing with Serbian war criminals. Read more

Karadzic: Prosecutors prolonging proceedings (July 1, 2009)

Radovan Karadzic has told a status conference that the prosecution is trying to drag out his trial by calling a large number of witnesses. Read more

Karadzic pleads innocence in letter (June 30, 2009)

Radovan Karadzic has submitted a letter to the Hague Tribunal in which he states that he is not guilty on any of the counts of the indictment against him. Read more

Washington refutes Karadzic claims (June 26, 2009)

"Karadzic did sign a statement, the content of which was negotiated with Holbrooke and a team of senior officials from the American government and senior officials from Belgrade. The meeting was held on July 18, 1996, and Karadzic was not in attendance. In this statement, Karadzic promised that he would leave his position and pull out of public life, but there was no quip pro quo." Read more

Karadzic wants documents on arms deals (June 24, 2009)

He is asking for a report on the search of the office of an agency for humanitarian aid to Third World countries, situated in Vienna, which confirms the shipment of these weapons. Read more

Here are video clips featuring Ratko Mladic which surfaced recently in the web (June 14, 2009)

A preview of the Florence Hartmann's case (June 11, 2009)

The international human rights organization, Reporters Without Borders, gave its official support to Mrs. Florence Hartmann, one of the EuropeanCourier.org�s contributors on the Balkan and genocide issues. Mrs. Hartmann wrote a book, Peace and Punishment (2007), in which she criticized the ICTY�s confidential agreement with Serbia to conceal material evidence of Serbia�s direct involvement in the genocide in Bosnia in 1992-95. The concealment of that evidence resulted in Bosnia�s losing of its parallel case against Serbia in the International Court of Justice for reparations. The ICTY has charged Mrs. Hartmann for revealing confidential information and for the contempt of the Tribunal� Of course, we don�t want any of our contributors to write for the Courier from behind the bars. So here is a material disseminated by her defense team to some international media outlets, including the text for which she was indicted. If sentenced, she could spend 7 years in prison. Read more

U.S. State Department v. Bosnia (June 3, 2009)

Did you think that Bosnia-Herzegovina is an independent country with a sovereign government? Well, if you did then you were wrong. Apparently, it is not. On May 7, the Bosnian government adopted a unanimous resolution requesting that Mo Sacirbey testify at ICTY in Perisic's trial and communicated its decision to the U.S. government to facilitate Sacirbey's travel. In the meantime, however, a U.S. prosecutor paid and hired by the U.S. State Department to work in Bosnia, Mr. Drew Engle, requested that the Bosnian government's resolution be disregarded despite the constitutional order of that country and in contravention of the international law regulations. And guess what! The U.S. is treating the Bosnian government's resolution as non-existing and is regarding Mr. Engle as representing Bosnia's will. Well, now you know who is really running Bosnia - not the Bosnian people themselves but the U.S. State Department's officials. Here is a letter sent to the Bosnian government clarifying and explaining the situation in more detail. Read more  

City Journal: No Justice (May 25, 2009)

In many respects, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is a groundbreaking institution. Founded in The Hague by the United Nations 16 years ago to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity during the brutal civil war in the Balkans, the ICTY was the first war-crimes panel to be created since the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals some 60 years ago. But now it's breaking more sinister ground. In a move that has dismayed even some fervent supporters, the tribunal is prosecuting a French journalist it accuses of publishing unauthorized information about its own proceedings. If convicted, Florence Hartmann, 46, faces a possible prison sentence of seven years and a maximum fine of 100,000 euro, about $126,000 at current exchange rates. Link

Hartmann's defense: Letter to ICTY (May 18, 2009)

Here is a letter sent today to several international media outlets by the defense team of Mrs. Florence Hartmann, one of EuropeanCourier.org’s contributors, who is tried by the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia for contempt of court. Mrs. Hartmann wrote in her book Peace and Punishment about irregularities occurring in the ICTY during her tenure over there and as a result was criminally indicted for revealing confidential information. More than 3,000 dignitaries and victims of the Bosnian genocide signed a petition in her favor. Here is an official letter distributed today by her legal team. Read more

�eljko Kom�i� calls for criminal prosecution of Milorad Dodik (May 9, 2009)

�eljko Kom�i�, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed request with the State Prosecutor to commence criminal proceedings against Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, because of his inciting to commitment of the criminal act as per s.30 Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CCBiH), in connection to s.246.a.(1) CCBiH which relates to noncompliance to, and refusal to execute/follow, the Order, after Milorad Dodik's statement in which he called on Bosnian Serb soldiers in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina to return from or not to go to the NATO military exercises this week in Georgia, contrary to the existing relevant official State's Decisions and Orders about sending the smaller unit of the the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the above mentioned military exercises, issued by the mandated State Authorities (The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministry of Defence, Chief-of-Joint-Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina) under the authority of the Constitution and State Laws. Link
  

Radio Srbija: U.S. documents confirm Karadzic/Holbrooke deal (April 25, 2009)

It seems that majority of what is going on right now in the Karadzic's case is connected to his secret deal with Richard Holbrooke. Radio Srbija reported that "defense team of Radovan Karadzic revealed that on April 15 the U.S. government received a document that, as they claim, confirms the existence of an agreement according to which in 1996 the then U.S. Envoy Richard Holbrooke guaranteed immunity to Karadzic before the Hague Tribunal."�Link

The Guardian: Publication of Karadzic's poems (April 15, 2009)

A Slovakian literary magazine has been denounced by writers' organisation PEN for publishing poems by Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.The Slovakian PEN Centre, part of PEN International, criticised Slovakian magazine Dotyky "from an ethical and moral point of view" for publishing Karadzic's poetry earlier this month without any editorial commentary about his background while he is "indicted for war crimes in connection with the 1990s Bosnian conflict, including crimes against humanity". Link

New York Times takes on Karadzic/Holbrooke secret deal (March 27, 2009)

The New York Times has confirmed from at least two witnesses from within the State Department itself that Ambassador Dick Holbrooke had in fact promised Radovan Karadzic that he would not be arrested for his war crimes and not be delivered for prosecution by The Hague War Crimes Tribunal, (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY). Holbrooke’s denials are absurdly flawed and only further raise suspicions as to why? A few weeks earlier the LA Times reported that US officials invited Slobodan Milosevic’s security chief, Jovica Stanisic, and henchmen responsible for the death squads at Srebrenica and now on trial before the ICTY to the US.� The welcome was more than just business and included a CIA hosted hunting party on the beautiful Maryland Eastern Shore. Our regular contributor Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey had long contended, for more than a decade, that the Karadzic/Holbrooke deal was made and that the US officials had more of a role in acquiescing to the Srebrenica genocide. We now explore the consequences as well as reviewing the why and how it could be that such deals were made with killers and then kept secret from Congressional and public scrutiny.

Question: Maybe we should revisit your information regarding these deals which came out years before the confirming NY Times and LA Times articles, but one question though first: will this have any consequences?
  
Muhamed Sacirbey: Yes it should, but will it I’m not at all certain.
 
Q: Can you elaborate?
  

MS: If it is left up to the State Department, then I do not have confidence that this institution will police itself. However, the US Congress may have to reflect on the issue, if in fact it considers Holbrooke’s actions in this matter and especially his not truthful testimony before the Congress.
   
US Congressional representatives are not particularly inclined to pursue action with respect to US officials unless direct US interests are at stake or the Congress has been misled. With respect to the former, US Congressional leaders may not be cognizant of how much US interests are undermined by this type of morally, politically and legally duplicitous behavior, especially in the context of a struggling democracies and a Muslim global community already suspicious of US double standards.
  
Previously Holbrooke, however, had made statements and assurances in Congressional testimony. If the Congress is committed to defending its own integrity and credibility along with that of the US, this matter should inspire a review of political and potential political ramifications, including potentially perjury and violations.
  
However, the consequences are not just for Ambassador Holbrooke.
 
Q: What do you mean?
 
MS: This brings into question the legitimacy, legality of the Dayton Accords. One of the direct parties, signatories, Serbia, and the US as guarantor or at least the presumed US representative worked to actively undermine a critical provision, the responsibility to comply with the ICTY as well as relevant international law and the requisite UN Security Council resolutions.
  
Q: Are you implying that Dayton maybe somehow voided?
   
MS: Perhaps it was Ambassador Madeline Albright doing one thing at the UN and Holbrooke making his own promises to indicted war criminals. Regardless, Holbrooke was presumably representing the US. Access to the truth and understanding the consequences for Bosnians & Herzegovinians, for the globe, for the United Nations, for the “rule of law,” as well as the United States is a legal duty as well as political imperative. Rhetorically or not, US and other representatives of UN member states have often repeated that the non-arrest of indicted war criminals such as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic is undermining the Dayton Accords and the return to substantive progress and peace in BiH and broader region, as well as undermining justice and “international peace and security.”
  
Q: That last phrase, “international peace and security,” implies a role for the United Nations Security Council. That phrase is relied upon by the UNSC to assume review of internationally relevant issues as conflicts.
  
MS: That is correct. The ICTY was established pursuant to this mandate of the UNSC. There have been numerous additional UNSC Resolutions that called upon Member States to arrest those persons indicted by the ICTY. This is a matter that goes beyond purely bilateral relations, US with respect to BiH or the states signatory and guarantors of the Dayton Accords.
 
Q: The US is member of the UN Security Council. Do you realistically expect that the US will bring into question within that international body the behavior of its presumed representatives?
   
MS: Having spent 10 years at the United Nations, I’m not blinded by a sense of my own righteousness or the power of expediency. US officials can block resolutions, if they want through the veto. However, debate and demands for an inquiry cannot be so readily squashed. It is sufficient to initiate the review, the discussion even if it is in the corridors or at cocktail receptions.
   
How long will this US Administration want to identify itself with illegality and undermining the rule of law? It can quash resolutions, perhaps even formal debate within the United Nations by even the simple threat of veto, not even exercise. However, does that clean away the slate of what has been done by a presumed US representative to undermine the Dayton Accords, peace within BiH and the region, the ICTY as well as the UNSC and the rule of law. How will the rule of law apply to the Sudan, Myanmar, Iran, Zimbabwe or in Georgia, Russia or China if not in this instance where there is an evident confrontation that is not only theoretical but runs directly counter to a standing court established by the UN itself as well as the more recent rulings of the International Court of Justice.
  
At least here the US has the opportunity to first investigate itself, review and police the facts, report and remedy accordingly. Recall, that Holbrooke is a US special envoy of the current Obama Administration. Is he above the law, or even above being investigated by reason of his current standing or others of power within US politics who could be hurt by such disclosures or review?
  
Q: Holbrooke has already denied the allegation, including directly to the NY Times. This appears to be a different moment:� Not only have Karadzic, Professor Charles Ingrao’s investigative team, Florence Hartman, several reporters, and you originally produced this allegation. Now we have US officials directly interviewed by and confirming the allegation for the NY Times maybe creating a new imperative?
  
MS: Absolutely.
  
Q: But does Holbrooke’s denial and that apparently of the US State Department close the door. Is it adequate?
  
MS: How can these denials be taken seriously, much less have credibility in view of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Perhaps in a different context and time, the President would appoint a “Special Prosecutor.” Perhaps someone would face serious consequences.
  
Even Holbrooke’s denial is meant to be cute, playing with the truth. He states that: “No US official” has made any such deal. However, Holbrooke was not actually a State Department employee, but he was in private industry having resigned a few months earlier. He nonetheless had been acting as a special envoy and representative of the US Administration. So, he is denying, but leaving himself room to wiggle out and say that he was not being untruthful, since in the summer of 1996 he was not technically a State Department employee.
  
Q: Does that matter?
  
MS: Unless the motive is to be evasive, as is his, of course not. It was presumed by BiH leaders, international factors and US officials in the region that he was acting with US Administration authority. It is up to the State department now first to investigate and review the facts. They certainly have now many credible voices providing evidence contrary to Holbrooke’s denial. Then they must act to promptly disown Holbrooke’s actions.
  
Q: And disown Holbrooke? He is currently Special Envoy for President Obama’s Administration on South Asia, (Pakistan & Afghanistan).
  
MS: That is a matter for the Obama Administration and also the Congress. However, the issues are serious for Holbrooke, from potentially perjury to violation of Congressional directives, and for the US as a whole in terms of credibility, the rule of law and promoting a progressive global agenda. Nonetheless, if left up to Holbrooke and his allies, the matter will be drowned out.
  
Q: And what about the ICTY? Does the Tribunal have recourse?
  
MS: The Tribunal can initiate proceedings, whether contempt or something more direct. If Florence Hartman can be charged with contempt for purportedly disclosing confidential information then why not Holbrooke for undermining the Tribunal.
  
Q: However, the US is one of the states that established the ICTY through UNSC resolution, and the ICTY is still beholden for its existence indirectly and directly. The US State Department is one of those sources of financial and even more critically evidentiary support for the Tribunal and many of its proceedings.
  
MS: And there lies the conflict. However, every Court must first maintain its independence. The challenges are significant as most recently evidenced by the Stanisic case.
  
Q: Stanisic is on trial for war crimes before the ICTY. He was Milosevic’s security chief and commander of many of the Serbian military who engaged in killings and ethnic cleansing in BiH, and most notably Srebrenica. The LA Times described a favorable letter attesting to his close relationship with US officials, including State and the CIA.
  
MS: Yes, and the US has urged the Tribunal to keep such letter, secret, I’m confident with some embarrassing words of praise for Mr. Stanisic.
  
Q: The Tribunal has so far kept the information confidential?

MS: Yes, however, there is other information already publicly disclosed including an invitation from US officials including State and the CIA for him to visit various operation centers in the US and then to be treated as a special guest with a hunting trip in the exclusive region of Maryland Eastern Shore. This all happened after details were already known regarding the Srebrenica massacres and the role of Stanisic’s men in the executions and crimes. I cannot phantom that the US was complicit in the Srebrenica murders, and I cannot understand how some US officials could treat this murderer as a friend as well as VIP. If some US officials acquiesced in the Serbian assault on Srebrenica as it started, all should have turned their back on Stanisic and company after the evidence of the crimes.
  
For any US official to go hunting with a man who had turned his marauders’ guns on thousands of civilians, of innocents of unarmed is unimaginable for me. Perhaps I could understand if they had set him up to go duck hunting with Dick Chaney, but this was during the Clinton Administration.
  
Q: Is there recourse in BiH?
  
MS: In theory, of course. BiH would have standing to void the Dayton Accords. BiH officials should at least ask the questions. After all, these promises to immunity to Karadzic and thus purported violations of international law occurred within BiH, not to mention the original murders, genocide and war crimes. There should be a BiH Prosecutor’s office investigation, but
  
Q: But?
  
MS: BiH does not have a fully independent judiciary, prosecutor or even political will. The State Department and CIA manage BiH’s affairs on any issue perceived as relevant. We already know that BiH was also a part of secret renditions. BiH political leaders do not have the will to investigate and call to account.
  
Q: One official has described BiH as a “banana republic” without the bananas.
  
MS: .. and the coconuts.� I have a much higher regard for the state that I represented for almost a decade, and especially for the courage of its soldiers and citizens. They showed the will now missing in political circles and fought off aggression and genocide when neither Holbrooke or others were willing to help. We just did not expect that Holbrooke and others would be hunting, drinking and making deals with the killers.

Radio Free Europe: U.S. military met Mladic, but made no arrest (March 10, 2009)

  Radio Free Europe reports that "an American scholar is now citing evidence that the U.S. military in

  Bosnia had numerous opportunities to arrest Mladic in 1996 -- but saw such a move as contrary to U.S.

  policy aims. Charles Ingrao of Indiana's Purdue University told RFE/RL that new research shows that

  American military personnel tracked, and even met with, the fugitive General Mladic for months in

  1996 -- but never arrested him, out of fear of exposing U.S. troops in the region to a fresh outbreak of

  violence. "The key here was that the U.S. military was simply unwilling to sustain the risk of casualties

  as it was performing what it saw as its primary mission -- to bring peace to Bosnia," he said. "It saw the responsibility for arresting war criminals as a dangerous additional task, because it recognized, as did [U.S.] President [Bill] Clinton, that if they arrested some Serb war criminals, there might be attacks on U.S. soldiers." Link

The Los Angeles Times: Serbian spy's trial lifts cloak on his alliance with the CIA (March 4, 2009)

The Los Angeles Times has published an interesting story about a Serbian spy, Jovica Stanisic, who is being tried by the ICTY for genocide and war crimes in the Balkans. According to LA Times, Stanisic, who was a chief of intelligence under Slobodan Milosevic, was a valuable partner of the C.I.A., which received him with honors in Washington D.C. during the Clinton Administration. Stanisic is said to be the one who delivered Holbrooke’s offer to Karadzic that he disappears from the Bosnian politics. Link

EuropeanCourier.org: U.S. State Department to Review Bosnia Policy (March 2, 2009)

Here is another interview with Mr. Muhamed Sacirbey, a former Bosnian official, which is a continuation of his previous interview from January in which he criticized the Dayton Peace Accords as an unworkable treaty. Mr. Sacirbey offers his comments and perspective on recent developments in Clinton’s State Department and a possibility that the Bosnia policy will be re-examined by the new Administration. Read more

The Guardian: Search for Ratko Mladi� intensifies (February 17, 2009)

Western intelligence agencies have stepped up the hunt for Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general wanted for war crimes, by sending officials to Belgrade to work directly with their Serbian counterparts, Serbia's foreign minister said today. Vuk Jeremic said that following the capture last year of the Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, the search for Mladic had intensified and was being run by an international team of intelligence officials in Belgrade. "This government is absolutely committed, and we have demonstrated our seriousness. All our agencies are working around the clock on this and it is now an international effort," Jeremic said in an interview in London. Link

Reuters: Karad�i� wants to interview U.S. diplomats (February 10, 2009)

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karad�i� has requested to interview a U.S. diplomat and be given access to documents he says prove he was offered immunity to war crimes charges at the U.N. Yugoslavia tribunal. Court documents showed on Monday Karad�i� is seeking access to U.S. government documents he says detail promises about his arrest or prosecution made by former U.S. peace envoy Richard Holbrooke during meetings held in July 1996 with the then Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade. Link
 

IWPR: Karad�i� warns of mega-trial (February 2, 2009)

Radovan Karad�i� has told judges at the Hague tribunal that the wide scope of the proposed case against him will lead to “a mega-trial”. In a submission filed this week, he also denied the prosecution’s allegations, saying that neither he nor his Bosnian Serb government intended to kill or drive Bosniaks or Croats out of Bosnia and that it was not his goal to destroy the Bosniaks as an ethnic group. Link

EuropeanCourier.org: Link to a website monitoring the trial of Florence Hartmann (February 1, 2009)

We have added a link in our “Recommended Websites” section to a site started by a couple of NGOs - Preserving International Justice, which monitors the developments in the criminal trial of Mrs. Florence Hartmann at ICTY. Mrs. Hartmann is being criminally prosecuted based on internal guidelines established by ICTY, although it is clear in international law doctrine that internal codes adopted by international tribunals and organizations are not a source of binding international law.

B92: Karad�i� wants Holbrooke deal to be made public (January 20, 2009)

Karad�i� called for information on the agreement between him and Holbrooke to be released, but not information on the alleged deal between Holbrooke and the Tribunal, under which Karad�i� would not be arrested if he withdrew from political and public life. He said that refusal by the Tribunal to make that information public would show that they do not want the truth about the agreement to be made public. He added that he could only have a fair trial if all the facts were published. Link
 

The Irish Times: Karad�i� to Respond to the New Indictment (January 20, 2009)

The trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karad�i� came a step closer when he told the UN criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia he would reply to amended war crimes and genocide charges by January 28th.The pre-trial preparations at the tribunal, under pressure to wrap up its work by 2010, were delayed in September when the prosecution moved to amend the charges, arguing they would lead to a more efficient trial. The new indictment contains the same number of charges - 11, including two of genocide - but narrows the scope of alleged criminal acts during the 1992-95 Bosnian war and reduces the areas where they were committed, prosecutors said. Link

EuropeanCourier.org: Srebrenica Massacre Video Conference (January 15, 2009)

Watch Mr. Diego Arria, the former President of the United Nations Security Council, and Mr. Christian Wenaweser, the Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, sharing their views and experiences about the Srebrenica genocide that happened in July of 1995 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for which Radovan Karadzic is presently being tried at the Criminal Tribunal in the Hague. Video

EuropeanCourier.org: Hartmann moves to dismiss her case (January 13, 2009)

Attorneys for Florence Hartmann have filed a motion to have her case dismissed at ICTY as it becomes more apparent that the prosecution will not be able to prove its case. The information allegedly disclosed by Mrs. Hartmann in her book was already in public domain at the time of disclosure. The EuropeanCourier.org is in possession of the original copy of the motion and will publish a detailed analysis in a couple of days.

CzeskeNoviny.cz: Czech warns of armed conflict in the Balkans (January 6, 2009)

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has warned that a new armed conflict in the Balkans is possible, if the region is not integrated into the European Union. Speaking to the German political monthly Cicero, Schwarzenberg said that Balkan integration in the EU will be the major focus of the Czech EU presidency. “We are readily forgetting that many large continental conflicts at the beginning of the 19th century were born in the Balkans,” Schwarzenberg warned. Link  

Telegraph.co.uk: Holbrooke's deal invalid under international law (December 29, 2008)

United Nations judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague have ruled that Radovan Karad�i� must stand trial even if it is proved to be true that US peace envoy Richard Holbrooke offered the then Bosnian Serb leader immunity in return for giving up power. The UN judges dismissed any such agreement as "invalid under international law" in a major setback for Karad�i�'s defence. Link

Mo Sacirbey: Undermining Secular State in Bosnia-Herzegovina (December 22, 2008) �

In hindsight, it is evident that the ultra-nationalist vision of BiH mostly dictated by forces from outside of BiH during the Dayton talks, has prevailed in the application of the Accords. As a reaction to the plot set

out by Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karad�i� or otherwise, ethnic chauvinism is triumphant under current application of Annex 4, the "Dayton Constitution." The "Dayton Constitution" was crafted during

the Dayton talks with the overriding influence of non-BiH based interests promoting separatist, parochial agendas. The choice was between accepting extortive political demands that effectively undermined the state of BiH or the perpetuation of genocide and aggression. Read more

Diego Arria: the Unted Nations is responsible for the Srebrenica massacre as well (December 18, 2008)

Here is an exerpt from Diego Arria's testimony at the ICTY in which he asserted that the United Nations bears partial responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre. " In the case of Bosnia, Arria said, there prevailed 'double standards: we did not treat them as Europeans, but as Muslims, because we feared a Muslim state in Europe.' Arria claims that Secretary General Boutros-Ghali and his Secretariat withheld information about the real situation in the field or fed the Security Council misinformation. As an example of the way in which information was withheld, he spoke about a letter in which Sadako Ogata, then UN High Commissioner for Refugees, warned the UN about the tragic situation in Srebrenica in March 1993. The letter seems to have become "misplaced" somewhere in the office of the Secretary-General, and Arria first saw it 11 years later in The Hague, when the Prosecution produced it. The humanitarian disaster in Srebrenica came before the Security Council 12 days after Sadako Ogata's dramatic and urgent appeal, after the situation on the ground had already changed: Bosniak forces had capitulated and UNPROFOR had disarmed them. Ghali's secretariat, claims Arria, knew about the change but "failed" to inform the Security Council of it on the eve of the Srebrenica debate or even in the course of it." Link  

Opinio Juris: Prof. Kevin Jon Heller among one of Karad�i�’s top legal advisers

(December 16, 2008)

Opinio Juris Blog revealed that Kevin Jon Heller, a professor of law at the University of Auckland in

New Zealand is one of top legal advisers to Radovan Karad�i� and has been providing legal services do

the ICTY's indictee for the past two months. Prof. Heller specializes in international criminal law, comparative criminal law and evidence. He holds a J.D. degree from the Stanford University Law

School. Link

Washington Post: Hunt for Mladi� intensifies (December 12, 2008)
 

Police were searching a town outside Belgrade Friday as part of efforts to find former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, the Serbian war crimes prosecutor said. The prosecutor said in a statement the search was taking place in Arandjelovac, a small town known for its marble and its mineral water 60 km (37 miles) from the capital Belgrade. "As part of a plan to locate, arrest and transfer Hague indictees, and at the order of the War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, police units are searching some objects in the territory of Arandjelovac municipality," the statement said. Link

Reuters: Hunt for Mladi� intensifies; his supporters make criminal threats (December 8, 2008)

The office of Serbia's war crimes prosecutor said that authorities in the United States were investigating several people suspected of sending him death threats. Vladimir Vukcevic has received threatening letters and telephone calls for heading the team hunting Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladi�, indicted for genocide by the United Nations tribunal in The Hague. The letters have mostly come from U.S. cities with large Serb communities. Link

The Guardian: ICTY is facing crisis as staff quits (December 4, 2008)

Two tribunals at the centre of efforts to bring war criminals to justice are under threat because of insecurity among staff, the Guardian reported. The international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) face losing staff at a record rate, putting existing trials, including that of the former Bosnian Serb president, Radovan Karadzic, in jeopardy, sources inside the tribunals say. Link

The European Courier: ICTY's Secret Evidence (Novenber 27, 2008)

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The evidence suppressed by the ICTY at the behest of Serbian authorities as part of the Milosevic case, is not only terribly relevant, but far more damning to Belgrade and certain big powers than anticipated by most outside the inner circles. The release of this evidence would open-up new questions and the search for further culpability. From that which has leaked out, there is more than enough cause to pursue the review and investigations further. Read more

EurActiv: Mladi� and Had�i� to be arrested soon (November 26, 2008)

Speaking at a conference dedicated to the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and orgainised by the European Policy Centre (EPC), Jan Truszczynski, deputy director-general of the European Commission's enlargement directorate, said the likelihood of Mladi� and Had�i� being arrested was "pretty high". He claimed the information was based on reports received by the Commission from the Serbian government. Link

B92: Karad�i� wants to give a media interview (November 23, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i� wants the Hague Tribunal to allow him to give an interview to a Dutch magazine, warning that otherwise his human rights will be infringed. In the same submission, Karad�i� asks Hague Tribunal President Patrick Robinson to overturn the Tribunal Secretariat’s decision to deny his request for the interview. The war crimes suspect asked to be allowed contact with the media, as otherwise his right to “public expression” would be violated, as would the rule of equality of all sides in the proceedings. Link

Florence Hartmann: The Al Capone Justice (November 16, 2008)

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Here is our new interview with Mrs. Florence Hartmann, former spokesperson of the Prosecutor’s Office of the ICTY, who has been recently criminally indicted for disclosing confidential information showing behind-the-scene political calculation in the operation of the ICTY and its administration of justice. We discuss the Karadzic trial, Karadzic-Holbrooke deal and Mrs. Hartmann's own criminal case at the ICTY. Read more  [also in Bosnian]

Javno: A hunt for Mladi� intensifies (November 15, 2008)

Serbia renewed its offer to pay a million euro reward ($1.25 million) for information leading to the arrest of top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladi�, said the point man for cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal. "The offer is absolutely valid. Anyone who gives us a right information that will lead us to Mladi�'s arrest will get one million euros," Minister Rasim Ljajic told Vecernje Novosti daily. Read more

AFP: Karad�i� demands disclosure of documents evidencing a deal with Holbrooke (November 8, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i� is demanding that prosecutors disclose alleged documents of a deal he says he struck with a top US official to avoid prosecution. His application demanded disclosure of all information "concerning the agreement made with Radovan Karad�i� on or about 18-19 July 1996 by Richard Holbrooke", the tribunal said. "The disclosure... may lead to the dismissal of all charges against him," read the application published by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Link

The Australian: Karad�i� to testify under penalty of perjury in a friend’s appeal trial (Nov. 3, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i� is to testify Wednesday in the appeal of his former right hand man Momcilo Krajisnik against a 27-year jail term. Krajisnik was found by the ICTY to have been at the centre of a campaign of  "ethnic cleansing'' that killed 100,000 people and displaced some 2.2 million in Bosnia. The court found that Krajisnik was a key figure in the Bosnian Serb leadership during that country's 1992 to 1995 war under Karad�i� - including membership of the national security council and the presidency. Link

Florence Hartmann refuses to enter plea to contempt charges (October 28, 2008)

Florence Hartmann, a former spokeswoman for the ICTY and one of the EuropeanCourier.org’s recent contributors, declined to enter a plea on two contempt of court charges for disclosing confidential information regarding behind the scene calculations in the Slobodan Milosevic trial. Link

The Betrayal of Srebrenica: A Commemoration

“The Betrayal of Srebrenica: A Commemoration” is a traveling, documentary photographic exhibit that serves as a focal point for educational programs about the war in Bosnia (1992 - 1995), the

betrayal of the UN “safe area” of Srebrenica in July 1995, and the international campaign for truth and justice. The exhibit was shown

at Antioch College (October 2005), Washington and Lee University (January 2006 - December 2006), Hofstra University (September 2006 - December 2006), Wellesley College (February 2007), and Boston College (January - February 2008). A version of this exhibit was displayed in July 2005 in Sarajevo at the annual meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Link

B92: the Netherlands steps up pressure on Serbia to arrest Ratko Mladi� (October 19, 2008)

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said his country would be among the first to ratify the SAA once Serbia honors its pledge to arrest Ratko Mladi�. “If the Serbian authorities honor their pledge-to cooperate fully with the Hague Tribunal-that means that they’ll arrest Ratko Mladi�. Holland will then happily be the first country to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia,” Verhagen told Novi Sad daily Dnevnik. Link

Financial Times: Karad�i� to appear as defense witness in Krajisnik trial (October 19, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i�, the former Bosnian Serb leader due to stand trial in The Hague, is to appear as a defense witness next month in an appeal for Momcilo Krajisnik, who was jailed for 27 years for crimes including ethnic cleansing. Link

Financial Times: Karad�i� to deny genocide (October 16, 2008)

Karadzi� will base his defense on the argument that no genocide occurred at Srebrenica, the site of arguably Europe’s worst massacre since the Second World War. Goran Petronijevic, Karad�i�’s chief legal adviser, said his client would argue that the killings were not genocide - a direct �challenge to the Yugoslavia Tribunal’s previous rulings that forces belonging to Karad�i�’s ethnic Serb breakaway state killed about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in July 1995.

IWPR: First testimony in Peri�i� trial (October 13, 2008)

A former war correspondent testified this week at the trial of ex-Yugoslav army chief Momcilo Peri�i� about the destruction of Sarajevo from where he reported during 1992. Ex-Sky News journalist Aernout Van Lynden, the first prosecution witness to testify in the Peri�i� trial at the Hague tribunal, described conditions in Sarajevo during the first year of the siege, which began in 1992 and lasted until 1995. He also told judges that he was later physically attacked by Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladi� as a result of his broadcasts. Link

B92: Karad�i� wants information on Holbrooke (October 7, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i� wants the Hague Prosecution to supply him with information that it has on the agreement allegedly signed with Richard Holbrooke. Karad�i� explains that he needs to see these documents in order to prepare his defense, as part of which he claims that on July 18-19, 1996, Holbrooke promised that the Hague Tribunal would grant him immunity from prosecution provided that he withdrew from public life. Link

The European Courier: Trial of Serbian General Peri�i� may reveal more than Karad�i� proceedings (September 30, 2008)

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Belgrade's chief of military during much of the war in Bosnia & Herzegovina and the genocide of Srebrenica goes on trial October 1, 2008. The trial has been delayed for months and now may be overshadowed by the proceedings and pending trial of Radovan Karad�i�. In substance though, this trial may be more relevant in revealing the involvement of Belgrade in the war and the alleged crimes in Bosnia & Herzegovina. General Mom�ilo Peri�i�, as Serbia and Montenegro's military commander would directly link the Belgrade government to events. The evidence to be presented against General Peri�i� will have consequences both for his personal criminal culpability and the responsibility of at least

the then Milosevic government. It remains to be seen if such evidence will be delivered behind a Court barring public access or in normal proceedings. Whether such proceedings and evidence will have direct implications in the political realm or before the International

Court of Justice remains to be seen. Nonetheless, there is little doubt that the trial of

General Peri�i� is relevant to any objective evaluation of Belgrade's responsibility. By extension, could this also implicate other governments, through acquiescence or complicity

after the fact, in the alleged crimes? We know that Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey, one of

our more regular contributors, has been asked to testify in the case. That testimony remains to be delivered. EuropeanCourier.org will attempt to closely follow the Peri�i� case over the next few months in order to evaluate its implications on the regional political situation, broader European considerations and the development of international law.

Javno: Kostunica knew Karad�i�’s whereabouts (September 29, 2008)

Evidence was found which points to former head of Serbian Security Services (BIA) Rade Bultatovic and former prime minister Vojislav Kostunica knowing where Radovan Karad�i� was hiding, the Novi Sad Dnevnik daily wrote. According to the paper's collocutor, just after Rade Bulatovic left the post and Sasa Vukadinovic replaced him, the BIA documentation revealed the address of “The Hague defendant” Dragan Dabic and a note from November 2007. Link

EurActiv: New indictment against Karad�i� filed (September 29, 2008)

Prosecutors have filed an amended indictment against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karad�i�, asking U.N. tribunal judges to approve war crimes and genocide charges they say will lead to a more efficient trial. The new version contains the same number of charges -  11, including two of genocide - but narrows the scope of alleged criminal acts during the 1992-95 Bosnian war and reduces the areas where they were committed. Link

Links to Reports of Karad�i�’s latest appearance at ICTY (September 21, 2008)

Here is a link to three reports of the latest Karad�i�'s appearance at the ICTY, which were prepared by Reuters, AFP and DPA. During his latest appearance, Karad�i� was informed that a new indictment against him will be filed shortly. He also elaborated on his previous allegations and claimed that the immunity deal offered to him by Richard Holbrooke was in the name of the U.N. Security Council, therefore is leally binding on the ICTY. Link

Balkan Watch: The U.S. has been against authorizing the arrests of Karad�i� and Mladi� (September 16, 2008)

Here is an interesting link to an archival issue of the Balkan Watch from November 20, 1995, which reports that the U.S. delegation in Dayton was against the arrests of Bosnian Serb war criminals, namely Radovan Karad�i� and Ratko Mladi�. The paper reads as follows: “the Bosnian delegation demanded in writing that the peace accord and the country’s new constitution commit the signatories to ‘arrest, detain, and transfer’ indicted war criminals to the custody of the Tribunal. The U.S. did not support the request. The draft accord reportedly only commits the parties to ‘fully cooperate’ with the Tribunal.” Link

The European Courier: Hartmann's Indictment (September 11, 2008)

Mrs. Florence Hartmann, one of the EuropeanCourier.org’s contributors, have been recently indicted by the ICTY in the Hague for revealing secret information in her book the “Peace and Punishment” (2007), indicating that Serbia (under Slobodan Milosevic) was directly involved in the genocide in Bosnia, which resulted in extermination of approximately 300,000 men, women and children in the 90’s. Here is an op-ed by Mr. Muhamed Sacirbey, a former foreign minister of Bosnia, who comments on said indictment. Our magazine’s official position will be stated in another op-ed, which will follow in a couple of weeks. Feel free to send us any comments you may have relating to this issue. Read more

Srebrenica Genocide Blog: Dutch soldiers to testify at Karad�i�'s trial? (September 6, 2008)

Acccording to Serbia's Vecernje Novosti, a group of former Dutch soldiers who were stationed in Srebrenica enclave in 1995, may testify in Karad�i�’s trial in his favor. It is difficult to asses how credible this information is at the moment. Link

IWPR: Hartmann to challenge ICTY's charges (September 2, 2008)

Here is a link to a piece published at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting's website giving some more insight into the case of Florence Hartmann, who has been just recently indicted by ICTY for disclosing secret information sensitive to "Serbia's national security". Hartmann is to challenge the charges. Link
  

BBC News: Karad�i� to challenge ICTY's jurisdiction (August 30, 2008)

Appearing on Friday, August 29, Karad�i� refused to enter a plea to charges of war crimes at the United Nations tribunal in The Hague. A tribunal judge entered a plea of not guilty to all charges on his behalf, in line with the rules of the court. Karad�i� informed the court that during his next appearance on September 17, he will challenge the Tribunal's jurisdiction. He also said that he doesn't have his legal team assembled yet. He reiterated he is going to defend himself and only use lawyers as his advisors. Link
   

ICTY: Florence Hartmann indicted (August 30, 2008)

ICTY indicted Mrs. Florence Hartmann, former spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office, who has been also contributing to the EuropeanCourier.org, for knowingly disclosing secret information in the possession of ICTY, which linked Serbia to the genocide in Bosnia. In particular, Hartmann will be prosecuted for information, which she disclosed in her book "Peace and Punishment" and also in an article published at the Bosnian Institute's website, earlier this year. Link

Mo Sacirbey: Understanding the Karad�i�-Holbrooke deal (August 27, 2008)

On August 29, as Radovan Karad�i� is scheduled to make another appearance before the Tribunal, the question that is asked now: what were the motivations behind a Karad�i�/Holbrooke deal? Most people would question why a representative of the US Government would engage in deal making with a person who directed some of the most detestable crimes and genocide as the then president of the Republika Srpska and even after Karad�i� had been indicted by the ICTY? Read more

The Herald: Scottish judge will now oversee the Karad�i�'s trial (August 25, 2008)

The Scottish judge Lord Bonomy was appointed to oversee the preparations for the genocide trial of Radovan Karad�i� at The Hague Tribunal. Lord Bonomy, who sat on the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevi�, until the former Yugoslav president died of a heart attack in his cell in March 2006, was appointed after the war crimes tribunal reassigned the Dutch judge who led Karad�i�'s first appearance at the court. Link

B92: A new judge in Karad�i�'s pre-trial procedure (August 22, 2008)

British Judge Iain Bonomy will be the pretrial judge in the process against Radovan Karad�i�. Bonomy was appointed by Judge Patrick Robinson from Jamaica, the presiding judge of the Trial Chamber in the Karad�i� case. Robinson was given the case yesterday by the Hague Tribunal President Fausto Pocar. French Judge Michelle Picard, who is not a permanent Tribunal judge, will be the third member of the pretrial chamber. That chamber could also try Karad�i�. Link
 

ICTY: Karad�i�'s next apearance on Friday, August 29 (August 21, 2008)

According to the ICTY, further appearance of Radovan Karad�i� has been scheduled for Friday, August 29, in the Courtroom I commencing at 14.15. Additionally, the President of the ICTY, Fausto Pocar, changed the trial judge, replacing Justice Alphonsus Orie with another judge, ICTY spokesperson Nerma Jela�i� said, noting that the decision had nothing to do with Karad�i�'s request to that effect. Link

B92: Mladi� may not be in Serbia (August 21, 2008)

"Until he [Mladi�] is located, it will be very thankless to claim that he is in Serbia or not," said the president of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal in an interview with B92, adding that no one could say any longer that Serbia was not prepared to meet its obligations to the Tribunal. Link
  

Balkan Insight: Karad�i�'s family to be removed from the EU's black list (August 20, 2008)

The family of Radovan Karad�i�, will soon be removed from the EU 'blacklist' so they can visit him at The Hague Tribunal. In recent years, Karad�i�'s family and other people who were suspected of helping Karad�i� to evade justice, were blacklisted from traveling to European Union countries and the United States. Their bank accounts were also frozen. Link
  

Times Online: How Karad�i� stirred global Islamic terror (August 17, 2008)

Here is an interesting op-ed published in the Times Online a several of days ago, in which the author claims that Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden played important role in the war in Bosnia. However, contrary to Holbrooke's explanations, the author says that the terrorists did not leave Bosnia after the war ended and there is still possibility that the country may turn to extremism. Author writes that "Karad�i�'s legacy is likely to prove more lasting than his poetry. The ethnically cleansed Bosnian Serb mini-state that he created has no plans to let non-Serbs back or to give up its aspiration to join Serbia. Of still greater moment, the Islamic reaction to Serb genocide will continue to complicate the West's defense against terrorism." Link

The West Australian: new mass grave found in Srebrenica (August 16, 2008)

According to The West Australian, a new mass grave believed to contain dozens of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has been discovered in eastern Bosnia. The new grave measuring at least 10 by three meters was discovered at Kamenica village, near the town of Zvornik. As the newspaper says, the Bosnian war claimed up to 200,000 lives, while some 2.2 million people - approximately half of the country's population - were forced to take refuge. Link

Blic: Discs hiding truth over agreement with Holbrooke (August 15, 2008)

According to Svetozar Vujaci�, member of Karad�i�'s defense team, 'Radovan Karad�i� kept on the coded discs footage of talks with foreign statesmen Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Madeleine Albright, Bernard Kouchner and Slobodan Milosevic, to mention just a few. There is a lot of compromising material referring to the west governments', he said. He also added that the discs supposedly contain recorded material of Karad�i�'s conversation with Milosevic in which they speak in details about agreement with Richard Holbrooke. This information, however, has to be regarded with caution, as Mr. Vujaci� is already known for misinforming the public. Link

Spiegel International: Nobody seriously looking for Mladi� until 2000 (August 14, 2008)

In an interview with German Spiegel, Rasim Ljajic, Serbia's labor minister and country's most prominent Muslim politician, said that until 2000 nobody was seriously looking for Ratko Mladi�. He said that "Mladi� was hiding in various military installations at the time, and we were worried that if he were arrested, there would be a conflict between the military and the police. Until June 1, 2002 he hid in three military installations and subsequently until the end of 2005 in many Belgrade apartments. Unfortunately, we didn't find out about all that until afterwards." Link

B92: Karad�i�'s laptop found (August 12, 2008)

The authorities say a bag containing what is suspected to be Radovan Karad�i�'s laptop has been found. The Action Team for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal said that the bag, found on Monday on the Batajnica road, contained 55 discs, as well as newspaper cuttings, and two books. It is believed that Karad�i� was saving documents on said laptop for his future defense before the ICTY. Link
  

B92: Hartmann says CIA protected Karad�i� (August 10, 2008)
 

In her recent interview, Florence Hartmann, a former spokesperson of the ICTY, claims that during the summer of 2005, two CIA agents asked the Bosnia-Herzegovina police to put an end to a surveillance operation directed at Karad�i�'s family members, ordered previously by Del Ponte and the Hague Tribunal. Link

Daily Telegraph: Karad�i� was protected by U.K. (August 10, 2008)

James Luko, a former UN political affairs officer in Bosnia and Hague Tribunal investigator, told Belgrade's daily Blic that British General Angus Ramsey, former commander of British peacekeepers in Bosnia, was ordered by superiors in London to leave Karad�i� alone just minutes before British troops prepared to capture him in August, 1997. Link

Prof. Ingrao: There is Evidence of Holbrooke's Deal (August 8, 2008)

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The EuropeanCourier.org conducts an interview with Prof. Charles W. Ingrao of the Purdue University's Department of History, the head of the Scholars' Initiative for the Yugoslav Controversies, who obtained independent evidence indicating that the U.S. made a secret deal with Radovan Karad�i� to prevent his arrest. Read more

Balkan Insight (video): Holbrooke says Karad�i�'s claims are "a crap" (August 6, 2008)

Here is a link to a very interesting interview, which Richard Holbrooke gave to the Balkan Insight in 2006, which was uploaded to Google Videos in February this year. Holbrooke agrees that there was no political will to capture Karad�i� and Mladi� by NATO's forces. He also loses resolve when the journalist asks him about the secret deal with Karad�i�, saying that he is "tired of hearing this crap". He denies making any secret deals with Karad�i�. He also discusses Kosovo's independence and the regional conflict in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Video
 

Balkan Insight: Prof. Charles Ingrao of Purdue University confirms existence of illegal deal between the Clinton Administration and war criminal Karad�i� (August 6, 2008)

Prof. Charles Ingrao of Purdue University confirms that through mediators, Holbrooke made a deal with Karad�i� in order to remove him from the political stage in the Republica Srpska. Ingrao said his information came from four independent sources in the US State Department whose names he could not divulge. "We cannot reveal their identities, since they are still very active and would, in some cases, suffer professionally," he said. Ingrao added that a top State Department official with intimate knowledge of Holbrooke's activities has confirmed to him that Holbrooke explicitly assured Karad�i� that he would not be arrested, "a concession known to several others at the State Department who have remained silent." Link
 

Blic: Serbia's Defense Minister calls upon Mladi� and Hadzi� to surrender (August 6, 2008)

In an interview given to "Blic", Serbia's Minister of Defense, Dragan Sutanovac called upon Ratko Mladi� and Goran Hadzi� to turn themselves in. The Minister claimed that they have either to turn themselves in or be arrested very soon so that Serbia, respecting both its and international law, can get a status that it and its citizens deserve. Link
 

Reuters: Karad�i� demands Holbrooke, Albright appear in court (August 6, 2008)

In a letter submitted today to the Tribunal, Karad�i� demanded that former U.S. peace mediator Richard Holbrooke and ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appear at the U.N. war crimes tribunal to give sworn testimony regarding his claims of an immunity offer from the United States. He also wants William Stuebner (former U.S. diplomat) and Richard Goldstone (former Chief ICTY's prosecutor) to be summoned as witnesses. Here is a link to short interview with Steubner. Karadzic also filed two other motions, asking for copies of his arrest warrant and orders to freeze his assets. Link

The European Courier: Mladi� in Grave (August 5, 2008)

It has long been rumored that General Ratko Mladi� is suffering from a terminal illness, presumably cancer. In the last few weeks, Mladi�’s imminent death has been reported by the regional media, and from several sources. Time will only tell how imminent Mladi�’s death is, but it appears that his health is seriously in question. Read more
  

Azerbaijani Trend News Agency: Francis A. Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois, calls for criminal indictment of Richard Holbrooke and several other prominent former officials (August 4, 2008)

According to attorney for the Association of Bosnian Muslims, professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law, there is already enough evidence to indict Richard Holbrooke, along with Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan, Yasushi Akashi, David Owen, Thorvald Stoltenberg and Carl Bildt, for aiding and abetting war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Boyle claims there are lots of facts to prove that Richard Holbrooke, acting on behalf of the United States, had collusion with the war criminal, Radovan Karad�i�. Link

Blic/AFP: Karad�i� was protected by the U.S. until he broke the 'deal' (August 4, 2008)
 
Accoridng to the Blic Magazine, Radovan Karad�i� was protected by the United States until a CIA phone bug caught him breaking the terms of his "deal". Blic Magazine quotes a "well-informed U.S. intelligence source" and says that Holbrooke verbally confirmed to their "source" the guarantees given by the U.S. to Karad�i�. In a separate report by the state-run Radio Belgrade, former Bosnian Serb foreign minister Aleksa Buha claimed he witnessed the deal. The promise was allegedly given at a meeting in Belgrade "overnight 18 and 19 July, 1996," also attended by then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and foreign minister Milan Milutinovic, as well as former Bosnian Serb official Momcilo Krajisnik, Buha said. Link

Documents: Karad�i�'s letter to the Tribunal (August 3, 2008)

Here is a link to the English translation of the letter Karad�i� submitted to the Tribunal on last Friday. Link

The European Courier: The 'Karad�i�-Gate' (August 3, 2008)

If Serbia was to take revenge on America for recognizing Kosovo's independence, it could have been done only through the handover of Karad�i� to the ICTY. Enormous dirt will be thrown at the United States, American politicians, diplomats and its methods of conducting diplomacy during that trial, what may only weaken the U.S. political leadership and trustworthiness in the region. Read more

Reuters: Holbrooke dismisses Karad�i�'s claims (July 31, 2008)

The former U.S. peace mediator for Bosnia, Richard Holbrooke, dismissed a claim by Radovan Karad�i� that the United States had offered a deal that would spare him prosecution for war crimes. Karad�i� told the court he had received an offer from Holbrooke on behalf of the U.S. government under which Karad�i� would withdraw from public life and take other steps and Washington would persuade prosecutors to drop the indictment against him. Link
   

Elie Wiesel: Remembering Karad�i� (July 31, 2008)

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate remembers Radovan Karad�i�: " I did talk with Slobodan Milosevic. And with Karad�i�, in whose palace - a real fortress - the meeting took place. His gaze was icy, haunted, unearthly. He was the all-powerful master. Why so many executions, so many murders? Was it because of some violent mysticism, a cult of death? No. For him, it was something else: a fascination with holding absolute power over his enemies as well as his allies.I asked him why he had had the famous Sarajevo National Library burned down. Given that he himself wanted to be known as a psychiatrist and a poet, was he afraid of books and their human and humanist truth?" Link

Blic: Karad�i�'s trial to be efficient (July 31, 2008)

Blic magazine publishes pictures of Karad�i�'s new image (without beard). They also quote ICTY's chief prosecutor who said that the trial against Karad�i� shall be long and complex but 'the Prosecution shall make efforts to present the huge amount of proofs as efficiently as possible... with the full respect of the right of defense'. Link

Globe and Mail: Serbia's sophisticated political considerations behind the Karad�i�'s arrest (July 30, 08)

The Globe and Mail publishes an op-ed by Andre Gerolymatos, a writer about the Balkan issues and a lecturer at the Simon Fraser University, who analyzes Serbia's political motives behind the Karad�i�'s arrest. The author argues that "the arrest of Mr. Karad�i� is the result of geopolitical considerations - the Serbs want to join the West and the West now needs Serbia. In an ironic twist of events, oil and pipelines have lubricated the wheels of justice." In the author's opinion, the arrest is interconnected with the energy policy in the region. We disagree with the conclusions of the article and will soon offer our own analysis of Serbia's possible motives behind the Karad�i�'s arrest. Stay tuned. Link
 

AP: Karad�i� to plea "not guilty" (July 30, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i� was placed in his cell at the ICTY in the Hague today. The Tribunal spokesperson said that they will "ensure his well being and right to a fair trial as much as possible and in accordance with the highest international standards." Karad�i�'s lawyer, Svetozar Vuja�i�, said his client will postpone entering a formal plea for 30 days, the maximum allowed under court rules. U.N. war crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz said it will take months before the prosecution and defense are ready for Karad�i�'s trial. Vuja�i� acknowledged he never filed an appeal against Karad�i�'s extradition from Serbia. Link

Reuters: Karad�i�'s trial will be battle over history (July 29, 2008)

According to Reuters, "the trial of Radovan Karad�i� will be part preacher's sermon, part revisionist forum and part press event, as his supporters prepare a marathon defence they say will change the world's view of the Yugoslav wars. [...] The group, the 'International Committee for the Truth about Radovan Karad�i�', has prepared a defense file running to thousands of pages, partly based on a series of books containing Karad�i�'s wartime letters, interviews, and speeches." Link
  

RTS TV: Serbia's TV broadcasts a short video showing Karad�i� prior to his arrest (July 28, 2008)

Serbia's public TV channel "RTS" broadcasted a short video showing Radovan Karad�i� at a picnic organized on June 22, 2008, at the "Plodnost" Clinic. Click on the link, scroll down to the middle of the webpage and click on a camera icon to watch the video. Link

Reuters: Karad�i� to be smuggled to the ICTY covertly (July 28, 2008)

According to the Reuters, the transfer of Radovan Karad�i� to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague will be carried out covertly to avoid media attention and planned protests by nationalist supporters of the former Bosnian Serb leader. Link
  

B92: William D. Montgomery's views on Karad�i�'s arrest (July 28, 2008)

Here is an interesting article by William D. Montgomery, a former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria and Croatia as well as Bill Clinton's and Madeleine Albright's advisor for the Bosnian Peace Implementation, in which he comments on the Karad�i�'s arrest. Montgomery says that "it is unknown at this point if Karad�i� will say anything about his years as a fugitive. It will be interesting if he tells the truth and probably even more interesting and controversial if he mixes some lies and allegations in as well. There is an insatiable demand and a readiness to believe any sort of statement he may give, no matter how implausible, about relationships with foreign governments, Serbian officials, and the Republika Srpska." Link
  

The Times: Gen. Mladi� regularly visits his daughter's grave (July 27, 2008)

According to the Times, General Mladi� has regularly been spotted visiting the grave of his daughter Ana. Ana Mladi� killed herself in 1994 at the age of 23 when she discovered that her father was behind ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and was responsible for the siege of Sarajevo. After her death, Ratko Mladi� became even more maniacal and ordered further mass murders, mass rapes and ethnic cleansing that became the biggest bloodbath in Europe since the Second World War. At her funeral, Mladi� was supposed to say that he "failed as a father". More appropriately, though, would be if he acknowledged that he failed as a human being in the first place. Link

U.S. Federal Court: $4.5 billion in damages for Karad�i�'s victims (July 27, 2008)

In 2000, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, awarded $4.5 billion in damages from Karad�i� to his victims. Karad�i� was served with a Summons and Complain in 1993 while visiting the United Nations' headquarters. Subsequently, he moved to dismiss the Complaint based on lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction. His motion was originally granted but the order was reversed by the Appellate Court. After that, Karad�i� lost interest in the action and eventually was directed to pay damages to the victims. In that lawsuit, Karad�i� was defended by Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Here is a link to a selection of documents pertaining to that lawsuit, available at the servers of the Yale University. Link
 

The Observer: the Karad�i�'s arrest causes a setback for Bosnia (July 27, 2008)

According to Paddy Ashdown, a former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Karad�i�'s arrest causes a setback for Bosnia, with Republika Srpska openly contemplating a secession. Ashdown says that Republika Srpska's premier, Milorad Dodik, is "now aggressively reversing a decade of reforms. He has set up the parallel institutions and sent delegations to Montenegro to find out how they broke away. He has used the autonomy granted by the Dayton Agreement to undermine the Bosnia Dayton envisaged. We do not have to speculate on his intentions, for he has said them himself. He does not think Bosnia can survive and does not want it to. He does not regard Republika Srpska as part of a state, but as a state in itself." Link

The Daily Telegraph: Karad�i� has a humane face (July 27, 2008)

In an informative, though written in a very bizarre style, article the Daily Telegraph extensively describes Karad�i�'s life before his capture. The newspaper informs how he was alienated from his bodyguards and friends by the fact that the U.S. offered $5 million for information leading to his arrest and explains that Karad�i� was deeply missing his wife and children all that time. The Daily Telegraph uses very friendly and positive narrative for Karad�i�'s story calling him "Elvis-like" and "Gandalf-like". Expressions which are associated very positively in the readers' minds. Both Elvis Presley and Gandalf (a fictitious person in J.R.R.. Tolkien's book) were heros not villains. Link

New York Times: Karad�i� may be acquitted of genocide charges (July 26, 2008)

The New York Times publishes an interesting interview with Timothy William Waters, a law professor at the Indiana University who helped prepare the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes in Kosovo. Prof. Waters believes "it is possible that Karad�i� will be convicted of crimes against humanity or war crimes, but acquitted on genocide charges. For many observers of the Yugoslav wars, such an outcome would be a grave setback for the project of international justice. For others, of course, the near-total certainty that Karad�i� will be convicted is itself a cause for concern - proof that the I.C.T.Y. is institutionally biased against Serbs or simply troubling as a matter of legitimate legal process." Link
  

ICTY's Case Information Sheet: The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karad�i� and Ratko Mladi� (July 26, 2008)

Radovan Karad�i�, is charged on the basis of individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1)) and superior criminal responsibility (Article 7(3)) with:
Genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, wilful killing (grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violation of the laws or customs of war, genocide, crime against humanity, Articles 2-5),
Persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, taking of hostages (violations of the laws or customs of war, crimes against humanity, Articles 3 and 5). Link

Reuters: Karad�i�'s property may be confiscated to reward victims (July 26, 2008)

As well as charges of genocide, Radovan Karad�i� faces repossession of his property to pay for a fortune he is said to have embezzled and the billions of dollars awarded to victims who sued him for damages. Several groups of victims filed lawsuits in the United States against him over the atrocities, and in the late 1990s were awarded billions of dollars in damages. Link

Reuters: Karad�i� was in hands of Austrian police last year, but was released unrecognized (July 26, 08)

According to Reuters, Radovan Karad�i� evaded capture last year when Austrian police raided a Vienna apartment where he was staying but did not recognize the disguised war crimes suspect. The Austrian Interior Ministry confirmed the raid, which took place on May 4, 2007, and said policemen who took part in recognized Karad�i� as the man they saw in the apartment when they saw his pictures after his capture. Link
 

Australian ABC News: ICTY's prosecutors will oppose Karad�i� defending himself (July 25, 2008)

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor at the ICTY says they will oppose the move by Karad�i� to represent himself. "The prosecution has consistently opposed self representation in these cases and that's because these cases are quite complex," she said. Link

Michigan Journal of International Law: Karad�i�'s poet-warrior activity. (July 25, 2008)

If you remember from history, Hitler wanted to be an artist and he was painting. Karad�i� wanted to be an artist as well and he has been writing poems. Some of the European newspapers make fun of it today and quote it as a curiosity. However, here is an interesting piece published previously in the Michigan Journal of International Law analyzing Karad�i�'s genocide-time poetry and its use as a character evidence under ICTY's rules. Beware poets! You don't know day and minute your poetry may be used against you. Link

ICTY: Indictment against Karad�i� includes 11 counts and is being reviewed. (July 24, 2008)

Prosecution spokeswoman, Olga Kavran, confirmed that the indictment against Karad�i� contained 11 counts. The ICTY's Prosecution Office is checking to see whether said indictment needs to be updated, amended or changed. Meanwhile, Radovan Karadzic's lawyer Svetozar Vuja�i� said that two teams from Serbia, an expert and legal team, would help his client in his defense at the Hague. He said that the expert team would include Belgrade Law School Professor Kosta �avoski, Smilja Avramov and Milivoje Ivanisevi�. Vuja�i� also added that he would suggest that, besides himself, lawyers Toma Fila and Goran Petronijevi� be included in Karadzi�'s legal team, and reiterated that the former Bosnian Serb leader would defend himself. Link

B-92: Big protests in Belgrade against the 'dictatorship' of President Tadi�

(July 24, 2008)

Protests against the 'dictatorship' of President Boris Tadi� are scheduled to take place in Belgrade on Tuesday next week. The rally is to be headed by Luka Karadzi�, the brother

of Radovan's. Link

Washington Post: Holbrooke never shook hands with Karadzi�... met him once... spoke to him once

(July 24, 2008)

Writing for the Washington Post, Richard Holbrooke, a former senior diplomat in the Clinton Administration responsible for negotiating a peace agreement between the Bosnian Serbs and their Muslim victims, asserted that he met Radovan Karadzi�, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, only once in his life on September 13, 1995. During that meeting he never shook hands with Karadzi� and addressed him directly only once while informing that the U.S. delegation works for President Clinton. Link

The Daily Telegraph: General Ratko Mladic 'will commit suicide rather than face justice'. (July 24, 2008)

According to the British newspaper, General Ratko Mladi�, presently the most wanted criminal in Europe and the second most wanted in the world after Osama bin Laden, threatened to commit a suicide if the Serb police forces attempt to capture him. The Daily Telegraph asserts that Mladi� "is living in an urban environment in Serbia with two security guards who are under orders to shoot him before he is captured". Link