Posted on 11/23/2003 2:38:26 PM PST by mark502inf
The war crimes tribunal in The Hague has heard allegations that former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic ordered the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. A former Bosnian Serb politician, Miroslav Deronjic, said Mr Karadzic told him days before the massacre that all local Muslims needed to be killed.
Mr Deronjic was testifying at a pre-appeal hearing for General Radislav Krstic, who was partly responsible.
The tribunal has charged Mr Karadzic with genocide over Srebrenica.
Mr Deronjic confessed to war crimes. He was a civilian head of the Bratunac municipality near Srebrenica when the Bosnian Serb's political leader Mr Karadzic told him on 9 July, 1995: "Miroslav, all of them need to be killed. Whatever you can lay your hands on," he told the hearing.
On 11 July, the Bosnian Serb army overran the UN-declared "safe area" of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia.
Its troops separated the men from the women and children, taking them away to be executed over the ensuing week.
Alongside Mr Karadzic, the tribunal has also charged his military commander, Ratko Mladic, with genocide at Srebrenica Both men remain at large.
Condemnation
Witnesses who spoke at Friday's hearing said the slaughter of more than 7,000 Muslims at Srebrenica was planned at the highest level of the Bosnian Serb Government.
One witness - Lieutenant Colonel Dragan Obrenovic, commander of a brigade that reported to General Krstic - admitted his brigade participated in the slaughter after being given the order by General Mladic.
He told the hearing he had asked Mr Krstic why the killings had taken place.
"Krstic cut me short and said that we would speak no more about this," he said.
Experts say the statement he gave is significant because a commander can be convicted of genocide if he knew his troops were committing atrocities but failed to stop them.
General Krstic's defence has until now rested on a claim that prosecutors had never shown "whether there was an organised plan or policy... to destroy the Bosnian Muslims".
Prosecutor Norman Farrell said the new joint evidence was sufficient to prove Krstic, 58, - then commander of the Drina Corps - had personally overseen the killings.
Krstic is appealing against his conviction and the 46-year sentence handed down by the UN tribunal in August 2001 for genocide.
The prosecution is seeking to increase his sentence to life.
Yeah, sure. What would be Deronjic's sentence if he refused to "confess"?
Show trial bump.
Because it is a crazy show trial. You either make a decent trial according to the cohererent, non-arbitrary and fair rules or you do it Stalin's way. Those poor judges in Hague cannot do either and as a result they create a farce.
Key Srebrenica Witness Apologises for LiesIn his May statement to prosecutors, Nikolic said, “I initially falsely stated that I was the person in a photograph depicting a soldier in the area of Sandici, when in truth I was not the person depicted in the photograph.”
“In addition I initially falsely stated to the prosecution that I had ordered executions at Sandici and the Kravica warehouse on July 13, 1995, when in fact I had not issued such orders.”
“Shortly after making these false statements – and as discussions with the prosecution continued – I voluntarily informed my lawyers and the prosecution that I had made false statements,” said his statement.
“I think we should call it for what it is, a bald-faced lie,” said Karnavas, an American lawyer.
In the original statement, Nikolic said he had seen former army officer Ljubomir Borovcanin at the Kravica warehouse.
“You needed to give him [the prosecutor] something he did not have, right?” said Karnavas. “You wanted to limit your time of imprisonment to 20 years, that was part of the arrangement, yes? Quid pro quo?”
“I’m still a little bit confused,” continued Karnavas. “How is it that you thought by admitting to one of the most horrendous executions in this area, that this would help you in getting the kind of sentence that you are hoping and praying for?”
“I wanted the agreement to succeed,” said the witness.
Actually, probably not.The trials after the fall of Germany should never have happened. There should have been military courts by the victors with no reference to any sort of "international law" or even "crimes against humanity" and the NAZI leaders should have then been shot.Victor's justice is far less damaging to our constitutional system than is pretending there is such a thing as international law and creating precedents that come back to bite us.
I am sorry, but a mismanaged arbitrary trial with biased preconceived agenda is as right thing as a botched surgery done with the wrong tools.
The preconceptions in this case are the following:
1 Srebrenica massacre claim is factual in all its nebulous vagueness and lack of clear evidence
2 Each Serbs who is accused of anything hideous is automatically guilty of it, be it Mladic, Karadic, Milosevic or anyone else. Each one ordered it and each is guilty a priori and logic be damned.
3 NATO, Muslims, Western judges and journalists are infallible and saintly unless they violate the rules of Political Corectness. If they do the last they are evil haters and deserve death.
I suspect that this is a fault of Hollywood movies. They are so predicable and you know who is the villain and how the story should end. People who are miseducated by the Hollywood movies must see Serbs as evil and guilty. It simple fits the scheme.
I wonder if Serbs are the todays PC permitted object of hatred. You can demonize/accuse Serbs and be respected for that. Defend Serbs and you are a suspect. Human nature does not change.
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