KARADZIC CAPTURED, EXTRADITED.
Former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
was captured by Serbian authorities in Belgrade
following some thirteen years of living in
hiding. Karadzic had assumed a fake identity,
posing as a bearded alternative medicine expert
named Dragan Dabic. Those who knew
Karadzic only by his fake identity described it
as convincing; he had also arranged to publish
several articles in alternative medical journals
about “human quantum energy” and had
participated in several professional conferences
in Serbia. After being arrested while riding a
public bus, Karadzic’s lawyers claimed that they
had mailed an appeal against a Serbian court’s
extradition orders; however, the appeal was
never received, and Karadzic was flown early in
the morning to The Hague.
Karadzic shortly afterwards appeared before the
tribunal, where Judge Alphons Orie read the
eleven charges against him. Karadzic chose not
to enter a plea at the time and was visibly
scornful of the court. Karadzic stated he would
represent himself during the trial without
support from counsel. Karadzic also suggested
that he will argue about an unwritten
understanding he claims he had made with
former American diplomat Richard Holbrooke.
Karadzic suggested that Holbrooke had offered
him the opportunity to walk away from the war
crimes charges as long as he promised not to
involve himself again in Serbian or Bosnian
politics. Karadzic claimed that Holbrooke made
this offer wanting to ensure that the provisions
of the Dayton peace accords were able to take
root and the new government for Bosnia
established at Dayton would be able to be
established. In an interview with Der Spiegel,
Holbrooke labeled Karadzic’s claims as “lies.”
There are already concerns that Karadzic may
attempt to draw out the trial over as long a
period as possible and use his courtroom
arguments to appeal to Serb nationalists in
Serbia and Bosnia. Karadzic criticized the
media for creating a “witch-hunt” that he claims
will preclude any chance of him receiving a fair
trial. Orie adjourned the tribunal until August
29, when Karadzic will have another chance to
enter a plea. Should he refuse to cooperate or
choose not to enter a plea at that time, the court
will automatically enter a “not-guilty” plea on
his behalf.
SERBIA PRAISED FOR ACTIONS;
MLADIC REMAINS AT LARGE.
Karadzic’s capture and extradition are being
lauded as a success for the new pro-EU
government in Serbia. Officials across the EU
offered their congratulations to the Serbian
government for Karadzic’s capture and quick
extradition. French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner, whose government currently holds
the rotating EU presidency, noted that the
capture will significantly benefit Serbia’s
application for membership in the EU; however,
Kouchner also suggested that Belgrade still has
much more work to do, including capturing the
remaining indicted war criminals, especially
Karadzic’s former military commander, Ratko
Mladic. Serb officials were reluctant to divulge
information on Karadzic’s capture to the media,
concerned that doing so would complicate
searches for other indicted war criminals.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that Serbian
officials were actually looking for Mladic at the
time they had found the clues leading to
Karadzic’s assumed identity as Dragan Dabic.
Serbian officials are searching for more details
on how Karadzic was able to obtain the
necessary documentation that allowed him to go
into hiding under the false identity. In Bosnia,
victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre lauded
Karadzic’s capture. In Tuzla, twenty members
of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica
gathered to watch Karadzic’s first appearance
before the UN tribunal. Several of the widows
expressed a sense of justice with Karadzic’s
apprehension.
BUSH MEETS WITH SEJDIU, THACI.
Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci recently met with
President Bush during a visit to Washington.
While meeting with Thaci and Sejdiu, President
Bush pledged to encourage other countries that
have yet to recognize Kosovo’s independence to
do so as soon as possible. Bush also mentioned
that the three leaders discussed Kosovo’s
aspirations for greater participation within the
transatlantic community, potentially leading
toward membership in NATO. The three also
discussed economic development and strategies
to improve Kosovo’s education system as a
means toward ensuring the new country’s stable
and successful future. Sejdiu reiterated the
Kosovar government’s support for the
provisions of the Ahtisaari Plan and pledged to
continue to ensure that minority groups are
allowed to participate in the country’s multiethnic
government. Thaci praised the strong
relations between Kosovo and the United States.
KOSOVO ISSUES OWN PASSPORTS.
Kosovo’s government recently began to issue its
own passports, a step that reinforces the
country’s sovereignty and independence from
Serbia. Between 1999 and 2008, the UN
administration in place in Kosovo issued its
own passports to Kosovo’s citizens. The
dwindling UN administration in Pristina was
willing to allow the new government to begin
issuing them to the country’s citizens, a
bureaucratic coup toward which opponents in
the international community of Kosovo’s
independence will object. Many citizens of
Kosovo were willing to wait for hours in
Pristina for their new passports, each of which
has the six yellow stars of the country’s new
flag on it. The passports will only be valid in
the 43 countries that have thus far recognized
Kosovo’s independence. As additional
countries recognize Kosovo, the country’s
citizens will be able to use their passports to
travel to more locations. The UN will no longer
issue passports in Kosovo.
KOSOVO JOURNALIST FINED BY
TRIBUNAL. Baton Haxhiu, editor of the
Kosovo Express newspaper, was found guilty of
publishing the name of a witness who had
anonymously testified in the case of former
Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.
Hague tribunal presiding judge Alphons Orie
stated that Haxhiu’s actions undermined
confidence in the tribunal’s protective measures
and its ability to ensure that perpetrators of
atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia
are able to receive a fair trial. Judge Orie noted
that Haxhiu’s actions could dissuade future
witnesses from appearing before the tribunal.
As penalty for his actions, Haxhiu was fined
€7,000. Five other Kosovo Albanians have also
been charged with contempt of court in the trials
of Haradinaj and two other defendants, Idriz
Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj. Haxhiu had appeared
before the tribunal in two other trials, including
the one against Slobodan Milosevic, as a
prosecution witness. Orie cited Haxhiu’s
assistance in these cases as a factor in the
tribunal’s decision not to apply a more serious
penalty against him.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
“Karadzic presided over the years of terror in
Sarajevo, when Serbian bombardments
destroyed crowded neighborhoods and Serbian
sniper attacks targeted people crossing streets.
Under his watch, there were the rape camps,
where sexual assault was the weapon of choice.
Then came the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, a
mining town in eastern Bosnia packed with
40,000 Muslims, mostly refugees who were
supposed to have been under U.N. protection.
Karadzic and the Bosnian Serbs' top military
commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, launched an
attack on Srebrenica and then executed about
8,000 Muslim men and boys who had been
taken captive, blindfolded and their hands
bound in wire ligatures.”—Author Laura Silber
(Los Angeles Times, 7/23/08).
“The Kosovo government and the Kosovo
people will always bow in deep respect for the
United States and for the U.S. administration. It
is a joint success story.”—Kosovo Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci (The White House,
7/21/08).
“The north of Kosovo is now a lawless area.
There has to be a presence in the north.”—
Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried, commenting on
the Serb-ruled area of Kosovo to reporters in
Brussels (AFP, 7/22/08).
Prepared by John Sannar