May 6, 1996
Trials Set to Start in Hague for Bosnia War Crimes
By CHRIS HEDGES
AGREB, Croatia -- The first international war crimes trials since those that judged German and Japanese leaders after World War II begin Tuesday in The Hague, part of an effort by outside powers to provide a measure of justice for the thousands of massacred and maimed innocents in the former Yugoslavia.
But these trials are a shadow of those conducted five decades ago at Nuremberg and Tokyo. The commanders who ordered the killing of thousands, unlike those found responsible for genocide during World War II, remain at large.
The NATO-led military force in Bosnia, although virtually an occupying power, has steadfastly refused to arrest those indicted on charges of war crimes. And evidence often remains in the hands of those suspected of commiting the crimes.
The Croatian authorities have offered only half-hearted cooperation, allowing only one suspect to go to The Hague. The Bosnian Serbs -- whose leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have been indicted by the court for war crimes in connection with the deaths of thousands of Muslims in Srebrenica in July 1995 and the shelling of civilians in the siege of Sarajevo -- refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the tribunal.
Even President Slobodan Milosovic of Serbia, who has promised to cooperate, has yet to hand over his own indicted commanders, although he did turn over two former soldiers who said they had taken part in the killing of some 1,200 Muslims captured in Srebrenica.
Only the Bosnian Muslims, who were the victims in more than 80 percent of the registered cases, have cooperated with the tribunal, turning over the two Muslim suspects still in Bosnia last week.
"Not only do most of the accused and all of the commanders stand beyond reach," said an official with the court who asked for anonimity, "but the court is being blocked from amassing the necessary evidence to try suspects.
No power, whether within NATO or the individual governments, shows any willingness to assist in the operation. And the court alone does not have the clout to see justice through."
The tribunal has indicted 57 suspects -- 46 Serbs, 8 Croats and 3 Muslims -- but has only one Serb and two Croats in custody. The two Muslims arrested last week in Sarajevo will be sent to The Hague soon.
The first trial will bring into the dock Dusan Tadic, a Bosnian Serb and former bar owner accused of being a free-lance executioner and torturer. But no one has ever accused Tadic of wielding any significant power or organizing structures that led to widespread genocide. He had no position of authority.
And while the acts he is accused of are heinous, they are trifling when compared with the organization of concentration camps or the massacre of at least 3,000 unarmed civilians last summer by the Bosnian Serbs near the town of Srebrencia.
"Tadic is nothing," a senior Western diplomat said. "He is insignificant. It is doubtful that this trial will make much of an impact."
The international court was created by the United Nations Security Council in May 1993 to try those responsible for the atrocities committed in the Balkan conflict.
There are 11 judges, all from different countries, including Judge Gabrielle Krik McDonald of Texas. Unlike the tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo, this one is not permitted to hand out death sentences and may not try suspects in absentia. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
The tribunal has jurisdiction over individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the territory of the former Yugoslavia after Jan. 1, 1991. But it has no police powers and relies on the former Yugoslav republics, other states or the 60,000 NATO-led force in Bosnia to make arrests.
Tadic was arrested after he emigrated to Germany in 1993, and was identified by Bosnian Muslim refugees. He is charged with crimes against humanity and is accused of killing at least 16 Bosnian Muslims and engaging in acts of torture.
The court, often short of funds, has had trouble gathering evidence and persuading fearful witnesses to give testimony. It has also been accused of being a political instrument of the West, especially the United States, which provides much of the money for its operation.
Milosovic, who played a key role in instigating the war, has not been indicted. He has also emerged as a key ally in the U.S.-brokered effort to establish a peace in Bosnia. The fact that he is not indicted has brought criticism that the court is an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
"The reputation of the court has been badly tarnished by its refusal to indict Milosovic," a European ambassador said. "There is no other figure in the former Yugoslavia as responsible for this bloodshed."
The deputy prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal, Graham Blewitt, said Sunday in the Bosnian Serb-held town of Banja Luka that the tribunal was fair.
"We are trying to work in an independent and impartial way, but there are great expectations from the tribunal, and they cannot be fulfilled all at the same time," he said. "I am very convinced that we will demonstrate we are not working politically, but that we are basing our work on proof."
The highest-ranking suspect now in custody is Gen. Tihomir Blaskic, a former leader of the Bosnian Croat militia held responsible for killings in the Muslim-dominated Lasva valley in central Bosnia in 1993. He surrendered to the court voluntarily.
The three men in custody -- Tadic, Blaskic and Zdravko Mucic -- are held at the tribunal's 24-cell detention center in The Hague.
Other Places of Interest on the WebWar Crimes Tribunal documents on Court TV site
The U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
