Serbia's Heart of Darkness

September 2008

The TV broadcast of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic’s first appearance before the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on July 31 was somewhat surreal. Here was a man who, more than any other, represented the human face of the Serbian mass-murder campaign in the Bosnian war during the 1990s and who, arrogant and flamboyant, was ubiquitous on Western TV screens, but who then vanished from sight for 13 years. In the meantime, the Hague tribunal – whose first prominent indictee he was along with his military counterpart, General Ratko Mladic – has slowly lumbered forward, prosecuting former-Yugoslav war criminals, with somewhat mixed results.

At a panel discussion in London that coincided with Karadzic’s appearance, Sir Geoffrey Nice, the chief prosecutor at the Milosevic trial, pointed out that – contrary to its reputation – the trial of Milosevic was not slow or inefficient. It doubled in duration from two years to four, not because it was badly organised, but because of Milosevic’s long periods of absence due to sickness.

Nice also argued that, while some observers lamented the way Milosevic turned the trial into a circus with his contemptuous behaviour and political speeches, it was actually the right of the accused to behave in this way, and from the point of view of the prosecution, it made its job easier than it would have been had Milosevic been represented by a competent, professional lawyer. For all the Christ-like adulation bestowed upon him by his followers on account of his histrionics at The Hague, Milosevic was saved from conviction only by his untimely death. Those with knowledge of the case generally feel that Karadzic will be easier to prosecute than Milosevic, given his more overt involvement in Serb war crimes in Bosnia.

So far, Karadzic appears quieter and more respectful of the tribunal than either Milosevic or the loudmouthed Serbian far-Right leader Vojislav Seselj. His excuse for his long evasion of justice was that he had been promised by US diplomat Richard Holbrooke that he would not have to face the tribunal if he quietly stepped down from power and removed himself from public life: “Mr Holbrooke undertook on behalf of the USA that I would not be tried before this tribunal.” Indeed, Karadzic claimed that his exile was enforced by a US death threat aimed at keeping him quiet: “I was in danger of being liquidated because I had made a commitment.” Holbrooke, for his part, denies claims that he made a deal with Karadzic to save him from the tribunal.

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Jill Starr

January 23rd, 2011
2:01 PM

'''Irrefutable Proof ICTY Is Corrupt Court/Irrefutable Proof the Hague Court Cannot Legitimately Prosecute Karadzic Case By Jill Starr http://picasaweb.google.com/lpcyusa (The Documentary Secret United Nations ICC Meeting Papers Scanned Images) https://sites.google.com/site/jillstarrsite/irrefutable-proof-icty-is-co... This legal technicality indicates the Hague must dismiss charges against Dr Karadzic and others awaiting trials in the Hague jail; like it or not. Unfortunately for the Signatures Of the Rome Statute United Nations member states instituting the ICC & ICTY housed at the Hague, insofar as the, Radovan Karadzic, as with the other Hague cases awaiting trial there, I personally witnessed these United Nations member states having a substantial conversations, and, openly speaking about trading judicial appointments and verdicts for financial funding when I attended the 2001 ICC Preparatory Meetings at the UN in Manhattan making the iCTY and ICC morally incapable trying Radovan Karazdic and others. I witnessed with my own eyes and ears when attending the 2001 Preparatory Meetings to establish an newly emergent International Criminal Court, the exact caliber of criminal corruption running so very deeply at the Hague, that it was a perfectly viable topic of legitimate conversation in those meetings I attended to debate trading verdicts AND judicial appointments, for monetary funding. Jilly wrote:*The rep from Spain became distraught and when her country’s proposal was not taken to well by the chair of the meeting , then Spain argued in a particularly loud and noticably strongly vocal manner, “Spain (my country) strongly believes if we contribute most financial support to the Hague’s highest court, that ought to give us and other countries feeding it financially MORE direct power over its decisions.” ((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((( Instead of censoring the country representative from Spain for even bringing up this unjust, illegal and unfair judicial idea of bribery for international judicial verdicts and judicial appointments, all country representatives present in the meeting that day all treated the Spain proposition as a ”totally legitimate topic” discussed and debated it between each other for some time. I was quite shocked! The idea was “let’s discuss it.” "It’s a great topic to discuss." Some countries agreed with Spain’s propositions while others did not. The point here is, bribery for judicial verdicts and judicial appointments was treated as a totally legitimate topic instead of an illegitimate topic which it is in the meeting that I attended in 2001 that day to establish the ground work for a newly emergent international criminal court.)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) In particular., since “Spain” was so overtly unafraid in bringing up this topic of trading financial funding the ICC for influence over its future judicial appointments and verdicts in front of every other UN member state present that day at the UN, “Spain” must have already known by previous experience the topic of bribery was “socially acceptable” for conversation that day. They must have previously spoke about bribing the ICTY and ICC before in meetings; this is my take an international sociological honor student. SPAIN’s diplomatic gesture of international justice insofar as, Serbia, in all of this is, disgusting morally!SPAIN HAS TAUGHT THE WORLD THE TRUE DEFINITION OF AN “INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.” I represented the state interests’ of the Former Yugoslavia, in Diplomat Darko Trifunovic’s absence in those meetings and I am proud to undertake this effort on Serbia’s behalf. ================================================================================== What It’s Like to Chill Out With Whom the Rest of the World Considers As The Most Ruthless Men: Ratko Mladic, Goran Hadzic and Radovan Karadzic (+) Confessions of a Female War Crimes Investigator By Jill Louise Starr NJ USA https://sites.google.com/site/jillstarrsite/what-it-s-like-to-chill-out-... Retrospectively, it was all so simple, natural and matter of fact being on a boat restaurant in Belgrade, sitting with, laughing, drinking a two hundred bottle of wine and chatting about war and peace while Ratko Mladic held my hand. Mladic, a man considered the world’s most ruthless war criminal since Adolf Hitler, still at large and currently having a five million dollar bounty on his head for genocide by the international community. Yet there I was with my two best friends at the time, a former Serbian diplomat, his wife, and Ratko Mladic just chilling. There was no security, nothing you’d ordinarily expect in such circumstances. Referring to himself merely as, Sharko; this is the story of it all came about. International Relations Consultant & War Crimes Investigator - War - Peace - Preventive Diplomatic Strategies - International Law - Charitable Causes - International Business - International Political Economy - Human Rights - Politics - War Crimes Investigations - Anti-Terrorism - Law Projects Center Funded Projects (YCICC) Internationally

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