World Welcomes 'Butcher Of Bosnia' Mladic's Genocide, War Crimes Conviction
30 November 2017Anadolu Agency
There has been a general welcome for Wednesday's conviction of Ratko Mladic,
known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' on charges of genocide and crimes against
humanity.
Mladic, 74, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague for his part in
thousands of killings which took place during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb army general, was also found to have had
"significant responsibility" for the genocide of over 8,000 Muslim men and
boys committed at Srebrenica in 1995.
He was found guilty of 10 of 11 counts against him including genocide, murder,
extermination, prosecution, forced deportation.
However, for many, Mladic's crimes are so extensive that no sentence could
possibly atone for the thousands killed and injured by his forces.
Hatidza Mehmedovic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association said:
"We must accept the facts and build a better future. The genocide in Bosnia
and Herzegovina should no longer be denied," adding, however, that the
decision was "a drop in the ocean."
Fikret Grabovica, the president of an association of parents whose children
were killed during the siege of Sarajevo said that they had been granted
"partial justice."
"There is no penalty for what Mladic has done and what he is responsible for.
It was important that he got life imprisonment. We are partly satisfied with
the decision, if not completely," said Grabovica.
The president of the Mothers of the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves, Munira
Subasic, told Anadolu Agency in The Hague that life imprisonment would never
be enough.
"This is the same verdict that was given also to [Bosnian Serb leader Radovan]
Karadzic... The only difference is that Mladic had ties to the Serbian army.
We victims now have the right to indict Serbia and the Republika Srpska," said
Subasic.
However, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mladen
Ivanic, said the court had not shared justice among Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks.
"The Hague Tribunal has brought distrust instead of trust, and instead of
reconciliation, it will lead to new political conflicts. The verdict of
General Mladic shows that they continue with a negative attitude towards the
Serbs and that the Hague Tribunal will remain remembered for not sharing
justice but politics," Ivanic said.
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) Serge Brammertz, insisted however, that the verdict
reflected on Mladic's actions, not those of the Serbian people.
"Some may think that this decision is a decision against the entire Serbian
people, but my office absolutely refuses to accept it, and that decision is
only for the crimes committed by Mladic," he said.
International reaction
Mladic's conviction also found widespread international support.
Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed importance of the ICTY's judgment, saying it
proved that special courts do not allow impunity for any crime committed
against humanity.
"We hope that the judgment will serve to social peace and reconciliation in
Bosnia Herzegovina, and will set an example to avoid commitment of similar
crimes in the ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world," the MFA said
in a statement.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called the
conviction a "momentous victory for justice."
"Two of the main architects of some of the worst atrocities in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, including the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, Ratko
Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, have now been convicted and are facing lengthy
jail sentences. Mladic is the epitome of evil, and the prosecution of Mladic
is the epitome of what international justice is all about," he said in a
statement.
"All those who are committing serious international crimes in so many
situations today across the world should fear this result," Hussein said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the U.N. court's
decision and said he hoped that the ruling will move the region further down
the path of peace and reconciliation.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic claimed everyone knew what the outcome of
Ratko Mladic's trial would be. Vucic also called on his people to look forward
in peace.
"I urge the citizens of Serbia to start looking into the future, to think that
we will preserve the peace and stability of the region, that we do not get
stuck in the tears of the past, but based on workers' sweat we create a better
future for all of us," he said.
German foreign ministry deputy spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told a news
conference in Berlin the conviction was an "important contribution to coming
to terms with the hideous crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia in the
1990s".
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said: "Delivering justice and
fighting impunity for the most horrific crimes is a fundamental human
obligation.
"Our sympathies are with those who survived and those who lost their loved
ones."
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