LOCAL PRESS

Verdict to Mladic unusable for reviewing the lawsuit against Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbian Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic has stated that the verdict to general Ratko Mladic cannot be used for an eventual revision of the lawsuit for genocide against Serbia. “The lawsuit against Serbia has been submitted and it was rejected. Deadlines for submitting a revision have expired, so I don’t see how the verdict delivered yesterday can be used, especially having in mind that it is a first instance verdict,” Kuburovic said. She says that the verdict to Mladic was expected, having in mind the past ICTY verdicts against the Serbia. Kuborovic reminds that his defense had announced a complaint and that the continuation of the proceedings will be conducted by the Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals that will take over the role of the ICTY, which is ending in December.

Dacic: List of countries recognizing Kosovo and Metohija will come down below 100 (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has stated that the fact that Guinea Bissau had revoked the decision on the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo is an indicator that the list of 114 countries that recognize Kosovo are “sweet lies” and voiced hope that this list will come down below 100 states. “You will eventually see that it will come down below 100,” Dacic said in Buenos Aires.

Albanian President “unofficially” to visit Medvedja (Beta)

Albanian President Ilir Meta will be on an unofficial visit to the Medvedja municipality on 3 and 4 December, Beta was told in this local self-government. The Serbian government has been informed about the visit.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Mladic is a hero who prevented genocide against Serbs (Srna)

Republika Srpska President (RS) Milorad Dodik has said that General Ratko Mladic is a hero and patriot who organized and led the RS Army and prevented genocide against the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Croatia. “The first-instance verdict handed down to Gen. Mladic by the ICTY is not a surprise because he was condemned in advance. They only took him to The Hague to read it to him. This is a shameful slap in the face, not a verdict, to RS, the Serb people and the RS Army,” Dodik told a press conference in Banja Luka. He has said that the ICTY will be remembered as a place which did not contribute to reconciliation, but to the contrary, which contributed to divisions. Dodik has said that people consider Mladic a hero and that the ICTY administered selective justice which is visible from sentencing verdicts handed down mostly to Serbs.

Crnadak: RS is discontent with work of ICTY (BN TV)

B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak commented the ICTY verdict against wartime commander of Republika Srpska (RS) Army Ratko Mladic. Asked to comment the fact Bosniaks commend and Serbs dispute the ICTY verdict in this case, Crnadak said that discussion on work of this court will be resumed in B&H. He reminded that the RS is discontent with work of this court. Crnadak stressed that everyone in B&H should express concern regarding every committed war crime, adding that it is very important not to comment individual cases, including verdict against Mladic. “Once again I emphasize, every committed crime should be resolved and responsible ones should be punished”, explained Crnadak, adding that many of those responsible for war crimes committed in B&H have not been processed yet. Asked whether it is inappropriate that some Serb politicians still consider Mladic as hero, Crnadak underscored that the most important thing is that all those responsible for war crimes are processed and that process of reconciliation resumes.

Izetbegovic: Mladic is a criminal and coward and not hero (Fena)

Member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic commented on the first-instance verdict rendered in case of the former Commander of the Main Staff of Republika Srpska (RS) Army Ratko Mladic before The Hague Tribunal, on Wednesday. Izetbegovic said “Ratko Mladic is a criminal and a coward because only cowards attack and kill imprisoned women, children and civilians”. According to Izetbegovic, the Serb(ian) people should not call him a hero and glorify him, if they want coexistence with their neighbors. He expressed his deep condolences to victims of the Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE), in which Mladic took part as an executor of previously-reached political decisions. In his opinion, the ICTY should have used a more precise term in case of “Bosnian Serbs”, and underline that this refers to leadership of the Bosnian Serbs and the regime of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who organized crimes in B&H and involved the Serb(ian) people in this process. Izetbegovic is convinced that the majority of the Bosnian Serbs do not identify themselves with Mladic and justify the crimes. According to Izetbegovic, accepting the truth is the only way to make the future in B&H better than the past. Izetbegovic stressed that it is of extreme importance for future of inter-ethnic relations in B&H to create situation in which it will be clear that one people is not responsible for war crimes but individuals, regardless to number of these individuals and their functions.

Oric: Mladic should stand trial before his own people (Dnevni avaz)

Wartime commander of RB&H Army in Srebrenica Naser Oric stated that former Republika Srpska (RS) Army General Ratko Mladic should now stand trial in front of his own people too, because he deliberately led RS Army soldiers to their deaths. He welcomed that CIYT verdict in Mladic case, noting that it proved that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. Oric commented that Mladic never had the courage to face Serb mothers whose sons he led to death and tell them that he was defeated in the battlefield. “He acted like a big warrior and leader during the war, but in the courtroom he whimpered. That tells us all about his courage”. Oric ironically concluded that he wishes Mladic a long life.

Spokesperson for Antonio Guterres: Verdict of the ICTY is a reminder for all those who hold posts of responsibility that they will be held accountable for their actions (Dnevni avaz)

Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres responded to the daily’s question to comment the verdict in case of Ratko Mladic. “Regarding the acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, this verdict of the ICTY is a reminder for all those persons who hold posts of responsibility – that they will be held accountable for their actions. The verdict reaffirms that fugitives cannot avoid collective resoluteness of the International Community to face them with justice”, said Spokesperson Farhan Haq. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein issued a press statement saying that the verdict represents an important victory for justice. He said that Mladic is embodiment of evil, as he commanded some of the worst crimes committed after the World War II, and the verdict represents a warning to everyone else so they know they cannot avoid justice.

Croatian government says it regrets Mladic was not convicted for crimes in Croatia (Hina)

The Croatian government considers as appropriate the life imprisonment sentence handed down by The Hague war crimes tribunal on wartime Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, but it regrets that he was not convicted for the numerous crimes committed during the aggression on Croatia, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

Grabar Kitarovic: Verdict to Mladic at least partial satisfaction for families of the victims (Jutarnji list)

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic expressed hope that the verdict rendered to former Commander of the Main Staff of Republika Srpska (RS) Army Ratko Mladic on Wednesday, will be at least partial satisfaction for families of the victims. She expressed regret with the fact that Mladic was not held accountable for crimes committed in Croatia. Grabar-Kitarovic stated that Mladic is the symbol of war, brutality and genocide.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic assessed that life imprisonment for Mladic is appropriate sentence, bearing in mind the charges. Plenkovic added that “unfortunately” the leadership related to Serbia is not mentioned in the verdict.

Zaev: Model for the future promotes respect for all ethnic communities (MIA)

The model for Macedonia’s future promotes respecting of all ethnic communities and cultural diversities, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said late Wednesday in Bitola at a closing event honoring the Albanian Alphabet Day – 22 November to mark 109th anniversary of the Bitola Congress, when the Albanian alphabet was standardized. “Alphabet and language are the core of a national identity…However every alphabet and language needs to establish communication for understanding, tolerance and coexistence with others. Declaring the Albanian Alphabet Day for a national holiday is part of Macedonia’s lingual, cultural treasure and in this respect, the celebration of the cultural values, dates, traditions of all ethnic communities, including the Albanian, contributes to the country’s prosperity and welfare of its citizens,” Zaev said.

Macedonia, Zaev said, is being built as a civic society that respects the ethnic, religious and cultural diversities, which we consider to be our value, our common treasure.

Janeva: Gruevski was summoned for a pre-trial procedure for taking commission (Meta)

The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Nikola Gruevski, was summoned to the Special Prosecutor’s Office for a financial investigation for taking a commission, which was opened by the SPO for a case related to electricity, stated the Chief Special Prosecutor, Katica Janeva, in a statement to the media in front of SPO headquarters. She responded to journalistic inquiries, saying that it was a new case, which is not related to any other previous investigations, and that it was opened on the basis of two wiretapped conversations that were not published to the public. Janeva said that the case is in a pre-trial procedure and that more people will be examined in the capacity of witnesses. The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Nikola Gruevski, after leaving the SPO, where he spent approximately two and a half hours, said that all this was for political reasons, to draw attention away from the basic problems that the state and citizens face. “Today I was summoned as a witness for one of their pre-trial proceedings. I told them that what they are doing is illegal, that their mandate has expired and that this is a maltreatment of citizens in conditions when they cannot file charges. However, I still came, I told them what I had to say and answered several questions … The purpose of all this, is instead of talking about the change of the name, the non-increase of doctors’ salaries or bilingualism, they want to talk about how I was summoned by the SLO”, said Gruevski, adding that he could not speak about the pre-trial procedure, but denied that it was about the import of electricity, pointing out that it was about “something else”.

Bushati: Justice restored with Mladic’s conviction (ADN)

The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati salutes the International Court of Justice decision to convict the former Bosnian Serbian commander Ratko Mladic to life in prison for genocide. Through a public declaration on Wednesday the minister defined this verdict as liberation and restored justice. “Hague’s Court verdict restores justice for over 8.000 men’s mother, women and daughters. It took more than 20 years for justice to be restored. This is a form of liberation, although to small compared to the pain caused in Srebrenica,” wrote Bushati.

Meta talks about his relations with Rama now that he is President (TV Atlas)

The President of Albania, Ilir Meta, declared that his relations with Edi Rama do not affect his behavior as President. Meta said that since he became President on July 24th, his only party has become the Constitution of Albania. “I do not take in consideration the past relations. One of the reasons I was appointed President was that there were no better candidates to represent the opposition”, Meta declared. Albania has expanded its role in regional relations, as seen with the “Tirana Platform”, making political developments be followed with more attention from neighbors. But what’s the effect of political scandals, such as that of Interior Minister Tahiri?

Meta said that Albania is not the only country in the world where high-level officials can be suspected. “It happens in consolidated EU countries as well. It is important for justice to prevail,” Meta said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Mladic conviction rekindles Holocaust historians’ debate on definition of genocide (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, by Cnaan Liphshiz, 23 November 2017)

One of the world’s best-known Nazi hunters, Efraim Zuroff, welcomed the punishment levied on Serbian nationalist Ratko Mladic but called his conviction for genocide in Srebrenica politicized and unjust. Zuroff’s claim is that Mladic committed atrocities but not genocide has exposed him to criticism by another leading expert on the Holocaust.  “What happened at Srebrenica was a terrible and murderous war crime and a tragedy for which Mladic and all other responsible should receive the maximum legal punishment,” Zuroff told JTA. “But it wasn’t genocide,” he added, citing the sparing of the women and girls. Menachem Rosensaft, general counsel of the World Jewish Congress and a lawyer who teaches about the law of genocide at the law schools of Columbia and Cornell universities, defended the verdict in an op-ed he published Wednesday in Tablet Magazine. To Zuroff, the absence of female victims at Srebrenica demonstrates that the perpetrators “wanted to commit and carried out a war crime, ethnic cleansing. But not genocide.”

The verdict was “politicized” as was the indictment against Mladic, charged Zuroff. He said the United States sought to convict Mladic of genocide for political reasons after failing to recognize the Rwandan genocide as such in time. Rosensaft, who has clashed with Zuroff publicly before in the wake of Zuroff’s criticism in 2015 of the genocide charge against Mladic in Srebrenica, again dismissed Zuroff’s argument in the op-ed, calling Zuroff and others who do not regard the Srebrenica massacre as genocide “wrong” from a legal point of view. Rosensaft cited previous rulings by the U.N. tribunal for former Yugoslavia stating that the forces orchestrating the Srebrenica operation “intended to destroy the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica as such.” In the op-ed, Rosensaft disagreed with a definition of genocide provided by Professor Steven T. Katz, founding director of Boston University’s Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, as the “destruction of all human beings who belong to a particular ethnic, national or religious group without exception.” Rosensaft noted an assertion by Nehemiah Robinson, the late director of the Institute of Jewish Affairs of the World Jewish Congress and a leading authority on the U.N. Genocide Convention of 1948, who said that the term applies even if victims “constitute only part of a group either within a country or within a region or within a single community, provided the number is substantial… It will be up to the courts to decide in each case whether the number was sufficiently large.” And the courts, Rosensaft wrote, “have spoken clearly and unambiguously.”

Lawyer: Ratko Mladic Trial All About NATO Securing Its ‘Encirclement of Russia’ (Sputnik, 23 November 2017)

Ratko Mladic, also known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” was convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday. He faces a life sentence in prison.

Despite the verdict, many critics aren’t thrilled with the tribunal court that dealt the hand to Mladic. In fact, many question its legitimacy. Speaking to Sputnik Radio’s Loud & Clear, Christopher Black, a lawyer qualified to practice at and on the list of counsel of the International Criminal Court, says the tribunal is really just a setup for NATO, which will use it to ensure the bloc’s interests. “It’s quite clear that [NATO] wanted to set up a tribunal they could totally control,” Black told show host John Kiriakou. “[The] tribunal was set up as a NATO tribunal and [it’s] really using fascist methods.” Black says the protocols allowed in the tribunal are outrageous, as the court allows secret witnesses, many of which are never even seen, while others are completely “scripted.” “They’re told what to say,” Black said. “Lawyers who really want to fight are not allowed in, and lawyers that play the game are,” Black adds, describing the unfair methods he’s witnessed in the court. “So they run it, they arrange it in many different ways, but they essentially control the mechanisms and the outcomes of these trials and even the convictions… even the acquittals are arranged politically if there is an acquittal.” Kiriakou asked about the chances of the 74-year-old former general in the court’s appeal process, as his lawyers have promised to appeal the decision. “The appeal is one of the problems of the appeal, [because] there is no separate appeal chamber,” Black said. “The appeal chamber, as they call it, is composed of judges rotated in and out of the trial chamber, so they’re not a separate body at all.” “They circulate, so there is no separate appeal chamber, [so an] appeal on his charge now would be very, very difficult,” he added. After remarking on NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg’s comments about how the Mladic verdict brought “an end [to the] dark chapter in the history of Europe,” Black surmised that the trial was really all “about [NATO] securing the Balkans so they can eventually complete their encirclement of Russia… that’s what the whole thing is about.”