Bosnews Digest 508, Dec. 22 1995

From: Dzevat Omeragic <dzevat@ee.mcgill.ca>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] A PROSECUTOR'S VOW `We're going to get people'

Judge Richard Goldstone is chief prosecutor of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia based at The Hague, Netherlands. He spoke with U.S. News European Senior Editor Robin Knight.

Excerpts: The peace agreement. If it's implemented, it means our investigators are going to have free access to all parts of former Yugoslavia. We're going to become more efficient, more indictments will be issued quicker, and there will be more trials because we're going to get people.

Slobodan Milosevic. The issue is not Milosevic's involvement in the war in former Yugoslavia, but his involvement in war crimes. Supplying troops and supplying arms is not a war crime. .x.x. You must assume from the fact that we haven't gone higher than we have that this means we haven't got sufficient evidence. But we're investigating everybody. The higher up people are, the more we investigate. Intelligence information. It can't be used without governments' express agreement. And it would be used for corroboration. If there were intelligence intercepts of incriminating conversations, that would be different. They would stand on their own feet. But whether we would get information to use seems highly unlikely. It's much more sensitive. Serb resentment of tribunal. It's time notice was taken of the attitude which has been taken consistently by the government of former Yugoslavia of accusing this tribunal of being anti-Serb while at the same time refusing to cooperate at all in cases where there are Serb victims. Possible action against Serbia. The U.N. Security Council resolution [on lifting sanctions against Serbia] defines the work of the war crimes tribunal as an essential aspect of implementing the peace agreement. That's vitally important recognition because it links compliance with the tri bunal to lifting sanctions. If there's a continuation of noncompliance .x.x. the measures can be reimposed automatically at any time. It's automatic. The Security Council doesn't have to take a decision.

Bosnian Serb leaders. If we don't manage to arrest [Serb President Radovan] Karadzic and [Gen. Ratko] Mladic, then we're going to proceed against them in the first half of next year under Rule 61 [which allows hearings in absentia]. We're not going to stop these proceedings.