Footage of Mladić from 2008?

11 June 2009 | 10:17 | Source: B92

BELGRADE -- Bosnian Federal TV has broadcast footage of Ratko Mladić, allegedly filmed in 2008.


(FTV)

Serbia says the footage is old and has been submitted to the Hague Tribunal. The program, “60 Minutes”, features amateur footage of the Hague’s most wanted fugitive, parts of which, Federal TV believes, were filmed last or this winter.

Dušan Ignjatović, director of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague, told B92 that the footage was being analyzed, but that it was probably quite old.

Ignjatović believes that the footage is old and was seized at various locations in Serbia, and then submitted to the Hague prosecution.

Hague prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said that she did not know anything about yesterday’s program and that she would be able to supply more information during the course of the day.

The bulk of the footage, Bosnian Federal TV (FTV) said, had been shot in the Belgrade district of Košutnjak , where Mladić is seen freely mingling with friends and family.

FTV also shows Mladić and his family in one of the barracks of the former Yugoslav Army, where, they say, he was residing, and where he can be seen walking and playing table tennis with friends.

The former Republic of Srpska (RS) Army commander is also filmed at the wedding of a former aide in East Sarajevo in the RS, in the Kula restaurant.

The program’s producer, Bakir Hadžiomerović, did not wish to reveal to B92 how FTV had obtained the amateur footage.

“The clips show everything, covering a long period of over 10 years. From images from the funeral of Mladić’s daughter Ana, who, as is known, killed herself, where he appears, even though there was even talk that he was never even at that funeral, through to footage that is believed to have been shot this or last winter, somewhere in the snow,” said Hadžiomerović.

“There are celebrations of various descriptions—private parties, visits to restaurants, and what’s most important in the whole story is that we have footage of that war criminal’s stay in military facilities in Serbia, in Topčider and others,” he said.

“We have footage of his contacts with accused war criminals—Perišić, Tolimir, his contacts with Manojlo Milovanović and other people,” Hadžiomerović added.

Click here to see the footage in question.

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Ljajić: Mladić footage from before 2002

11 June 2009 | 10:17 -> 16:58 | Source: B92, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- The footage of Ratko Mladić screened by Bosnian Federal TV is eight years old and has already been submitted to the Hague Tribunal, say the Serbian authorities.

The Hague Tribunal has confirmed that it has the footage in question in its possession.

The program, “60 Minutes”, features amateur footage of the Hague’s most wanted fugitive, parts of which, Federal TV believes, were filmed last or this winter.

Chairman of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajić says that none of the footage is less than eight years old.

Ljajić told a press conference that the release of the material was an attempt to disavow Serbia and her attempts to complete cooperation with the Hague.

The clips were part of material that Serbia had submitted to the tribunal in March this year, he said, adding that it consisted of 215 audio and video cassettes seized from Mladić’s home in Belgrade last December.

The National Council chairman then enumerated the different clips, quoting exact dates of when they were filmed.

“The clip where Ratko Mladić is seen holding his grandson in his hands: April 28, 2001."

“The clip from his son’s wedding: June 21, 1997.”

“As for the clips of Ratko Mladić in military facilities, we couldn’t give an exact date, but I can tell you that Mladić last stayed in a military facility on June 1, 2002, at the Krčmari facility near Valjevo.”

“The picture from the funeral, the clip that is, is from March 25, 1994.”

“The clip where it says that Mladić is in the company of his wife and daughter walking in the snow was allegedly filmed in 2008, as we heard yesterday. You’ve now heard that the funeral of Mladić’s daughter was on March 25, 1994.”

Ljajić told the press conference at government HQ that Belgrade was adamant that it should be established how the footage leaked into the public eye.

“I’m afraid that the purpose of releasing the footage was to prevent a Dutch change of heart as regards visa liberalization, and to put us in the dock once again and make us defend accusations that we’re not doing all we can to complete cooperation,“ he said.

“I don’t know who is keen for Serbia not to continue her path to the EU, but it’s clear that someone in the international community doesn’t have the best intentions,“ Ljajić reflected.

Dušan Ignjatović, director of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague, told B92 that the footage was being analyzed, but that it was probably quite old.

“Right now, we can't say exactly where the footage came from. However, our guess is that the footage is old and was seized at various locations in Serbia, and then submitted to the Hague prosecution,“ said Ignjatović.

“Therefore, no-one wanted to hide them, no-one wanted to play around with them, and they could have if they’d wanted to. That’s further proof that Serbia is doing all in its power to bring Ratko Mladić to justice,“ he said.

“The majority of that footage was compiled—it can clearly be seen—during the Nineties and the early 2000s—2001 or 2002—I don’t know exactly when. As regards the clips purportedly filmed in 2008, this winter to be precise, right now we cannot say exactly whether they were or not, but we don’t believe they were shot in 2008,“ said Ignjatović.

The director of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague believes that the purpose of the footage is to show something that is not—that Mladić is protected in Serbia.

“We all know Ratko Mladić was protected in Serbia during the Slobodan Milošević government and that’s nothing new. Currently, however, Mladić is not protected here. Ratko Mladić, if he is here, is hiding. We’re pulling out all the stops to catch Ratko Mladić and extradite him to the Hague, and no-one should be in any doubt as to that,“ he stressed

Hague prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said that she did not know anything about yesterday’s program and that she would be able to supply more information during the course of the day.

The bulk of the footage, Bosnian Federal TV (FTV) said, had been shot in the Belgrade district of Košutnjak , where Mladić is seen freely mingling with friends and family.

FTV also shows Mladić and his family in one of the barracks of the former Yugoslav Army, where, they say, he was residing, and where he can be seen walking and playing table tennis with friends.

The former Republic of Srpska (RS) Army commander is also filmed at the wedding of a former aide in East Sarajevo in the RS, in the Kula restaurant.

The program’s producer, Bakir Hadžiomerović, did not wish to reveal to B92 how FTV had obtained the amateur footage.

“The clips show everything, covering a long period of over 10 years. From images from the funeral of Mladić’s daughter Ana, who, as is known, killed herself, where he appears, even though there was even talk that he was never even at that funeral, through to footage that is believed to have been shot this or last winter, somewhere in the snow,” said Hadžiomerović.

“There are celebrations of various descriptions—private parties, visits to restaurants, and what’s most important in the whole story is that we have footage of that war criminal’s stay in military facilities in Serbia, in Topčider and others,” he said.

“We have footage of his contacts with accused war criminals—Perišić, Tolimir, his contacts with Manojlo Milovanović and other people,” Hadžiomerović added.

“What’s interesting is that all the clips, which are spread out over a long time period, feature more or less the same people in the background, in Mladić’s vicinity,“ he noted.

“It’s hard to retell that now, given that we’ve managed to come across over an hour’s worth of material. Of that hour, Mladić is in shot for at least 50 minutes. We’ve released around 35 minutes’ worth,“ said Hadžiomerović.

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'Happy Birthday, Mr President Karadzic'

| 19 June 2009 |

The Serbian National Movement, based in Banja Luka, Bosnia, has put up posters in nine cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina, wishing war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic a happy birthday.

BIRN's Justice Report has learnt that the posters, featuring Radovan Karadzic’s picture and “Happy birthday, President!”, appeared in Bosanski Novi, Prijedor, Gradiska, Banja Luka, Doboj, Brcko, Bijeljina, Vlasenica and Pale.

Members of the Serbian National Movement Izbor je Nas (The Choice is Ours), are behind the campaign.

Justice Report has discovered that the posters in Banja Luka and Bijeljina downtown area have already been removed. The ones in Brcko are expected to be removed soon.

Halid Emkic, spokesperson of the Brcko district police, said: “The team has taken the measures and actions in order to document the incident. The prosecutor has been informed about it. Measures will be taken to remove the posters.”

Tijana Savic, spokesperson for the RS Police, said police had received a report on some posters having been put up in Bijeljina only.

“The prosecution claims that there is no evidence of a criminal act and the posters have been removed,” Savic said.

Dane Cankovic, the movement's president, told Justice Report: “In this way we are showing that we have not forgotten the person who deserves the credit for establishment of Republika Srpska and defence of the Serbian people. We have undertaken this action in order to show that we have not forgotten him. We wished him a happy birthday, which is a civilised act. We are hoping that Radovan Karadzic will be glad to see this.”

Karadzic, the first President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of the RS Armed Forces, has been charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of laws and practices of warfare. After having been on the run for years, he was arrested in Belgrade in July 2008. His trial is expected to begin at The Hague in the coming months.

“Radovan Karadzic is a political visionary, humanist and peacemaker. He fights for the truth. So, help us God, the Hague Tribunal will render a verdict of not guilty after it sees the evidence he presents,” Cankovic said

Karadzic was born on June 19, 1945, in the village of Petnjica, in Montenegro.

(Report by BIRN - Justice Report. http://www.bim.ba/)

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Paramilitaries Get 15 - 20 Years for Kosovo Crimes

Belgrade | 19 June 2009 |

Three Scorpions paramilitaries have been sentenced to serve up to 20 years in prison for killing 14 civillians in Podujevo, near Pristina, in March 1999.

The verdict, handed down yesterday at the Belgrade District Court War Crimes Chamber, sentenced Zeljko Djukic, Dragan Medic, and Dragan Borojevic to 20 years, and Miodrag Solaj was given 15 years.

In the verdict's explanation, the suspects were identified as members of the Scorpions unit that operated as part of the Serbian Interior Ministry, who on the evening of March 28 1999, opened fire, with intent to kill, on 19 unarmed civilians in the Gashi family garden in Podujevo.

Of the 19 civilians, all were women and children, five of the children survived the attack with serious injuries, yet were able to testify at the trial; Saranda, who was 14 at the time, Fatos, 13, Jehon, 11, nine-year-old Lirie and six-year-old Genc.

Once news reached the Interior Ministry command in Podujevo, they were withdrawn as members of the Scorpions unit from Kosovo.

The trial of the 'four Scorpions' began in September of last year.

The trial lasted 33-days, with 29 witnesses testifying, including a witness under witness protection and seven survivors.

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Court hears Radovan Karadzic’s threats of Muslim slaughter

David Charter in The Hague



Radovan Karadzic showed his contempt for international justice by shunning his own trial again yesterday, but the chilling threats he made before Europe’s worst atrocities since the Second World War still echoed around the UN courtroom.

Judges in The Hague refused to let Dr Karadzic’s boycott disrupt the proceedings any further and the prosecution took full advantage. If the presence of the bereaved Mothers of Srebrenica who crowded the public gallery was not enough, transcripts of phone taps from 1991 reminded the court who they were dealing with.

"They have to know that there are 20,000 armed Serbs around Sarajevo . . . it will be a black cauldron where 300,000 Muslims will die," Dr Karadzic was recorded as saying.

"They will disappear. That people will disappear from the face of the Earth."

Dr Karadzic has refused to enter pleas on the two charges of genocide and nine other war crimes he is accused of as the alleged mastermind of the bloody Bosnian conflict of 1992-95, in which 100,000 died. He is refusing to leave the UN detention centre because he wants up to a year to prepare his defence.

The 44-month siege of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, left at least 10,000 people dead and horrified the world as the city’s residents were subjected to sniping and shelling from Bosnian Serb forces on the surrounding hills.

Alan Tieger, opening the prosecution, quoted from another part of the 1991 telephone transcript in which Dr Karadzic warned: "I think it is clear to the army and clear to everyone. It will be a real bloodbath."

These were private phone calls between Dr Karadzic and allies, showing the Bosnian Serb leader’s uninhibited rage that Muslim leaders were daring to resist the partition of the Bosnian capital.

In another intercept, from a conversation with a colleague nervous of Europe’s reaction to military action to establish a Serb state in Bosnia, Dr Karadzic barked: "Europe will be told to go f*** itself and not to come back until the job is finished."

As the prosecution took the court through the military build-up of Bosnian Serb forces and its state apparatus in 1991 and 1992, the rhetoric of their leader, Dr Karadzic, showed how he whipped up ethnic hatred.

"No Muslim foundations shall ever be laid in Serb areas and Serbian villages," he was quoted as saying. "All foundations that are laid will be blown up. You must not sell land to the Muslims . . . this is a fight to the finish. It is a battle for living space."

Rhetoric will not be enough to convict Dr Karadzic of genocide unless he is shown to have a direct link to the numerous atrocities carried out by Bosnian Serb forces, including the murder of about 8,000 men and boys in the UN haven of Srebrenica. Survivors and relatives will be among the many witnesses to testify during the trial, which is expected to last up to three years.

Judge O-Gon Kwon, the chief judge, issued a second warning that Dr Karadzic would have a legal representative imposed upon him if he continued to remain in his cell when the prosecution completes its outline on Monday.

"We repeat our warning to him that there are circumstances where the chamber may proceed in the absence of an accused and may assign counsel to the case."

As the trial of Dr Karadzic began, his successor as Bosnian Serb President, Biljana Plavsic, flew to freedom yesterday after six years in jail for war crimes.

Mrs Plavsic, 79, known in her heyday as the Iron Lady of the Balkans, left a prison in Sweden after the UN court granted her early release from an 11-year sentence on the ground of her good behaviour in jail.

She was originally charged with genocide, but struck a plea agreement with prosecutors in October 2002 in which she admitted to "supporting and contributing to achieving the objective of the permanent removal of ethnic populations by force".


LOS LINKOS

What's the capital punishment of this trial (or any other trial of this nature)? SK you might know more than the average chump in here about specifics.

I have to start reading into the history of that conflict, I had no idea about this man before. The only one I'd heard of before (except of course Milosevic) who was like a big deal and a sensitive subject for Serbs was Arkan. That guy was a baaaad mo' fo' according to what I've heard.






Whatever, I don't care about his punishment more than bringing to light what these criminals did.

Some(if not most of them) of the sentences have been nothing but a joke.They get like 10 years and are later released after 5-6 years.

Serbs step up hunt

Friday November 6, 2009

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia has told the UN war crimes prosecutor it was about to arrest 16 people for atrocities during the Balkan war and was determined to apprehend Ratko Mladic, key to its bid to join the European Union.

Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, said yesterday his office was preparing to indict and arrest the 16 people as Serbia, keen to boost its European Union membership prospects, increases its drive to deal with its recent past.

The suspects are from three separate cases of war crimes committed in Bosnia and Croatia during ethnic wars in the 1990s that followed ex-Yugoslavia’s disintegration. “In one case we have 23 killed, in another 16 killed, while in the third case we have six killed but many wounded and tortured,” Vukcevic said.

“The [arrest] operation will be conducted soon,” he told Reuters as United Nations chief war crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz was in Belgrade to assess cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Vukcevic said he had informed Brammertz about the new cases.

Serbia hopes its renewed efforts will be recognized by the Hague tribunal, which has often criticized it for dragging its feet on war crimes, particularly its failure to arrest Mladic.

“Full cooperation with the tribunal will be achieved only once Mladic is in The Hague,” Vukcevic said. “There is obvious political will for that in Serbia.” Mladic, indicted for the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, was seen in public in Serbia until 2000.

The most recent internal opinion poll provided to Reuters by the prosecutor’s office showed that the number of those who oppose the arrest of the two remaining suspects was inching up, but Vukcevic said the government would not be deterred.

“It is difficult to give any precise timing, but I believe Mladic will be arrested by the end of the year,” he said.

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