David Miliband

Foreign Secretary

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Monday 26 October, 2009

Radovan Karadzic

Today marks the opening of Radovan Karadzic's trial in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It is a day that will be welcomed by many across the world. Karadzic is accused of some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, including the genocide of over 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in July 1995.

His arrest and transfer to The Hague after so many years on the run signalled that Serbia's Government was intent on closing a chapter from the past.

The trial itself will now act as an important moment for truth and reconciliation, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also across the region as a whole. His trial also sends out a powerful global message - the international courts are here to stay, and now there is no escape from international justice.

Posted at 12:18 26 October 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[11]

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Sir, Courts are the place of justice; hoping that the honourable INTERNATIONAL COURT will give justice to the Bosnian muslim families whose members were killed in genocide and Mr. Karadzic will get his proper place in jail for heinous crimes.

Posted by Prabhat Misra, District Savings Officer, Etawah, U.P., India on October 26, 2009 at 01:41 PM GMT #

Well done to those who captured him and those doing the difficult, but necessary, task of organising the trial. It is very important for justice to be seen to be done and for the victims to believe they are getting justice. This is most important indeed. Confidence in the legal process and open justice are essential to every well functioning democracy and society. Every country must be vigilant to ensure these continue and there is not one law for the rich and powerful and another for the less fortunate.

Posted by Elaine Decoulos on October 26, 2009 at 06:54 PM GMT #

As a teacher I see it as crucial that I do my best to instill in my students a moral and ethical centre that provides their studies with a purpose. The international court is the perfect example of what our global society should stand for. It has its moral and ethical core and we should support it with all the power our goverment can muster. That way I can truely tell my students that the UK is on the side of right in global politics.

Posted by Craig Knowles on October 27, 2009 at 09:05 PM GMT #

How must the victims feel when Karadzic refuses to turn up at court? Not very confident in the legal process I suspect. It might deter international bullies and terrorists if the international community showed more resolve to enforce the law by escorting criminals to court, at the point of a gun if necessary.

Posted by Percefal on October 27, 2009 at 09:38 PM GMT #

I would agree that this sends a powerful message. Do you think the Palestinians in Gaza will get some of this international justice?

Posted by Paul Macdonald on October 28, 2009 at 09:21 AM GMT #

Freedom of expression is suitably squashed. All I asked the first time I responded to this blog entry was "When we can expect to see that other well known war criminal, Tony Blair, in the dock at the Hague? Perhaps if I had asked when we could see that other well known war criminal, George W Bush, in the dock at the Hague it would have been more acceptable?

Posted by Paul E on October 28, 2009 at 08:52 PM GMT #

In Europe lifelong learning takes now has a different approach, we hope to see more development as a result of new legislation, good luck all teachers!

Posted by PTLLS on October 29, 2009 at 05:02 AM GMT #

I hope these war crimes trials do send out a powerful message, however, when it comes to the Palestinians Paul Macdonald's question was unwittingly answered at the Labour Party conference this year. Labour Friends of Israel invited Euad Barak to their fringe meeting. He went and was unsuccessfully served with a writ for war crimes by claiming diplomatic immunity. I was hoping that a new administration in the USA would finally bring justice to the Palestinians but it looks depressingly like it's business as usual....impunity for the occupiers and the criminalisation and collective punishment for the indigenous victims.

Posted by L Pain on October 31, 2009 at 11:02 PM GMT #

Please remember, it's not just Karadzic and the missing Mladic who are important to achieving justice for the victims of Bosnia. There are all the "small fish" too, the war criminals still employed within the central administration, justice system, police, local authorities, etc. of Republika Srpska. We seem to be doing a wonderful job of letting Milorad Dodik he can do what he likes to keep and consolidate the rewards of genocide. We do we not protest about the meddling of Boris Tadic and his ministers RS? Did Dayton provide for the propaganda stunt of welcoming the war criminal Biljana Plavsic to Belgrade Airport in an RS transport? What was the role of Carl Bildt in securing Plavsic's ludicrously early release from prison in Sweden? Karadizic and Mladic should not blind us to everything else.

Posted by OwenE2 on November 01, 2009 at 12:27 AM GMT #

Dear Sir, as you have rightly mentioned, the Serbian government has shown an intent to deal with the past for some time now as have other ex Yu states. I do hope that your colleagues from Netherlands will also realize the importance of that effort. The role of international justice is great and hopefully far-reaching and inclusive. But in order for international justice to be credible double standards need to be avoided. Therefore I hope to see in the Hague many more of those who committed war crimes during disintegration of Yugoslavia. Nothing is black and white in any conflict and, thus, no side should be treated as an exclusive villain. Putting the whole blame only on one side of the conflict and using narrow and limited picture is wrong, unjust and dangerous and could come back as boomerang as did so many times in European history . There is a good and strong sign that all new countries that were once part of YU are moving forward from the dark past of conflicts into a bright future of cooperation and partnership - just as Europe once did or have been doing successfully for a long time . For Europe to achieve long lasting piece and stability, a stable and prosperous Balkan is needed. Hence careful, strategic, long term, thought-through and contextual policy towards Balkans is an urgent must !

Posted by Tatjana on November 04, 2009 at 07:57 PM GMT #

Mr Miliband, Would you care to comment on the recently published legal opinion by Geoffrey Robertson QC about your position on the Armenian Genocide? Mr Robertson, an eminent jurist, barrister and judge of international standing, writes: "The result of my examination of the advice provided by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to Her Majesty's Government, and reproduced by ministers in parliamentary answers drafted over the past decade by the FCO, is that this advice reflects neither the law of genocide nor the demonstrable facts of the massacres in 1915 - 16, and has been calculated to mislead parliament into believing that there has been an assessment of evidence and an exercise of judgment on that evidence." "I consider that parliament has been routinely misinformed, by ministers who have recited FCO briefs without questioning their accuracy. HMG’s real and only policy has been to evade truthful answers to questions about the Armenian Genocide, because the truth would discomfort the Turkish government. It can be predicted that any future question on the subject will be met with the same meaningless formula about “insufficiently unequivocal evidence,” disguising the simple fact that HMG will not now come to terms with an issue on which it was once so volubly certain, namely that the Armenian massacres were a “crime against humanity” which should never be forgiven or forgotten. Times change, but as other civilised nations recognise, the universal crimes of genocide and torture have no statute of limitations. Judge Balthazar Garzon, in opening his investigation of the crimes of the Franco era, declared that their perpetrators should have no posthumous impunity: the same might be said of the authors of the Armenian genocide."

Posted by Edgar Danielyan on November 13, 2009 at 03:55 PM GMT #

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