UNMIK ON AIR

SLJIVANCANIN AT LAST

June, 18^th 2003

(Andrea Saula)

Hello and welcome to UNMIK ON AIR with Sputnik Kilambi and Martin Redi.

Clashes in Belgrade as police swooped in on the apartment of Veselin Sljivancanin, a leading war crimes suspect wanted for his role in the Vukovar killings in 1991. One of the so-called Vukovar 3, Sljivancanin is accused of involvement in the deaths of more than 200 Croatians, who were taken from Vukovar hospital and later executed. Indicted by the Hague tribunal 8 years ago, he had been on the run for the last 2 years until his capture last week.

The ten-hour action, which left more than 50 police officers and 30 protestors wounded, has been criticized in some quarters for taking too long – some reports even suggest the police was seeking maximum media coverage. The real question though is why it took so long for security forces to arrest Sljivancanin.

Serbian minister of internal affairs, Dusan Mihajlovic.

Dusan Mihajlovic: He was practically in hiding here, in his place of birth. It was very hard to follow the tracks. Like the members of his family said, he came back home and that was the opportunity for the police to try once again to bring him to the court that is looking for him.

The unrest following Milosevic’s arrest was not unexpected but the violence this time round, was, given the strong security measures taken after the assassination of premier Zoran Djindjic. More interesting though is the fact that the arrest came just two days before a US deadline to withhold a multi-million dollar aid package if Serbia didn’t step up cooperation with the Hague tribunal. The 110 million dollars is now guaranteed after the State Department certified that Serbia’s cooperation is sufficient to allow continued US aid. Not surprisingly, Serbian officials, like Prime minister Zoran Zivkovic prefer to put a different spin.

Zoran Zivkovic: this shouldn’t be connected directly with the certification (of American aid) or with the Thessalonica summit on the June 21^st, or with any other issue that we are going to face in forthcoming months. I know that a certain atmosphere had been created; many believe that only when there is a need because of some important event or because of certain pressure, or I don’t know what, that somebody is arrested and sent to Den Haag. Believe me, this time it’s not the case. When all technical conditions had been achieved for someone indicted by The Hague to be arrested, he was arrested and that will be the case with all the others that The Hague is looking for and with everyone that we have to deliver according to our domestic law.

Veteran Serb journalist Mirko Klarin who covers the Hague proceedings doesn’t buy this argument. Serbian authorities had had ample time to arrest Sljivancanin, he says, his indictment was after all issued in 1995.

Mirko Klarin: of course, Sljivancanin was arrested under US pressure and their conditioning it to financial aid to S&M for this year. He was arrested, as it is well known, two days before the dead line for certification on American aid to S&M. And it is clear that it was done because of the great need to answer the American request. But that can’t deny the fact that since Nov 1995 FRY had obligation to proceed on the ICTY warrant.

Prosecutors at The Hague have welcomed the arrest of Sljivancanin, whose trial is expected to start this August. The pressure on Belgrade is far from over though. The Prosecutor’s office expects the extradition of 18 war crimes suspects still at large, the most wanted being the two ex Bosnian Serb leaders, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. Mladic, who has been charged with the massacre of more than 7000 Muslims in Srebrenica, is widely believed to be in Serbia and Montenegro though officials insist there is no evidence that the fugitive war crimes suspect is in the country. Minister of foreign affairs Goran Svilanovic.

Goran Svilanovic: Considering our relationship with the international community, I am positive that we can count on total support, because the government has shown its determination to arrest all those indicted and to put them on trial. I think that in this moment, given our position with the international community, both the EU and the US will probably put less pressure on our country. If it is true that Mladic is not in our country. In this moment we can say that most of the burden that we carried because of cooperation with ICTY is gone.

That is probably wishful thinking since the US as well insists that it expects further action to prove compliance with the ICTY. But Washington too is under growing pressure to comply with international law. Its opposition to the International Criminal Court has set it on collision course with the European Union and human rights groups. And increasingly the accusation of double standards as it maintains pressure on countries like Serbia while pushing for bilateral deals to exempt its personnel from war crimes prosecution. Mirko Klarin again.

Mirko Klarin: Pressure on countries of Ex Yugoslavia to sign that agreement with US, by which they will not extradite US citizens to ICC is more than hypocritical. That is a shameful and indecent proposal. Because these countries are asked to act in accordance to their international obligations and pressure has been put on them to extradite their accused citizens to ICTY. It is expected that even S&M will do the same thing as Croatia and refuse the US ultimatum.

How the row over the ICC will develop is any one’s guess. One positive note though is that Serbia is going ahead with domestic trials for war crimes. Last week, four members of the Yugoslav army were sentenced to a total of 35 years for the murder of two Albanian civilians in Kusin, Kosovo during the 1999 conflict. This was long over due some might say, but it is at least a beginning.

And that it for this edition of Unmik on Air, thanks for listening and stay tuned for more.