Other than an awareness that Slobodan Milosevic is currently on trial in The Hague for war crimes, I must admit to having failed to stay on top of the political situation in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, and of the prosecutions at The Hague. There is a terrific essay in the current New York Review of Books that examines, among other things, how the Hague Tribunal itself is affecting political events in those countries. (via Arts & Letters Daily)
War criminals are protected by their countrymen. Politicians that cooperate with the Tribunal are assassinated or defeated. Parties on all sides distrust the Tribunal, and think that they are being prosecuted disproportionately. The prosecutor is accused of being manipulated by political considerations. Elections are influenced by lists of upcoming indictments. And all this promises to go on until sometime in 2010, when the Tribunal plans to finish up prosecuting this mess. The author has interviewed many of the principals, including the chief Hague Tribunal prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, and his account makes for compelling reading. Check it out.
Posted by dan at December 31, 2003 11:22 AM