-Caveat Lector-
>From http://www.thetimes.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-3-263772,00.html
}}}>Begin
April 11, 2002
Milosevic cleared of blame for massacre
By Daniel McGrory
THE long-awaited investigation into the worst atrocity of the Bosnian War appeared
yesterday to exonerate Slobodan Milosevic of ordering the murder of 7,500 boys and
men at the United Nations haven in Srebrenica.
The five-year inquiry commissioned by the Dutch Government also excused the UN
and the Dutch peacekeeping troops who were supposed to protect the town.
Families of some victims who had gathered in The Hague for the report’s publication
howled their disapproval, threw the report on the floor and stamped on it.
Even some of the Dutch soldiers who served with the 200-strong UN contingent in
Srebrenica in July 1995 later described it as a whitewash.
The 7,600-page report is sure to be seized on by lawyers helping the former
Yugoslav President to defend a charge of genocide at Srebrenica before the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. After a five-year
investigation, The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation says it can find “no
proof that orders for the slaughter came from Serb political leaders in Belgrade”.
Investigators also say that they can find no direct link to Radovan Karadzic, the
wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs, who is also indicted by the tribunal. Instead, the
report blames General Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader, who is still on
the run. The family representatives who had travelled to The Netherlands shouted
their protests. Hassan Nuhanovic, a translator for the Dutch battalion, whose father
and brother were among the dead, walked out while the investigators explained the
findings. Munira Subesic, who lost her husband and son, said: “After all this wait we
are told nobody is facing justice for mass murder. It pains our souls.”
These survivors had come hoping to learn why the UN stood by and watched as they
were separated from their loved ones at gunpoint. The women and children who
were among 25,000 people seeking sanctuary inside the Dutch camp were herded
on to buses and driven from their homes in what came to be known as “ethnic
cleansing”.
Their menfolk, including boys older than 14, were marched away by Bosnian Serb
gunmen. Over that weekend an estimated 7,500 were shot, then buried in mass
graves.
The report concludes that the lightly armed Dutch contigent were sent on an
impossible mission. It argues that the UN gave this ill equipped force muddled orders
and says that Dutch commanders could not have predicted the slaughter that
followed after they handed over the civilian population to General Mladic.
Dutch politicians are criticised for trying to boost their international prestige by
sending troops on such a hopeless task.
British politicians and other European leaders are blamed for not having the will to
order airstrikes to stop the havens from being over- run.
The report says that if the Dutch troops had tried to fight, it would have provoked a
bloodbath and that “concern about their own survival in this hell will have meant more
to them than the fate of the Muslim men”.
Few survivors have dared to return to their homes in Srebrenica, 45 miles northeast
of the capital, Sarajevo. Among them is Azija Sehomerovic, 61, who lost her
husband. She remains convinced that Dutch peacekeepers could have done more.
“When we saw the peacekeepers running away from their positions, then we knew
we had to run, too,” she said. “Right before the massacre, I saw one Dutch soldier
sitting and crying. It seemed that he knew what would happen to us. But they failed.”
Dutch commanders saw the bodies of some of the first to be murdered but did not
intervene. Wim Dijkema, 53, who was with the UN contingent, said: “Believe me,
what happened should never have been possible. It is a serious mistake.”
The report’s harshest criticism is reserved for the UN high command for leaving their
havens without proper protection. But General Bernard Janvier, the French
commander, is cleared of the accusation that he made a secret deal with the
Bosnian Serbs to halt airstrikes in exchange for their freeing UN soldiers taken
hostage in May 1995.
At the war crimes tribunal yesterday, in an unrelated decision, Richard May, the
presiding judge, gave prosecutors a year to conclude their case against Mr Milosevic.
Nenad Banovic, one of twin Bosnian Serb brothers charged with beating prisoners to
death at a Serb-run camp during the Bosnian war, will be released for lack of
evidence, the Hague war crimes court said.
End<{{{
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded as information only; no automatic endorsement
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your mouth shut."
--- Ernest Hemingway
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
