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U.N. Tribunal, With Surprise Guilty Plea, Rivets Bosnians October 4, 2002 By DANIEL SIMPSON BELGRADE, Serbia, Oct. 3 - Muslims in Bosnia, who were caught between Serbian and Croatian fronts during the wars that ripped up Yugoslavia in the 1990's, expressed surprise today at having seen the former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic become the first high official to plead guilty of crimes against humanity before the United Nations tribunal in The Hague this week. On Wednesday Mrs. Plavsic admitted persecuting people on political or religious grounds, part of a plea bargain that allows for seven other charges against her to be dropped while she remains free until sentencing in December. Although her vitriolic statements helped fuel the poisoned atmosphere that gave rise to "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims and Croats, she later turned against her wartime boss, Radovan Karadzic, who has eluded the tribunal's grasp for seven years. Most Bosnian Muslims remain more interested in what happens to Dr. Karadzic and his alleged sponsor in Belgrade, Slobodan Milosevic, who is being prosecuted on genocide charges for his role in trying to carve out a "greater Serbia" in Bosnia. "It's a big step forward that she admitted guilt," said Muhamed Huric, of Sarajevo, about Mrs. Plavsic. Newspapers in the Bosnian Serb Republic and in Belgrade gave Mrs. Plavsic's admissions prominent coverage, but stuck to factual reporting. There was little comment on the event's significance and no call for other indicted Serbs to follow suit. Bosnian Serb politicians, who believe prosecutors are biased against their people, were less restrained. Mirko Banjac, a senior official in Dr. Karadzic's old party, which is expected to regain power in elections this weekend, denounced the tribunal for cutting a deal with Mrs. Plavsic. "It says more about the seriousness of the court than about anything else," he said. Serbs in Belgrade and Bosnia paid more attention to the appearance of the Croatian president, Stjepan Mesic, as a witness for the prosecution in the Milosevic trial. By accusing Mr. Milosevic of being implacably committed to war, Mr. Mesic, the last president of pre-war Yugoslavia, may have strengthened the case against him. Television viewers in the Balkans were riveted by the theater of a courtroom tussle between the men, accompanied by frequent laughter from Croatian and Serbian observers behind bulletproof glass. Croatian politicians and newspaper columnists were divided in their assessment of the evidence given by Mr. Mesic, unpopular with some back home for urging Croatia to cooperate with the tribunal. Prime Minister Ivica Racan, a reformer who refuses to extradite the general, Janko Bobetko, for fear it would bring down his government, gave Mr. Mesic's performance top marks. "It was a testimony of extremely good quality," he said, "and very important for establishing crimes as well as Milosevic's part in the horrors that were visited upon Croatia and Bosnia." Others were simply unimpressed by what they saw as Mr. Mesic's failure to outwit his old adversary. "It's not that Milosevic wiped the floor with Mesic," said Pavle Kalinic, a member of Mr. Racan's party. "But it was like a talk show with Milosevic as host." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/04/international/europe/04BALK.html?ex=1034733095&ei=1&en=1ebe7b8946ddb051 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <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! 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