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Carla del Ponte, it is
your duty to immediately indict and publicly call for the immediate
arrest of Alija Izetbegovic for genocide, crimes against humanity,
violations of the laws and customs of war and grave breaches of the
Geneva Conventions.
Between November 18, 1990 and November
21, 1995 acting individually or in concert with Haris Silajdzic,
Ejup Ganic and others, Alija Izetbegovic planned, instigated,
ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted the planning,
preparation or execution of the destruction, in whole or in part, of
the Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat national, ethnical, racial or
religious groups, as such, in several municipalities, including but
not limited to: Brcko; Bugojno; Busovaca; Doboj; Jajce; Kakanj;
Maglaj; Mostar; Novi Travnik; Prijedor; Sarajevo; Travnik; Tuzla;
Vares; Vitez; Zavidovici; Zenica; and Zepce.
In particular, through his position as
the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
Supreme Commander of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH),
Alija Izetbegovic, acting individually or in concert with Haris
Silajdzic, Ejup Ganic and others, directed and controlled the ABiH
and government authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina who participated in
crimes committed against Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats.
Some of the worst crimes were committed
by the ABiH 3rd Corps 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade. Attached to and
subordinated to the ABiH 3rd Corps 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade were
foreign Muslim fighters, also known as mujahedeen. The mujahedeen,
who principally came from Islamic countries through Osama bin
Laden’s terrorist network, began to arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in 1992 – at the invitation of Alija Izetbegovic. The Sarajevo
magazine “Dani” reported in its issue of January 19, 1998 that:
Arabs told the locals [of the village of Guca Gora, ten
kilometers from Travnik] that they were invited to
Bosnia-Hercegovina to fight. To the question about who invited them,
one local replied: “That's what we wanted to know as well. They
said: 'Alija Izetbegovic.’”
The commander of the mujahedeen was an
international terrorist named Abdelkader Mokhtari (also known as Abu
Ma’ali), who is a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden. The Honorary
Commander of the 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade was Alija Izetbegovic.
One of the worst crimes committed by the 7th Muslim Mountain
Brigade, pursuant to orders issued by their Supreme Commander Alija
Izetbegovic, was the slaughter of Bosnian Serb POWs in Vozuca.
Following the fall of Vozuca on September 11, 1995, Izetbegovic
reviewed his troops on September 12 – an event documented on video
in the documentary “Sehidi Bosne”. According to an AFP report of
September 13, 1995, Izetbegovic congratulated his troops by
exclaiming: “In Vozuca, you have broken the backbone of the
Chetnik (Serb) enemy. You show the way…how we could continue with
the aim of liberating our country.”
Alija Izetbegovic failed to abide by the
laws and customs governing the conduct of armed conflicts, including
the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the additional protocols thereto.
Alija Izetbegovic is individually responsible for crimes committed
against Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats, pursuant to Article 7(1)
of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. Individual criminal responsibility includes planning,
instigation, ordering, committing or otherwise aiding and abetting
in the planning, preparation or execution of any crimes referred to
in Articles 2 to 5 of the Tribunal Statute. Alija Izetbegovic, while
holding the positions of superior authority as set out above, is
also criminally responsible for the acts of his subordinates,
pursuant to Article 7(3) of the Tribunal Statute. A superior is
responsible for the acts of his subordinate(s) if he knew or had
reason to know that his subordinate(s) were about to commit such
acts or had done so and the superior failed to take the necessary
and reasonable measures to prevent acts or to punish the
perpetrators thereof.
Carla del Ponte, we call on you to
immediately indict Alija Izetbegovic in the name of justice and
humanity! |
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