http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=362203791
Carl Bildt may talk to Karadzic lawyers
Released : Wednesday, June 03, 2009 12:06 PM
THE HAGUE, Netherlands-Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is prepared to
talk to Radovan Karadzic's lawyers about an alleged deal the former Bosnian
Serb leader says grants him immunity from prosecution at the Yugoslav war
crimes tribunal, a diplomat said Wednesday.
However, Bildt insists he has "no relevant information on the alleged deal,"
Swedish ambassador Hans Magnusson told the U.N. court.
Karadzic claims to have made the deal with U.S. peace envoy Richard
Holbrooke to step down from power in return for immunity from prosecution at
the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.
The alleged deal is central to Karadzic's attempts to avoid standing trial
on charges including genocide for allegedly masterminding Bosnian Serb
atrocities throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian war. He has asked for a public
hearing to outline his claims.
But Holbrooke denies making the deal and judges at the U.N. court say they
likely would not be bound by it anyway. Karadzic's lawyers have acknowledged
that the deal was likely never put down on paper after it was negotiated
with top Serbs in Belgrade in 1996.
Judge Iain Bonomy said Wednesday he wants to establish the truth about the
deal as soon as possible so Karadzic's trial can get under way.
"It is an issue that is capable of delaying this trial," he said.
A meeting between lawyers that usually immediately precedes trials has been
scheduled for July 20, but Karadzic's trial appears unlikely to begin before
the tribunal's three-week summer recess, which starts July 27 because of
Karadzic's claims on the immunity deal and other pretrial motions.
He believes Bildt knows about the deal because he worked closely with
Holbrooke during diplomatic moves to end the Bosnian war.
Bildt was a European Union envoy to the Balkans and was appointed the
international community's High Representative in Bosnia immediately after
the war. He later was named a U.N. envoy for the Balkans.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
