http://ph.news.yahoo.com/afp/20091017/twl-warcrimes-serbia-bosnia-icty-karad
zi-6d10327.html
Karadzic asks UN to honour 'immunity agreement'
AFP - Saturday, October 17
Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, pictured in March 2009, has
written to the UN Security Council asking it to "honour" an immunity
agreement he claims was made on its behalf, a court document stated Friday.
THE HAGUE (AFP) - – Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic has written
to the UN Security Council asking it to "honour" an immunity agreement he
claims was made on its behalf, a court document stated Friday.
"Dr Radovan Karadzic ... has requested the United Nations Security Council
to enact a resolution which honours the agreement made on its behalf by
Richard Holbrooke," states a notice filed with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and made available to the media.
The court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by Karadzic over his claim that US
diplomat Holbrooke promised him immunity from prosecution in 1996 in
exchange for withdrawing from public life.
Judges ruled that only a resolution of the Security Council, which created
the ICTY, could limit its jurisdiction.
Karadzic's letter, dated Friday and addressed to the current UN Security
Council president Le Luong Minh, repeats his claim that Holbrooke -- the
architect of the Dayton peace accords that ended the Bosnian war -- had
promised him immunity on the council's behalf.
"The appeals chamber of the ICTY ruled that the agreement with Mr Holbrooke
was not effective without a resolution from the Security Council," states
the document.
"Therefore, I would appreciate it if you would enact the required
resolution."
Karadzic asserts that he kept his part of the "agreement" by resigning all
his positions and withdrawing from public life.
"Of course, it was never my responsibility to obtain such a resolution (from
the UNSC), and Mr Holbrooke neglected to do so."
Holbrooke, now President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and
Afghanistan, has repeatedly denied the existence of an agreement with
Karadzic.
The precedent set in his case would limit the ability of diplomats to make
agreements to end conflicts around the world, argued 64-year-old Karadzic
who was arrested in Belgrade in July last year after 13 years on the run.
"For example, what is President Karzai of Afghanistan to do when faced with
an offer from Mr Holbrooke?"
Leaders from Sudan to Zimbabwe to Honduras "simply cannot accept the word of
diplomats, but instead must demand a UN Security Council resolution", he
added.
"If the UN Security Council is unwilling to stand behind the diplomats who
negotiate an end to these crises, then it cannot expect the representations
of those diplomats to be taken seriously."
Karadzic faces 11 charges, including for his role in the 44-month siege of
Sarajevo that left 10,000 people dead and the July 1995 massacre of around
8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.
The ICTY has repeatedly rejected the alleged agreement, saying even if it
did exist it had no bearing on the court's jurisdiction.
"One of the fundamental aims of international criminal courts and tribunals
is to end impunity and ensure that serious violations of international
humanitarian law are prosecuted and punished," said Tuesday's ruling.
"Individuals accused of such crimes can have no legitimate expectation of
immunity from prosecution."
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
