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. ------------------------------------ =============== Group Moderator: [email protected] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sorabia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
