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The New Yprk Times
June 30, 2001
"Western governments need to improve the tribunal's
profile and credibility in Serbia. They need to
provide the funds, and apply whatever pressure is
needed, to insure that Mr. Milosevic's trial is
broadcast on television and radio in Serbia."
Milosevic and the Beginning of Honesty
By PETER MAASS
When Bob Stewart, who commanded the first regiment of
British peacekeepers in Bosnia, was asked by the BBC
for his reaction to the extradition of Slobodan
Milosevic, he responded with one joyous word:
"Hallelujah."
Across Europe and America, similar words of thanks �
and astonishment � were whispered and shouted by
people who did not expect the former Serbian leader to
wind up at The Hague so soon after being toppled from
power. Yet there he is, behind bars at the United
Nations detention center, with a coffee maker in his
cell and a war-crimes trial in his future.
The time has come, in other words, to look beyond Mr.
Milosevic. The trial's usefulness will not be to
determine his guilt or innocence � even a legal dream
team will have a hard time getting him off the hook �
but to educate Serbs about the crimes he masterminded
in their name and with their support. For Serbia,
extraditing Mr. Milosevic may be easier than accepting
the truth.
Serbs have been notably reluctant to admit they were
the authors, not the victims, of war crimes. Taking
responsibility for these deeds is a condition of
reconciliation between Serbs and their onetime
enemies. The new Serbian government, under Prime
Minister Zoran Djindjic, recently began the process of
deprogramming. It has publicized the discovery in
Serbia of mass graves of Kosovars murdered by Mr.
Milosevic's security forces.
But that candor may have had less to do with Mr.
Djindjic's yearning for truth than with his desire to
weaken opposition to Mr. Milosevic's extradition, thus
clearing the way for an infusion of Western aid.
With Mr. Milosevic at The Hague, Serbs may be tempted
to think, "Out of sight, out of mind." Most Serbs view
the United Nations tribunal as biased, noting that
Franjo Tudjman, the late Croatian president, was never
indicted, although he was clearly guilty of war crimes
in Bosnia.
As a result, Serbs have all but ignored The Hague
trials so far. Western governments need to improve the
tribunal's profile and credibility in Serbia.
They need to provide the funds, and apply whatever
pressure is needed, to ensure that Mr. Milosevic's
trial is broadcast on television and radio in Serbia.
They also need to provide Serb journalists with the
financial resources to travel to The Hague to cover
the trial, which is likely to be lengthy.
To the extent it's possible, the goal is to ensure
that the verdict is accepted by Serbs. Every effort
should be made to include Serb judges on the panel of
international jurists who will determine Mr.
Milosevic's fate. And if security concerns can be met,
part of the trial might even be held in Serbia.
There is ample reason for supporters of global justice
to whisper "hallelujah" this weekend, but Slobodan
Milosevic's extradition is just a first step. Serbia
is only beginning its reckoning with history; deadly
and durable myths must be destroyed.
Peter Maass is the author of ``Love Thy Neighbor: A
Story of War,'' his memoir of covering the conflict in
Bosnia.
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