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Dancing Alexander-style, Down Under

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ICTY Destroyed Some Srebrenica Materials

Sarajevo, Srebrenica | 06 May 2009 |
 

The Prosecution at the International War Crimes Tribunal has confirmed that it destroyed some materials discovered in the graves of murdered Srebrenica residents.

BIRN had earlier revealed that it had received some indications suggesting that the material, that may have provided evidence pertaining to their murder, was destroyed.

During a meeting Wednesday with representatives of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa, Serge Bremmertz, Chief Prosecutor from the Hague said that around 1000 materials found in mass graves with bodies of people killed after the fall of Srebrenica were destroyed due to a potential health hazard. Bremmertz said that the Prosecution has data about all those materials.

Muniba Subasic, president of the Association, told BIRN that Bremmertz explained that the destruction was not done during his mandate in the Hague, but that it was part of a regular procedure.

"We are strongly against that. Next month we will go to The Hague and meet with the ICTY president and some other people and tell them that we are unsatisfied because of this," said Subasic.

She added that she was aware that Hague investigators did find some things in some of the mass graves, and that that material was taken away.

"It is usually like that, when people from the Hague are at exhumations, they take away everything they find. If an exhumation is done only by domestic people, they usually call members of families and they ask us what we want to be done with the things they find. That is how I found a cigarette box from my late husband. I took it and give to museum in Srebrenica," added Subasic.

BIRN began to investigate the story after journalist Michael Montgomery wrote about the case on his Blog, alleging that the destroyed material included a certain number of identification cards found in mass graves in which the killed Srebrenica residents were buried. Available unconfirmed data suggest that the personal identification cards were burnt at the Hague and their destruction was authorised by the Prosecutor’s Office at the Hague.

 Montgomery’s sources claim that neither the Bosnian authorities nor the Srebrenica victims’ families have been informed of this.

"I have never heard of that. It is hard to believe in it," Hajra Catic, who left Potocari after joining a convoy of other women in July 1995, told BIRN.

Catic says that most Srebrenica residents did not have their personal documents with them at the time.

"We simply did not think about that, considering all other things that were happening at the time," Catic says.

Montgomery writes that three different sources had confirmed to him that the documents had been destroyed.

"This material was of enormous historical value," one former investigator told Montgomery. "This was the biggest act of killing in Europe since the Nazis. This was genocide. And for some of the families of the victims, this may have been all they had to mark their loss. This should be a scandal."

BIRN found out that the Prosecutor’s Office normally destroys some of the collected material after a certain period of time, unless the material has been admitted as evidence by the Court in the meantime.

In the course of the proceedings both the Prosecution and Defence teams propose their own evidence. The Trial Chambers then render decisions concerning the validity of the proposed evidence.

A few weeks ago, BIRN wrote about a similar case about the destruction of some documents at the Hague, pertaining to possible crimes committed in Kosovo in the course of 1999. It is alleged that physical evidence, suggesting certain body parts were traded, were destroyed at the Hague. See: Investigation: KLA Ran Torture Camps

The materials were found during the course of an investigation, conducted in Albania, on allegations that some civilians, who were captured by the Kosovo Liberation Army, were taken away and killed, so that their body parts could be sold later on. Read the Interview with Michael Montgomery. 




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Comments:
Murdering the victims a second time
2009-05-06 21:52:15
This is a scandal. An outrage! Thus, the victims are murdered a second time. Couldn't these idiots return these items to the next of kin? Or give them to the authorities in Sarajevo? But this is only one further example of the anti-Bosniak stance the international community has displayed since the whole mess began. Because they are afraid that the Bosniaks could be a Muslim nation in Europe. For most West European politicians, and not a few Americans too, the Bosniaks should have just as much citizens' rights as the North African immigrants in France, the Turkish immigrants in Germany and the Pakistani immigrants in Great Britain. No more. And that was the idea behind the arms embargo which favored the Serbs, and behind the diplomatic pressure on the Bosniak government to surrender. That is why the Bosniak offensive against Banja Luka was red-flagged, which would have given the Bosniaks a definitive victory over Karadzic's Bosnian Serbs. That is why at Dayton the Bosnian Serbs were served half of Bosnia on a silver platter, and why nothing is being done now to prevent it from being carved up. The idea was that after Dayton the "RS" would eventually join with Serbia, to form a smaller Greater Serbia, while the Bosniak-Croat Federation to be absorbed into Greater Croatia. In both cases the Bosniaks would become a minority which would be easy to subdue and to handle. Now today the idea is to partition Bosnia-Herzegovina into three ethnic national states. And since the Serbs got half of Bosnia, the Croats would demand half of the Federation and say "This is only just!" Where would that leave the Bosniaks? In two or three enclaves ranging 10-20, maybe 30 km around Sarajevo, Tuzla and Bihac. In a Balkan version of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Surrounded from all sides and utterly at the mercy of hostile people. The ICJ judgment that failed to condemn Serbia is also part of this ploy. Because if Serbia had been found guilty, then the Bosniaks' rights would have to be acknowledged. Even that meager and unprincipled judgment was too much for some European politicians who stated that it ought to be shelved. The dismissal of the lawsuit presented by the Srebrenica survivors against the Netherlands and against the UN also goes in that direction. And of course the reluctance of the International Community to make Bosnia whole again. But to openly admit that they would rather award the spoils of war to those who would destroy or ghettoize the Bosniaks, is also not on. So they keep muddling through, on and on, and hope that when the patience of the people in Bosnia runs out they will be retired already. And the Bosniaks, as well as all those non-Bosniaks who are against fascism, ghettoization and partition (and there are not so little around as the Serbofascists out there would want to make us believe), are left out in the cold. And because of this mean, disingenuous, evil little scheme which favors the aggressor and tramples the victim, and which the EU is only to keen to play, evil and fascism are allowed to triumph by the very same people who always say "No more fascism in Europe; never again". But then, ask the man on the street and you will see that Islamophobia is as widespread in Europe today as Antisemitism was in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Yes, the Bosniaks will eventually become the majority in Bosnia. If this alone will suffice to see them through we will see, because Serbia is still able and willing to arm and equip the Bosnian Serbs so they can try Dr. Karadzic's recipe again if the mood strikes them. Or what else did General Sutanovac come to Banja Luka for, to exchange pleasantries with Dodik? And of course I know the serbofascists will say that they don't want to destroy or ghettoize the Bosniaks, just that Muslims can't rule over Christians, so all they did and do now is only an act of self-defense, and their newest line..."Genocide??? C'mon, what an ugly word! you must be nuts to believe that Serbs ever wanted to commit genocide against Muslims" blah blah blah. I won't bother to reply. But I can only advise my Bosniak brethren not to give in to radicalism. Not to be afraid. Fear only fear itself. Trust in God but watch out. And never give the enemy an easy victory.

Evidence destroyed
2009-05-07 02:51:21
Hey Antifascist. The article was about evidence being destroyed in the Hague so why are you ranting about the Serbs? What have the Serbs got to do with any evidence destroyed there? Kindly keep to the topic or start your own blog demonizing the Serbs if that is what you need to get by. Don't forget that a lot of evidence which could help Serbs with organ harvesting in Kosovo was also destroyed by the Hague. Am I correct in guessing here that this meets with your approval? BTW, The west helped you guys in Bosnia. How on earth can you say they are anti Bosniak when they bombed the Serbs and collaborated with your leadership all the way. What more do you want? They were on your side and you still condemn them. Geez, you people are never happy.

Diaspora, stop being a hypocrite
2009-05-07 10:35:33
Where have I said in my last post anything about what the Serbs did? If you actually had read it instead of just jumping at the word Serb you would have seen that I only commented on the West's pandering to your side, NOT on what your side did. And instead of trying to convince me that teh Earth is flat, black is white, pigs can fly and 2+2=5, it would do you better to admit what you did. Nit that I would like your side better for it, but at least it would show some honesty on your part. So say "All right, we killed all those balije at Srebrenica. So what? who wants them around anyway? We were the stronger ones. Might makes right. In order to have a cohesive Serb territory in Bosnia we did all this, and if the West didn't stop us, and our brother Russia agreed then it must be right, so you Balije had better resign yourselves. You lost, and you should be thankful to us that we left you anything at all. We won, so now we keep what we have won. And it is all right that some of our heroic leaders sacrifice themselves at The Hague, as long as we can keep the territories we conquered. And the world should credit us with just wanting to keep these, when we are entitled to about 80% of the former Yugoslavia, and to cleanse it from 'foreigners': Muslims, Catholics, Roma, Albanians, you name it."


2009-05-07 12:52:47
I'm just saying how the so-called International Comunity all the time was padering to Karadzic and his cronies, and now they continue to pander to Greater Serb interetst. And I'm not demonizing the Serbs. Before they started all this bloody mess, there was no reason to.


2009-05-07 16:21:07
Hey Diaspora Well, what do you want me to say? Here, dear Serbs, take all what you want and pretty please with sugar on it?

Hague
2009-05-08 02:29:16
Antifascist, you are totally deranged. How about you stop putting words in my mouth? Stop your ranting and take a chill pill. Like I said, stick to the topic.

reality and truth, please!
2009-05-08 11:40:06
Diaspora, I would only like to say to you that if you ever in your life, which of course will never happen and I clearly do not wish this on anyone, experience the total cruelty, brutality and injustice that the Bosniaks have had to endure since 1992, you would never ever ever say the things that you mentioned in your first comment. Because you would UNDERSTAND in general how INJUSTICE has been an established outcome and certainty for the Bosniaks. READ, BE OBJECTIVE, ADMIT, AND TRY, PLEASE TRY, TO COMPREHEND WHAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE ENDURED FOR FAR TOO LONG.


2009-05-08 17:06:57
I'm not taking back anything I said. Not anything. I won't back down. Not one millimeter. Period.

Demonizing the Serbs?
2009-05-08 22:19:11
Demonizing the Serbs? Aw, c'mon...such an ugly word. In fact I rather quite like them. Only the moment they start to jabber about Greater Serbia and how right they were in their crusade, I stop liking them.

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