DATE=3/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=YUGOSLAV WAR CRIMES (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259814
BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU
DATELINE=THE HAGUE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal
have issued their harshest sentence to date: 45 years
in prison for a Croatian general who planned and
ordered the ethnic cleansing of Muslims from central
Bosnia in 1993. General Tihomir Blaskic, the highest-
ranking person to be sentenced so far, was found
guilty of all the charges against him. Lauren
Comiteau reports from The Hague.
TEXT: Presiding Judge Claude Jorda said General
Tihomir Blaskic may not have pulled the trigger, but
as the commander of Bosnian Croat troops, he gave the
orders that led to the murder of hundreds of Muslims
and the destruction of their villages. Judge Jorda
spoke through an interpreter.
/// JORDA ACT IN FRENCH, WITH TRANSLATION ///
The crimes you committed, General Blaskic, are
extremely serious. The acts of war, [were]
carried out with disregard for international
humanitarian law and in hatred of other people.
The villages [were] reduced to rubble, the
houses and the stables set on fire and
destroyed. The people [were] forced to abandon
their homes, and the lost and broken lives are
unacceptable.
/// END ACT ///
As a commander, said Judge Jorda, General Blaskic
failed to stop the crimes or even punish anyone for
them, and must be held accountable.
In a ground-breaking legal decision, judges also ruled
that Bosnian Croat forces were directed from Zagreb,
meaning this was an international conflict and the
victims were supposed to be protected by the 1949
Geneva Conventions, which seek to safeguard civilians
caught in war. // OPT // It also does not bode well
for General Blaskic's associate, Dario Kordic, a
Bosnian Croat political leader who is currently on
trial in The Hague. // END OPT //
Prosecutors hailed the verdict as the beginning of a
new phase where they will be focusing on the most
senior people responsible for war crimes. Deputy
prosecutor Graham Blewitt was pleased.
/// BLEWITT ACT ///
The verdict is pleasing. All of the prosecution
allegations were accepted by the court. The
fact that there was an international armed
conflict has also been accepted. And the
sentence is a significant sentence. We're doing
our job.
/// END ACT ///
Defense lawyers say they will do their jobs, too.
They are already working on an appeal. (Signed)
NEB/LC/GE/WTW
03-Mar-2000 10:49 AM EDT (03-Mar-2000 1549 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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