13 June 2002
NATO Forces in Bosnia Detain War Crimes Suspect Darko Mrda
(Statement of NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson) (790)
NATO announced June 13 that the stabilization force in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (SFOR) had detained war crimes suspect Darko Mrda and was
transferring him to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia at The Hague.
The tribunal indicted Mrda for murder and inhumane acts stemming from
the massacre of more than 200 non-Serb men in a convoy on the road to
Travnik, Bosnia, on August 21, 1992.
NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said the detention should serve
as a warning that "there is no place to hide for anyone accused by the
Tribunal of these horrific crimes," and he called on former Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Bosnian general Ratko Mladic
"to surrender themselves with dignity."
Following is the text of Robertson's statement:
(begin text)
NATO Press Release (2002)082
13 June 2002
STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO ON SFOR'S DETENTION OF
INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL DARKO MRDA 13 JUNE 2002
Today, 13 June 2002, SFOR detained Darko Mrda, who was under
indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia for
war crimes. Mr. Mrda was detained in Prijedor in northwestern Bosnia
and Herzegovina and is being transferred to The Hague. There were no
casualties sustained in this operation by SFOR, Mr. Mrda or anyone in
the surrounding area.
I am deeply grateful to the SFOR soldiers and their commanders for
their courage, professionalism and dedication in carrying out this
action. Today's action is another step in NATO's drive to detain the
remaining war crime indictees. Each fugitive sent to The Hague makes
it easier to build a lasting peace in the Balkans.
Darko Mrda is under indictment for war crimes, specifically the
massacre of over 200 men in a convoy along the road from Trnopolje and
Tukovi and heading for Travnik on 21 August 1992. Darko Mrda was a
member of a special police unit, known as an "Intervention Squad," in
Prijedor. He allegedly led a group of these policemen in a
particularly heinous act in which they separated a group of
military-aged non-Serb men from their families as they were
purportedly travelling to Travnik to be "exchanged." He ordered these
men onto two buses which drove to a location called Koricanske
Stinjene, where there is a sheer rock face on one side of the road and
a steep cliff on the other. Prisoners were ordered to leave the bus
with their heads down and to kneel at the edge of the cliff. Mrda
allegedly then said, "Here is where we do the exchange, the living for
the living, and the dead..."
The police began firing their guns at the men. Several jumped or were
pushed over the cliff before they were shot and some of those
survived. Witnesses estimate that over 200 men were killed by the
shots or the fall, and the indictment includes a list of 228 names,
including 12 who are known to have survived the shooting and the fall.
As a result of these actions, Mrda is accused of violations of the
laws or customs of war (murder) and crimes against humanity
(extermination and inhumane acts).
Today's detention should serve as a warning. There is no place to hide
for anyone accused by the Tribunal of these horrific crimes. In the
past year, 22 persons indicted for war crimes have been brought to
justice in The Hague. Some turned themselves in voluntarily at the
time and place of their choosing. Others were forcibly apprehended.
I call on all remaining fugitives, in particular Radovan Karadzic and
Ratko Mladic, to surrender themselves with dignity to the Tribunal.
Let me be crystal clear to those with guilty consciences. You have
only two choices: turn yourself in with dignity or justice will be
brought to you. The net is closing.
This detention of Mrda was undertaken in accordance with SFOR's
mandate that authorises detention operations for such persons. It was
within the mandate given to SFOR by the North Atlantic Council under
authority contained in the relevant United Nations Security Council
Resolutions. SACEUR, as overall commander for SFOR, has kept me fully
informed of this action. SFOR will continue to do its part by carrying
out its mandate in a firm and even-handed manner.
The parties to the Dayton Peace Agreement remain responsible for
cooperating in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and
other violations of international and humanitarian law. Accordingly, I
call on all authorities in the region, including Belgrade, to fully
cooperate with the Tribunal in order to promote a stable and lasting
peace.
http://www.nato.int
press@hq.nato.int
B-1110 Brussels/Bruxelles
Tel: 32 (0)2 707 50 41
Fax: 32 (0)2 707 50 57
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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