[Mb-civic] Bosnia is shackled as long as war criminals are free >By Javier Solana

[Michael Butler]

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Bosnia is shackled as long as war criminals are free
>By Javier Solana
>Published: July 10 2005 19:26 | Last updated: July 10 2005 19:26
>>

The massacre of 8,000 Bosnians in and around Srebrenica was a monstrous
crime. In moral, human and political terms, it was the darkest hour of the
wars in the former Yugoslavia. In fact, it stands out as the worst atrocity
in Europe since the second world war.

The mass killing of Muslim men and boys by Serbian forces and paramilitaries
was merciless and systematic. What made things worse is that the victims had
put their trust in the United Nations and international –protection. The
international community let them down. It was a colossal, collective and
shameful failure.

The memories of those days still haunt us: the families of the victims; the
small number of survivors; the –people of Bosnia-Herzegovina for whom
Srebrenica became a symbol of the war and of their blood-stained
–independence; but also a generation of European leaders scarred and humbled
by our inability to prevent this unspeakable crime.

It was as a result of Srebrenica that we took decisive action to change the
course of events in Bosnia. In 1995, at Dayton, we reached a political
agreement that ended the Bosnian war. Like the others involved, the European
Union should have done more, and earlier, to protect defenceless people. I
deeply regret that we did not.

We Europeans cannot and should not erase the past. European history is full
of memories, many of which are painful and bitter. Churchill rightly said
that this part of Europe produces more history than it can consume. Still,
we should try to transcend our history and forge a common future. And
Bosnia’s future lies in Europe.

In the past 10 years, Bosnia has moved towards that European future. That
progress is down to the choices and hard work of those Bosnians who want
their country to work. We in the EU will continue to play our full part. The
war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, culminating in the Srebrenica atrocity, and the
realisation that we lacked the tools to address the disaster at EU level,
was a lesson to us. Since then, we have forged a more united EU foreign
policy, with a crisis management capacity to back it up. It is no accident
that Bosnia-Herzegovina has been a top priority for EU external action in
recent years.

Through the 7,000-strong EUFOR Althea operation – the largest stabilisation
mission ever launched by the EU – as well as through a police mission, we
have sought to provide a secure environment and support police reform.
Through significant financial assistance – more than €2bn ($2.4bn) since
1995 – we are helping to build a stable, well-functioning state. And most
significant of all, we have made clear that, provided clear conditions are
met, we will accompany Bosnia towards its final destination of entry into
the EU.

To get there Bosnia needs to implement and sustain many political and
economic reforms. It is clear that there can be no integration without
reconciliation. And there can be no reconciliation without justice. It is
therefore a moral and political imperative to have all those responsible for
the crimes of the Bosnia war tried by the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Some of those responsible for the Srebrenica massacre have had their day in
court – and I welcome the more active co-operation of the current Serbian
leadership. Radislav Krstic, the former Bosnian Serb general, has been
convicted of “aiding and abetting genocide”. Others, such as Slobodan
–Milosevic are awaiting their verdict. But we all know that Bosnia cannot
move forward and the ghosts of –Srebrenica cannot be laid to rest while some
indicted Bosnian Serb leaders, notably Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic,
remain free.

I fully support the excellent work of the ICTY and Carla del Ponte, its
prosecutor. Of the 162 people indicted for crimes committed during the
Yugoslav wars, only 10 remain at large. For its part, the EU has introduced
concrete, targeted measures (a visa ban and assets freeze) against those who
obstruct the work of the ICTY.

Ten years is far too long. It is time to bring this shameful episode to an
end. These men need to be in The Hague. That is what the families of the
Srebrenica victims want and deserve. It is also what Bosnia and the wider
region need. We in the EU will do everything in our power to make it happen.
>
>The writer is chief foreign policy –representative of the European Union
>
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