The acquittal of Momcilo Perisic has caused further loss of credibility to the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia

March 01, 2013

 

Press Release

 

The acquittal of Momcilo Perisic has caused further loss of credibility to the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia

 

The acquittal of Momcilo Perisic has caused further loss of credibility to the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Attempting to share the blame between the three ethnic groups is a devastating blow to the victims and witness of aggression and genocide. Simultaneously, this political decision is a major blow to international justice and international law.

 

The ICTY Appeals Chamber is composed of Judge Theodor Meron, chairman, Carmel Agius, Liu Daqun, Arlette Ramaroson Andrésia Vaz. The majority voted to quash Momcilo Perisic's conviction for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. On September 6, 2011, the Trial Chamber ruled (with the dissenting opinion of Judge Moloto) that Momcilo Perisic was guilty of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war committed between August 1993 until November 1995 in Sarajevo and Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Momcilo Perisic was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

 

The Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada considers that sufficient evidence exists to prove that Momcilo Perisic aided and abetted the Serb Army to commit crimes in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. Furthermore, there is ample evidence that Momcilo Perisic had effective control over members of the Serb Army of Krajina during the shelling of Zagreb.

 

ICTY has established that Serbia is liable for crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. In the Milan Martic case, it was proven that Serbia was involved in the  joint criminal action in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. These facts were also included in the Slobodan Milosevic, Veljko Kadijevic and Blagoje Adzic cases. The Chamber judgment in the case of Milan Martic found that the serbia had a political goal of unification of territories in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia with Serbia.

 

It has been determined that the the Army of Republika Srpska committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. Serbian Army of Krajina and VJ in reality were one and the same organization, just located in different parts of Bosnia. Throughout the war the Serb leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia cooperated with the political and military leadership of Serbia. In conducting criminal enterprise, along with the former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic Blagoje Adzic, Milan Babic, Radmilo Bogdanovic, Kadijevic, Radovan Karadzic,Ratko Mladic, Vojislav Seselj, aka Franko Simatovic Sassy, Jovica Stanisic and Captain Dragan Vasiljkovic were also participants. 

 

Consequently, the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada believes that there is valid evidence of participation in the crimes of the Yugoslav Army Aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina and genocide against its citizens. Many important documents of the Supreme Defense Council of Yugoslavia under the veil of military and state secrets have been hidden from the Appeals Council. Institute for Research Genocide, Canada believes that there is evidence that Republika Srpska was a criminal organization.

 

If the dissenting opinion of the Appeal's Council of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was implemented, the standards in the first instance of Momcilo Perisic’s judgment suggests that every commander or political leader must be responsible for the war. Therefore, it is very clear that this is a classic political message. All that was in Judge Bakonea Molotoa’s dissenting opinion was
accepted in the final decision. In that opinion Moloto spoke about the future policy to which the international community should be implementing in the world. The Appeals Trial in the case of Momcilo Perisic is a political statement adopted as a legal interpretation. Indeed it is hard to believe  that Momcilo Perisic was unaware of the crime of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Although the Appeals Chamber of ICTY determined that the documents of the Supreme Defense Council of Yugoslavia proved that Serbia and Montenegro did not aid and abet the criminal policy, it did support Republika Srpska’s efforts in the war. The Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada believes that such a political, not a legal decision, does not remove Serbia and Montenegro’s criminal responsibility for aggression and genocide against Bosnia’s citizens. The "Perisic" Judgment does not mean "liberation" of Serb military and political leadership in the joint criminal enterprise. The court may determine criminal intent in the statements and actions of Karadzic and Mladic, Simatovic, Stanisic and Seselj which show that there was support for the policy of eliminating the non-Serb population in the occupied territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Keeping this in mind, the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada, through the international team of experts seeks to renew the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia for genocide at the International Court of Justice. The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada, through their international team of experts invite all Bosnians and a worldwide academic community, especially those in area of â€‹â€‹common law to be actively involved in this process.

 

In the end, the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada regrets that the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia turned an independent international Court into a political judgment that brings political judgments. As a result, international justice is losing; victims are punished while crime is being rewarded once again.

 

Professor, Emir Ramic

Director of the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada