The sentencing of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and nine other war crime charges marks a point of inflection in post World War II history that has dealt with carnages brought about by ethnocentrism. Seventy-year-old Karadzic has always been an enigma. He was on the run for close to a decade and his trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia was one of the most watched events in the beleaguered Balkans.
The 40-year-sentence to the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ would remind many a xenophobic leader of the perils of treading on a terrain bordering on the criminal. Karadzic has been called a modern-day Nazi for being behind the Srebrenica maasacre that claimed 8,000 lives. The UN judges said he had intended to eliminate the Bosnian Muslim males in the town of Srebrenica. The massacre has been called Europe’s worst war crime since World War Two. Presiding judge O-Gon Kwon said the three-year Sarajevo siege, during which the city was shelled and sniped at by besieging Bosnian Serb forces, could not have happened without Karadzic’s support.
Many a dictator responsible for shedding the blood of tens of thousands should draw lessons from the verdict. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been sitting tight as tens of thousands are being killed in the civil war that has not only roiled West Asia but drawn international scrutiny over the role of non-state actors like Hezbollah and an irresponsible power like Iran.
Karadzic has been called an architect of destruction that chips away at his put-up image as a master political manipulator. The court in The Hague said it did not have enough evidence to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that genocide had been committed in seven Bosnian towns and villages over two decades ago. After former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic died while on trial in 2006, the last high-ranking official of the top leadership to face judgement will be notorious Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, whose verdict is due next year.
The case of Karadzic, who studied to become a psychiatrist, also likely to drag on for years, as his legal advisor said he would appeal the verdict issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Though he has a right to appeal, Karadzic is unlikely to be let off as the charges for which he has been sentenced carry strong evidence.
The trial and sentencing of the war criminal should send a strong message to leaders who play with the lives of innocents and do not think twice before massacring people for their narrow gains.
Ethnocentrism and xenophobia have riven the world from all sides and the fate of Karadzic will serve as a potent reminder for cruel and immoral leaders.
The sentencing of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and nine other war crime charges marks a point of inflection in post World War II history that has dealt with carnages brought about by ethnocentrism. Seventy-year-old Karadzic has always been an enigma. He was on the run for close to a decade and his trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia was one of the most watched events in the beleaguered Balkans.
The 40-year-sentence to the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ would remind many a xenophobic leader of the perils of treading on a terrain bordering on the criminal. Karadzic has been called a modern-day Nazi for being behind the Srebrenica maasacre that claimed 8,000 lives. The UN judges said he had intended to eliminate the Bosnian Muslim males in the town of Srebrenica. The massacre has been called Europe’s worst war crime since World War Two. Presiding judge O-Gon Kwon said the three-year Sarajevo siege, during which the city was shelled and sniped at by besieging Bosnian Serb forces, could not have happened without Karadzic’s support.
Many a dictator responsible for shedding the blood of tens of thousands should draw lessons from the verdict. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been sitting tight as tens of thousands are being killed in the civil war that has not only roiled West Asia but drawn international scrutiny over the role of non-state actors like Hezbollah and an irresponsible power like Iran.
Karadzic has been called an architect of destruction that chips away at his put-up image as a master political manipulator. The court in The Hague said it did not have enough evidence to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that genocide had been committed in seven Bosnian towns and villages over two decades ago. After former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic died while on trial in 2006, the last high-ranking official of the top leadership to face judgement will be notorious Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, whose verdict is due next year.
The case of Karadzic, who studied to become a psychiatrist, also likely to drag on for years, as his legal advisor said he would appeal the verdict issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Though he has a right to appeal, Karadzic is unlikely to be let off as the charges for which he has been sentenced carry strong evidence.
The trial and sentencing of the war criminal should send a strong message to leaders who play with the lives of innocents and do not think twice before massacring people for their narrow gains.
Ethnocentrism and xenophobia have riven the world from all sides and the fate of Karadzic will serve as a potent reminder for cruel and immoral leaders.
