Replies

BOY I hate being right all the time!

NOTE FOLLOWING:

In changing her plea, Plavsic conceded she was responsible for the crimes listed in the indictment, including "forced transfer or deportation, unlawful detention and killing, cruel and inhumane treatment and inhumane conditions in detention facilities, destruction of cultural and sacred objects, plunder, wanton destruction, forced labour and use of human shields."

CNN: 11 years for Bosnia's 'Iron Lady'

Thursday, February 27, 2003 Posted: 11:22 AM EST (1622 GMT)

Prosecutors had wanted Plavsic jailed for up to 25 years.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The woman once dubbed Bosnia's "Iron Lady" has been sentenced to 11 years after pleading guilty to war crimes at the U.N. tribunal at the Hague.

Biljana Plavsic, 72 -- the highest ranking Bosnian Serb leader to be brought before the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia -- had pleaded guilty to the persecution of non-Serbs during the brutal purge of Muslims and other non-Serbs during the bloody 1992-1995 war.

Judge Richard May said the offences were "of the utmost gravity" and that nothing could disguise the horror of the crimes or their effects on the victims. "Undue lenience would be misplaced," he said.

On the other hand there were "significant mitigating cirumstances." Plavsic had expressed remorse and given herself up voluntarily and urged other fugitives to surrender and face justice. She had promoted reconciliation after the war and had helped shorten the work of the tribunal.

The court gave "significant weight" to the guilty plea in setting the sentence, Judge May said. It also took into account her age, he said, first on health grounds and then as "she may have little worthwhile life left."

Prosecutors had demanded between 15 and 25 years' jail. The defense had asked for 8 years, saying this was her life expectancy.

Judith Armatta, an expert on war crimes law at the Coalition for International Justice, said she was surprised at the brevity of Plavsic's sentence. But she said the decision was difficult because of the many mitigating factors.

"There should be more consistency in sentencing, but the rules are still being developed," she told The Associated Press. "This panel wanted to give some credence to her conduct, especially after the war."

Plavsic, who is the only woman among more than 100 men indicted for war crimes during the Bosnia war, said beforehand she awaited sentence "with complete calmness."

Speaking in Belgrade before returning to The Hague to hear her fate, she said: "This is nothing compared to what misery I have seen in my life. This is the end of a road which I started a long time ago."

Albright: Policies 'repugnant'

Plavsic was a wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs and a close associate of Radovan Karadzic, the fugitive most wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

She initially pleaded innocent to all charges, but changed her mind last October and pleaded guilty to one count of persecution, a crime against humanity.

Prosecutors dropped seven other charges, including genocide.

"She is the principal figure to date to be sentenced by the tribunal, and when you add the confession of guilt it makes for a significant milestone in the work of the tribunal," Human Rights Watch spokesman Richard Dicker told Reuters.

In changing her plea, Plavsic conceded she was responsible for the crimes listed in the indictment, including "forced transfer or deportation, unlawful detention and killing, cruel and inhumane treatment and inhumane conditions in detention facilities, destruction of cultural and sacred objects, plunder, wanton destruction, forced labour and use of human shields."

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appeared at Plavsic's trial as a witness in December, saying she found the Bosnian's policies of Serb superiority "repugnant."

But she changed her mind about Plavsic after their first one-on-one meeting in 1997.

Plavsic has been ordered to testify at the Hague trial of ex-ally Milomir Stakic, who is accused of ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian war.

A date has not yet been announced for her appearance in court as a witness.

The decision heightened speculation she could also be called to testify against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who is also on trial at the Hague charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovonia's 'Iron Lady' awaits fate.

A Bosnian Croat who pleaded guilty to executing 100 Muslim civilians at Srebrenica in 1995 was given a token sentence of five years in prison because he co-operated with the tribunal. It is inevitable, therefore, that the evidence of Mrs Plavsic, Milosevic's old political enemy, will be used to obtain his conviction. (<- click)

Karadjordje

Hey, balija, I thought you were done? Your lies are fruitless and full of holes.

What do you know about the "Romeo and Juliet" killing in Sarajevo?

In comparison to Hackworth you homeagain balkansvet appear so tiny and insignificant.

Karadjordje