Bosnian Serbs Send Evidence To Incriminate Muslim Leader In The Hague

The Justice Ministry of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted fresh evidence to the UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia in The Hague to support the indictment against Bosnian Muslim warlord Alija Izetbegovic on charges of atrocities committed against Bosnian Serbs during the ex-Yugoslav state's ethnic strife in the early 1990s. Serb law enforcement agencies appear to have worked hard to contribute to the indictment. Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic told reporters in Banja Luka that the charges were intended to be "against one man, not a whole nation." What they have dug up amounts to 50 kilos of evidence. Republika Srpska's chief public prosecutor Vojin Dimitrijevic specified that Izetbegovic is charged with crimes committed from May 1, 1995, through December 1, 1995, when he served as chief executive officer for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Izetbegovic organized a voluntary force called Green Berets, which brought together foreign mercenaries. The force was under his control and it enrolled natives of Afghanistan, Sudan, Algeria, and Egypt, who committed war crimes," the prosecutor said. Republika Srpska has charged the Muslim leader with systematic killings of civilians and creation of concentration camps in 400 locations. The environs of Sarajevo alone were a site of 80 concentration camps for Bosnian Serbs. Izetbegovic is also responsible for wanton destruction of some 200 properties of the Serb Orthodox Church and for inhuman treatment of prisoners of war. He is known to have accepted the title of honorary commander of the 7th Mountain Unit composed of foreign fighters, an outfit widely reviled for its role in alleged violence against civilians in the villages of Ozren and Vozuc. The public prosecutor announced that exhaustive evidence detailing the indictment, such as video and audio tapes and numerous documents, has been sent along with it to The Hague.