vrijdag 1 augustus 2008

Agreement with Holbrooke did exist

Milosevic tricked Karadzic

Author: Vuk Z. Cvijić, t. nikolić đaković | 01.08.2008 - 09:22

Radovan Karadzic told the Serbian investigation bodies that there had existed an agreement between him and Richard Holbrooke, former USA secretary of state for foreign affairs and also special envoy to the Balkans, but that Slobodan Milosevic did not want to sign it.
Karadzic said to have met with Holbrooke in June 1996. Aleksa Buha and Momcilo Krajisnik were present on that occasion. They agreed that Karadzic should leave all functions and give up public appearances. In return he would not be looked for by the Hague Tribunal.
‘Holbrooke told me it was not an agreement with him or Clinton’s administration but with the USA. An agreement was made and three people were to sign it: me, Holbrooke and Milosevic. We sent the agreement to Milosevic but he has never returned it. He told me: ‘Radovan, why would you need signatures when the biggest power in the world is giving you guarantees?’ I acted as per the agreement and on July 19, 1996 I resigned from the position of the President of the Republic of Srpska’, Karadzic said. He transferred all of his authorities onto Biljana Plavsic. He also resigned from the position of the SDS president, made no statements after that and did not interfere in the political life.
The negotiations with the Americans over Karadzic’s retirement began as early as after the Dayton Treaty in 1995. Although many testified that there was an agreement between Karadzic and the Americans, Holbrooke has so frequently denied that in recent years. He even underwent hearing in the USA Congress over agreement with Karadzic. The investigation over the agreement is being led by both the Hague Tribunal’s prosecution and the Serbian prosecution for war crimes.
The former chief prosecutor of the Tribunal Carla Del Ponte said that ‘there is a grounded suspicion that such agreement did exist’.
Florence Artman, her spokesperson, wrote in her book titled ‘The Peace and the Punishment’ that in the countries of the West there has never been a sincere intention to have Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic arrested and that the chief supporter of that stance was nobody else but Richard Holbrooke.
Serbia war crimes prosecutor Slobodan Vukcevic has heard numerous witnesses claiming the existence of the agreement: Milan Milutinovic, Krajisnik, Buha.
Biljana Plavsic who frequently criticized Karadzic also claimed that such agreement between Karadzic and Holbrooke did exist. She said that then USA secretary of State Madeleine Albright offered a sanatorium to be constructed in the canyon of the Piva River in which Karadzic would carry out his medical practice. Plavsic also said that Karadzic laughed when he heard the offer.
Plavsic, presently serving prison sentence in Sweden is the last witness heard by the prosecution for war crimes in Belgrade. As ‘Blic’ exclusively finds out she replied in a letter the questions set by the prosecution regarding this agreement shortly before the arrest of Karadzic. This letter is filed as state secret.
Former BiH ambassador to the UN Muhamed Sacirbej also said publicly that there was an agreement between Holbrooke and Radovan Karadzic. He even said that Holbrooke personally told him that at meetings with then BiH president Alija Izetbegovic. Sacirbej also said to be ready to testify over that before the Hague Tribunal. Only Slobodan Milosevic did not want to say anything about that agreement.
The USA representatives gave an interesting reply when asked about the document: ‘If the agreement did exist, it does not exist anymore’.

William Montgomery, former USA ambassador to Serbia for ‘Blic’:
Worn out cliché about agreement
‘On the basis on my taking part in meetings of my Government at the highest level while I was the ambassador to Croatia from 1998 to 2000 and then to Serbia from 2000 to 2004 I can say with 100 percent certainty that one of the highest priorities of my Government at that time was transfer of the war crimes suspects, in the first place Karadzic and Mladic to The Hague’, William Montgomery, former US ambassador said.
‘The questions for your Government and the Government of the Republic of Srpska is who gave him false documents and who knew that. That story about the agreement with Holbrooke is a worn out old cliché that I can only laugh at’, Montgomery said.

Source: 'Blic'

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Brief Karadzic over geheime deal met Holbrooke

In een brief die Karadzic aan het Joegoslavie tribunaal heeft overhandigd en welke vandaag werd gepubliceerd, komt nogmaals naar voren dat Karadzic in 1996 van de Amerikaanse onderhandelaar Richard Holbrooke de toezegging heeft gekregen dat hij (Holbrooke)zou voorkomen dat Karadzic voor het Joegoslavie tribunaal zou moeten verschijnen. Voorwaarde was dat Karadzic zich terug zou trekken en geen openbaar leven meer zou leiden.

Karadzic gaf tijdens zijn voorgeleiding al aan voor zijn leven te vrezen omdat Holbrooke hem nu zou willen laten liquideren en benadrukte dit nogmaals in zijn brief.  "Het is duidelijk dat, omdat niet is voldaan aan de afspraken die hij namens de VS heeft gemaakt, hij naar plan B is overgestapt. De liquidatie van Radovan Karadzic." aldus Karadzic.

BiljanaPlavsicKaradzic schrijft in de brief ook over de voormalige Amerikaanse  minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Madeleine Albright. Die zou aan Biljana Plavšić, de opvolger van Karadzic als president van Republika Srpska, hebben voorgesteld "dat ik vertrek naar Rusland, Griekenland of Servië en daar een privékliniek begin. (...). Zolang ik Pale maar verlaat." Pale is de voormalige Bosnische woonplaats van Karadzic.

Holbrooke ontkende donderdag dat hij de voormalige Bosnisch-Servische president heeft beloofd dat die niet vervolgd zou worden voor oorlogsmisdaden.

"Dit is een oude bewering waarmee Karadzic al in 1996 begon", aldus Holbrooke. "Zo'n deal zou immoreel en onethisch zijn. Natuurlijk is het niet gebeurd." Ook het Amerikaanse ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken heeft het bericht ontkend.

Een politicus zou natuurlijk nooit iets immoreels en onethisch doen(!)


Update: Op 2 Augustus kwam berichtte de krant 'Blic' dat een bron binnen de CIA zei dat er inderdaad een deal was.

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Geen vordering in onderzoek verkrachting in Kenia

Het onderzoek naar de verkrachting van vijf Nederlandse vrouwen in Kenia verloopt moeizaam. Er zijn nog geen mensen voorgeleid. Van alle mensen die zijn opgepakt, zitten nog vier verdachten vast.

De vijf vrouwen werden vorige week donderdagavond verkracht in Ikoneyere, een gehucht vlak buiten de stad Kakamega. Ze werkten als vrijwilligers op een project, toen de compound waarop de twaalf Nederlandse vrijwilligers woonden, werd overvallen.

"Er zijn in het begin veel mensen opgepakt door de politie, eigenlijk iedereen die in de buurt was. Maar de meesten van hen bleken onschuldig en zijn weer vrijgelaten", zei burgemeester Joe Serenge van Kakamega.

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