Karadžić verdict can be historic if genocide denial stops

The upcoming verdict against war criminal Radovan Karadžić, expected on March 24, 2016, in The Hague, for the Institute for Genocide Research, Canada (IGK) and for all people with the moral conscience to distinguish good from evil, is an event that should show that criminals must be punished and their atrocities condemned as anti-civilizational, states the IGK announcement, as reported by the Patria news agency.

The paradigm of the most brutal atrocities since the Holocaust are precisely the atrocities committed in the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the key figure and personification of the most brutal atrocities is Radovan Karadžić. His trial and those of other criminals have shown all the morbidity and darkened mind that gripped the masses contaminated by a criminal, great-state ideology. Therefore, we expect the Hague Tribunal to sentence Radovan Karadžić to the maximum penalty, and at least implicitly, through moral condemnation, to impose a death sentence on the criminal and morbid practice that has been continuously carried out in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We hope beyond any reasonable doubt that the Tribunal will establish that this is genocide, not only regarding his responsibility for the genocide in Srebrenica, but also in the wider territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We believe that the verdict will also establish new facts and evidence that were not known at the time of the judgment before the International Court of Justice in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro for violations of the Genocide Convention, which are of such significance that they could constitute a valid basis for reopening that proceeding. Unfortunately, faced with numerous examples of political influence on the Tribunal's decisions, disappointing decisions from the standpoint of establishing the truth and the much-needed satisfaction for victims of genocide and other war crimes cannot be ruled out.

This is a key verdict that will largely determine the character of the war waged in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the purpose of the war crimes committed. A possible conviction of Radovan Karadžić as the political leader of the Greater Serbian ambitions project in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina would in any case also represent a legal assessment of the same.

Justice certainly cannot be satisfied in a way that we, as victims of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, would consider adequate, but a possible high prison sentence and, above all, the establishment of Karadžić's criminal responsibility for genocide, not only in the area of Srebrenica but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will surely restore some dignity to the survivors of the criminal enterprise that Radovan Karadžić led militarily and politically.

The verdict is a hope for the families of genocide victims. With this verdict, the families of genocide victims in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina should receive satisfaction for the crimes committed against their loved ones. This verdict should bring at least a little peace to the families of the victims, it should send a message that crime and evil cannot win. The key, universal, and civilizational message of this verdict should discourage all future planners and perpetrators of genocide that they cannot commit evil and that they will not remain unpunished.

If genocide denial stops and if there is a genuine confrontation with the facts, this verdict can have historical importance for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, this verdict can mean the beginning of a true catharsis for those who have not yet abandoned the politics that resulted in genocide. The verdict can be a key starting point in building trust, a better future, and genuine peace for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region, states the announcement of the Institute for Genocide Research, Canada.