Serbian Government: We will not allow anyone to point fingers at us and RS because of Karadžić

We will not allow anyone to use the verdict against Karadžić as a reason to point fingers at us and our compatriots, said Serbian Minister of Justice Nikola Selaković, reading a statement from the Government regarding the verdict against Radovan Karadžić at the Hague Tribunal, reports the Patria News Agency.

The Hague Tribunal sentenced the former President of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić, to 40 years in prison for genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and violations of the laws and customs of war.

Minister of Justice Nikola Selaković addressed journalists and read the statement of the Serbian Government on the occasion of the verdict against Karadžić, after which no questions were allowed.

The Government's statement states that Serbia does not wish to react to the content and reasoning of any individual verdict, but that after many years of the Tribunal's work, a "bitter taste remains".

"The Serbian Government believes that the justice of punishing only one nation for crimes committed by all is selective. The Government's duty is to pursue a responsible policy. We must cooperate with the Hague Tribunal and we cannot change its verdicts," said Selaković.

The Government's statement emphasizes that Serbia cares about the Serbian people in Republika Srpska.

"We will not allow anyone to use the verdict against Karadžić as a reason to point fingers at us and our compatriots," said Selaković, reading the statement.

It is clear that the Serbian people are not less valuable, nor less freedom-loving, nor do they have fewer rights to live as an equal people because of this verdict, is the Government's conclusion.

"The Serbian Government is proud that our people knew how to recognize the suffering of others and pay their respects with dignity, but no one in the region could do that when it came to Serbian victims," said Selaković, adding that Serbs are a peace-loving people who look to the future.

"The Government regrets all victims"

The statement adds that the Government of the Republic of Serbia expresses regret for all victims of the armed conflicts.

"Crimes and senseless killings occurred on all sides. It condemns the crimes of Serbian units, as well as those committed against Serbs. Every crime should be punished, as well as the individual who participated. Collective guilt should not be placed for crimes committed by people by name and surname," said Selaković, reading the Government's statement. 

Of the 11 counts in the indictment, Karadžić was acquitted of one count, for genocide against the non-Serb population in seven municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and convicted on the other 10 counts, one of which includes genocide in Srebrenica.

The Trial Chamber found Karadžić guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, but did not establish that genocide was committed in the municipalities of Bratunac, Prijedor, Vlasenica, Zvornik, Sanski Most, Foča, and Ključ.

However, the Chamber found that the war crimes committed in these municipalities between 1992 and 1995 were coordinated, and that the leadership of Republika Srpska bore responsibility for them.

Based on the evidence presented, the Chamber determined that Karadžić bears individual criminal responsibility for persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and forcible transfer of the population in the aforementioned municipalities, N1 reports.