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The concept of international justice will be on trial, too - guardian.co.uk

The concept of international justice will be on trial, too guardian.co.uk, UK - 22 hours ago It was like the dismissive attitude of many Britons to colonial peoples in Africa and Asia. After the fall of Tito's communism, the Yugoslav cosmopolis ...

The concept of international justice will be on trial, too - guardian.co.uk
A burgeoning army of jurists points out that "international" crime against humanity is a meaningful concept and that many countries lack the security or the competence to conduct criminal trials, which is true. After the fall of Tito's communism, the Yugoslav cosmopolis disintegrated into its former parts. Are you sure?Thank you for your comment. Are you sure?Thank youSorry, something has gone wrong and this action cannot be completed. But every murder is a crime against humanity. Despite yesterday's queue of Balkan pundits eager to destroy any hope of his getting an unadulterated trial, he was half the duumvirate that oversaw the worst atrocities committed on European soil in half a century. Governments that resist decentralisation within their own borders become ardent defenders of "plucky little" Kurdistan, Kosovo and Montenegro, and doubtless one day plucky Helmand, Waziristan and Baluchistan. He was handed over in 2002 by Serbia's leaders in the hope of vast subsidies from EU membership, which did not materialise. His removal to The Hague is about barter not justice.This tragedy is the outcome of a process of Balkanisation, in which the west was a bumbling but willing partner - as it is in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has paid an awful price for voting for Milosevic in 1990, including the recent loss of Kosovo and Montenegro. It has served its time in purgatory and its long-term stability is crucial to the future of the Balkans. It is not an argument that will appeal to the thousan ds of Muslim and Croat victims of his fraudulent Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is the easiest way to be "doing something".The best that can be said for such partition is that it brings short-term peace. It may well be that the world needs a lofty tribunal to enforce agreed standards of behaviour in war, and to call dictators to account. It was last updated at 00:07 on July 23 2008. It was last updated at 00:07 on July 23 2008. It was like the dismissive attitude of many Britons to colonial peoples in Africa and Asia. Karadzic should have faced his own people. Leaders are reluctant to step down from power without a promise of immunity from extradition to a Dutch jail. Local justice might be rougher and tougher, but it compels warring parties to confront their past actions on their own territory, and before their own people. Please try again later.Apologies, something has gone wrong and this action cannot be completed. Printable versionSend to a friendShare ClipContact us larger| smaller Share Close Digg reddit Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Serbs may not desperately want the EU, but they desperately want to be loved.Not only Karadzic and Serbia are now on trial. Share Close Digg reddit Google Bookmarks Yahoo! So is the concept of international justice at The Hague, reduced to bureaucratic farce by the handling of Slobodan Milosevic in 2002. Such domestic "restorative justice" is a surer way to reconciliation. That cannot begin too soon.simon.jenkins@guardian.co.uk About this article Close This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday July 23 2008 on p29 of the Comment & debate section. That trial was supranational jurisdiction at its most flatulent and inert, a monument to the maxim that slow justice is no justice. The arrival of western troops and politicians in a country appears to be the inevitable precursor to partition. The early capture of Karadzic may well have been precipitated by the prospect of European enlargement coming to a halt after the Irish veto. The glamour of Nuremburg still hovers over a process that has become bureaucratic and trespasses on conflicts that should be dealt with nationally. The other half, Ratko Mladic, is still on the run.Quite what Karadzic's defence might be is obscure, unless it is that brutality, revenge and the fog of war have long been commonplace in the Balkans. The prosecution case took three years, and by the end in 2006, both the judge and the defendant were dead.What the court really achieved in the case of Milosevic and the 44 other Serbs brought to trial must be moot. The release of hatred was appalling.All who care for peace in the Balkans must now hope that Serbia can put the past behind it. The west now has a clear interest in opening up its trade and helping it on to its feet. They also claim that the prospect of a Hague indictment deters the worst of dictators from the worst of atrocities, though it is hard to see this deterrence in practice.Defenders of the international criminal court in The Hague also protest its infancy. This has been submitted for moderation.Your comment has been successfully posted.Sorry, something has gone wrong and this action cannot be completed.