That Someone Guilty Be Punished - International Center for ...

Srd¯an Dizdarević believes that the ICTY’s Outreach Programme, not only “came too
late” but remains “absolutely insufficient.” 683 (We note that outreach is not covered in the
Tribunal’s budget so the program has to rely on voluntary extra-budgetary funding, which has
often been difficult to raise.) Noting the formidable obstacles that Bosnian journalists face in
trying to cover proceedings in The Hague, Dani editor Senad Pećanin believes the ICTY needs
to do far more to ensure that its work is properly understood in the region. In his view, “The
ICTY couldn’t be proud of their achievement in outreach.” 684
On the positive side of the ledger, several of our interlocutors noted that the ICTY’s
outreach efforts have been strengthened by the fact that the public faces of the Tribunal are
increasingly individuals from the Balkans. Bosnian journalist Nerma Jelačić is now an ICTY
spokesperson. The prosecutor’s principal spokesperson, Olga Kavran, is from Serbia, and
the liaison officer based in Sarajevo, Refik Hodžić, is from Bosnia. Even though previous
spokespersons were fluent in the local language, the individuals now representing the ICTY
inspire greater confidence among Bosnians, Nidžara Ahmetašević says, because they “know
the region” and understand how news from The Hague will be understood in the Balkans. 685
Yet many stress the need for far more comprehensive efforts to educate Bosnians about
the Tribunal and the facts that it has helped clarify. Asserting that the ICTY’s Outreach Programme
is “doing a good job within the limits they have,” Saša Madacki believes the challenge
is “how to reach those who are out of reach.” 686
E. Conclusion: Beyond the Tribunal’s Reach
The ICTY faces formidable challenges in trying to ensure that its work is understood in Bosnia.
But particularly in its early years, the Tribunal ceded the ground to local politicians who
were only too eager to distort its work. As we have noted, advances have been made, such
as the overhaul of the Tribunal’s web site in late 2008 (though this remains inaccessible for
many Bosnians).
But to note these concerns is not to suggest that it is solely up to the ICTY to counter
distortion by local political figures and media. Recognizing the intrinsic limitations in any
court’s ability to “educate” the public as well as the specific weaknesses of the ICTY’s outreach,
a number of Bosnian civil society activists believe that a truth commission should be
established. Among other contributions, they believe that such a body could provide younger
Bosnians the chance to obtain a complete picture of the recent past, and could both confer
and receive acknowledgment of crimes and sufferings.
Two principal initiatives for setting up a national truth commission in BiH have been
launched—but thus far have failed. The first was launched in the late nineties and peaked at
a “Truth and Reconciliation” conference, held in Sarajevo in 2000, with attendance of representatives
of more than one hundred non-governmental organizations from BiH. Proponents
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