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

174. Interview with Branko Todorović, president, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Republika Srpska, Sarajevo, July 14, 2009. Many of our interlocutors in Bosnia expressed variations
on this theme. Tarik Jusić believes that the message of the ICTY “is that you can’t go around and kill
people just because you want to. There are basic civilizational norms you have to obey even in war
and if you don’t you’ll have to pay the consequences.” When asked if he thought this message had
been received, he replied “I guess that’s why they’re hiding.” Interview with Tarik Jusić, program
director, Mediacentar Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Dec. 6, 2006.
175. Interview with Branko Todorović, executive director, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
in Republika Srpska, Sarajevo, July 14, 2009.
176. Interview with Edina Rešidović, Sarajevo, Nov. 30, 2006.
177. S.C. Res. 827, preamble, UN Doc. S/RES/827 (May 25, 1993). In accordance with the law
of the UN Charter, establishing the ICTY as a peace enforcement measure under Chapter VII of
the Charter represented a judgment by the UN Security Council that this step would help restore
and/or maintain international peace. This premise is reflected ICTY’s Web site, which states: “The
mandate of the Tribunal is to contribute to a lasting peace in this region.” ICTY Web site at http://
www.icty.org/sections/Outreach.
178. Interview with Smail Čekić, professor of history at University of Sarajevo, and director of
Sarajevo University Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law,
Sarajevo, July 16, 2009.
179. Interview with Damir Arnaut advisor for legal- constitutional affairs, Cabinet of Dr. Haris
Silajdžić, the Bosniac Member of the BiH Presidency, Sarajevo, July 16, 2009.
180. Interview with Emir Suljagić, author, advisor for public relations, Cabinet of Mayor of Sarajevo,
Sarajevo, July 14, 2009.
181. See Chapter II.
182. In contrast, the Security Council resolution establishing a similar tribunal for Rwanda
explicitly invokes the notion of reconciliation, expressing the conviction “that in the particular circumstances
of Rwanda, the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international
humanitarian law would ... contribute to the process of national reconciliation and to the
restoration and maintenance of peace.” SC Res. 955, preamble; UN Doc. S/RES/955 (Nov. 8, 1994).
183. Judge Fausto Pocar insisted that, whatever goals the Security Council might have had in
mind when it established the ICTY, the court itself cannot pursue “political” goals such as fostering
reconciliation. Instead, its task is to “deal with cases as any other court would do,” ensuring that
principles of due process are applied. Interview with Judge Fausto Pocar, The Hague, Mar. 5, 2007.
184. See, for example, The Prosecutor v. Dražen Erdemović, Case No. IT-96-22-T, Sentencing Judgment,
58 (Nov. 29, 1996); Prosecutor v. Anto Furundžija, Case No. IT-95-17/1-T, Trial Judgment, 288
(Dec. 10, 1998). As noted in Chapter IV, at times ICTY trial chambers have cited reconciliation as a
consideration in sentencing defendants who confess to their crimes.
185. See, for example, Report of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons
Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory
of the former Yugoslavia since 1991, UN Doc. A/49/342-S/1994/1007, 15–16 (Aug. 29, 1994).
186. See generally Craig Whitlock, “Old Troubles Threaten Again in Bosnia,” Washington Post,
Aug. 23, 2009; Nicholas Kulish, “While Europe Sleeps, Bosnia Seeths,” New York Times, Sept. 6,
THAT SOMEONE GUILTY BE PUNISHED 149