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

379. See Judith Armatta, “Srebrenica Guilty Pleas Have Many Repercussions,” Coalition for International
Justice, May 21, 2003; Marlise Simons, “In a Startling Plea, a Serbian Policeman Confesses
to Atrocities,” New York Times, July 27, 2003; Arthur Max, “Yugoslav Tribunal Is Court Making
History,” AP, Aug. 3, 2003; Marlise Simons, “Serb at Hague Pleads Guilty to Brutalities,” New York
Times, Sept. 5, 2003; Marlise Simons, “Officers Say Bosnian Massacre Was Deliberate,” New York
Times, Oct. 12, 2003.
380. See Marlise Simons, “Plea Deals Being Used to Clear Balkan War Tribunal’s Docket,” New
York Times, Nov. 18, 2003.
381. Interview with Emir Suljagić, author, Sarajevo, July 14, 2009.
382. Id. Suljagić recalled that in the period that followed these confessions, the Serbian government
geared up to counter evidence of its own involvement in the Srebrenica massacre as the
International Court of Justice moved toward resolution of a case filed a decade earlier by Bosnia
and Herzegovina, alleging that the State of Yugoslavia had violated the Genocide Convention. We
discuss that development in Section D.3.
383. Tim Judah, “The Fog of Justice,” 51 N.Y. Rev. Books, Jan. 15, 2004.
384. Interview with Zdravko Grebo, director, Center for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies,
University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, July 13, 2009.
385. Interview with Sead Golić, Association of the Families of Missing, Forcibly Detained and
Murdered Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brčko, July 22, 2009.
386. Some witnesses, while in no position to second-guess the sincerity of Plavšić’s confession,
were careful to note that her acknowledgement of past wrongs was just a step, one among many,
that could foster reconciliation in the region. For example, Alex Boraine, then-president of the
International Center for Transitional Justice, told the Tribunal he believed that Plavšić’s statement
had the potential to “prompt other leaders responsible for similar crimes to acknowledge their
culpability [and] to recognise the jurisdiction of this Court,” and it “could—could—help catalyse
or initiate a process of honest truth-telling and acknowledgement throughout former Yugoslavia.”
Drawing upon comparative experience, Boraine emphasized that truth-telling and acknowledgement
of past wrongs were “one—only one—of the aspects which have been extremely helpful in
creating a climate where people can begin to co-exist.” Case of Biljana Plavšić (IT-00-39 and 40/1),
Trial transcript, Dec. 17, 2002, at 605–606, www.icty.org/x/cases/plavsic/trans/en/021217IT.htm.
387. Interview with Mirsad Duratović, Prijedor, Dec. 8, 2006. Duratović cited the example of
Darko Mrd¯a, one of the defendants who entered a guilty plea in the summer of 2003. The ICTY
Web site includes this paragraph in its summary of the Mrd¯a sentencing judgment:
As to the mitigating circumstances, the Chamber took into consideration Darko Mrd¯a’s
cooperation with the Prosecution. The Chamber also held that Darko Mrd¯a’s guilty plea
helped to establish the truth surrounding the crimes committed at Korićanske Stijene and
could contribute to promoting reconciliation between the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It was noted incidentally that his plea made it possible to obviate the expense of a
lengthy trial and the need for a large number of victims and witnesses to come and testify
at the Tribunal. Therefore, his guilty plea was considered to be a mitigating factor. In addition,
the Chamber found Darko Mrd¯a’s expression of remorse to be sincere and took this
into account in mitigation. The Chamber found that Darko Mrd¯a’s personal circumstances
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