SERBIA REACTS TO FIRST KOSOVO WAR CRIMES VERDICTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000165 DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KWAC ASEC SR SUBJECT: SERBIA REACTS TO FIRST KOSOVO WAR CRIMES VERDICTS Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Reactions in Serbia were swift and strong to the February 26 convictions by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of five former Yugloslav or Serbian officials for crimes against humanity in Kosovo in 1999. While human rights NGOs were happy with the five guilty verdicts, the government and other politicians criticized the ICTY for overly harsh sentences and demonstrating double standards toward Serbian defendants. The only public protest to date was very small, met with a strong police presence, and occurred without incident. The first ICTY guilty verdicts for crimes in Kosovo are significant and can help build a case for the legitimacy of Kosovo's declaration of independence. End Summary. Kosovo War Crimes Verdicts Make Headlines -------------- ¶2. (U) The Serbian press on February 27 was dominated by reports that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had on February 26 acquitted former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic of all charges of war crimes in the war in Kosovo while convicting and sentencing his five co-defendants. Former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, former Yugoslav Army General Nebojsa Pavkovic, and former Interior Ministry Kosovo Department Police General Sreten Lukic were convicted on all five charges in the indictment and received 22 years in prison each. Army Generals Dragoljub Ojdanic and Vladimir Lazarevic were convicted of assisting and supporting deportations and forced relocations of the Albanian civilian population from Kosovo but were acquitted of charges of murder, expulsion, and violation of the laws and customs of war, and sentenced to 15 years in prison each. Press headlines focused on the nearly "century long sentence" the five received. Human Rights Organizations Pleased -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Serbian human rights NGOs told us they were satisfied with the outcome of the trial. Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) President Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco and Helsinki Committee Chair Sonja Biserko both underscored to us the symbolic importance of the fact that the ICTY had returned the first verdicts for crimes committed in Kosovo. While each thought the sentences could have been higher, the fact of the verdict was more important than the length of the sentences. Neither was surprised at the Milutinovic acquittal, as he had not been a real decision-maker at the Federation level. ¶4. (SBU) Both Biserko and Kovacevic-Vuco cautioned that there would be a general negative reaction to the sentences for the five co-defendants but that the case ran counter to the usual anti-Hague rhetoric. Biserko said the verdicts undermined the anti-Hague lobby's efforts to portray ICTY as both incapable of completing trials and also prone to convicting every high-ranking Serbian leader on trial. Serbian Officials Criticize Rulings -------------- ¶5. (U) Serbian politicians' public reactions to the sentences were negative. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic (Democratic Party) told Parliament the sentences were "inappropriately severe," especially considering that former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Ramush Haradinaj had been acquitted. Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Vice President Branko Ruzic called the sentences "draconian." Serbian Radical Party deputy Dragan Todorovic noted that ICTY has sentenced Serbs to about 920 years total. ¶6. (U) Other politicians alleged the trial was political. SPS head and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said the verdicts were aimed at proving that Serbia as a state, rather than a few individuals, had committed crimes against ethnic Albanians. Democratic Party of Serbia spokesperson Andrej Mladenovic said the goal of the verdicts was to justify the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia. Public Reaction So Far Muted -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The only public protest was weakly attended. Soon after the verdicts were reported, ultra-nationalist groups 1389, Nasi (Ours),and the People's Movement of Serbia announced they would hold a protest at ICTY Belgrade's offices February 26. "The objective of the protest is to point to The Hague Tribunal's role in justifying criminal NATO aggression toward the Former Yugoslavia in 1999," according to the announcement. ICTY Belgrade Head of Office BELGRADE 00000165 002 OF 002 Deyan Mihov told us the authorities had handled the protest well and there had been no more than 100 protestors gathered. Police told us they had 250 officers to counter about 50 protestors, with no incidents. The organizers themselves estimated attendance had been only 20-25 people. ¶8. (U) Despite the poor showing for the protest, the average citizen's reaction is still unknown. National Council for Cooperation with The Hague Tribunal head Rasim Ljajic told press it was inevitable that the verdicts would be compared to the acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj and would strengthen the public's impression that ICTY applied double standards. Reporters speculated that Milutinovic's acquittal would be a surprise for the public. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The first guilty verdicts at the ICTY for crimes committed during the war in Kosovo are significant in confirming the atrocities Serbs committed against Kosovo Albanians. By documenting the role of the Serbian government in persecuting its citizens in Kosovo, this case could be useful in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) consideration of the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration. Rhetoric from Serbian politicians, including the ruling Democratic Party, is still on the "Serbs as victims" track. If we are to counter this rhetoric, we need to reiterate publicly and more widely our reasons for supporting Kosovo's declaration and enlighten Serbian citizens on what happened in Kosovo in the late 1990s. To that end, public statements of USG views of the ICJ case directed toward the Serbian public would be constructive. End Comment. MUNTER