Archive for the month of July 2008

Holbrooke denies deal with Karadzic

Richard Holbrooke, former US peace negotiator for Bosnia, denied claims by Radovan Karadzic that the US had offered him a deal in 1996 after the 1992-1995 war that would spare him prosecution. "Such a deal would have been immoral and unethical ... It obviously didn't happen," said Holbrooke.

Macedonia does accept Kosovo's new passports

Macedonia disputed reports in the media earlier that Kosovo's new passports were not accepted at the border. A police spokesperson informed Balkan Insight that the passports will allow Kosovo citizens to cross the border. "We deny all media reports that people were not allowed entry at the border," the spokesperson said.

Karadzic appears before war crimes tribunal

Karadzic was formally charged by the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague. He faces 11 charges, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. He waived his right to legal council and informed the court he planned to represent himself. A move that could be intended to extend the trial.

His next court appearance is scheduled for August 29.

Macedonia not accepting Kosovo's passports

Media in Kosovo are reporting that despite a statement by Macedonia earlier that it would accept Kosovo's passports, Macedonian border police is now not accepting the new travel documents due to the fact that it has not recognized Kosovo.

Montenegro and Croatia have said they will accept Kosovo's new passports.

See:
Macedonia accepts Kosovo passports (17 July 2008)

UNMIK chief in dialog with Serbian minister for Kosovo

The Serbian minister for Kosovo, Goran Bogdanovic, met with UNMIK chief Lamberto Zannier to discuss the Serb community in the northern part of Kosovo. Bogdanovic suggested police in the northern part should be placed under UNMIK. Some 300 Serb police officers abandoned the Kosovo Police Service after Kosovo's independence. He also suggested to include Serb judges.

Both agreed to continue the dialog.

Kosovo issued first passport

Kosovo has issued its first passport since declaring independence. The first passport was presented by prime minister Hashim Thaci. It is still not certain if countries that did not acknowledge Kosovo will accept the document.

Radovan Karadzic arrived in the Hague

Radovan Karadzic arrived in the Netherlands and was transferred to the detention unit of the UN tribunal in the Hague, to await trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, after his transfer overnight from Serbia.

Bosnia court sentences seven Serbs

Bosnia's war crimes court sentenced seven Serbs to jail terms between 38 and 42 years after finding them guilty of genocide during the Srebrenica massacre in July, 1995.

Six of them were convicted of direct participation in the murder of more than 1,000 Muslims in a single day in Kravice. Four others were acquitted.

Those found guilty include Milos Stupar, the wartime commander of a Bosnian Serb special police squad. He was found guilty for not preventing murders and punishing the perpetrators.

EU delayed Serb trade decision

The EU delayed the decision on whether to unfreeze trade benefits for Serbia. The 27 EU member states agreed to wait for Karadzic's transfer to The Hague and for UN chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz to indicate whether Serbia is fully cooperating with the tribunal. This is a key condition for unblocking Belgrade's EU path.

Macedonia accepting single currency only

Macedonian parliament has amended the law, making payments in currencies other than the official Macedonian Denar punishable. Several currencies have widely been accepted, such as euros, dollars and German Marks.

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