From an 11-day visit to The Hague, Europe

Witness: Chance for "Perennially Troubled Region" (Balkans) to Become Model for Conflict Resolution Elsewhere

Echoes from this writer's March 7 testimony at trial of President Radovan Karadzic reveal there is still work to be done on Truth in Media

HAIKU, Maui, Mar 15 - "I (have) found that often times disinformation was passed on to the American public and other Western public not by outright lying, but (by) the deception by omission, by omission of the salient facts," this writer said answering a question about the western media deceptions posed by the Defendant. "And I saw it as my mission to fill in these gaps so the full truth be known.  Because without the full truth, there cannot be a full reconciliation, and without the (full) reconciliation, there cannot be real peace and harmony."

The preceding is an excerpt from my March 7 testimony before the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague in the trial of the former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic.  As you will see at the end of this story, the quest for the full Truth in Media continues even today.

Here's now the full context of the opening excerpt.  Addressing the Court at one point of the cross-examination testimony, I said:

     [...] "Your Honour, if I may say, the reason for the non-profit organisation under which I reported my findings from the war, "Truth in Media," was not chosen lightly. 

And similarly, the reason I'm here as a voluntary witness, I have been told by the US attorney before I gave that deposition in 2002 that as a member of the media, under the US Law, I cannot be subpoenaed. But I volunteered to be here. 

And some of you may wonder why I gave up the sunny beaches of Hawaii to come here in the dead of winter? 

But the reason is that what I said to you at the outset:  That I'm here to speak the truth and nothing but the truth - is not just an oath for me.  It's the very same reason why I travelled through wartime conditions. Because that is actually my soul  purpose, and that is my sole commitment.  [emphasis added]

So for that reason, I've also counselled at times Dr. Karadzic when he asked me for opinions about the Western media, what can or cannot be believed. Because I found that often times disinformation was passed on to the American public and other Western public not by outright lying but the deception by omission, by omission of the salient facts, and I saw it as my mission to fill in these gaps so the full truth be known.  Because without the full truth, there cannot be a full reconciliation, and without the reconciliation, there cannot be real peace and harmony." [emphasis added]

     JUDGE KWON:  Thank you, Mr. Djurdjevic. 

           Yes, Mr. Karadzic? (right photo)

     THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you.

In another part of the cross-examination, the Defendant asked a question that led to a philosophical discussion about how far the war-waging powers of civilian presidents should reach, and where the military commanders' leadership should take over.

President Karadzic asked the following questions himself.  He is representing himself at the trial, although there were also two western lawyers present in the Court on his side, as well as a Serbian one during a pre-trial interview with me.  In the following segment of the Transcript "Q" denotes a question by Dr. Karadzic, "A" is my answer:

     Q.   Thank you.  When you spoke about military skills, would you agree that in every country the president or the leader has strategic command, strategic control, over the army?  And my thoughts about returning territory, towns, my thoughts about negotiations, is one of a president's prerogatives.

     A.   Absolutely.  I think in any civilised country that I know of, the military is subject to civilian rule; and, therefore, in your wartime situation, you were the Commander-in-Chief.

     Q.   Thank you.  As you correctly noticed, I haven't got a military education or background.  Did you gain the impression that the tactical and operative matters were dealt with by the army, but the political leadership only dealt with strategic issues when it was necessary to negotiate; for example, when it was necessary to try and put an end to the war?

     A.   That's a difficult question to answer with a yes or no answer. Because as you know, I have been following this war for many years and have seen a number of situations in which the wishes of the civilian leadership conflicted with those of the military command.  I do know that -- I remember having conversations with the military leaders, Mladic in particular, and some other generals who were frustrated at times to have to follow the civilian rule and sometimes stop, for example, a military campaign to allow you and others in the civilian government to negotiate probably some sort of a diplomatic solution, rather than try to solve everything on the ground through fighting.

      So I'm not sure where I would draw the line between strategic and tactical involvement of the civilian government, and that's why I'm saying it's a difficult question to answer.  I guess in the wartime conditions, I'm thinking back in our country, World War II, other wars that have been fought.  I'm sure that there had been times that President Roosevelt and Churchill and so on -- (made) similarly what may have seemed like tactical decisions, and yet they were civilian leaders.  So as I said, this is a bit of a grey area as to where the jurisdiction of the civilian government ends and the military begins and vice versa.

At the end of my 3.5-hour testimony, I asked the Court if I could say something.  The Presiding Judge at first said that's not usually allowed, but then he acquiesced to the request.  Here's an excerpt from the Transcript's closing remarks:

         JUDGE KWON:  Thank you.  Very well.  Unless my colleagues have questions for you, you are -- yes, Mr. --

        THE WITNESS:  May I just say something?

        JUDGE KWON:  We usually do not hear from the witness but ...

        THE WITNESS:  I just wanted to, first of all, say, to commend you for the work you are doing here, and I hope that you realise that the work that's being done in this courtroom goes well beyond the Balkans. And if the full truth and reconciliation can take place in this perennially troubled region, it could serve as a model for conflict resolution elsewhere in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia.  [emphasis added] And it's my hope and prayer when your work is done, that that's the legacy that you leave behind.

        JUDGE KWON:  Thank you, Mr. Djurdjevic.  On behalf of this Chamber as well as the Tribunal as a whole, I would like to thank you for your coming to The Hague to give it.  Now, you're free to go.

        THE WITNESS:  Thank you very much.

                      [The witness withdrew]

Now, the preceding are some high-level excerpts from the Transcript I have just received.  Earlier, you have had an opportunity to see my initial report, filed right after the testimony was concluded on March 7. Here's an excerpt which includes some of the reactions of those who watched the testimony "live" on TV or in the courtroom (from MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, Mar 7):

The testimony took a little under four hours. It was broadcast live on public-service type TV all around The Hague Court, and with a half-hour delay also in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, etc., as well as around the world through Internet video streaming. 

Of course, I did not know any of that in advance. So I was surprised when so many people came to congratulate me on my testimony after it was over.  Those not in the courtroom were evidently watching it on TV.

They used adjectives such as, "like a breath of fresh air,"  "very eloquent," "powerful," "balanced,"  "moving," "fascinating"... etc. One member of the prosecution team said, "it looked as if you had a script at the back of your head."

Which I did.  My Spirit guides and teachers were helping me with the "script." But I didn't tell him that.

What meant the most to me, however, was that these laudatory comments came from ALL sides in the trial - prosecutors, court clerks, even the defense lawyers who smiled affectionately and appreciatively at me at the end (by court rules, they are not permitted to talk to a witness).  

President Karadzic, the defendant, also smiled at me appreciatively throughout the trial, and gave me a thumbs up at the end.  The Prosecutor came to the witness room afterward to expressed his "deepest appreciation" for my testimony, and added that my closing remarks "were very moving and had a powerful impact (on the Court).

Now keeping all that in mind, check out this report about my testimony by the "official" Court media agency: WITNESS: KARADZIC TOLD ME HE HAD ORDERED THE CAPTURE OF SREBRENICA. Not a single word about any of the preceding "big picture" comments I had made in the Tribunal courtroom made it into this "official" report. This story is a prime example of what I was talking about at the trial - how disinformation can be created by OMISSION of salient facts, not only by outright lying.

See what I mean when I say there is still work to be done on the Truth in Media?

---

Bob Djurdjevic is a former war correspondent from Bosnia and Serbia.  He is also a writer, musician, thrice-ordained Inca-trained shaman and a  business consultant based in Maui, Hawaii. He is seen in the right photo playing his flute in the fog of Scheveningen Beach at The Hague while awaiting his turn to testify. Click here to request access to the full Transcript.

Also see...  "Beat Swords into Plowshares"-essay (June 1, 2011):  Humane Sides of Accused War Criminals (June 4, 2011)

Sometimes Truth Hurts, But It Always Sets You Free (June 6, 2011)

Karadzic Acquitted of Genocide Charge

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, June 28 - Global headlines last week lit up with the news that the former President of the Bosnian Serb Republic has been acquitted of a genocide charge. It was the trial in which this writer also participated back on March 7 as a witness (see Witness: Chance for "Perennially Troubled Region" (Balkans) to Become Model for Conflict Resolution Elsewhere). Some people who form their opinions based on the media headline courts were shocked. Even the headlines, such as this one, sounded rather bombastic and incredulous:

Notorious War Crimes Suspect Acquitted On Genocide Charge

Not so this writer who met with President Karadzic a number of times in Bosnia and in Belgrade during his work in the 1990s as a war correspondent.  Karadzic has always come across as a cultured, soft-spoken MD (psychiatrist) and a poet, which is what he was before history pushed him to the forefront of the political dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.

To me, the most puzzling thing was why this decision was delivered by the Court when the trial is only at about a half way point. So this writer contacted the Prosecutor's Office at The Hague and asked for an explanation.

"I am confused," I wrote. "Since when does the court render judgment half way through a trial?  Or was this a ruling on a defense motion to dismiss all charges? Or just to dismiss this one?"

Here's the answer I received on Friday.

After the presentation of the prosecution evidence, we have a 98bis hearing in which the Defence can submit that the prosecution have not presented sufficient evidence on any of the counts to support a conviction and if such is the case the Trial Chamber can dismiss that count.  At the hearing the prosecution are entitled to present an overview of their case in which it is outlined to the Court the evidence of witnesses in support of the counts. 

The Court then consider the counts and the evidence in support of them and then produce a ruling deciding whether or not the prosecution have presented sufficient evidence to support the counts. 

In this case, it was proposed by the prosecution that the ethnic cleansing in the municipalities amounted to genocide, however the Court had a different view and dismissed the count although the genocide count still remains for Srebrenica.  In any event we will still proceed on the remainder of the counts with the defence due to start the presentation of their evidence on 16.10.2012. 

So there you have it, right from the horse's mouth, as they say. Looks like it's one down and 10 to go for Karadzic.

The Court is now in summer recess till September 3. And so we will also adjourn from this topic until then.

Also check out... Once Unrepentant Serb General Repents, Apologizes to All War Victims (Dec 8);  Defiant Serb General Ejected from Hague Courtroom (July 2011); Beat Swords into Plowshares at the Hague (June 2, 2011), Humane Sides of Accused War Criminals, Sometimes Truth Hurts, But It Always Sets You Free (June 6), Milosevic: Who Says There's No Death Penalty at the Hague?  (Mar 2006); "Put the UN Justice on Trial" - TiM Bulletin (8/17/98);  Rise and Fall of General Perisic: From Hero to Snitch  (Mar 2005); The End Game Is Near: Kosovo, Montenegro Next Serb Dominos to Fall? (May 1996); "The Woman Who Broke Gen. Mladic's Heart" (Mar 1996);  Bosnia: What’s the Full Truth? (Letter to Wall Street Journal, Feb 1996); Bosnia War Diary (July 1994); All in a Day's Work (Karadzic) (July 1995); Wartime Diary Notes about Karadzic, Krajisnik (May 1994); "Collateral Damage" Hits Home (9/11/11)