“Vukovar verdict harms Croatia’s lawsuit against Serbia”

Tibor Varadi say the Vukovar Three verdict would harm Croatia’s chances in its case against Serbia.

Izvor: Beta

Monday, 01.10.2007.

11:22

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Tibor Varadi say the Vukovar Three verdict would harm Croatia’s chances in its case against Serbia. Varadi, Serbia’s legal representative before the International Court of Justice, said that the verdict would help Serbia in the case where Croatia is trying to prove that genocide was committed by Serbia on Croatian territory in the early 1990s. “Vukovar verdict harms Croatia’s lawsuit against Serbia” “The chances of Serbia being found guilty were already pretty remote, but after this verdict the chances are even smaller,” Varadi told daily Gradjanski List. Varadi said that the verdict balanced out the issues and set “realistic dimensions,” adding that it was unlikely that the international court would declare Croatian accusations of Serbian genocide within her jurisdiction. He reiterated that none of the Vukovar Three had been accused of genocide, nor was there any Serbian citizen currently under indictment by the Hague Tribunal for genocide. Croatia’s legal representative Ivan Simonovic said that the verdict would have both positive and negative effects, but that it was not directly linked to the genocide charges and case. “In this case, the court showed that there was a definite chain of command, where Mrksic was at the top, not only in charge of all units of the Yugoslav army in the region, but the paramilitary units and territorial troops as well." "For the Croatian case, this makes it easier to confirm the command and responsibility of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and the country itself.” Simonovic said. On Thursday, the Hague Tribunal found two of the three former JNA officers guilty of committing war crimes in Vukovar. Former army officer Mile Mrksic was handed a 20-year prison term, while Veselin Sljivancanin five years for his role in the 1991 murder of 260 Croatian prisoners at Ovcara farm near Vukovar. The third defendant, Miroslav Radic, was cleared of all charges by the UN court.

“Vukovar verdict harms Croatia’s lawsuit against Serbia”

“The chances of Serbia being found guilty were already pretty remote, but after this verdict the chances are even smaller,” Varadi told daily Građanski List.

Varadi said that the verdict balanced out the issues and set “realistic dimensions,” adding that it was unlikely that the international court would declare Croatian accusations of Serbian genocide within her jurisdiction.

He reiterated that none of the Vukovar Three had been accused of genocide, nor was there any Serbian citizen currently under indictment by the Hague Tribunal for genocide.

Croatia’s legal representative Ivan Šimonović said that the verdict would have both positive and negative effects, but that it was not directly linked to the genocide charges and case.

“In this case, the court showed that there was a definite chain of command, where Mrkšić was at the top, not only in charge of all units of the Yugoslav army in the region, but the paramilitary units and territorial troops as well."

"For the Croatian case, this makes it easier to confirm the command and responsibility of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and the country itself.” Šimonović said.

On Thursday, the Hague Tribunal found two of the three former JNA officers guilty of committing war crimes in Vukovar.

Former army officer Mile Mrkšić was handed a 20-year prison term, while Veselin Šljivančanin five years for his role in the 1991 murder of 260 Croatian prisoners at Ovčara farm near Vukovar.

The third defendant, Miroslav Radić, was cleared of all charges by the UN court.

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