THE HAGUE -- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected Croatia's lawsuit accusing Serbia of committing genocide in its territory from 1991 until 1995.
THE HAGUE -- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected Croatia's lawsuit accusing Serbia of committing genocide in its territory from 1991 until 1995.
Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug
Close the entire text of the article here
Tomak said the ICJ was in agreement with the conclusions of the Hague Tribunal, which said the goal of Serb units was "to forcibly remove Croats from parts of the territory, but not to physically destroy them."
The court also rejected Serbia's counter lawsuit, announcing that "even if it was proven that Croatia's leaders had the intention of removing the Serb population from the Croatian territory, there is no proof that the goal was their physical destruction."
Earlier, Tomak read that Serbia cannot be held responsible for acts committed prior to April 27, 1992, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ, FRY) of which Serbia was a part, joined the UN and signed the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.
This excluded the part of the Croatian lawsuit referring to war crimes committed in Vukovar in 1991.
The ruling today marks the end of a court process that has lasted for 16 years. Croatia in 1999 filed its lawsuit against Sebria, while Serbia responded ten years later, charging Croatia of committing genocide against ethnic Serbs there during and after Operation Storm in 1995.
The ICJ ruling is final and cannot be appealed, and the countries will have an obligation to adhere to it.
To my Serb countrymen, did you really expect justice from the Hague? Even if you would've given them the smoking gun they would've come up with jargon to refute that evidence. The Serbian lawsuit was rejected only to equalize the two sides and not because genocide did not occur. If they would've found the Croats guilty, then rest assured, the Serbs would've been found guilty also. Justice is the furthest thing from The Hague's mind. This is all about the US terrorists imposing their will and hatred towards the Serbs. We are an obstacles to their imperialistic plans. To that, all I have to say is, long live Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and all the other great ant-terrorist countries.
(ivan, 4 February 2015 17:26)
From Croatian Canadian: "...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!"
Croatian Canadian, you're a dinosaur. Come to grips with your nation's ugly past and that of your Ustasha relatives. Your Nazi Ustasha fabrications have worn thin on this site. Now put your tail between your legs and run off...hopefully never to be heard from again.
(njegos, 4 February 2015 01:57)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
No, independent and non-Balkan historians have confirmed that 700, 000 Serbs, Jews and Roma were butchered just in one concentration camp-Jasenovac. But there were in fact multiple camps including Jadovno where just as gruesome killings were committed.
Problem is that we Serbs were stupid enough to let Tito reign and his biggest enemies were not the Croatian Nazi fascists but rather the Serbian Royalist Chetnik resistance army. So they spent their rule rewriting history that General Draza was a collaborator and the Croatian war crimes were really not all that bad. To kind of "equalize" all of us in the name of brotherhood and unity as they called it.
Problem is, it wasn't equal. Croatian society was never forced to confront their demonic past and all the hundreds of thousands they murdered. Same after the Wars in the 1990s, you committed ethnic cleansing and celebrate it every year. Tito didn't make you confront your Nazism and today you celebrate Hitler openly and thousands pack Croatian soccer stadiums every weekend celebrating fascism.
(Ari Gold, 4 February 2015 00:03)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link] [link]
(Daniel, 4 February 2015 00:01)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link]
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 23:59)
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
(ii) Forced displacement of the Krajina Serb population
The Court notes that it is not disputed that a substantial part of the Serb population of the Krajina fled that region as a direct consequence of the military actions carried out by Croatian forces during Operation “Storm”, in particular the shelling of the four towns referred to above. The transcript of the Brioni meeting makes it clear that the highest Croatian political and military authorities were well aware that Operation “Storm” would provoke a mass exodus of the Serb population; they even to some extent predicated their military planning on such an exodus, which they considered not only probable, but desirable.
(Dragan, Toronto, 3 February 2015 20:36)
If you were a civilized person - and not a primitive one as you present yourself - you'd hang your head down for shame, as should do your Croat pen pals, too. These verdicts were no victories to either side.
You aren't responsible for the killed and murdered people in Vukovar. But I hold you accountable for your behaviour today, which reveals an arrogant and willfully mean personality.
(Olli, 3 February 2015 20:25)
both countries commited crimes against eachother and both countries leaders are puppet of the west. Puppet of the west include leaders from kosovo, macedonia, montenegro, bosnia, slovenia etc.
(bridge, 3 February 2015 18:35)
No this is my reaction when aggressor war criminal Serbia thinking they got away with murder, rape, pillage, pogroms etc. Then they shot them self's and you know who else [link] now Serbia doesn't get any more. Now all that awaits them is inbred idiocy and poverty of every kind of their choosing.
(Your freind always Lenard, 3 February 2015 18:19)
It's not what Miho or Mihajlo think or feel. Get over it. You too, Mirsad. Nobody cares any more. It's what Washington and the European Commission think and feel is good for the US and EU. At this moment they both think that Serbia is important, they need Serbia in the E U and not to stabilaze the Balkans. To keep Russia out of Serbia and therefor the Balkans and the Eu. Last year's parade through Belgrade was amazing, only the Pope and the Queen of England were missing. The Pope asked but the Patriarch had to politely decline, affraid that the Serbs would be up in arms against the visit regarding the Roman Church's stand on Cardinal Stepinac's good deeds during WWII and his path to sainthood in the Roman Church. So, stop winning and go get a job. That way you can halp your country3.
(sarah, 3 February 2015 18:00)
15 years and 30 million kuna later, the ICJ delivers a verdict most of us already knew and expected. The money wasted in lawyer fees alone could have been better spent rebuilding and revitalizing Vukovar instead of letting it sit like a hollow shell.
(Balkan Anthropologist, 3 February 2015 17:39)
Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. ""
What did Seselj do? Who did he kill? Take away him and add Pavelic, Tudjman, Markac and Gotovina to your list to make it more complete. To t his day you never paid for your horrible crimes during ww2.
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 16:29)
This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Bzzzzzt -- "Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Bam Bam just threw another temper tantrum and made a boom boom on the floor. Bring a pack of clean adult diapers for changing." Bzzzzzt
(Dum Dum, 3 February 2015 15:29)
Had the ICJ sided with either of these claims and ruled that genocide had taken place, it'd be the smallest genocide in history.
Croatia claimed that there was a genocide based on the deaths of 6,603 Croat civilians with a further 1,218 Croat civilians missing.
Serbia's counter claim was that there was a genocide based on 2,344 Serb civilians killed/ missing.
The death of anyone is a horrible thing and unfortunately innocent civilians always die in war. Ethnic cleansing and other war crimes took place but genocide did not.
It was always going to happen. In both cases, the agressors were trying to gain control of rebel areas, not wipe people out.
That said, not sure what would have happened in the Krajina Serbs would have stayed put.
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
It just goes to show that you can slaughter innocent people and get away with it. Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Well we know that the Ustashe lived in a completely delusional world when not even the vehemently anti-Serb Hague Tribunal backed their claims.
(Ari Gold, 3 February 2015 12:02)
Well we know that the Ustashe lived in a completely delusional world when not even the vehemently anti-Serb Hague Tribunal backed their claims.
(Ari Gold, 3 February 2015 12:02)
This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Bzzzzzt -- "Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Bam Bam just threw another temper tantrum and made a boom boom on the floor. Bring a pack of clean adult diapers for changing." Bzzzzzt
(Dum Dum, 3 February 2015 15:29)
Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. ""
What did Seselj do? Who did he kill? Take away him and add Pavelic, Tudjman, Markac and Gotovina to your list to make it more complete. To t his day you never paid for your horrible crimes during ww2.
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 16:29)
It just goes to show that you can slaughter innocent people and get away with it. Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Had the ICJ sided with either of these claims and ruled that genocide had taken place, it'd be the smallest genocide in history.
Croatia claimed that there was a genocide based on the deaths of 6,603 Croat civilians with a further 1,218 Croat civilians missing.
Serbia's counter claim was that there was a genocide based on 2,344 Serb civilians killed/ missing.
The death of anyone is a horrible thing and unfortunately innocent civilians always die in war. Ethnic cleansing and other war crimes took place but genocide did not.
It was always going to happen. In both cases, the agressors were trying to gain control of rebel areas, not wipe people out.
That said, not sure what would have happened in the Krajina Serbs would have stayed put.
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
No, independent and non-Balkan historians have confirmed that 700, 000 Serbs, Jews and Roma were butchered just in one concentration camp-Jasenovac. But there were in fact multiple camps including Jadovno where just as gruesome killings were committed.
Problem is that we Serbs were stupid enough to let Tito reign and his biggest enemies were not the Croatian Nazi fascists but rather the Serbian Royalist Chetnik resistance army. So they spent their rule rewriting history that General Draza was a collaborator and the Croatian war crimes were really not all that bad. To kind of "equalize" all of us in the name of brotherhood and unity as they called it.
Problem is, it wasn't equal. Croatian society was never forced to confront their demonic past and all the hundreds of thousands they murdered. Same after the Wars in the 1990s, you committed ethnic cleansing and celebrate it every year. Tito didn't make you confront your Nazism and today you celebrate Hitler openly and thousands pack Croatian soccer stadiums every weekend celebrating fascism.
(Ari Gold, 4 February 2015 00:03)
15 years and 30 million kuna later, the ICJ delivers a verdict most of us already knew and expected. The money wasted in lawyer fees alone could have been better spent rebuilding and revitalizing Vukovar instead of letting it sit like a hollow shell.
(Balkan Anthropologist, 3 February 2015 17:39)
From Croatian Canadian: "...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!"
Croatian Canadian, you're a dinosaur. Come to grips with your nation's ugly past and that of your Ustasha relatives. Your Nazi Ustasha fabrications have worn thin on this site. Now put your tail between your legs and run off...hopefully never to be heard from again.
(njegos, 4 February 2015 01:57)
If you were a civilized person - and not a primitive one as you present yourself - you'd hang your head down for shame, as should do your Croat pen pals, too. These verdicts were no victories to either side.
You aren't responsible for the killed and murdered people in Vukovar. But I hold you accountable for your behaviour today, which reveals an arrogant and willfully mean personality.
(Olli, 3 February 2015 20:25)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link] [link]
(Daniel, 4 February 2015 00:01)
(ii) Forced displacement of the Krajina Serb population
The Court notes that it is not disputed that a substantial part of the Serb population of the Krajina fled that region as a direct consequence of the military actions carried out by Croatian forces during Operation “Storm”, in particular the shelling of the four towns referred to above. The transcript of the Brioni meeting makes it clear that the highest Croatian political and military authorities were well aware that Operation “Storm” would provoke a mass exodus of the Serb population; they even to some extent predicated their military planning on such an exodus, which they considered not only probable, but desirable.
(Dragan, Toronto, 3 February 2015 20:36)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link]
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 23:59)
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
To my Serb countrymen, did you really expect justice from the Hague? Even if you would've given them the smoking gun they would've come up with jargon to refute that evidence. The Serbian lawsuit was rejected only to equalize the two sides and not because genocide did not occur. If they would've found the Croats guilty, then rest assured, the Serbs would've been found guilty also. Justice is the furthest thing from The Hague's mind. This is all about the US terrorists imposing their will and hatred towards the Serbs. We are an obstacles to their imperialistic plans. To that, all I have to say is, long live Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and all the other great ant-terrorist countries.
(ivan, 4 February 2015 17:26)
No this is my reaction when aggressor war criminal Serbia thinking they got away with murder, rape, pillage, pogroms etc. Then they shot them self's and you know who else [link] now Serbia doesn't get any more. Now all that awaits them is inbred idiocy and poverty of every kind of their choosing.
(Your freind always Lenard, 3 February 2015 18:19)
both countries commited crimes against eachother and both countries leaders are puppet of the west. Puppet of the west include leaders from kosovo, macedonia, montenegro, bosnia, slovenia etc.
(bridge, 3 February 2015 18:35)
It's not what Miho or Mihajlo think or feel. Get over it. You too, Mirsad. Nobody cares any more. It's what Washington and the European Commission think and feel is good for the US and EU. At this moment they both think that Serbia is important, they need Serbia in the E U and not to stabilaze the Balkans. To keep Russia out of Serbia and therefor the Balkans and the Eu. Last year's parade through Belgrade was amazing, only the Pope and the Queen of England were missing. The Pope asked but the Patriarch had to politely decline, affraid that the Serbs would be up in arms against the visit regarding the Roman Church's stand on Cardinal Stepinac's good deeds during WWII and his path to sainthood in the Roman Church. So, stop winning and go get a job. That way you can halp your country3.
(sarah, 3 February 2015 18:00)
It just goes to show that you can slaughter innocent people and get away with it. Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Well we know that the Ustashe lived in a completely delusional world when not even the vehemently anti-Serb Hague Tribunal backed their claims.
(Ari Gold, 3 February 2015 12:02)
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
From Croatian Canadian: "...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!"
Croatian Canadian, you're a dinosaur. Come to grips with your nation's ugly past and that of your Ustasha relatives. Your Nazi Ustasha fabrications have worn thin on this site. Now put your tail between your legs and run off...hopefully never to be heard from again.
(njegos, 4 February 2015 01:57)
Nedic, Tito, Seselj & Ariel Sharon all terrorists who never paid the price for crimes against humanity. ""
What did Seselj do? Who did he kill? Take away him and add Pavelic, Tudjman, Markac and Gotovina to your list to make it more complete. To t his day you never paid for your horrible crimes during ww2.
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 16:29)
Andy...they have to prove thjere were more than 70,000 that perished at the hands of Ustasa, something they cannot prove because it just did not happen.
they have a hard time getting 35,000 names on a list, never mind 100,000!
(Croatian Canadian, 3 February 2015 21:42)
No, independent and non-Balkan historians have confirmed that 700, 000 Serbs, Jews and Roma were butchered just in one concentration camp-Jasenovac. But there were in fact multiple camps including Jadovno where just as gruesome killings were committed.
Problem is that we Serbs were stupid enough to let Tito reign and his biggest enemies were not the Croatian Nazi fascists but rather the Serbian Royalist Chetnik resistance army. So they spent their rule rewriting history that General Draza was a collaborator and the Croatian war crimes were really not all that bad. To kind of "equalize" all of us in the name of brotherhood and unity as they called it.
Problem is, it wasn't equal. Croatian society was never forced to confront their demonic past and all the hundreds of thousands they murdered. Same after the Wars in the 1990s, you committed ethnic cleansing and celebrate it every year. Tito didn't make you confront your Nazism and today you celebrate Hitler openly and thousands pack Croatian soccer stadiums every weekend celebrating fascism.
(Ari Gold, 4 February 2015 00:03)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link] [link]
(Daniel, 4 February 2015 00:01)
It was always going to happen. In both cases, the agressors were trying to gain control of rebel areas, not wipe people out.
That said, not sure what would have happened in the Krajina Serbs would have stayed put.
What surprised me was that Serbia didn't raise a case based around the events of WW2 and the Ustasha - that was about the destruction of the Serb people.
(Andy UK, 3 February 2015 14:06)
This verdict has infuriated the victims. Hatred towards Serbs will continue for the next 1000 years.
(Bam Bam, 3 February 2015 13:07)
Bzzzzzt -- "Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Maintenance, clean up in Aisle 7. Bam Bam just threw another temper tantrum and made a boom boom on the floor. Bring a pack of clean adult diapers for changing." Bzzzzzt
(Dum Dum, 3 February 2015 15:29)
No this is my reaction when aggressor war criminal Serbia thinking they got away with murder, rape, pillage, pogroms etc. Then they shot them self's and you know who else [link] now Serbia doesn't get any more. Now all that awaits them is inbred idiocy and poverty of every kind of their choosing.
(Your freind always Lenard, 3 February 2015 18:19)
Croatian canadian, more than 750 000 serbs and other minorities were brutally slaughtered just at Jasenovac, there are hundreds of thousands listed by name on the internet but of course as an ustasa its hard to face the truth that you belong to the most bloodthirsty nation in the history.
[link]
(Daniel, 3 February 2015 23:59)
both countries commited crimes against eachother and both countries leaders are puppet of the west. Puppet of the west include leaders from kosovo, macedonia, montenegro, bosnia, slovenia etc.
(bridge, 3 February 2015 18:35)
To my Serb countrymen, did you really expect justice from the Hague? Even if you would've given them the smoking gun they would've come up with jargon to refute that evidence. The Serbian lawsuit was rejected only to equalize the two sides and not because genocide did not occur. If they would've found the Croats guilty, then rest assured, the Serbs would've been found guilty also. Justice is the furthest thing from The Hague's mind. This is all about the US terrorists imposing their will and hatred towards the Serbs. We are an obstacles to their imperialistic plans. To that, all I have to say is, long live Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and all the other great ant-terrorist countries.
(ivan, 4 February 2015 17:26)
(ii) Forced displacement of the Krajina Serb population
The Court notes that it is not disputed that a substantial part of the Serb population of the Krajina fled that region as a direct consequence of the military actions carried out by Croatian forces during Operation “Storm”, in particular the shelling of the four towns referred to above. The transcript of the Brioni meeting makes it clear that the highest Croatian political and military authorities were well aware that Operation “Storm” would provoke a mass exodus of the Serb population; they even to some extent predicated their military planning on such an exodus, which they considered not only probable, but desirable.
(Dragan, Toronto, 3 February 2015 20:36)
It's not what Miho or Mihajlo think or feel. Get over it. You too, Mirsad. Nobody cares any more. It's what Washington and the European Commission think and feel is good for the US and EU. At this moment they both think that Serbia is important, they need Serbia in the E U and not to stabilaze the Balkans. To keep Russia out of Serbia and therefor the Balkans and the Eu. Last year's parade through Belgrade was amazing, only the Pope and the Queen of England were missing. The Pope asked but the Patriarch had to politely decline, affraid that the Serbs would be up in arms against the visit regarding the Roman Church's stand on Cardinal Stepinac's good deeds during WWII and his path to sainthood in the Roman Church. So, stop winning and go get a job. That way you can halp your country3.
(sarah, 3 February 2015 18:00)
If you were a civilized person - and not a primitive one as you present yourself - you'd hang your head down for shame, as should do your Croat pen pals, too. These verdicts were no victories to either side.
You aren't responsible for the killed and murdered people in Vukovar. But I hold you accountable for your behaviour today, which reveals an arrogant and willfully mean personality.
(Olli, 3 February 2015 20:25)
Had the ICJ sided with either of these claims and ruled that genocide had taken place, it'd be the smallest genocide in history.
Croatia claimed that there was a genocide based on the deaths of 6,603 Croat civilians with a further 1,218 Croat civilians missing.
Serbia's counter claim was that there was a genocide based on 2,344 Serb civilians killed/ missing.
The death of anyone is a horrible thing and unfortunately innocent civilians always die in war. Ethnic cleansing and other war crimes took place but genocide did not.
15 years and 30 million kuna later, the ICJ delivers a verdict most of us already knew and expected. The money wasted in lawyer fees alone could have been better spent rebuilding and revitalizing Vukovar instead of letting it sit like a hollow shell.
(Balkan Anthropologist, 3 February 2015 17:39)