Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic stands in the court room of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia at the start of his initial appearance in The
Hague July 31, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Former
Bosnian Serbleader Radovan Karadzic said at the United Nations war crimes court
Thursday that he is gravely concerned about his life because the United States
might be seeking to "liquidate" him.
Karadzic, who appeared for the first time before the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday,
told the judge that he had a deal with the United States before withdrawing from
the public life in 1996.
He said Richard Holbrooke, the then U.S. assistant
secretary of state, presented him with a deal, requesting him withdrawing
entirely from the public life in return for a drop of efforts to prosecute him
at the ICTY.
Holbrooke was the chief broker of a peace agreement
among the warring factions in Bosnia that led to the signing of the Dayton Peace
Accords in 1995.
Karadzic said he fulfilled his commitment and
withdrew from the public life and did not do anything to endanger the
implementation of the Dayton accord.
Karadzic said that it was because of the secret deal
with Washington that he had not come to the court in The Hague any time earlier.
The 63-year-old former president of the
self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb Republic said he is concerned that if Holbrooke's
arm is long enough to reach the court, he might be "liquidated."
"I must say it is a matter of life and death," he
said.
On Thursday, Presiding Judge Alphons Orie read out a
summary of the indictment of Karadzic. Karadzic is accused of 11 counts of
genocide, war crimes and crimes of humanity during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.
Karadzic refused to enter a plea on each of the 11
charges against him. He said he would like to first study the new indictment
which is being prepared by the prosecution before entering any plea.
ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said his team
will try to get the amended indictment ready as soon as possible.
Karadzic said he would like to defend himself
throughout the trial. "I would like to defend myself before the institution just
as I would like to defend myself before any national catastrophe," he said.
Karadzic said he does not have any complaint with the
treat menthe received from the staff members of the court or the United Nations
detention center in Scheveningen, where he is being held.
Judge Orie said the court is adjourned until Aug. 29,
when Karadzic will be asked to enter pleas on the charges.
Karadzic was transferred to the ICTY in the early
hours on Wednesday morning. He was arrested by Serbian authorities on July 21
after 12 years on the run.
Brammertz had said it will probably take months for
the prosecution and the defense to get ready for Karadzic's trial.
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic (R) enters the court room of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia at the start of his initial appearance in The
Hague July 31, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BRUSSELS, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Former Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic will make his first appearance at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague Thursday, Dutch media
reported Wednesday.
The hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.,
will be presided by Dutch UN judge Alphons Orie.
Full story
BELGRADE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Former Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic was being extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The
Hague, the Serbian official news agency Tanjug reported early on Wednesday.
A motorcade of four jeeps with tinted windows was
seen leaving the downtown Belgrade District Court at about 3:45 a.m. (0145
GMT)early Wednesday where Karadzic was held since his arrest July 21, said the
reports, adding that Karadzic was taken from detention to the Belgrade airport
to board a plane for the Netherlands. Full story
BELGRADE, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Serbia's Belgrade District
Court received no appeal against the extradition of former Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague by the end of office
hours on Tuesday, a court spokeswoman said.
"Considering the fact that an appeal did not arrive, the
court didn't make any decision," the court's spokeswoman Ivana Ramic told
reporters in Belgrade. Full story
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- World opinion mixed on
Tuesday after the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
The Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the
arrest of Karadzic was "an internal matter" for Serbia, and the trial of
Karadzic should be "impartial," accusing the UN war crimes tribunal of "an often
biased approach."
BELGRADE, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Skirmishes broke out Tuesday
afternoon between the police and protesters against the arrest of the former
Bosnia Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in the capital Belgrade.
Protesters who gathered in downtown Belgrade chanted
Karadzic's name and threw firecrackers and chairs at the police and started
smashing nearby cafes, local media reported.
BRUSSELS, July 22 (Xinhua) -- EU foreign ministers said
here on Tuesday that the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
was "a significant step on Serbia's path towards the EU."
"This development illustrates the commitment of the new
government in Belgrade to contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans
regions," the ministers said in a conclusion of their meeting. Full story
