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CNN Live Saturday
What Does Milosevic's Extradition Mean for the War Crimes Tribunal?
Aired June 30, 2001 - 16:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, nabbing Milosevic is quite a coup for the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Milosevic is the first former world leader to be extradited to The Hague, and successfully trying him will be the next test of the tribunal's strength.
Diane Orentlicher is a professor of international law at American University in Washington. Her research has been used by the tribunal and she joins us now with some prospective on the task ahead. Mrs. Orentlicher, thanks for being with us.
When it comes on Tuesday, Mr. Milosevic appears for the first time before the war crimes tribunal, just set out briefly what's likely to transpire.
DIANE ORENTLICHER, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Well, this is a formal proceeding in which he will be read the charges and will be asked to enter a plea. He has the option of saying, I need a little more time to think about this, but it doesn't sound like Milosevic needs more time to think about his plea. He's already insisted that he's innocent, so he's likely to plead innocent.
NELSON: What do you think the exact charges are going to be?
ORENTLICHER: Well, the charges fall into two broad categories. One is basically war crimes, violations of the rules that are supposed to govern the conduct of hostilities; in this case, only in Kosovo.
The second charge is crimes against humanity, and in essence, that's widespread and systematic attack against civilians carried out with inhumane acts. He has not been charged with genocide, which was the charge that the prosecutor who initially brought the indictment considered, but didn't think there was sufficient evidence to press at that time.
The current prosecutor has indicated that she will in the months ahead broaden the indictment once again to cover Milosevic's responsibility for atrocities committed in Bosnia and Croatia during the conflict in those two former republics of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, but that hasn't happened yet.
NELSON: And there is some talk, though, some renewed talk of genocide charges against him. Is -- are you ruling that out or is that still a possibility?
ORENTLICHER: I think it's still a possibility, but in the last few days, the words coming out of The Hague seem to be emphasizing that possibility in the context of expanded charges for Bosnia and Croatia. There's been less talk about expanding the Kosovo indictment to include those charges, but I assume it's still possible.
NELSON: To see these pictures of a former world leader being escorted into jail, his hands cuffed behind him are pretty stunning, but what do you think the impact is on the world and on the war crimes tribunal's future?
ORENTLICHER: Well, it's an extraordinary set of images. It's not just escorting a former world leader, it's escorting a world leader who seemed completely untouchable and invincible, and for years seemed to be able to defy the leaders of Europe and the United States with impunity.
And so, to see Slobodan Milosevic, of all former leaders, being handcuffed is quite a powerful image. I do think that it sends a strong message to other people who are considering using ethnic violence for political advancement and, unfortunately, there has been a sad pattern in recent years of political leaders doing just that, and Milosevic for a long time stood as encouragement for that.
He seemed to be someone who represented the ability of somebody to foment ethnic violence and to literally get away with murder and serial murder and so this image, I think, is very strong.
For Yugoslavia, itself, I think it's going to take some time for this to sort itself out. Obviously, there are mixed reactions in the former Yugoslavia. Many Yugoslav citizens are very relieved to see Milosevic finally out of their country; others have mixed feelings about what it says about them that the international community didn't trust Yugoslavia to prosecute its own former leader.
NELSON: Just very briefly, we only have a few seconds left, does the world, in your view, owe Yugoslavia and the authorities there a debt of gratitude for having him turned over?
ORENTLICHER: Absolutely, absolutely. The Serbian authorities showed extraordinary courage in first arresting Milosevic three months ago and then surrendering him.
NELSON: All right, thank you very much for your insights, we appreciate them a lot.
ORENTLICHER: My pleasure.
NELSON: Diane Orentlicher from American University in Washington. We appreciate it.
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