The End of Carla Del Ponte

By Jeffrey T. Kuhner

The Bush administration is now demanding that the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte, bring her prosecutions to an end.

Washington is insisting that war crimes cases relating to the Balkan wars of the 1990s — including Operation Storm — be tried either in domestic national courts or be given a general amnesty. This shift not only marks a dramatic change in Washington’s policy toward the ICTY, but more importantly, it is a fatal blow to the power and credibility of Mrs. Del Ponte.

In an exclusive interview with The Ripon Forum magazine earlier this summer, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton said to me that Washington is deeply concerned that the ICTY, rather than fostering ethnic reconciliation, has emerged as a threat to regional stability. “There is a very real risk that the ICTY prosecutions will not resolve the situation in the Balkans,” the senior Bush administration official said, “but will create new animosities that lead to tensions in the future.”

He emphasized the Bush administration is demanding war crimes cases at The Hague be sent back to national domestic courts. Mr. Bolton and other leading State Department officials are finally realizing what Mrs. Del Ponte and her fellow left-wing globalists have refused to acknowledge: the ICTY has degenerated into a politicized tribunal that has failed to live up to its original mandate. Ironically, it was the United States under the Clinton administration that created the ICTY.

However, Washington now realizes that it has unleashed a Frankenstein monster. Instead of being an impartial body that seeks to punish those who committed or ordered war crimes, the tribunal has become a vehicle by which Mrs. Del Ponte has sought to rewrite the history of the Balkan wars. She has abused her office by issuing deeply flawed and weak indictments, the most obvious one being against Croatian Gen. Ante Gotovina.

As Mr. Bolton notes, the problem with the ICTY is that it has no democratic accountability. Hence, there are no checks or balances against the misuse of power by an out-of-control chief prosecutor. Therefore, the Bush administration has concluded the only solution is to kick most cases back to national, domestic courts.

“That is why our strategy with respect to the ICTY is to bring these prosecutions to an end and to return responsibility to Serbia, Croatia and to the other nations, because after all, many of the alleged crimes were carried out in their name and they need to confront that reality. They need to make the decisions whether to prosecute or not to prosecute Serbs or Croats respectively,” Mr. Bolton said. “They need to make the decision whether granting amnesty is something they want to have to live with or whether they think prosecution is best. I am not trying to prejudge what the right result is, but to say responsibility should rest on the shoulders of the people who have to live with the decisions they make.”

Ultimately, the United States rightly believes that the ICTY is not only an undemocratic institution, but its existence is a direct threat to the development of democracy itself. Its greatest flaw is that, by virtue of being an international tribunal with little accountability, it is retarding the development of independent judicial institutions and the rule of law within the countries of the former Yugoslavia. It is denying Croatia, for example, its legitimate sovereign right to try major cases involving alleged war crimes committed on its own soil. The result is to stunt the maturation of domestic legal institutions, which are pivotal to erecting a viable democracy.

“One of the downsides of any distant court is that it takes away responsibility, and I don't think that is conducive to the political maturation of societies that we hope will become democratic and realize that they have to confront actions that their prior governments took,” Mr. Bolton said. “So that is why our approach to the ICTY and with the Rwanda tribunal is to make and create institutions in the respective countries and to turn that authority back over to them.”

The record is now clear: the ICTY has been a dismal failure. The trial of former Serb strongman, Slobodan Milosevic, continues to drag on. Notorious Bosnian Serb war criminals Gen. Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic remain at large. Mrs. Del Ponte refuses to withdraw the bogus indictment against Gen. Gotovina, which is not only a shameful attempt to frame an innocent man. More importantly, the indictment seeks to criminalize Operation Storm and with it the legitimacy of Croatia’s Homeland War.

Yet in the face of all of this, Croatia’s dogmatic neo-communists continue to tenaciously defend Mrs. Del Ponte and her cronies. Which begs the question: Why?

The answer is that Croatia’s Left hitched their political star to ingratiating themselves to the “international community,” without any concern for their country’s national interests or the cause of democracy and justice. Leaders such as President Stipe Mesic and former Prime Minister Ivica Racan were hoping that, by blindly adhering to the policy of “unconditional cooperation” with the ICTY, Brussels and Washington would reward them with massive foreign aid and diplomatic support. Instead, they are finding out that the international system is not based on quixotic slogans, but on something more fundamental: power and national self-interest. “Unconditionally cooperating” with the ICTY was never in Croatia’s national interests — or of any other self-respecting, fledgling democracy for that matter.

Ivan Grdesic, then-Croatia’s ambassador to the United States, in a remarkable statement, told me in a room full of people at the Croatian American Association banquet in Chicago earlier this year, that “Croatian democracy was too immature to handle the Gotovina case. Our country’s courts are not capable of overseeing a fair and impartial trial.” Hence, he argued that Zagreb had “no choice” but to follow the ICTY. This, of course, is nonsense. Whether you are for or against the ruling, the fact is that the conviction of Gen. Mirko Norac by a local Croatian court proves one thing: the country’s judiciary is more than capable of trying a high-profile war crimes case. Moreover, Croatian courts have successfully tried and prosecuted nearly 300 war crimes cases over the past several years.

Yet there is no amount of evidence that can convince Mr. Grdesic, Mr. Mesic and their fellow leftist allies that Croatia is indeed capable of functioning like every other democracy on Earth. They are self-hating Croats, who have been nurtured for decades by Titoist propaganda to despise liberal democracy and Croatia’s legitimate national aspirations. They are neither genuine democrats nor patriots. They are internationalists, who believe their country’s rightful place is to be a province of a larger multinational empire – whether it is communist Yugoslavia or a European socialist superstate. Yesterday, they served Tito and Belgrade. Today, it is Mrs. Del Ponte and Brussels.

Ultimately, however, leftist internationalism is an illusion, for it seeks to deny the fundamental realities of the natural moral order – the desire of human beings to live in freedom, both as individuals (best represented by democracy and free markets) and as nations (best represented by patriotism and self-determination). The world came crashing down around Croatia’s leftists when Tito’s Yugoslavia disintegrated into the dustbin of history. It is about to come crashing down once again.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner is editor of the Ripon Forum magazine and communications director at the Ripon Society, a Republican think tank, in Washington, DC. He can be reached at jkuhner@riponsoc.org

(Also at http://voiceofcroatia.net )

Hrvatski:

http://213.191.154.38/default.aspx?clanak=3043

Novosti 4.11.2004

Hrvatski list: KRAJ CARLE DEL PONTE

Mesic, Racan, Grdešic…to su Hrvati koji mrze sami sebe, koje je titoisticka promidžba desetljecima kljukala mržnjom prema liberalnoj demokraciji i legitimnim hrvatskim nacionalnim težnjama. Oni nisu ni istinski demokrati niti domoljubi. Oni su internacionalisti koji vjeruju da je za njihovu zemlju najbolje biti provincija šireg višenacionalnog imperija – zvao se on Jugoslavija ili Europska socijalisticka naddržava. Jucer su služili Titu i Beogradu, danas gospodi del Ponte i Bruxellesu.

Bushova vlada traži da glavna tužiteljica Medunarodnog kaznenog suda za zemlje bivše Jugoslavije (ICTY) privede kraju svoje tužbe. Washington insistira da tužbe za ratne zlocine, vezane uz balkanske ratove devedesetih godina – ukljucujuci i operaciju “Oluja“ – procesuiraju domaci sudovi ili pak da budu obuhvacene opcim oprostom. Ovo je, ne samo dramaticna promjena washingtonske politike prema haaškome sudu, nego, što je još važnije, smrtni udarac moci i ugledu gospode del Ponte.

Naime, pocetkom prošlog ljeta u ekskluzivnom intervjuu za magazin “Ripon Forum“ americki državni podtajnik za kontrolu naoružanja John Bolton rekao mi je kako je Washington duboko zabrinut jer haaški sud, umjesto da potice medunacionalno pomirenje, postaje prijetnja regionalnoj stabilnosti. “Vrlo je stvarna opasnost da tužbe pred haaškim sudom nece riješiti situaciju na Balkanu“, kazao mi je ovaj viši dužnosnik Bushove vlade, “nego ce stvoriti nova neprijateljstva koja ce dovesti do napetosti i u buducnosti“. Bushova vlada traži da se haaške tužbe za ratne zlocine vrate domacim sudovima ovih zemalja. Bolton i drugi vodeci dužnosnici americkog State Departmenta shvatili su konacno ono što gospoda del Ponte i njezine ljevicarsko-globalisticke kolege ne žele priznati: haaški sud izrodio se u politizirani sud koji je iznevjerio svoj prvobitni zadatak. Ironija je da je haaški sud stvorio upravo SAD za vrijeme Clintonove vlade.

Washington danas shvaca da je iznjedrio frankensteinovsko cudovište. Umjesto da bude nepristrano tijelo koje želi kazniti one što su pocinili ili naredili ratne zlocine, ovaj sud postao je pomagalo kojim gospoda del Ponte pokušava revidirati povijest ovih balkanskih ratova. Ona je zlorabila ovlasti podižuci krajnje manjkave i krhke optužnice, medu kojima je najocitija ona protiv hrvatskog generala Ante Gotovine. Kao što primjecuje John Bolton, problem haaškog suda je u tome što on nema demokratske odgovornosti pa onda ni jamstava protiv zlouporabe moci samovoljnog glavnog tužitelja. Stoga je Bushova vlada zakljucila da je jedino rješenje vracanje vecine optužnica domacim sudovima.

“I zato, naša je strategija prema haaškom sudu privodenje optužnica kraju i povrat odgovornosti Srbiji, Hrvatskoj i drugim državama jer, konacno, mnogi navodni zlocini pocinjeni su u njihovo ime pa se oni s njima moraju i suociti. Oni trebaju donijeti odluke hoce li ti Srbi i Hrvati biti krivicno gonjeni“, rekao je Bolton. “ Trebaju odluciti i je li im od optužnica prihvatljivija amnestija. Ne želim presudivati što je ispravno, vec kazati da je odgovornost na onima koji s tim odlukama moraju živjeti“.

Sve u svemu, SAD s pravom drži da je haaški sud nedemokratska ustanova te da je njegovo postojanje izravna prijetnja i samom demokratskom razvitku. Njegova najveca slabost je da on, buduci medunarodni sud s manjkom odgovornosti, usporava razvitak neovisnog sudstva i vladavine zakona u zemljama bivše Jugoslavije. On tako i Hrvatskoj uskracuje legitimno suvereno pravo procesuiranja najvažnijih osumnjicenja za ratne zlocine, pocinjenih na vlastitom tlu. Posljedica toga je nemogucnost sazrijevanja domacih pravnih ustanova, što je presudno za uspostavu trajne demokracije.

“Jedna od slabosti svakog dislociranog suda je da on otklanja odgovornost, a ja mislim da to ne vodi sazrijevanju tih društava za koja se nadamo da ce postati demokratskima i da ce shvatiti kako se moraju suociti s djelima vlada koje su im prethodile“, rekao je Bolton. “Stoga, naš je pristup ICTY-ju i sudu za Ruandu, stvaranje ustanova u ovim državama kojima ce se vratiti ovlasti“.

Ucinak je danas jasan: haaški sud za zemlje bivše Jugoslavije žalosni je promašaj. Sudenje bivšem srpskom diktatoru razvlaci se unedogled. Zloglasni bosansko-srpski ratni zlocinci generali Ratko Mladic i Radovan Karadžic ostaju na slobodi. Gospoda del Ponte odbija povuci lažnu optužnicu protiv generala Gotovine, što nije tek sraman pokušaj namještaljke nevinu covjeku. Što je još važnije, ova optužnica pokušava kriminalizirati operaciju “Oluja“, a s njom i legitimnost hrvatskog Domovinskog rata.

U svemu ovome dogmatski neokomunisti u Hrvatskoj i dalje uporno brane gospodu del Ponte i njezine pajdaše. A to traži odgovor na pitanje: zašto?

On glasi: ljevica u Hrvatskoj zalijepila se za svoju politicku zvijezdu ne bi li se dodvorila “medunarodnoj zajednici“ bez imalo brige za nacionalne probitke svoje zemlje ili za stvar pravde i demokracije. Vode, kakvi su predsjednik Stipe Mesic i bivši predsjednik vlade Ivica Racan, nadali su se da ce ih, ako slijepo prigrle politiku “bezuvjetne suradnje“ s haaškim sudom, Bruxelles i Washington nagraditi izdašnom vanjskom pomoci i diplomatskom potporom. Umjesto toga shvatili su da medunarodni poredak nije utemeljen na idealistickim krilaticama, vec na necemu mnogo bitnijem: moci i vlastitim nacionalnim interesima. “Bezuvjetna suradnja“ s haaškim sudom nikad nije bio hrvatski nacionalni interes – kao uostalom ni bilo koje druge samosvjesne demokratske države u usponu.

Ivan Grdešic, prijašnji veleposlanik Republike Hrvatske u SAD-u, pocetkom ove godine kazao mi je pred punom dvoranom na banketu Hrvatsko-americke udruge (CAA) u Chicagu da je «hrvatska demokracija isuviše nezrela da se nosi s optužnicom protiv Gotovine». Sudovi u našoj zemlji nisu sposobni provesti pošteno i nepristrano sudenje. Stoga, ustvrdio je, Zagreb “nema izbora“ osim da sluša haaški sud. To je, dakako, glupost. Bili vi protiv ili za presudu, ostaje cinjenica da presuda mjesnog hrvatskog suda generalu Mirko Norcu potvrduje da je sudstvo u ovoj zemlji više nego sposobno suditi u tužbama za ratne zlocine visokog profila. Štoviše, hrvatski sudovi uspješno su presudili blizu 300 ratnih zlocina tijekom nekoliko proteklih godina.

Ali, nema tih dokaza koji mogu uvjeriti gospodu Grdešica, Mesica i njihove ljevicarske prijatelje i saveznike da je Hrvatska doista sposobna funkcionirati kao svaka demokratska država na kugli zemaljskoj. To su Hrvati koji mrze sami sebe, koje je titoisticka promidžba desetljecima kljukala mržnjom prema liberalnoj demokraciji i legitimnim hrvatskim nacionalnim težnjama. Oni nisu ni istinski demokrati niti domoljubi. Oni su internacionalisti koji vjeruju da je za njihovu zemlju najbolje biti provincija šireg višenacionalnog imperija – zvao se on Jugoslavija ili Europska socijalisticka naddržava. Jucer su služili Titu i Beogradu, danas gospodi del Ponte i Bruxellesu.

Ali, ljevicarski internacionalizam na kraju se ipak iskazuje kao varka jer on pokušava zanijekati temeljne cinjenice prirodnog cudorednog poretka – želju ljudskih bica da žive slobodni, i kao pojedinci (što najbolje predstavljaju demokracija i slobodna tržišta) i kao nacije (što se najprikladnije iskazuje kao domoljublje i pravo na samoodredenje). Svijet se prvi put za ljevicare u Hrvatskoj srušio kad se raspala i skoncala na smetlištu povijesti Titova Jugoslavija. Svijet samo što im se nije srušio i drugi put.

- Jeffrey T. Kuhner je glavni urednik magazina The Ripon Forum (www.riponsoc.org) i direktor komunikacija u The Ripon Society, analitickom institutu (“think tanku“) Republikanske stranke u Washingtonu, SAD. Dostupan je na internetskoj adresi: jkuhner@riponsoc.org