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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Bear Creek cleanup targets winter debris ... County wants study before putting SOHS district to a vote ... Ocean chinook season to be shortest in eight years ... Bear Creek cleanup targets winter debris ... County wants study before putting SOHS district to a vote ... Ocean chinook season to be shortest in eight years ... Arthur I. Cyr: Law and justice bring stability to the Balkans Comment By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now MailTribune.com By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 9:50 AM By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 9:50 AM » Social News Very brutal criminals are facing justice. On March 24, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Radovan Karadžić of genocide. He is responsible for a massacre of approximately 8,000 men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995 At the time, he was President of the Bosnia Serb Republic (Republika Srpska), a territory seeking to join Serbia. The ethnic wars of this region went on from 1992 to 1995, and involved the first war crimes in Europe since World War II. Karadžić, arrested by Serbian authorities in July 2008, was a principal instigator of violence by the Bosnia Serb regime during the vicious warfare of the earlier decade. Ingenious disguises and a network of sympathizers permitted him to remain free for 13 years. In July 2011, Serbia government officials arrested Goran Hadžić. He was a principal leader of Croatia’s Serbs during the ethnically-based war and mass murders in the Balkans during the 1990s. Hadžić was captured at Fruška Gora Mountain north of Belgrade. Before indictment in 2004, he lived relatively openly in the northern Serbia city of Novi Sad, despite a price on his head. With Hadžić’s arrest, all 161 individuals indicted for war crimes by the ICTY had been captured. The government of Serbia, whose predecessors initiated that war, has played an important positive role. Serbia’s government deserves credit for arresting nine suspects during the first decade of the 21st century. At the same time, ethnic nationalism remains strong. Karadžić and other leaders of the Balkan fighting are heroes to many. Also in 2008, accused Serb war criminal Momčilo Jovanović was captured while visiting a graveyard in the village of Vitomirica in Kosovo. He was arrested by local police and transferred to the custody of international investigators, in an orderly manner. A warrant for his arrest had been issued by the ICTY unit located in Priština. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Yugoslav ethnic divide, Croat Miroslav Bralo was a member of a military police unit of the Defense Council of Croatia. The unit, dubbed “The Jokers,” was feared for brutal interrogation methods. They operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Targets were Bosnian Muslims, including children. In April 2007, Bralo was sentenced to 20 years in prison. “Operation Storm” was led by Croat General Ante Gotovina in the summer of 1995. The strike seized the province of Krajina from Serbs. The commander was congratulated by Croatia President Franjo Tudjman as hundreds of thousands of Serbs fled their homes. The operation left 150 people dead and razed villages. Gotovina was convicted of war crimes, but that was overturned in 2012 and he was released. Americans in particular tend to divide the world into “good guys” and “bad guys,” In the 1990s, Serbia’s President Slobodan Milošević aggressively exploited existing ethnic conflict, becoming the villain of the resulting media melodrama. However, war crimes were committed by both sides. During World War II, Germany found Croatia a fruitful recruiting ground. In the latest war, some Croat soldiers carried Nazi battle flags. This war and aftermath provides considerable cause for realistic reflection among Americans and others given to simplistic worldviews. By definition, the rule of law applies uniform standards to all parties, and puts weight of proof on the prosecution. The process can be slow and frustrating, as in the Balkan war cases, but encourages integrity. So far, the ICTY is succeeding. — Arthur I. Cyr is Director of the A. W. Clausen Center for World Business at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War: American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” He can be reached at [email protected]. By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now MailTribune.com By Arthur I. Cyr More Content Now Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 9:50 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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