Too Many Candidates For 24 Cells

This was announced by spokesman Christian Chartier at a recently held press conferencedevoted to thepolicy and activitiesof the International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia. In response to the numerous questions by journalists regarding particular cases and individuals suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity or crimes of genocide, he stated that their identities will remain anonymous until they are arrested.

The prosecution is especially counting upon professional cooperation with the countries of former Yugoslavia; not only with the extradition of convicted individuals, but also with imminent or future trials in front of their respective national courts.

The domestic public has been convinced that the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ) has rejected cooperation with the International Tribunal. This is mainly based upon frequent statements by high-level representatives of governmentagencies and experts on international law from the government's commissions for gathering evidence of war crimes that the ad hoc Tribunal was founded under political conditions of strong anti-Serb prejudices in international public opinion and UN institutions.

However, the publicly known fact that the government of the SRJ gave the Security Council and the Commission of Experts a few reports on war crimes leads one to assume that some forms of cooperation have existed since November of 1992, when the Commission of Experts began gathering information about violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia. One must also keep in mind that a representative of the International Tribunal met with SRJ government representatives in June of 1994 and that Prosecutor Goldstone's upcoming visit to Belgrade during the first half of October was recently announced.

The yet unpublished possibiity of offices of the International Tribunal being opened in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb strengthens the impression that official sources may soon be able to confirm that the International Tribunalhas anagreement withthe nationalcourts regarding jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and that it will even have precedence in specific circumstances.

We may view the announced trial of Dusan Vuckovic and other members of the irregular army unit "Zuta osa", allegedly responsible for the mass murder of Muslim civilians in Celopek near Zvornik, in the context of the announcement of cooperation between the International Tribunal and the government of the SRJ.

Despite the fact that some information may be based upon rumor or unconfirmable at the moment, paramilitary formations that operated with the support of the SRJ government are often mentioned in regard to the International Tribunal's work. According to allegations from a few sources, 40 such groups which allegedly committed crimes for which sufficient evidence for prosecution exists were active in the war zones of former Yugoslavia during 1992 and 1993: Seselj's Chetnik groups (active in the districts of Bosanski Samac, Brcko, Derventa, Foca, Gacko , Mostar, Nevesinje, Pale, Prijedor, Rogatica, Visegrad and Zvornik), the "Adolf" group (Bijeljina and Brcko) and its alleged commander Goran Jelisic, "Armada" and "Mice" (Teslic), Miroslav Dironjic's group (Bratunac), Drago's group (Vukovar), "Dusan Silni" (Dusan the Powerful) and allegedly one headed by local commander Ljuban Devetak of Lovas, "Garavi sokak" (Gorazde, Visegrad), Zoran Karlica's group (Prijedor), the Montenegrin Guard (Foca), the Special Forces from Niksic, "Padinska skela" (Zvornik), "Rambo" (Prijedor), Arkan's guard, SOS and the commanders called "Crni" and "Lugar", the Velebit Unit (Gradacac), the "Crvene beretke" (Red Berets - Doboj, Brcko, Prijedor, Teslic), the "Beli orlovi" (White Eagles) from Pozarevac, Valjevo, Belgrade (throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina)...