Indicted War Criminal Dusko Tadic's Letter to Vreme

It seems that The Hague Tribunal trial of Dusko Tadic for war crimes is no longer of interest to anyone. No-one carries reports from the trial. It is a well-known fact that the Bosnian Serb authorities have prevented witnesses from going to The Hague and testifying on behalf of Tadic. Tadic's letter to Vreme confirms he is on his own. In it, he writes:

"It should be known that none of the problems I faced a year ago have been resolved. I do not wish to reiterate the problems that my attorneys and I have been facing. My problems may not mean a lot to someone, or someone might not find any of it important, but my life depends on them. The court allowed me to defend myself and I am very satisfied with my foreign attorneys. Certain people in the Bosnian Serb Republic and Yugoslavia do not regard me as an important figure, and that is the only reason why they have not and will not do anything for me, because they will continue trying to have this trial end as soon as possible, believing my possible conviction will atone their sins. Things may change overnight, because only that would change the circumstances I am in. It is true that everyone, including the people in the Bosnian Serb Republic and Yugoslavia, will hear about the roles of all individuals in the events in the Prijedor area. Everything will be brought to light, publicly and most legally, so that my role in that period will be clarified. Everyone will recognise themselves, above all the ones who made all the decisions in 1992 and personally took part in the events for which I am tried. I have not blamed them for the evil they have inflicted to me, nor will I ever do that, but it will soon transpire that all of them will be paid back for not letting me defend myself.

Pale has recently reinstated most of these leaders, so that they have now erected an impenetrable barricade. My attorneys and I have tried to exercise the right to defence by all legal means, but, unfortunately, nothing has changed to that effect to this day. Everyone who has lived in those areas knows well who had suffered, who had become rich overnight, who has not left his executive chair for five years now. They are the ones who had sacrificed a whole nation on behalf of minor sufferers. I wish I were wrong, but if this continues, we will soon be the witnesses of new exoduses and suffering of our people in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I am thinking of my defence, but I am thinking more and more of my children and the children of all those who will be manipulated for the sake of some ideals... Maybe I would withstand all of this more easily if I had taken part in anything, and whatever you may think about all of this, my life is more important to me than anything else, so that I have not mentioned the problems I am surrounded with all the time. I am thinking of my freedom, for I know I do not belong in jail, for I know I am innocent, but who cares what I know, what my family knows, and my attorneys believe it all.