Intervju sa Markom Attilom Hoareom objavljujemo u izvorniku na engleskom jeziku, ekskluzivno na Necenzurirano.com: "Carla Del Ponte naredila je povlačenje optužnica protiv Kadijevića, Adžića, Kostića, Jovića i Bulatovića", tvrdi nekadašnji istražitelj haaškoga tužiteljstva. Hrvatski prijevod intervjua biti će objavljen u Hrvatskom listu od ovoga tjedna.

An Interwiev with Marko Attila Hoare, former investigator at The ICTY OTP

Carla Del Ponte stopped The Indictment against top Serbian millitary and political officials

By Domagoj Margetic

In one of your articles you mentioned that you took part in investigation of Office of the Prosecutor against the military top of Yugoslavian army in Belgrade, to be more accurate against the yugoslavian generals Veljko Kadijević and Blagoje Adžić, and against political top :Kostić, Jović, Bulatović. Can you describe what happened with that investigation and why was it stopped?
 
I was working with an investigating team that was responsible for the investigation of war-crimes by the Serbian/Yugoslav leadership in Bosnia. We were investigating which top officials could be indicted as members of the 'joint criminal enterprise'. We drew up an indictment for Milosevic, Kadijevic, Adzic, Jovic, Kostic, Stanisic, Simatovic, Seselj and others, who I think may have included Zivota Panic and Momir Bulatovic. However, Carla del Ponte rejected the draft indictment and ordered us to prepare a separate indictment for Milosevic alone. A the time (2001), I thought this was just a tactical arrangement; I did not realise that she had permanently shelved plans to indict Kadijevic, Adzic, Jovic, Kostic and the others. At the time, the rumour was that del Ponte wanted a personal contest between herself and Milosevic, and did not want other indictees to obscure the picture.
 
Why did Carla del Ponte stop investigaton and processes against Adžić, Kadijević, Kostić, Bulatović and Jović?
 
I can only speculate. Until recently, I believed that she was afraid of pushing Serbia too hard, and did not want to indict more top Serbian figures, for fear of jeopardising her relationship with Serbia. In other words, the determined resistance to the ICTY of the criminal and state elite in Serbia, under Kostunica's leadership, deterred her from pursuing this process. I still think this was an element in her calculations. But since the affair has surfaced of Kadijevic and his stay in the US, and his collaboration with the US over Iraq, I strongly suspect that the US may have quietly informed del Ponte that she was not allowed to indict Kadijevic. And of course, if you do not indict Kadijevic, it is difficult to indict Adzic, Kostic and Jovic. Of course, this remains only a suspicion.
 
In your opinion, did Carla del Ponte give certain cession to Belgrade and made the decision that certain war crimes and war criminals won't be processed?
 
Yes; I think she was concerned with her own status and legacy, and wanted to be seen to be successful. So it was more important for her to retain a degree of Serbian collaboration that would allow the trials to take place according to the ICTY's timetables, even if, in return, she had to give Belgrade concessions - such as allowing Belgrade to submit censored records of the Supreme Defence Council. I do not want to imply, however, that this was just del Ponte's personal failing. The ICTY is a bureaucratic institution with its own institutional interests, which are not the same as an interest in justice.
 
Do you think that del Ponte was ready to give certain cessions to Serbia as an aggressor on Croatia, in exchange for Milošević?
 
The ICTY, of course, had no jurisdiction to rule on 'crimes against the peace', i.e. crimes of aggression. But, on the basis of Geoffrey Nice's letter to Jutarnji List, it appears that del Ponte gave Belgrade concessions over the submitting of censored documents of the Supreme Defence Council, without taking into account (or perhaps without caring) about how this would negatively impact upon Bosnia's case against Serbia at the ICJ. So, for del Ponte's 'little' concessions to Serbia, a heavy price has been paid at the expense of justice. But del Ponte is also not a very sophisticated person, and she has stated in the past that she does not care who was the aggressor and who was the victim. So the burden of the indictments have fallen on the small fry; the little people; Serbs from Bosnia and Croatia rather than top officials from Serbia; collaborators rather than aggressors. It was easier for the ICTY to pursue Milan Babic, a local collaborator of Milosevic who at least was ready to testify against him, rather than his former puppet-masters in Belgrade who were much more guilty.

Why evidences against the military and political top of Yugoslavia were not given to national governments as evidences against suspected war criminals?
 
The ICTY deliberately maintained a distance from the former Yugoslavs themselves; it did not want to allow former Yugoslavs to assume prominent functions in its own institutions; and it did not want to be seen to be too close to the national governments. The ICTY may have felt that to be closer to them; to collaborate with them more openly, would have compromised its reputation of impartiality.
 
Did Carla del Ponte at any moment tell you that there won't be indictments against the Yugoslaian generals and political top of Yugoslavia, and if so, why?
 
No, she did not. She only had personal contact with the more senior members of the investigative teams, and I do not know what she told them. But while I was working at the ICTY, in 2001, I believed that at least some of the members of the 'joint criminal enterprise' from the ranks of the top Serbian/Yugoslav leadership would eventually be indicted. And indeed, Stanisic and Simatovic were eventually indicted, separately from Milosevic. But I did not predict that Adzic, Kadijevic, Jovic and Kostic would escape justice; if del Ponte had already in 2001 decided not to pursue them, then that was kept secret from most or all of the investigators.
 
Why did you leave Office of the Prosecutor?

Dear Mr Margetic,
 
Thank you for your message; I'd be very pleased to be interviewed by you. I'd be happy to answer questions over email; otherwise, you can call me on (...).
 
Best regards,
Marko A. Hoare