Trial Story: The Bosnia War Crimes Trial

Call Number
350-1-1:514/1

General information

Call No.:
350-1-1:514/1
Part of series
HU OSA 350-1-1 Records of the International Monitor Institute: Europe: Balkan Archive
Located at
BetaSP NTSC #514 / No. 1
Digital ver. identifier
HU_OSA_00000514
Date of production
1993
Date
1993
Level
Item
Primary Type
Moving image
Language
English
Duration
46 min.
Notes
Beta and VHS

Content

Form/Genre
Documentary film
Contents Summary
Court TV reporter Terry Moran focuses on the Hague Tribunal and the importance of prosecuting war criminals from the Bosnian war. A brief history of the conflict is given by explaining that ethnic hatreds were subdued under communism, but then revived by ultra-nationalists in the late 1980's. According to the report, the war ended up costing 250,000 people their lives, and forced two million people to become refugees. The report explains that the Bosnian war coined the phrase "ethnic cleansing," which is most closely associated with the Bosnian Serb campaign in Northern Bosnia. It further states that in 1993, after war crimes investigators returned from Bosnia with knowledge of nearly 400 camps (operated by all three factions) and with five volumes of alleged crimes, the UN set up the first War Crimes Tribunal – nearly fifty years after the Nuremberg Trials. The report explains that even though Dusko Tadic is the first war criminal to be tried in the Hague, the prosecution of the two leading Bosnian Serb men, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, both charged with genocide, will be crucial to the healing process in Bosnia. Tadic's biographical background is highlighted, explaining that before the war he was a cafe owner who welcomed Bosnian Muslim guests. As stated by the prosecution, it is then explained that in late May of 1992, Tadic helped in the rounding up of Bosnian Muslims living in Kozarac when Bosnian Serbs took over. The report gives a chronology of how Kozarac was taken over by the Bosnian Serb army. Hanna Greva, a Norwegian war crimes investigator, is shown stating that 43,000 Bosnian Muslims and 3,000 Bosnian Croats were killed or forced to flee the Omarska area. Her statement is further detailed by saying that Bosnian Serbs launched an open anti-Bosnian Muslim/Croat propaganda campaign. Greva explains that the campaign was launched in such a way as to evoke past fears of concentration camps, such as Jasenovac, where half a million or more Serbs were slaughtered. Following Greva's testimony is a detailed analysis of the camp survivors' statements which have linked Tadic to the Omarska camp and the crimes that followed; 75 witnesses have placed Tadic at the scene of the crimes and a dozen of them testified to being tortured by him personally. Statements are given by the following victims: Mevludin Semenovic, Omarska survivor; Azra Blagovic, Bosnian Muslim doctor in Trnopolje; Nasija Klipic, resident of Kozarac; Nihad Seferovic, former friend of Tadic; Sanko Karabasic, who saw his son being taken away by Tadic; Edin Merkal, Omarska survivor tortured by Tadic; Emir Begamovic, Omarska survivor tortured by Tadic; Mehmed Alic, survived WWII camps, Tadic took his son in away Omarska; Husein Hodzic, Omarska survivor; Halid Mujkanovic, Omarska survivor; and anonymous witnesses "H" and "L." The report then shows Tadic's testimony and the cross examination. Following Tadic's testimony and cross examination, the report explains the issues the prosecution will have to deal with which are to prove that persecution is a crime against humanity and that the Bosnian war was an international conflict. The report then shows the judges giving their verdict and conclusion. Tadic was found guilty of ethnic cleansing, and of persecuting non-Serbs: which includes beatings, torture, and killings, including the killings of two Bosnian Muslims in Kozarac. However, Tadic was found not guilty for the death of nine prisoners, including the death of a prisoner who was sexually mutilated in Omarska, and the death of his friend Emir Karabasic, the report states. Finally, the report analyzes the issues surrounding the appeal, the level of fairness of the trial, and the need to establish a permanent war crimes tribunal. Statements are made by an unidentified refugee woman, three unidentified Omarska camp survivors, Nuremberg Trial Prosecutor Robert Jackson, IWCT Prosecutor Grant Niemann, Tadic's defense lawyer Michail Wladimiroff; Omarska survivors Dragan Lukic, Isak Gari, and Sujejman Tijic (sp); news reporter Edward Vulliamy, ICWT Prosecutor Alan Tieger, ICWT Prosecutor Brenda Hollis, Tadic’s Defense Attorney Steve Kay, ICWT Judge Gabrielle Mac Donald, Tadic's wife Mira Tadic, Tadic's co-workers Miroslav Brdar and Zeljko Maric, an unidentified expert (?), media expert Thomas Dikeman (sp), IWCT Investigator Robert Reed, Tadic's former sister-in-law Sofija Tadic, and IWCT Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour. Other footage included: two wounded children being taken care of, a Bosnian Muslim prayer being sung in Sarajevo (?), a burning house, people running away during a shooting, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic giving a speech, two wounded children being taken care of, Zoran Petrovic-Pirocanac footage taken after the fall of Srebrenica, Omarska camp, half-decomposed corpses lined up, Nuremberg trial footage, Auschwitz (?) footage, Trnopolje camp, Dusko Tadic and his brother in Germany, Hague Tribunal in session, Tadic standing trial in court, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic walking with Momcilo Krajisnik, Karadzic with Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, Dayton Accords signing, pictures of Kozarac, Tadic's destroyed cafe, Soldiers firing shells, Bosnian Serb soldiers getting their weapons ready, masked Bosnian Serb (?) soldiers, footage of the para-military troop "Wolves" taking over a TV transmitter (also shown is Miro Mladenovic, executive editor of "Serbian Voice"), Jasenovac pictures and footage, a torture cable in Omarska, a video footage of Tadic and Emir Karabasic at a party, room where Karabasic and Hodzic were held, the hangar where a man was sexually mutilated, streets of Banja Luka, photographs of Tadic and his family, refugees leaving, a soldier shooting form a bunker, Yugoslav President speaking at a SDS (Serbian Democratic Party) rally, destroyed houses in Kozarac, Tadic's mug shot after being arrested in Germany, cars lined up in front of a traffic checkpoint, marketplace massacre, Sarajevo being shelled, refugee women and children, a Bosnian Muslim graveyard, a Bosnian Muslim funeral, U.S. forces in Bosnia, and Manjaca camp. NOTE: The Omarska and Trnopolje camp footage is scattered throughout the report.

Context

Associated Names
Court TV (Creator/Author, Producer)