Bović ( Serbian Cyrillic : Бовић ) is a village in central Croatia , in the municipality of Gvozd , Sisak-Moslavina County . It is connected by the D6 highway .
89-397: According to the 2011 census, the village of Bović has 91 inhabitants. This represents 29.07% of its pre- war population, according to the 1991 census. According to the 1991 census, 97.13% of the village population were ethnic Serbs (304/313), 0.95% were ethnic Croats (3/313), while 1.92% were of other ethnic origin (6/313). This Sisak-Moslavina County geography article
178-519: A Completion Strategy Report issued in May 2011, the ICTY indicated that it aimed to complete all trials by the end of 2012 and complete all appeals by 2015, with the exception of Radovan Karadžić whose trial was expected to end in 2014 and Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić , who were still at large at that time and were not arrested until later that year. The IRMCT's ICTY branch began functioning on 1 July 2013. Per
267-548: A Territorial Defense system . On paper, the JNA seemed a powerful force, with 2,000 tanks and 300 jet aircraft (mainly Soviet or locally produced). However, by 1991, the majority of this equipment was 30 years old, as the force consisted primarily of T-54/55 tanks and MiG-21 aircraft. Still, the JNA operated around 300 M-84 tanks (a Yugoslav version of the Soviet T-72 ) and a sizable fleet of ground-attack aircraft , such as
356-515: A Yugoslav Partisan in World War II , was loyal to Yugoslavia and not a Greater Serbia; Kadijević believed that if Slovenia left Yugoslavia the state would collapse and thus he discussed with Jović about possibly using the JNA to impose martial law in Slovenia to prevent this potential collapse and was willing to wage war with the secessionist republics to prevent their secession. Kadijević considered
445-513: A great number of desertions, and the army responded by mobilizing Serbian reserve troops. Approximately 100,000 evaded the draft , and the new conscripts proved an ineffective fighting force. The JNA resorted to reliance on irregular militias . Paramilitary units like the White Eagles , Serbian Guard , Dušan Silni, and Serb Volunteer Guard , which committed a number of massacres against Croat and other non-Serbs civilians, were increasingly used by
534-401: A group of 21 Bosnian-Serbs charged with committing atrocities against Muslim and Croat civilian prisoners. While the war in the former Yugoslavia was still raging, the ICTY prosecutors showed that an international court was viable. However, no accused was arrested. The court confirmed eight indictments against 46 individuals and issued arrest warrants. Bosnian Serb indictee Duško Tadić became
623-509: A new " Ustashe state". In one instance, TV Belgrade showed Tuđman shaking hands with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (who would be the first government leader in the world to recognise independent Croatia and Slovenia) accusing the two of plotting "a Fourth Reich". Aside from the firing of many Serbs from public sector positions, another concern among Serbs living in Croatia was the HDZ's public display of
712-531: A number of them had been founded, including the Croatian Democratic Union ( Croatian : Hrvatska demokratska zajednica ) (HDZ), led by Franjo Tuđman , who later became the first president of Croatia . Tuđman ran on a nationalist platform with a program of "national reconciliation" between Croatian communists and former Ustašes (fascists) being a key component of his party's political program. Accordingly, he also integrated former Ustaše members into
801-754: A permanent and ad litem judge, and another served as both a permanent and ad hoc judge. UN member and observer states could each submit up to two nominees of different nationalities to the UN secretary-general. The UN secretary-general submitted this list to the UN Security Council which selected from 28 to 42 nominees and submitted these nominees to the UN General Assembly. The UN General Assembly then elected 14 judges from that list. Judges served for four years and were eligible for re-election. The UN secretary-general appointed replacements in case of vacancy for
890-702: A provisional release were detained at the United Nations Detention Unit on the premises of the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden , location Scheveningen in Belgisch Park , a suburb of The Hague , located some 3 km by road from the courthouse. The indicted were housed in private cells which had a toilet, shower, radio, satellite TV, personal computer (without internet access) and other luxuries. They were allowed to phone family and friends daily and could have conjugal visits. There
979-419: A small scale. Compared to the results from 25 years before, Croatia was the republic with the highest increase in ethnic distance. Furthermore, there was significant increase of ethnic distance among Serbs and Montenegrins toward Croats and Slovenes and vice versa. Of all respondents, 48% of Croats said that their affiliation with Yugoslavia is very important to them. In February 1990, Jovan Rašković founded
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#17328515846711068-483: A total of 33 individuals. Six of the newly indicted persons were transferred in the tribunal's detention unit. In addition to Duško Tadic, by June 1996 the tribunal had Tihomir Blaškić , Dražen Erdemović , Zejnil Delalić, Zdravko Mucić, Esad Landžo and Hazim Delić in custody. Erdemović became the first person to enter a guilty plea before the tribunal's court. Between 1995 and 1996, the ICTY dealt with miscellaneous cases involving several detainees, which never reached
1157-415: Is Serbia", and expressed support for Milošević. The first free elections in Croatia and Slovenia were scheduled for a few months later. The first round of elections in Croatia was held on 22 April, and the second round on 6 May. The HDZ based its campaign on greater sovereignty (eventually outright independence) for Croatia, fueling a sentiment among Croats that "only the HDZ could protect Croatia from
1246-578: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Croatian War of Independence Croatian victory [REDACTED] 15,007 dead or missing (8,685 soldiers and 6,322 civilians) [REDACTED] 7,134 dead or missing (4,484 soldiers and 2,650 civilians) [REDACTED] 1,279 soldiers killed [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 7,204 dead or missing (3,486 soldiers, 2,677 civilians and 864 unidentified) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] 7,204–8,413 dead or missing in total 1992 1993 1994 1995 The Croatian War of Independence
1335-597: Is a matter of debate to what extent this move was locally motivated and to what degree the Milošević-led Serbian government was involved. In any event, the SAO Krajina was declared, which consisted of any Croatian territory with a substantial Serb population. The Croatian government viewed this move as a rebellion. From the beginning of the Log Revolution and the end of April 1991, nearly 200 incidents involving
1424-421: Is filed after that date. The final ICTY trial to be completed in the first instance was that of Ratko Mladić , who was convicted on 22 November 2017. The final case to be considered by the ICTY was an appeal proceeding encompassing six individuals, whose sentences were upheld on 29 November 2017. While operating, the tribunal employed around 900 staff. Its organisational components were Chambers, Registry and
1513-476: Is not what is sought. Gentlemen, what they want is territory. — Stjepan Mesić on Belgrade's intentions in the war In August 1990, an unrecognized mono-ethnic referendum was held in regions with a substantial Serb population which would later become known as the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) (bordering western Bosnia and Herzegovina ) on the question of Serb "sovereignty and autonomy" in Croatia. This
1602-612: The šahovnica (Croatian checkerboard) in the Croatian coat of arms , which was associated with the fascist Ustaše regime. This was a misconception as the checkerboard had a history going back to the fifteenth century and was not identical to the one that was used in the WW2-era Independent State of Croatia . However, Tuđman's xenophobic rhetoric and attitude towards Croatian Serbs as well as his support for former Ustaše leaders did little to ease Serb fears. Immediately after
1691-534: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and lawsuits filed by each country against the other . In 2007, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) returned a guilty verdict against Milan Martić , one of the Serb leaders in Croatia, for having colluded with Slobodan Milošević and others to create a "unified Serbian state". Between 2008 and 2012,
1780-615: The SAO Krajina was proclaimed by the municipalities of the regions of Northern Dalmatia and Lika , in south-western Croatia. Article 1 of the Statute of the SAO Krajina defined the SAO Krajina as "a form of territorial autonomy within the Republic of Croatia" in which the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, state laws, and the Statute of the SAO Krajina were applied. On 22 December 1990,
1869-754: The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) in Knin , whose program aimed to change the regional division of Croatia to be aligned with ethnic Serb interests. Prominent members of the RSK government, including Milan Babić and Milan Martić , later testified that Belgrade directed a propaganda campaign portraying the Serbs in Croatia as being threatened with genocide by the Croat majority. On 4 March 1990, 50,000 Serbs rallied at Petrova Gora and shouted negative remarks aimed at Tuđman, chanted "This
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#17328515846711958-706: The Slovenian parliamentary election and the Croatian parliamentary election in April and May 1990, the JNA announced that the Tito -era doctrine of "general people's defense", in which each republic maintained a Territorial defense force ( Serbo-Croatian : Teritorijalna obrana ) (TO), would henceforth be replaced by a centrally directed system of defense. The republics would lose their role in defense matters, and their TOs would be disarmed and subordinated to JNA headquarters in Belgrade, but
2047-693: The Soko G-4 Super Galeb and the Soko J-22 Orao , whose armament included AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles. By contrast, more modern cheap anti-tank missiles (like the AT-5 ) and anti-aircraft missiles (like the SA-14 ) were abundant and were designed to destroy much more advanced weaponry. Before the war the JNA had 169,000 regular troops, including 70,000 professional officers . The fighting in Slovenia brought about
2136-619: The United States (2002–2005), Fausto Pocar of Italy (2005–2008), Patrick Robinson of Jamaica (2008–2011), and Theodor Meron (2011–2015). The Registry was responsible for handling the administration of the tribunal; activities included keeping court records, translating court documents, transporting and accommodating those who appear to testify, operating the Public Information Section, and such general duties as payroll administration, personnel management and procurement. It
2225-616: The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serbian police. Vojislav Šešelj personally helped arm Serbs in Croatia and recruited volunteers in Serbia and Montenegro, sending 5,000 men to Croatia and up to 30,000 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. By 1991, the JNA officer corps was dominated by Serbs and Montenegrins ; they were overrepresented in Yugoslav federal institutions, especially the army. 57.1% of JNA officers were Serbs , while Serbs formed 36.3% of
2314-688: The weakening of the communist states in Eastern Europe towards the end of the Cold War , as symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In Croatia, the regional branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia , the League of Communists of Croatia , had lost its ideological potency. Slovenia and Croatia advocated decentralization . SR Serbia , headed by Slobodan Milošević , adhered to centralism and single-party rule, and in turn effectively ended
2403-541: The Army in March 1991 supported a coup d'état as a way out of the crisis but then changed their minds four days later. Kadijević's response to this was that "Jović is lying". Kadijević claims he was invited to a meeting in March 1991 in Jović's office, two days after huge protests organized by Vuk Drašković on the streets of Belgrade, where Milošević, according to Kadijević, requested that
2492-592: The Army met with the Presidency of the SFRY in an attempt to convince them to declare a state of emergency which would allow for the army to take control of the country. Yugoslav army chief Veljko Kadijević declared that there was a conspiracy to destroy the country, saying: An insidious plan has been drawn up to destroy Yugoslavia. Stage one is civil war. Stage two is foreign intervention. Then puppet regimes will be set up throughout Yugoslavia. Jović claims that Kadijević and
2581-535: The Basic Principles of the Constitution identified that self-determination including secession "belonged to the peoples of Yugoslavia and their socialist republics". The matter of Kosovo secession was addressed in May 1991 with the court claiming that "only the peoples of Yugoslavia" had the right to secession, Albanians were considered a minority and not a people of Yugoslavia. The 1990 survey conducted among Yugoslav citizens showed that ethnic animosity existed on
2670-507: The Croatian Army, Croatian Defence Council ( Croatian : Hrvatsko vijeće obrane ) (HVO), and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina could field a combined force of 250,000 soldiers and 570 tanks. Ethnic hatred grew as various incidents fueled the propaganda machines on both sides. During his testimony before the ICTY, one of the top Krajina leaders, Milan Martić, stated that
2759-517: The Croatian and Serbian fans and with the police. On 30 May 1990, the new Croatian Parliament held its first session. President Tuđman announced his manifesto for a new Constitution (ratified at the end of the year) and a multitude of political, economic, and social changes, notably to what extent minority rights (mainly for Serbs) would be guaranteed. Local Serb politicians opposed the new constitution. In 1991, Croats represented 78.1% and Serbs 12.2% of
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2848-503: The Croats but that it never actually undermined their own dominance in SR Croatia. After the HDZ came to power, many Serbs employed in the public sector, especially the police, were fired and replaced by Croats. This, combined with Tuđman's remarks, i.e. "Thank God my wife is not a Jew or a Serb", were distorted by Milošević's media to spark fear that any form of an independent Croatia would be
2937-518: The ICTY had prosecuted Croatian generals Ante Gotovina , Mladen Markač and Ivan Čermak for alleged involvement in the crimes related to Operation Storm . Čermak was acquitted outright, and the convictions of Gotovina and Markač were later overturned by an ICTY Appeals Panel. The International Court of Justice dismissed mutual claims of genocide by Croatia and Serbia in 2015. The Court reaffirmed that, to an extent, crimes against civilians had taken place, but it ruled that specific genocidal intent
3026-777: The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP). The Prosecutor was responsible for investigating crimes, gathering evidence and prosecutions and was head of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP). The Prosecutor was appointed by the UN Security Council upon nomination by the UN secretary-general. The last prosecutor was Serge Brammertz . Previous Prosecutors have been Ramón Escovar Salom of Venezuela (1993–1994), however, he never took up that office, Richard Goldstone of South Africa (1994–1996), Louise Arbour of Canada (1996–1999), and Carla Del Ponte of Switzerland (1999–2007). Richard Goldstone, Louise Arbour and Carla Del Ponte also simultaneously served as
3115-515: The Office of the Prosecutor had sufficient staff to begin field investigations. By November 1994, the first indictments were presented to the court and confirmed, and in 1995, the staff numbered over 200 persons from all over the world. In 1994 the first indictment was issued against the Bosnian-Serb concentration camp commander Dragan Nikolić . This was followed on 13 February 1995 by two indictments comprising 21 individuals which were issued against
3204-549: The Parliament of Croatia ratified the new constitution, which was seen by Serbs as taking away rights that had been granted by the Socialist constitution. The constitution did define Croatia as "the national state of the Croatian nation and a state of members of other nations and minorities who are its citizens: Serbs ... who are guaranteed equality with citizens of Croatian nationality ..." Following Tuđman's election and
3293-535: The Presidency meeting failed to achieve the results the Army wanted that Kadijević met with him with the proposed coup d'état against the secessionist republics. During the meeting Marković responded to Kadijević by saying that the plan failed to arrest Milošević. Kadijević replied "He is only one fighting for Yugoslavia. Without him, we could not be proposing this." Marković rejected the plan and afterwards communication between Kadijević and Marković broke down. The JNA
3382-568: The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda until 2003. Graham Blewitt of Australia served as the Deputy Prosecutor from 1994 until 2004. David Tolbert , the president of the International Center for Transitional Justice , was also appointed Deputy Prosecutor of the ICTY in 2004. Chambers encompassed the judges and their aides. The tribunal operated three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. The president of
3471-482: The RSK encompassed 13,913 square kilometers (5,372 sq mi), more than a quarter of Croatia. In 1995, Croatia launched two major offensives known as Operation Flash and Operation Storm ; these offensives effectively ended the war in its favor. The remaining United Nations Transitional Authority for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) zone was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia by 1998. The war ended with Croatian victory, as it achieved
3560-684: The Republika Srpska ; Ratko Mladić , former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army ; and Ante Gotovina (acquitted), former General of the Croatian Army . The very first hearing at the ICTY was a referral request in the Tadić case on 8 November 1994. Croat Serb General and former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina Goran Hadžić was the last fugitive wanted by the tribunal to be arrested on 20 July 2011. An additional 23 individuals have been
3649-591: The Secretary-General to "submit for consideration by the Council ... a report on all aspects of this matter, including specific proposals and where appropriate options ... taking into account suggestions put forward in this regard by Member States". The court was originally proposed by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel . Resolution 827 of 25 May 1993 approved the S/25704 report of the secretary-general and adopted
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3738-592: The Security Council adopted Resolution 1966 , which established the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), a body intended to gradually assume residual functions from both the ICTY and the ICTR as they wound down their mandate. Resolution 1966 called upon the tribunal to finish its work by 31 December 2014 to prepare for its closure and the transfer of its responsibilities. In
3827-571: The Serb side started using force first. The conflict escalated into armed incidents in the majority-Serb populated areas. The Serbs attacked Croatian police units in Pakrac in early March, while one Josip Jović is widely reported as the first police officer killed by Serb forces as part of the war, during the Plitvice Lakes incident in late March 1991. In March and April 1991, Serbs in Croatia began to make moves to secede from that territory. It
3916-478: The Serbian people living in either Croatia or Bosnia or anywhere else. If that were the case, then we could look and see what it is in the Croatian constitution , see what is in the declaration on minorities, on the Serbs in Croatia and on minorities, because the Serbs are treated separately there. Let us see if the Serbs have less rights than the Croats in Croatia. That would be protecting the Serbs in Croatia. But that
4005-523: The Statute of the International Tribunal annexed to it, formally creating the ICTY. It was to have jurisdiction over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the former SFR Yugoslavia since 1991: The maximum sentence the ICTY could impose for these crimes was life imprisonment . In 1993 the internal infrastructure of the ICTY was built. 17 states had signed an agreement with the ICTY to carry out custodial sentences. 1993–1994: In
4094-467: The Transitional Arrangements adopted by the UN Security Council, the ICTY was to conduct and complete all outstanding first-instance trials, including those of Karadžić, Mladić and Hadžić. The ICTY would also conduct and complete all appeal proceedings for which the notice of appeal against the judgement or sentence was filed before 1 July 2013. The IRMCT will handle any appeals for which notice
4183-501: The Yugoslav and Serb forces. There were also foreign fighters supporting the RSK, mostly from Russia . With the retreat of the JNA forces in 1992, JNA units were reorganized as the Army of Serb Krajina , which was a direct heir to the JNA organization, with little improvement. During the Yugoslav Wars , many Serb paramilitaries styled themselves as Chetniks . The SRS's military wing was known as "Chetniks" and received weaponry from
4272-491: The army take control of the country through a military coup. Kadijević's apparent response was to inform Milošević that he could not make such a decision by himself, and that he'd discuss the request with army leaders and later inform Jović's office about their decision. Kadijević then said that their decision was against the putsch and that he informed Jović's office in written form about it. Jović claims that such document doesn't exist. Ante Marković has described that after
4361-499: The aspirations of Milošević towards a Greater Serbia". It topped the poll in the elections (followed by Ivica Račan 's reformed communists, Social Democratic Party of Croatia ) and was set to form a new Croatian Government . A tense atmosphere prevailed on May 13, 1990, when a football game was held at Zagreb in Maksimir Stadium between Zagreb 's Dinamo team and Belgrade's Red Star . The game erupted into violence between
4450-597: The autonomy of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina by March 1989, taking command of their votes in the Yugoslav federal presidency . Nationalist ideas started to gain influence within the ranks of the still-ruling League of Communists, while Milošević's speeches, notably the 1989 Gazimestan speech in which he talked of "battles and quarrels", favored continuation of a unified Yugoslav state — one in which all power would continue to be centralized in Belgrade . In
4539-463: The autumn of 1989, the Serbian government pressured the Croatian government to allow a series of Serb nationalist rallies in the country, and the Serbian media and various Serbian intellectuals had already begun to refer to the Croatian leadership as " Ustaše ", and began to make reference to genocide and other crimes committed by the Ustaše between 1941 and 1945. The Serbian political leadership approved of
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#17328515846714628-592: The beginning of court cases being brought to Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court on the matter of secession. The first was the Slovenian Constitutional Amendments case after Slovenia claimed the right to unilateral secession pursuant to the right of self-determination. The Constitutional Court ruled that secession from the federation was only permitted if there was the unanimous agreement of Yugoslavia's republics and autonomous provinces. The Constitutional Court noted that 1974 Constitution's Section I of
4717-526: The behest of Serbia. According to Jović, on 27 June 1990 he and Veljko Kadijević , the Yugoslav Defence Minister, met and agreed that they should, regarding Croatia and Slovenia, "expel them forcibly from Yugoslavia, by simply drawing borders and declaring that they have brought this upon themselves through their decisions". According to Jović, the next day he obtained the agreement of Milošević. However, Kadijević, of mixed Serb-Croat heritage and
4806-629: The election of Tuđman and the HDZ, a Serb Assembly was established in Srb , north of Knin, on 25 July 1990 as the political representation of the Serb people in Croatia. The Serb Assembly declared "sovereignty and autonomy of the Serb people in Croatia". The new Croatian government implemented policies that were seen as openly nationalistic and anti-Serbian in nature, such as the removal of the Serbian Cyrillic script from correspondence in public offices. Greater Serbian circles have no interest in protecting
4895-511: The final indictments were issued in December 2004, the last of which were confirmed and unsealed in the spring of 2005. The final fugitive, Goran Hadžić , was arrested on 20 July 2011. The final judgment was issued on 29 November 2017 and the institution formally ceased to exist on 31 December 2017. Residual functions of the ICTY, including the oversight of sentences and consideration of any appeal proceedings initiated since 1 July 2013, are under
4984-472: The first year of its existence, the tribunal laid the foundations for its existence as a judicial organ. It established the legal framework for its operations by adopting the rules of procedure and evidence, as well as its rules of detention and directive for the assignment of defence counsel. Together, these rules established a legal aid system for the tribunal. As the ICTY was a part of the United Nations and
5073-613: The former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was an ad hoc court located in The Hague , Netherlands . It was established by Resolution 827 of the United Nations Security Council , which
5162-485: The goals it had declared at the beginning of the war: independence and preservation of its borders. Approximately 21–25% of Croatia's economy was ruined, with an estimated US$ 37 billion in damaged infrastructure, lost output , and refugee-related costs. Over 20,000 people were killed in the war, and refugees were displaced on both sides. The Serbian and Croatian governments began to progressively cooperate with each other, but tensions remain, in part due to verdicts by
5251-424: The jurisdiction of a successor body, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). United Nations Security Council Resolution 808 of 22 February 1993 decided that an "international tribunal shall be established for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991", and called on
5340-561: The largest ethnic group in the country as a whole. From 1967 to 1972 in Croatia and 1968 and 1981 protests in Kosovo , nationalist doctrines and actions caused ethnic tensions that destabilized Yugoslavia. The suppression by the state of nationalists is believed to have had the effect of identifying Croat nationalism as the primary alternative to communism itself and made it a strong underground movement. A crisis emerged in Yugoslavia with
5429-410: The new Slovenian government acted quickly to retain control over their TO. On 14 May 1990, the weapons of the TO of Croatia, in Croat-majority regions, were taken away by the JNA, preventing the possibility of Croatia having its own weapons as was done in Slovenia. Borisav Jović , Serbia's representative in the Federal Presidency and a close ally of Slobodan Milošević, claimed that this action came at
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#17328515846715518-548: The party and state's apparatus. In January 1990, the League of Communists broke up on ethnic lines, with the Croatian and Slovene factions demanding a looser federation at the 14th Extraordinary Congress. At the congress, Serbian delegates accused the Croatian and Slovene delegates of "supporting separatism, terrorism and genocide in Kosovo". The Croatian and Slovene delegations, including most of their ethnic Serb members, eventually left in protest, after Serbian delegates rejected every proposed amendment. January 1990 also marked
5607-429: The perceived threat from the new constitution, Serb nationalists in the Kninska Krajina region began taking armed action against Croatian government officials. Croatian government property throughout the region was increasingly controlled by local Serb municipalities or the newly established "Serbian National Council". This would later become the government of the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK). After it
5696-406: The political crisis and ethnic conflict to have been caused by the actions of foreign governments, particularly Germany, which he accused of seeking to break up Yugoslavia to allow Germany to exercise a sphere of influence in the Balkans. Kadijević regarded the Croatian government of Tuđman to be a fascist-inspired and that Serbs had the right to be protected from Croatian "armed formations". After
5785-436: The population of Yugoslavia. A similar structure was observed as early as 1981. Even though the two peoples combined comprised 38.8% of the population of Yugoslavia, 70% of all JNA officers and non-commissioned officers were either Serbs or Montenegrins. In July 1991, the JNA was instructed to "completely eliminate Croats and Slovenes from the army", most of whom had already begun to desert en masse. The Croatian military
5874-428: The remainder of the term of office concerned. On 21 October 2015, Judge Carmel Agius of Malta was elected president of the ICTY and Liu Daqun of China was elected vice-president; they assumed their positions on 17 November 2015. Agius's predecessors were Antonio Cassese of Italy (1993–1997), Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the United States (1997–1999), Claude Jorda of France (1999–2002), Theodor Meron of
5963-422: The rhetoric and accused the Croatian leadership of being "blindly nationalistic" when it objected. Having completed the anti-bureaucratic revolution in Vojvodina , Kosovo, and Montenegro, Serbia secured four out of eight federal presidency votes in 1991, which rendered the governing body ineffective as other republics objected and called for reform of the Federation. In 1989, political parties were allowed and
6052-400: The scene, but were intercepted by SFR Yugoslav Air Force fighter jets and forced to turn back to Zagreb . The Serbs felled pine trees or used bulldozers to block roads to seal off towns like Knin and Benkovac near the Adriatic coast . On 18 August 1990, the Serbian newspaper Večernje novosti claimed "almost two million Serbs were ready to go to Croatia to fight". On 21 December 1990,
6141-616: The secession and advocated Serb-claimed lands to be in a common state with Serbia. Most Serbs sought a new Serb state within a Yugoslav federation, including areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with ethnic Serb majorities or significant minorities, and attempted to conquer as much of Croatia as possible. Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991, but agreed to postpone it with the Brioni Agreement and cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia on 8 October 1991. The JNA initially tried to keep Croatia within Yugoslavia by occupying all of Croatia. After this failed, Serb forces established
6230-426: The self-proclaimed proto-state Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) within Croatia which began with the Log Revolution . After the ceasefire of January 1992 and international recognition of the Republic of Croatia as a sovereign state, the front lines were entrenched, the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed, and combat became largely intermittent in the following three years. During that time,
6319-406: The subject of contempt proceedings . In 2004, the ICTY published a list of five accomplishments "in justice and law": The United Nations Security Council passed resolutions 1503 in August 2003 and 1534 in March 2004, which both called for the completion of all cases at both the ICTY and its sister tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by 2010. In December 2010,
6408-756: The subject of the tribunal's first trial. Tadić was arrested by German police in Munich in 1994 for his alleged actions in the Prijedor region in Bosnia-Herzegovina (especially his actions in the Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm detention camps). He made his first appearance before the ICTY Trial Chamber on 26 April 1995, and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in the indictment. 1995–1996: Between June 1995 and June 1996, 10 public indictments had been confirmed against
6497-427: The total population of Croatia, but the latter held a disproportionate number of official posts: 17.7% of appointed officials in Croatia, including police, were Serbs. An even greater proportion of those posts had been held by Serbs in Croatia earlier, which created a perception that the Serbs were guardians of the communist regime. Serbian politician and sociologist Vesna Pešić states that this caused discontent among
6586-588: The trial stage. The tribunal indicted 161 individuals between 1997 and 2004 and completed proceedings with them as follows: The indictees ranged from common soldiers to generals and police commanders all the way to prime ministers. Slobodan Milošević was the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes. Other "high level" indictees included Milan Babić , former president of the Republika Srpska Krajina ; Ramush Haradinaj , former Prime Minister of Kosovo ; Radovan Karadžić , former President of
6675-483: The tribunal was also the presiding judge of the Appeals Chamber. At the time of the court's dissolution, there were seven permanent judges and one ad hoc judge who served on the tribunal. A total of 86 judges have been appointed to the tribunal from 52 United Nations member states. Of those judges, 51 were permanent judges, 36 were ad litem judges, and one was an ad hoc judge. Note that one judge served as both
6764-519: The use of explosive devices and 89 attacks on the Croatian police were recorded. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior started arming an increasing number of special police forces, and this led to the building of a real army. On 9 April 1991, Croatian President Tuđman ordered the special police forces to be renamed Zbor Narodne Garde ("National Guard"); this marks the creation of a separate military of Croatia. International Criminal Tribunal for
6853-445: Was also a library, a gym and various rooms used for religious observances. The inmates were allowed to cook for themselves. All of the inmates mixed freely and were not segregated on the basis of nationality. As the cells were more akin to a university residence instead of a jail, some had derisively referred to the ICT as the "Hague Hilton". The reason for this luxury relative to other prisons
6942-805: Was also responsible for the Detention Unit for indictees being held during their trial and the Legal Aid program for indictees who cannot pay for their own defence. It was headed by the Registrar, a position occupied over the years by Theo van Boven of the Netherlands (February 1994 to December 1994), Dorothée de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh of the Netherlands (1995–2000), Hans Holthuis of the Netherlands (2001–2009), and John Hocking of Australia (May 2009 to December 2017). Those defendants on trial and those who were denied
7031-718: Was an armed conflict fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia — which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) — and the Serb -controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat operations in Croatia by 1992. A majority of Croats supported Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, while many ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, supported by Serbia , opposed
7120-544: Was an attempt to counter changes made to the constitution. The Croatian government sent police forces to police stations in Serb-populated areas to seize their weapons. Among other incidents, local Serbs from the southern hinterlands of Croatia, mostly around the city of Knin , blocked roads to tourist destinations in Dalmatia. This incident is known as the " Log Revolution ". Years later, during Martić's trial, Babić claimed he
7209-459: Was discovered that Martin Špegelj had pursued a campaign to acquire arms through the black market in January 1991 an ultimatum was issued requesting disarming and disbanding of Croatian military forces considered illegal by the Yugoslav authorities. Croatian authorities refused to comply, and the Yugoslav army withdrew the ultimatum six days after it was issued. On 12 March 1991, the leadership of
7298-463: Was in a much worse state than that of the Serbs. In the early stages of the war, lack of military units meant that the Croatian Police force would take the brunt of the fighting. The Croatian National Guard ( Croatian : Zbor narodne garde ), the new Croatian military, was formed on 11 April 1991, and gradually developed into the Croatian Army ( Croatian : Hrvatska vojska ) by 1993. Weaponry
7387-520: Was in short supply, and many units were either unarmed or were equipped with obsolete World War II-era rifles. The Croatian Army had only a handful of tanks, including World War II-surplus vehicles such as the T-34 , and its Air Force was in an even worse state, consisting of only a few Antonov An-2 biplane crop-dusters that had been converted to drop makeshift bombs. In August 1991, the Croatian Army had fewer than 20 brigades . After general mobilization
7476-473: Was initially formed during World War II to carry out guerrilla warfare against occupying Axis forces . The success of the Partisan movement led to the JNA basing much of its operational strategy on guerrilla warfare, as its plans normally entailed defending against NATO or Warsaw Pact attacks, where other types of warfare would put the JNA in a comparatively poor position. That approach led to maintenance of
7565-636: Was instituted in October, the size of the army grew to 60 brigades and 37 independent battalions by the end of the year. In 1991 and 1992, Croatia was also supported by 456 foreign fighters, including British (139), French (69), and German (55). The seizure of the JNA's barracks between September and December helped to alleviate the Croatians' equipment shortage. By 1995, the balance of power had shifted significantly. Serb forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were capable of fielding an estimated 130,000 troops;
7654-442: Was not present. In the 1970s, Yugoslavia's socialist regime became severely splintered into a liberal-decentralist nationalist faction led by Croatia and Slovenia that supported a decentralized federation to give greater autonomy to Croatia and Slovenia, versus a conservative-centralist nationalist faction led by Serbia that supported a centralized federation to secure Serbia's and the Serbs' interests across Yugoslavia—as they were
7743-535: Was passed on 25 May 1993. It had jurisdiction over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions , violations of the laws or customs of war , genocide , and crimes against humanity . The maximum sentence that it could impose was life imprisonment . Various countries signed agreements with the United Nations to carry out custodial sentences . A total of 161 persons were indicted;
7832-762: Was the first international court for criminal justice, the development of a juridical infrastructure was considered quite a challenge. However, after the first year, the first ICTY judges had drafted and adopted all the rules for court proceedings. 1994–1995: The ICTY established its offices within the Aegon Insurance Building in The Hague (which was, at the time, still partially in use by Aegon) and detention facilities in Scheveningen in The Hague (the Netherlands). The ICTY hired many staff members and by July 1994,
7921-518: Was tricked by Martić into agreeing to the Log Revolution, and that it and the entire war in Croatia was Martić's responsibility, and had been orchestrated by Belgrade. The statement was corroborated by Martić in an interview published in 1991. Babić confirmed that by July 1991 Milošević had taken over control of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). The Croatian government responded to the blockade of roads by sending special police teams in helicopters to
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