“In her own memoirs, del Ponte’s former spokeswoman Florence Hartmann recalls that del Ponte insisted, among other things, that Milosevic himself be indicted for Srebrenica and Sarajevo, in the face of resistance from Geoffrey Nice and others, who feared that they would not be able to convince the judges of the validity of the charge. Del Ponte was thus motivated by the commendable desire to ensure that Serbia’s leadership would not escape responsibility for the killing in Bosnia, but her analytical confusion ensured her plan would not go well. In light of Perisic’s acquittal, Nice’s caution, as recalled by Hartmann, appears entirely vindicated. That said, it is worth restating that Perisic’s indictment covered only the period from August 1993, when he was Chief of Staff, not the period when the Serbian aggression was actually launched and the largest part of the killings occurred. Thus, the claims made by Dacic and by the Sense News Agency, that the verdict exonerates Milosevic and Serbia of aggression against Bosnia and Croatia and of culpability in the siege of Sarajevo, are unfounded. Furthermore, as noted above, the Appeals Chamber has not actually changed the facts as established by the Trial Chamber: that the VRS was engaged in criminal activity, at Sarajevo and Srebrenica, and that Serbia’s army was aiding and abetting it while it was doing so”.

Marko Attila Hoare's avatarGreater Surbiton

Perisic

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has acquitted on appeal Momcilo Perisic, former Chief of Staff of the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ), who had previously been sentenced to 27 years in prison for war-crimes in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina. He was one of only six officials from Serbia-Montenegro ever indicted by the ICTY for war-crimes in Bosnia. He was the only member of the high command of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) or VJ ever indicted for war-crimes in Croatia or Bosnia, and the only former JNA officer from Serbia or Montenegro of any rank ever indicted over Bosnia. His acquittal means that, to date, no official or army officer of Serbia-Montenegro and no member of the JNA or VJ high command has been convicted by the ICTY for war-crimes in Bosnia. By any standards, this represents a monumental failure on the part of the Tribunal. Precisely what kind…

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One response to “Why Was Momcilo Perisic Acquitted?”

  1. Michael Silovic Avatar
    Michael Silovic

    This was a move by the ICTY that was nothing more then political to appease the Serbs because we released our generals.I think we may see this a couple of more times to even everything out and so they can move away from the politics of the war.

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I’m Ina

I was born in Croatia and live Australia. I have been described as a prominent figure known for my contribution to the Croatian and wider societies, particularly in the context of Croatia’s transition from communism to democracy, as well as for my many years of work as a clinical psychologist and Chief Executive Officer of government-funded services for people with disabilities, including mental health services, in Australia. In 1995, the President of the Republic of Croatia awarded me two Medals of Honor, the Homeland War Memorial Medal and the Order of the Croatian Trefoil for her special merits and her contribution to the founding of the Republic of Croatia.  I have been a successful blogger since 2011 and write extensively in the English-language on issues related to Croatian current affairs and democracy, as well as the challenges Croatia faced and still faces in its transition from communism. My goal is to raise awareness of these connections and issues worldwide.