Europe’s "Paradise for War Criminals” takes Chair at Council of Europe

As a human rights organization in participatory status with the Council of Europe, Society for Threatened Peoples International (STP International) learned with horror that Serbia has taken the chair at the Council of Europe. "This country is not only a place of refuge for Karadzic and Mladic, but a paradise for thousands of people who participated in war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” wrote the president of STP International, Tilman Zülch, to the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.

Together with several victim alliances from the women of Srebrenica:

"Mothers of Srebrenica" – Srebrenica, "Movement of the Mothers from the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa" – Sarajevo, "Women from Srebrenica" – Tuzla, "Association of Camp Detainees Bosnia and Herzegovina” – Sarajevo, "Association of the Victims of Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina” – Sarajevo/Srebrenica, "Women – Victims of the War” – Sarajevo, "Women from the Drina Valley” – Sarajevo/Bratunac, Roma Union Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Izvor” – Missing People Union Prijedor, "With Heart to Peace” – Prijedor/Kozarac, "Zena Bosnia and Herzegovina” – Mostar, "Youth Forum” Stolac, "For Missing People from Hadzici, as for the female camp detainees or associations for missing people – among them four mother’s associations from Srebrenica –, STP International appealed to the member states of the Council of Europe to condition Serbia’s further presidency at the Council of Europe to the following points:

- turning over of the six main war criminals (Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, Zdravko Tolimir, Goran Hadzic, Stojan Zupljanin, Vlastimir Djordjevic) to The Hague War Crimes Tribunal;

- handing over further supposed war criminals to Bosnia- Herzegovina’s authorities.

STP International reminds of the fact that the Serbian war criminals mentioned above are sharing the responsibility for the construction of numerous detention and concentration camps, as well as rape camps. They are considered jointly responsible for massacres in Eastern, Northern and Western Bosnia, for the "ethnic cleansing” and eviction of 2.2 million Bosnian children, women and men and for the siege, bombardment and famishment of Bosnian cities and even UN Safety Areas over a period of four years, not forgetting the destruction of about 1200 Islamic and 450 Catholic churches and community buildings.

In view of these horrible crimes, the election of Tomislav Nikolic to be the new president of the Serbian parliament is, according to STP International, a provocation for Europe through the majority of the Serbian parliament. Nikolic also fills the position of vice-president of the radical party, whose leader, Vojislav Seselj, is facing indictment in The Hague.