Karadžić has been caught!

[DrLacero]

That's right! The former president of Republika Srpska was caught in Belgrade on the 21st of July cahrged with War crimes including 5 counts of crimes against humanity (extermination, murder, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds), 3 counts of violations of the laws of war (murder, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians and taking hostages), 1 count of grave breaches of the Geneva conventions (willful killing) and the unlawful transfer of civilians because of religion or national identity. He is accused of being responsible for the deaths of more than 7500 muslims as well as Tens of thousands of non-Serbs were killed, hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes and thousands more were sent to concentration camps.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that "Today is the day to congratulate the Serbian government, a day to say 'Well done' and to look forward to the next steps of co-operation with the Tribunal in the Hague."

More info (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/876084.stm)

[Spiffing]

yeah, i knew who he was obviously

[Jordy]

Bit old news and I love how you've added 'Thats right!' to the copied and pasted article lol.

I'm strongly against his arrest, I probably wasn't around during the war and I don't know much about it at all but I don't agree with arresting someone for something which happened many years ago and is subsequently over. It's not like you arrest a soldier for murdering someone during times of war? The man is rather old now and he wasn't doing any harm or breaking any laws, he seemed a quiet and settled man in his new life and was working in the poor Health Sector which is surely a good thing?

All this for revenge? It's a waste of the state's money researching 'War crimes' which are all 'done-and-dusted' in my eyes however cruel or wrong they were in the past, they're not going to gain anything from shoving the old man in jail now. The night after his arrest there were already high-tensions in the capital again and the riot police had to be called. This will just bring back the memories for the citizens and do more harm than good. I mean they're still looking for some Nazi leaders and requesting them to be extradited, would the French and Jewish feel satisfied seeing 90 year-old men in prison 60 years later?

[DrLacero]

Bit old news and I love how you've added 'Thats right!' to the copied and pasted article lol.

I'm strongly against his arrest, I probably wasn't around during the war and I don't know much about it at all but I don't agree with arresting someone for something which happened many years ago and is subsequently over. It's not like you arrest a soldier for murdering someone during times of war? The man is rather old now and he wasn't doing any harm or breaking any laws, he seemed a quiet and settled man in his new life and was working in the poor Health Sector which is surely a good thing?

All this for revenge? It's a waste of the state's money researching 'War crimes' which are all 'done-and-dusted' in my eyes however cruel or wrong they were in the past, they're not going to gain anything from shoving the old man in jail now. The night after his arrest there were already high-tensions in the capital again and the riot police had to be called. This will just bring back the memories for the citizens and do more harm than good. I mean they're still looking for some Nazi leaders and requesting them to be extradited, would the French and Jewish feel satisfied seeing 90 year-old men in prison 60 years later?

I didn't actually, but thanks for being nice :@

So you think if someone massacres thousand of people and mistreats hundreds of thousands but doesn't get caught straight away they should be allowed to go free? That's what it sounds like you're saying.

Bin Laden hasn't been caught and he's been free for a long time, should he be left in peace? I don't think so.

[Jordy]

I didn't actually, but thanks for being nice :@

So you think if someone massacres thousand of people and mistreats hundreds of thousands but doesn't get caught straight away they should be allowed to go free? That's what it sounds like you're saying.

Bin Laden hasn't been caught and he's been free for a long time, should he be left in peace? I don't think so.I do apologise if you did write the article, it's commendable as people usually copy and paste and never give credit.

If Bin Laden is still alive, he is very much likely causing a threat to many people all over the world. There's been attacks in recent years such as 7/7, and these have not been resolved so his imprisonment would be justifiable as he is a continuing threat unlike Mr Karadzic.

And yes he should be able to walk free as he posed no threat and they knew that as he was under surveillance. In a war you don't have 'Goodies and baddies', so his opposition were all nice and good were they? Did we treat all Nazi soldiers nicely? The war has been resolved many years ago and is no longer a concern, this is potentially going to spark more violence...

[DrLacero]

I must admit I didn't take your opinion very seriously at first but you have some excellent points there, I'm sure Bush could be charged with War crimes for his dealings but being the leader of a superpower seems to make him immune (I remember a while back the UN tried to charge him with something, maybe somebody can think of what that was?). Forgive and forget may well be the best way for "peace in our time" but so many people seem to prefer the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" approach.

[Frodo13.]

I don't think it makes any difference how long ago it was. Karadzic killed many of innocent people and is responsible for the worst crimes of humanity since The Holocaust, therefore he should be punished. The fact he's lived a lie for the past 10 years to avoid his fate makes it worse imo.

It is however interesting that when Serbia want to join the EU, Karadzic suddenly turns up.

[Jordy]

It is however interesting that when Serbia want to join the EU, Karadzic suddenly turns up.Well spotted, I guess he could of been under surveillance for many months or years and they were just waiting for the perfect time to arrest him, they haven't released much about how they found him.

I personally don't believe in eye for an eye in the vast majority of punishments but interesting points from both of you.