Dutch Soldiers to Testify in Karadzic's Defense

*  Just catching up: a few posts for the archives. At last the truth comes out!

* Update: 

Bosnia: gay “festival” during Ramadan angers the faithful

They must not have gotten the memo that “jihad” is but another word for gay love. “Gay festival during Ramadan angers Bosnia Muslims,” by Maja Zuvela for Reuters, 

Dutch Soldiers from Srebrenica Battalion Offer to Testify in Karadzic’s Defense

From the Byzantine blog

Some 15 Dutch soldiers of the former Netherlands battalion stationed in Srebrenica during the Bosnian civil war came to Belgrade on Wednesday, offering to testify in the Hague tribunal on behalf of Dr. Karadzic, a member of Radovan Karadzic’s defense team Milivoje Ivanisevic toldVecernje Novosti.

“We talked about their possible testimony. They stressed that the Serbs did not commit war crimes against the Muslim civilians when they were passing through several dozen of their villages [in Srebrenica municipality] the Dutch soldiers were securing. They came over at their own expense and said they will testify and invite more of their fellow soldiers to testify too. They left Belgrade on Thursday,” Ivanisevic said.

To see how relevant their testimonies would be, Ivanisevic talked to each Dutch soldier who came to Belgrade, individually, about when and where he was and what was he doing. Asked by Vecernje Novosti why haven’t they showed up before to say what really happened in Srebrenica, Ivanisevic said he didn’t pose that question, but added that Dutch soldiers complained there is a complete repression against them in Holland that had lasted for the past 10 years because they are blamed for allegedly “failing to protect Srebrenica”.

“Perhaps the things are finally getting ripe now”, Ivanisevic said. “They told me they came here in apprehension and worried, because they expected to be hated in Serbia just like back home. They said in Srebrenica at the time they had to protect themselves from the Muslims, rather than protect Muslims from the Serbs. Serb Army, according to them, was helping the Muslim women and their children, bringing them food and water”, Ivanisevic conveyed the conversation he had with Dutch soldiers who were stationed in Srebrenica in 1995.

Orie Out

On Thursday, Radovan Karadzic received another good news — Serbophobic judge Alphons Orie has been removed from the post of the head judge in the case against him. The decision was brought by the tribunal’s president Fausto Pocar who ordered that the case is assigned to another council of judges.

The Hague staff rushed to assure the media Pocar’s decision was not a result of Dr. Karadzic’s request to exempt Orie from his case due to bellicose Serbophobia Orie had exhibited on numerous occasions. But Pocar’s reasons for removing Orie from the process against Republic of Srpska first president are entirely irrelevant, as long as the goal has been achieved.