| Savo Strbac is head of
the 'Veritas' organisation, which purports to be an NGO devoted
to Serbian victims of Croats. The 'Greater Serbia' imagery on their
webpage gives the game away. Strbac was 'government secretary' of
the RSK. The RSK was the 'Republika Srpska Krajina'. It covered
the one third of Croatia that was ethnically cleansed by Serbian
forces - an illegal para-state founded on mass murder and war crimes.
It took its orders and was funded by Milosevic's Serbia.
Ex-RSK President, Milan Babic, signed an admission
that the RSK
persecuted Croats. He pleaded guilty at the Hague to persecution.
On that day, the Hague published a statement of the facts that
Babic agreed to. Para 33b clearly states that the government bodies
of the RSK were set up to help the Yugoslav Army and parallel
institutions to carry out a joint criminal enterprise. And Strbac
was part of those government bodies. Amongst the crimes those
bodies assisted in were extermination and imprisonment of non-Serbs,
ethnic cleansing of thousands and the destruction of homes.
Strbac played a major role in the RSK- arguably
he was its lynchpin.
Strbac would be present at government meetings.
His signature, along with other participants, can clearly be seen
on many of the
meeting records. As government secretary, he was charge of all
documentation.
Strbac kept the RSK functioning. Other documents
show he appeared to have a co-ordinating role between departments.
Some of these documents are highly disturbing.
Strbac helped
facilitate the growth of Greater Serbia. A request went to him
asking that the 'municipality of Zadar' be absorbed by the RSK.
Presumably this was occupied territory around Zadar which had
been besieged by Ratko Mladic - for which he has not been indicted.
Strbac processed the request, sending it on - and thus plays his
part in attempting to absorb Croatian territory into the RSK and
Greater Serbia.
Not only that, but he similarly processes a similar
request to take over a Croatian firm 'Radnik' in Benkovac the
Serbs had captured. He describes the firm as 'war gains' - looting
in other words.
So Strbac can hardly claim he did not know what
was going on or was not involved.
Let us make no mistake; Strbac was an important
person. RSK documents give his job position a rating of 4,7. This
marking appears explained in another RSK document. Markings are
given in relation to matters such as responsibility. Those that
fall in the 4,6 - 5, 0 range are in the highest grade.
A document outlining regulations of how the RSK
government works (marked 03- /1-1992) sheds even more light. It
points out in Article 3 that the Government Secretary must work
closely with the RSK President as well as having a co-ordinating
role for the RSK (Article 4). Article 20 shows he must schedule
government meetings. Article 34 states he looks after government
meeting documentation and determines when they can be used, setting
regulations on that .. This included military secrets as related
in Article 16. Article 33 states that the President or Vice-President
signs off various acts, regulations etc of the state. It also
says the government can delegate that task to the government secretary.
So Mr Strbac was a very responsible person indeed.
And he must know a lot about the RSK. But he appears
neither to have been investigated by the Hague Prosecutor nor
has he been used as witness against RSK indictees. Carla Del Ponte
- and her predecessors - seem to be protecting him. Instead they
use him to prosecute Croats, turning a blind eye to his involvement
in the Joint Criminal Enterprise they themselves acknowledge to
have existed.
Strbac himself has related how important he is
to the Hague Tribunal's investigations. In a round table discussion
held in Belgrade in November 1998 - and attended by Tribunal staff
- Strbac himself described his importance. He related how the
Hague asked him to find 293 witnesses for them in order to start
an investigation. Savo Strbac was therefore not only
instrumental in starting investigations against Croats but will
be providing most of the evidence.
The Hague have themselves related how vital Strbac
is to them in a "Letter of Endorsement" to help this
ex-RSK official to raise funds for 'Veritas'. Signed by Deputy
Prosecutor Graham Blewitt on 2 March 2000, Veritas, "led
by Mr Savo Strbac", assists the prosecutor in a "professional,
serious and responsible manner by collecting information about
certain events which occurred during the period 1990-1995 in Croatia."
Veritas provides "access" to victims
and witnesses. Blewitt goes on to say that two Veritas projects
"if properly funded" could "advance considerably
some important investigations" of the Prosecutor who "considers
every possible support to centre "Veritas"as very important
contribution to the work of this Tribunal".
Is it any wonder the Milosevic trial has turned
into a farce? It would appear that half the prosecutor's office
are working with one of his RSK henchmen. Worse still, they are
helping Strbac to raise funds in order
to help prosecute Croats.
The taxpayers of the countries funding the Prosecutor
expect their money to be used to prosecute the worst war criminals.
They do not expect the Prosecutor to work with and endorse the
likes of Savo Strbac, who
participated in, and who wishes to restore, the criminal RSK.
Imagine the outcry if Croatian prosecutors worked
with and endorsed officials from the World War 2 Ustasha regime
of 1941-5? Or if in London Scotland Yard did the same with the
racist British National Party? Or in the United States the FBI
with white supremacists?
Indeed, if the Hague Prosecutors were Scotland
Yard or the FBI, the indictments against Croats would have been
rescinded and they themselves placed under investigation.
Similarly then, the cases against Croatian generals
should be dropped; given Strbac's involvement we have clear evidence
of prosecutorial
bias. Work on the Croat cases should be suspended and this matter
investigated.
And what of Carla Del Ponte, Chief Prosecutor?
Her office has worked with and publicly endorsed someone they
knew to have been part of the RSK - by their own admission a criminal
enterprise. If these documents
are correct, Strbac helped facilitate absorption of Croatian territory
into a Greater Serbia as well as the looting of Croatian property.
Carla Del Ponte is in charge. It was under her
that the indictments against most Croatian Army personnel went
ahead, largely based on evidence
provided by a top RSK official.
She should do the honourable thing and resign.
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