The Elusive Dr. Karadzic
by Stella L. Jatras
8/19/02

For the past seven years NATO troops tossed out a net to capture the elusive former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic based on either tips from informers [they say] or based on information obtained by threats to Serb government officials and to villagers. The BBC correspondent in Sarajevo, Nick Hawton, reported on 16 August that the latest "36-hour operation involved hundreds of troops, more than 100 vehicles and 12 helicopters in an area where Mr. Karadzic, who is indicted for war crimes by the Hague tribunal is believed to be have spent time in hiding." Hawton also reported that "The chief prosecutor at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Carla Del Ponte, has expressed increasing frustration that Mr. Karadzic remains at large." Capturing Karadzic is undoubtedly her main hope for continuing her illegitimate child, the International War Crimes Tribunal.

On 14 August of this year AP reported, "Last February, NATO-led troops (German, French and American), failed to arrest him [Karadzic] during a surprise daybreak operation in the village of Celebici, 45 miles southeast of Sarajevo. Black-masked troops with assault rifles descended on the remote village, setting off explosives, lifting carpets in homes looking for trap doors and even checking behind a church altar. Karadzic was nowhere to be found."

One factor for NATO's dismal and unsuccessful search for Karadzic is the support network that has been protecting him. Rumors place Karadzic in an area where people loyal to him have provided shelter.  He is said to spend no more than 48 hours in one location and to be surrounded by well-trained bodyguards. AP reported on 16 August 2002, "NATO Operation in Bosnia Concludes." Agence France-Presse reported that same day, "NATO winds down operation in Bosnian village to track down Karadzic." Although this latest and intense operation has been concluded, that is not to say that the bloodhounds will not continue to pursue the wily Serbian fox.

INTERVIEW WITH KARADZIC

Following are excerpts from an interview with the Dutch publication, De Standaard on 16 October 1995 by Axel Buyse in Banja Luca: "Radovan Karadzic Sees NATO as a Monster From the Cold War" that give some insight into the mind of this hunted man. (It should be noted that Karadzic was one of the few leaders of the various parts of the former Yugoslavia without a communist past).

"So much suffering has not been seen in the world since the suffering of Jesus Christ! We are being crucified. Even though we are literally only defending our homes. We were labeled the aggressor, as if we came from the Serb republic. We who have lived here since time immemorial. We are the oldest population group in this country. The Muslims were Serbs once. How can we be aggressors in our own country?

"We have been crucified by the entire world. By great powers. By the EU. And then punished again by NATO. We cannot fight against NATO. We Serbs have fought in many wars. But we have never provoked one.

"This war is an example of what modern media and governments can do. They can arrange anything. Put on a show so that their people believe anything. While watching their television pictures or their radios sometimes I myself almost came to the conclusion: We Serbs, we are real swine. They could put their stories together that well. But one day the world will understand. In the two world wars we fought with Americans, and the French. On each occasion the Croats were on the German side. And they would do the same again.

As a career military officer's wife, Stella Jatras has traveled widely and has lived in many foreign countries where she not only learned about other cultures but also became very knowledgeable regarding world affairs and world politics. Stella Jatras lived in Moscow for two years (where her husband, George, was the Senior Air Attaché), and while there, worked in the Political Section of the US Embassy. Stella has also lived in Germany, Greece and Saudi Arabia. Her travels took her to over twenty countries.

Previous article by Stella Jatras on Antiwar.com

Behind Enemy Lines: Fact or Fiction?
5/14/02

The Crimes of the KLA: Who Will Pay?
3/14/02

The Case of the Invisible Trial, or, 'Where's the Beef?'
3/7/02

'Voices of Moral Obtuseness' or 'Voices of Immoral Bigotry'?
9/29/01

The Media's War Against the Serbs
1/15/01

If It's Good Enough for Serbia's Goose, Why Not for Croatia's Gander?
12/7/00

Srebrenica" – Code Word to Silence Critics of US Policy in the Balkans
7/31/00

From Camp Swampy to Camp Bondsteell
4/6/00

Open Letter to General Michael Short
11/3/99