Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom

Radovan Karadzic has petitioned the Trial Chamber to issue a subpoena to former Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg compelling him to an interview conducted by Peter Robinson, Karadzic’s legal adviser. Karadzic states that from May 1993 Stoltenberg was co-chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia and attended many meetings with the accused in a bid to reach a peace agreement.

Karadzic claims that on 25 July 1993 he sent a letter to Stoltenberg indicating that Bosnian Serbs would allow all convoys to enter Sarajevo. Karadzic said in the letter that in his view Sarajevo should be an ‘open city’. Karadzic also contends he promised to stop attacks on the eastern enclaves if they were demilitarized. Karadzic also brings up other rounds of negotiations and meetings in 1993. At all of them, Karadzic advocated the signing of a peace agreement, but President Izetbegovic always refused it, the accused claims.

The document mentions meetings of 6 and 8 February 1994, when Karadzic denied that the Serb side was responsible for the shelling of the Markale town market. The accused also claims that Stoltenberg told him at that time that the analyses showed that the fatal shell, which killed 66 and injured 104 persons, could have been fired by either of the warring parties.

Finally, Karadzic refers to a recent interview in which Stoltenberg explains the reason why peace in Bosnia couldn’t be achieved during his term of office. Stoltenberg blamed Muslims and Americans for the failure of the talks.

Karadzic believes that Stoltenberg has information vital for his defense against the accusations that the former RS president was responsible for the Markale shelling and that he participated in the joint criminal enterprise aimed at expelling and persecuting Bosnian Muslims.

Stoltenberg has already refused to meet with Karadzic’s legal adviser. Karadzic now wants the Trial Chamber to issue a subpoena to the former Norwegian foreign minister compelling him to be interviewed.

Sharing