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Bosnian ambassador comes to `U'

As the conflicts in Bosnia start to slip out of the public eye, local groups are trying to rekindle societal awareness of the atrocities committed.

The Ann Arbor Committee for Bosnia is bringing three noted experts to the Michigan League Hussey Room at 7:30 p.m. today to talk about the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavian area. Speakers will include Paul Magnarella, an anthropology and international law professor, Naza Tanovic-Miller, a mathematician from Sarajevo, and keynote speaker Nedzeb Sacirbey, ambassador-at-large for the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Sacirbey spoke with The Michigan Daily yesterday about the process of bringing war criminals to justice. The war criminals, he said, will be forced to testify before an international council in The Hague if they are captured by NATO troops.

"It is an obligation of the accords that all sides should agree with the international accords in The Hague," he said.

The governments of Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia have all accepted the obligation that they will bring criminals before the council in The Hague. "At present," Sacirbey said, "Bosnia is the only government cooperating."

Sacirbey said he thinks the war-torn region is moving too slow as the Dayton Peace Accords begin to take effect.

"Yes, it is working," he said. "Not at the speed and specificity that I would like, though."

Daniela Wittmann, chair of the AACB, said there is a need to discuss the injustice of war crimes.

"We're concerned (that) people don't forget that genocide occurred," she said. "The victims of genocide need for the perpetrators to be prosecuted."

Sacirbey described the newest Bosnian unrest as the government prepares to assume control over Serbian-held suburbs of Sarajevo on March 19. Vagosca, a northern suburb, will be taken over tomorrow. Vagosca's mayor, Rajko Karavica, is encouraging Serbs to flee from Muslim rule in protest.

"Karavica does not want Serbs and non-Serbs to live together," Sacirbey said. "He is ordering Serbs to leave the area, telling them it is their patriotic duty not to live together with non-Serbs."

The ambassador said the mayor's actions are not helping matters.

"The people should not be afraid of the government," he said. "If you go to Sarajevo, you will find all places of worship untouched. Muslims, Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Jews are living together."

Sacirbey said those who leave are destroying everything in their path. "They take sinks, toilets and windows ... everything that can be taken out and put on the cart."

"It's destructive behavior," he added. "When you take a sink, you're not only taking a sink, you're taking out the work the people used to put the sink into place."

Sacirbey will talk more about the war tribunal this evening. The event is co-sponsored by the Azari Student Association, the Women's Law Student Association and the Muslim Student Association.