Life in Bosnia: A Visit to The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Life in Bosnia: A Visit to The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Two weeks ago I arrived at The Hague, Netherlands to visit a friend of mine, Nada, who interned at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She and I taught at the same high school in Sarajevo in 2006. I flew at 6:20 a.m., thus all I wanted to do the rest of the morning was to take a quick nap before exploring the city.

 Eventually, she convinced me to follow her to work and saw the trial of Vojislav Seselj, the founder and former president of the Radical Serbian Party. Being a brilliant lawyer, Seselj defended himself against a panel of three judges and three (or four) prosecutors. On that day, the court interrogated him for crimes committed against Croatian civilians, I assumed. All questions, facts, and evidence focused on Croats and villages in Croatia. I also frequently heard the words “Franjo Tudman,” a former Croatian president and “Utasha,” a Croatian Revolution Movement.

I knew nothing about Seselj before arriving at the trial. He made a good impression on me with his composure and his dominating personality while questioning the witness. The witness kept saying “yes,” “I also heard that,” or “I read that” to the majority of Seselj’s questions regarding Serb civilians being discriminated and oppressed under Tujdman’s regime. Seselj studied law with my friend Nada’s uncle at Sarajevo University and visited her grandparents’ house during the good old days back when he was a “normal” man. “He was extremely smart and polite before becoming crazy with his ideology,” Nada said. “You saw how he kept looking at me from the inside. He hates that he’s in there, and I’m out here.” “Why is that so?” I asked. “Uh, ’cause he and his men tried to kill people like me.” Just so you get the overall picture, my friend Nada wears a head-scarf that sets her out from the crowd. She was referring to herself but the Muslims in general.

Neither did I have paper and pen to jot down what were discussing at the trial nor was I allowed to. Only visitors with press badges, who sit on the left side, can take notes. For a complete transcript of the trial and video feeds of the courtroom, check out the links below.

The trials are open to the public for free. You get a visitor ticket from the security-guarded reception, and then you can proceed to the courtrooms after leaving all electronics and dangerous objects in a locker.

Resources:

• United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
• The court transcript (only on the day I was there)
• Charges against Vojislav Seselj