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Leader: Need for Norwegian review

After Serbia handed Radovan Karadzic to the court in The Hague on Wednesday, it is time for Norway to also examine its role in one of the 20. century's worst genocide.




(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

A new chapter in the history of modern Europe was launched when the Serbian authorities on Wednesday put Radovan Karadzic (63) on the plane to The Hague in the Netherlands. After 13 years in flight, the president of Republika Srpska from 1992 to 1996 will now be tried.

But still, the arrest of war criminal defendant Ratko Mladic, the general who was Karadzic's subordinate and who led the Bosnian-Serbian forces in the "UN safe zone" in Srebrenica 11, is missing. July 1995. In front of Dutch UN forces, in a purely Auschwitz style, he separated women from men, before he executed against 8000 unarmed Bosnian boys and men because of their faith and / or "ethnicity".

The Srebrenica massacre stands as the worst crime against humanity in Europe after the Second World War. It cannot be quiet on the continent until the guilty have received their trial and judgment.

That is why it is so crucial that Karadzic is now arrested. Not only is he charged with the Srebrenica massacre, but also for the three-year siege of Sarajevo. As well as for the creation of concentration camps and for five serious crimes against humanity. Over 100.000 people lost their lives in the Bosnia war as Karadzic started in April 1992.

Not only does the arrest of Karadzic send a warning to the present or future war criminals. Also for tens of thousands of Bosnian women who miss their male family members, it is time for the wanted ones to be arrested.

The Heart of Darkness

Therefore, the arrest of Karadzic can hardly be overestimated. The Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995 is the heart of darkness in modern Europe: While during World War II one could claim that one "did not know" about Hitler's extermination of Jews, gays and Roma people, Karadzic's abuses took place on open television screens. Still, we did not get involved. And yet – with honorable exceptions such as Kjell Arild Nilsen, Maria F. Warsinski, Svein Mønnesland and Aage Borchgrevinck – it is not the awareness of our indirect responsibility that characterizes today's exchange. On the contrary. In the last year, Norwegian newspapers have mentioned the genocide in Srebrenica only 23 times. In comparison, the same media have reported the young Turks' alleged genocide against the Armenians in 1915, during the First World War, three times as often, in 63 articles. And a total of 279 texts if all the net mentions of the "Turks' genocide" are included.

This is despite the historically dubious nature of the debate about defining only the killings of Armenians as genocide, as it appears in Bernt Hagtvet's The Black Book of Genocide (2008). Despite the fact that the Ottoman Empire gave the death penalty to the three main perpetrators of the Armenian killings. And despite the fact that the enormous attention paid to 1915 is mostly an academic debate – with political relevance to make it difficult for Turkey to join the EU – while the families of the Srebrenica victims are still alive and well.

The role of Norway

The same can be said about Norway's willingness to investigate its own role in the Bosnia war, which is now brought to the fore when Karadzic is now in The Hague and the Srebrenica mothers are preparing a lawsuit against the UN system. Norway has a central role in the Balkan tragedy of the 90s. Not only because Thorvald Stoltenberg from the spring of 1993 and during the Srebrenica massacre, when he met Slobodan Milosevic, was the UN peace mediator there. A Dutch investigation report from 2002 – which led to the country's government resigning – states that it was perceived as "unfortunate" that Stoltenberg was appointed, since the former Belgrade ambassador was perceived as "Serb-friendly".

In addition, in 1995 Norway had deployed 600 men in Tuzla, the sector headquarters for Srebrenica. In August 2005, Ny Tid revealed that it was a Norwegian colonel, Hagrup Haukland, who was the superior of the Dutch UN forces who toasted with Mladic in Srebrenica. Haukland was then on holiday in Norway, but is said to have had contact with the Brundtland government. In Haukland's absence, the Dutch deputy commanders were given the responsibility.

In the autumn of 2005, both researchers, Bosnia experts, the Foreign Affairs Committee and Haukland agreed on the need for an investigation of Norway's role during the Bosnia War. But then Stoltenberg's son became prime minister. Little has happened since then.

It is understandable that it is tough to take a critical look at oneself and one's family. But as long as Norway fails to get an impartial assessment of the role of Norwegians during the Balkan wars, the impression is given that there is something to hide. The Netherlands' self-examination is so exemplary. Now that even Serbia has taken its first steps, it is time for Norway to carry out an impartial investigation as well.

Dag Herbjørnsrud
Dag Herbjørnsrud
Former editor of MODERN TIMES. Now head of the Center for Global and Comparative History of Ideas.

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