War crimes tribunal: Is justice being done?

The United Nations' war crimes tribunal in The Hague has passed a 46-year jail sentence on former Bosnian Serb general Radislav Krstic. Is the court now showing its teeth?

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It has taken a decade to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities during the Balkans conflicts. Now more cases are pending.

But is the tribunal bringing proper justice to the dead and bereaved and appropriate punishment to those convicted? Or is it, as former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic says, a tool of the West whose authority should not be binding?

This is what you've said

The court is showing its teeth, but they are the teeth of a Chihuahua. The systematic murder of thousands of people, regardless of religion or political influence, demands the teeth of a Rottweiller. Or is the tribunal trying to say that genocide pays, after all? -- Eugene Stakhov, U.S.

Although the court decision is a step forward, I believe it is far from justice. Krstic together with all those who were involved in the genocide should be executed. If the end of this tragedy is just putting one or two people in prison then that will be a great incentive for other criminals to do the same -- Abdullah Alangari, U.S.

The United Nations could have stoped the genocide in Yugoslavia, but they simply chose to ignore. This is no different than when the U.N decided to ignore Canadian and Belgian military officials in Rwanda. The massacres in Rwanda, just like the massacres in Yugoslavia were preventable. The real criminals are the cowards in the U.N who decide to sit back and do nothing while thousands are killed. Only after the fighting and killing has stopped does the the U.N finally act. Unfortunatly they act far to late -- Mitchell Feldman, Canada

Justice has finally been done. I often wonder if the children of this world could make a difference. Yes -- they can! If only the children who this Serbian killed could have their say now. My point is that there is not enough being done to uphold 'the family unit'. What happened to the family unit? We all as human beings should think about each other more and respect each other more. If we don't, we won't have any family to turn too -- Peter J. Markham, Laos

I don't think 46 years is enough for a person who kills indiscriminately just because you don't belong to his ethnic group. These murders were both planned and for a purpose. He was not temporarily insane or a minor. But I could say that we are a step closer to justice. This is a CLEAR message to all heads of states who think they can erase people they do not desire -- Waleed Nassar, Egypt

A guily verdict is the only one, but the punishment, jail time instead of the death sentence, shows how weak and soft the European countries -- individually and collectively -- have become. If they were strong, they would go get the other war criminals who remain at large. It's common knowledge as to where they are. -- Bruce Smith, U.S.

I am proud to live in a country that does not suport the death penalty. Even in the most extreme case such as this we should not turn to become a culture that solves problems with violence - Albert Westerhoff, Netherlands

Why aren't UN and NATO leaders also on trial for malignant negligence? -- Michael Kelly, U.S.

46 years, what a joke. We put people to death in this country for killing 1 person. He killed 8000. What resort will he be staying at? -- Bob Knauth, U.S.

He should have been given death penalty -- Jack Postal, England.

It is a good start. Before the tribunal dictators got away with it... The victims will suffer maybe a little less, knowing that the leaders did not get "off the hook". The "small fish" should be procecuted too, preferably in their own country -- Gert Vogelaar, The Netherlands.

Okay but let's go after the rest of them, e.g., political, military and paramilitary leaders from both Croatia and Serbia. Naturally, the majority of those to be put in the dock are Serbs for they were the one common element in all of the tragedies here -- Roon Lee, Yugoslavia.

Justice will be seen to be done when General Mladic and Radovan Karadzic are brought to the court to answer and explain for their conduct in this war -- Paul Murray, Ireland.

This is not justice! 10,000 human beings are murdered in clood blood and this murderer just gets 46 years. I can't even see how something like this can happen in modern times. This is surely a disgrace for all humans whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religon -- Ali Radwan, Egypt.

This is only half of justice. Somebody is responsible for retrieving Dutch troops and leaving Srebrenica without guard. This is justice for winners only -- Vlado Matus, Slovak Republic.

The justice is definitely being served. Nothing can bring back the lives lost but just the fact that Krstic like many others at the time thought they were above any law other than their military structure and found themselves in The Hague is a milestone enough. A lot of work still remains to be done, but this sends a clear and present message to all future monsters in the world. When you intend to harm an individual or a group, you are about to harm humanity, and humanity will seek to make you pay for it. Think twice... Almir, Bosnia.

The criminal prosecution of him is appropriate. But it shoud not be used as a tool for power game or political gain. Won J. Lee, U.S.

The punishment for committing war crimes against humanity should be death. 46 years for killing so many people is not justice. He needs to be executed and all others who commit war crimes against humanity. The people who were supposedly safeguarding the safe zone should also be responsible for this atrocity. Raul Jameer, U.S.

Obviously the West -- without openly admitting to it -- considers the mostly Muslim victims as sub-humans. How else can one explain this ridiculous sentence and the fact that beforehand these crimes are deemed not grave enough to merit death penalty? A. Reysenbach, The Netherlands.

This is not a justice. 46 years for genocide of 10,000 Muslims. He, together with ALL OF THE SERB FASCIST AND TERRORISTS, should have been executed by the Muslim court and Muslims themselves. Give the justice to those that suffered and don't bother about SERB COWARDS who kill tied up men, pregnant women and little kids. Muhamed Pasic, Bosnia.

Muhamed Pasic, it seems to me that you are mixing up justice and revenge. I think this trial comes as close as possible to bringing justice. Wolfgang Schneider, Germany.

Forty-six years, what a joke. We put people to death in this country for killing one person. He killed 8,000. What resort will he be staying at? Bob Knauth, U.S.

We are finally holding people accountable for their actions! The process is not perfect and needs to be expanded to include other issues. However, it is a step in the right direction. Even though it is surely contaminated with political overtones, we can only pray that has begun to demonstrate to the world that we should think twice before being involved with those who would bring death and suffering in the name of peace and justice. W. C. Windsor, U.S.

Justice is definitely being served. Nothing can bring back the lives lost but just the fact that Krstic like many others at the time thought they were above any law other than their military structure and found themselves in the Hague is a milestone enough. Almir, Bosnia.

This is only half of justice. Somebody is responsible for retrieving Dutch troops and leaving Srebrenica without guard. This is justice for winners only. Vladimir Matus, Republic of Slovakia.

Who was responsible for keeping the U.N. safe area safe, and why are they also not on trial? Seems to me it was a DEVASTATING failure on the part of the defenders who let it happen as much as a fault of the Serbs who did the deeds. Jab, U.S.

NATO leaders ex-U.S. president Clinton, British Premier Blair, former U.S. Secretary of State Albright and all the commanders and leaders who participated in the war against Yugoslavia in 1999 should also stand trial for crimes against humanity. Lisulo Lisulo, Zambia.

Aspiring monsters take note: You are not going to get away with it. The War Crimes Tribunal will become the accepted standard for taking you to justice. Paul Luykx, The Netherlands.

This Tribunal will only be a BIG JOKE until we see some of the NATO generals who deliberately murdered civilians in Yugoslavia jailed for crimes against humanity. Adrian Serban, Canada.

Adrian Serban, it appears that you can't distinguish between selective strikes against military targets and lining up boys and emptying automatic weapons into them. You are a hypocrite, because you enjoy the protection of a NATO country and an idiot for not understanding the differences between these two types of events. Scott A. Sumner, U.S.

The court is working but much too slowly. It's taken ten years even to begin to get anything like justice. Roger Timberlake, UK.

It is good that at least some thing is happening in this issue. But it is anybody's guess whether complete justice will be done to the families of the victims. Shanmukha Rewal, India.

The West courted Milosevic while he was in power - now they are prosecuting him for war crimes. Surely if the court is to be seen to be consistent, NATO leaders must also be held responsible for the suffering the Yugoslav people during the bombing campaign. It can't be taken seriously unless it also address human rights violations in places like Northern Ireland, Chile, Chechnya, China, Israel and Sierra Leone. Paul Curtis, UK.

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