'Happy Birthday, Mr President Karadzic'
| 19 June 2009 |BIRN's Justice Report has learnt that the posters, featuring Radovan Karadzic’s picture and “Happy birthday, President!”, appeared in Bosanski Novi, Prijedor, Gradiska, Banja Luka, Doboj, Brcko, Bijeljina, Vlasenica and Pale.
Members of the Serbian National Movement Izbor je Nas (The Choice is Ours), are behind the campaign.
Justice Report has discovered that the posters in Banja Luka and Bijeljina downtown area have already been removed. The ones in Brcko are expected to be removed soon.
Halid Emkic, spokesperson of the Brcko district police, said: “The team has taken the measures and actions in order to document the incident. The prosecutor has been informed about it. Measures will be taken to remove the posters.”
Tijana Savic, spokesperson for the RS Police, said police had received a report on some posters having been put up in Bijeljina only.
“The prosecution claims that there is no evidence of a criminal act and the posters have been removed,” Savic said.
Dane Cankovic, the movement's president, told Justice Report: “In this way we are showing that we have not forgotten the person who deserves the credit for establishment of Republika Srpska and defence of the Serbian people. We have undertaken this action in order to show that we have not forgotten him. We wished him a happy birthday, which is a civilised act. We are hoping that Radovan Karadzic will be glad to see this.”
Karadzic, the first President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of the RS Armed Forces, has been charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of laws and practices of warfare. After having been on the run for years, he was arrested in Belgrade in July 2008. His trial is expected to begin at The Hague in the coming months.
“Radovan Karadzic is a political visionary, humanist and peacemaker. He fights for the truth. So, help us God, the Hague Tribunal will render a verdict of not guilty after it sees the evidence he presents,” Cankovic said
Karadzic was born on June 19, 1945, in the village of Petnjica, in Montenegro.
(Report by BIRN - Justice Report. www.bim.ba)
Friday, June 19, 2009