Catching the big fish

tauringhuang.

Jul 23rd 2008
From Economist.com

Leaders indicted for war crimes by international courts


AFTER 13 years on the run, Radovan Karadzic was arrested on Monday July 21st, reportedly while on a bus. He is likely to be sent to The Hague to become the latest political leader to be brought before an international court for war crimes. The former Bosnian Serb leader faces charges of genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. International justice is getting up a head of steam. Several such tribunals have been set up under UN or international auspices in recent years, with varying degrees of success. Gradually some sort of deterrence may be established, to encourage leaders to avoid the worst crimes, although the pace of progress has been slow. A prime minister from Rwanda, Jean Kambanda, was found guilty of genocide in 1998. Other leaders have faced trial, including Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic and Liberia's Charles Taylor. One day Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, may also end up in court.