War Criminal Trials 1 Running Head: HOW WAR CRIMINALS ARE BEING TRIED FOR THEIR CRIMES

War Criminals; Their Crimes and Trials Maysie Smithwick Polaris Expeditionary Learning School Current Issues Chris Boyle April 24th 2012

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Many war criminals of the 20th century are not being proficiently tried for their atrocities. And if they have, victims, or families of victims do not feel as if they are brought to justice. The international response to genocides, and crimes against humanity has been insufficient. Many trials have caused problems to arise, for instance, some criminals seem to escape for extensive amounts of time, and with this time they age, therefore their defensive strategy revolves around their health. Some criminals never get caught, bringing no justice to the situation. Some criminals have caused their own deaths, which is not what victims would prefer. Trials may last very long, and some may not have enough evidence to be justified. The numerous, and seemingly unending presence of these outrageous acts of genocide brings us to ask, if justice really can be done. Can reconciliation and justice be brought together? War crime trials throughout history have brought up the issue of sufficiently accounting criminals to their atrocious acts, such as The Nuremberg Trials; and current trials, such as the trial of Ratko Mladic, Khmer Rouge officials, and men involved in the Rwandan Genocide. The Holocaust was a horrendous crime of mass murder, fallacious imprisonments, torture, rape, and theft. The aftermath of this caused the creation of the International Military Tribunal (IMT). Held in Nuremberg, Germany, the IMT was created to approach this issue on legal matters . The people that were heavily involved in the execution of millions of Jews, Gypsies, and rebels of the German forces, were put on trial and given their sentences. Twenty-two men were convicted of four different counts. All of whom were held accountable for the first charge; Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War. The second was

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Crimes Against Peace, which included the violation of treaties, such as the Treaty of Versailles, and other agreements; 16 defendants were tried for this count. War Crimes was the third count, which included 18 offenders, contained such acts as mistreatment of prisoners, and forced labor. The fourth count, which accounted 18 of the tried men, was Crimes Against Humanity, which concerned those of which who implemented events of the concentration and death camps, as well as other horrendous attacks on civilians (The Nuremberg Trials and Their Legacy., 2012). Although nearly all of the defendants of the Nuremberg Trials were adequately tried for their crimes, a small number did not. Adolf Hitler himself, leader of the Nazis, committed suicide, knowing he would otherwise be hung. Also, a small number were acquitted, due to little evidence, and a few were only given 10-20 years in prison. (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2002). One man, Martin Bormann, who escaped, some say to Argentina, but was never found or accounted for. Bormann was a key component in the Nazi reign. He assisted Adolf Hitler in making key decisions, and he should have been found and hung, as other perpetrators were. Josef Mengele, The Angel Of Death, the infamous Nazi doctor, who caused the deaths of a countless number of children, men , and women. Mengele would had been hung, as his crimes against humanity outnumbered others, but before the trials could begin, he disappeared. Mengeles remains were thought to have been found in 1985, in Brazil. It seemed he had been living there under a fallacious name. The Nuremberg Trials were a notable step in future war crime trials, and showed the world that the justice system must do a better job in finding escaped criminals, and finding enough evidence to properly try them.

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Another tragedy that occurred 50 years after the Holocaust was the Bosnian Genocide. Ratko Mladic was placed in charge of the execution of Bosnian Muslims and Croats by the Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic1. He committed atrocious crimes during the Bosnian war, and ethnic cleansing in 1995. (Brammertz, 2011). Ratko Mladic assisted hugely in the deaths of around 100,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats. Mladic himself was in charge of one of the biggest massacres of the Bosnian War, the destruction of Srebrenica, Bosnia. He entered the city alongside the Bosnian Serb Army, and caused the deaths of some 7,500-8,000 Bosniak boys and men. He is also thought to have been involved in the three-and-a-half year siege of Sarajevo, where 10,000 people were killed, including 3,500 children. This was the worst genocide in Europe since World War II. Soon afterwards, because UN forces were being unhelpful in stopping these people, NATO bombed the capital, Sarajevo. At the end of the war, Mladic escaped. The man described as The Butcher of Bosnia, (Mladic trial opening postponed until May 16, 2012) had disappeared. Later found in Belgrade, Serbia, Ratko Mladic was arrested May 26, 2011. As a prosecutor at the Hague (The International Court of Justice) stated, 16 years was too long. Although ever since then, Mladic has been detained in the Hague Detention Center, awaiting trial, which is set to be May 17th, 2012. He is now 70 years old, with deteriorating health. His lawyers have requested adjournment for this reason, as he suffered two strokes while in hiding. As a result of poor health, his lawyers have changed the date of the trial many times. This is one issue that arises often with war criminals, as they have been in hiding for so long, they oftentimes are in poor health and continue to

Slobodan Milosevic died four years into his trial, on March 11th, 2006

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reschedule a trial. (Bilefsky and Carvajal, 2011), Ratko Mladic carried out many crimes against humanity, and should be tried for his crimes. (Baba, 2011). Another terrible act of inhumaneness, was the Rwandan Genocide was one of the worst genocides of the century, and putting the victims to justice is crucial in creating a more peaceful society. The masterminding behind the Rwandan Genocide, was done by Theoneste Bagosora. He captured December 18th 2008. He helped other Hutu soldiers in the killing of 800,000 Tutsi citizens. They murdered them all in 100 days. This crime had to be one of the worst since the Holocaust. Bagosora had been under a 5 year trial before judges revealed he had in fact used the military and extremist Hutu militia to spark the massacre of so many people. Theoneste Bagosora will be serving the rest of his life in prison. The Rwandan War Crimes Tribunal have been working on placing other criminals in jail, and a few have pled guilty, but some still remain. None of the Hutu convicted have apologized for their crimes, which raises concern in the Tutsi community, that something like this could happen again. (McGreal, 2008), (Powers, 2002). For three years, a man named Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge, a communist agrarian guerrilla movement, ravaged the country of Cambodia from 1975, to 1978. When war trials2 had begun for perpetrators of war crimes from Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia3, it was not long before the world turned its attention to the Khmer Rouge. Western governments, the UN and Cambodian Non-Governmental Organizations began talking about utilizing a similar mechanism into putting the Communist revolutionaries in their place. The Khmer Rouge effectively murdered two million people,

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The UN began large investigations of these war criminals in 1994. Countries other than Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered similar genocides (Power, Samantha A Problem From Hell)

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very many of whom were educated. (Power, 2002) The Khmer Rouge, with Pol Pot as prime minister of Cambodia, banished everyone from cities, forcing them to work as peasants in the countryside, where many of them died of overwork, exhaustion and poor nutrition. Pol Pot eventually surrendered the title of the Khmer Rouge commander in 1985, but continued in the guerrilla movement. A group of his former followers later captured him and put him under house arrest in 1997. In 1998 he died from unknown causes, as he was cremated before an autopsy could be done, but it is suspected that he committed suicide. (Funk and Wagnalls encyclopedia, 2012) 30 years after the acts were committed, men who were involved in the Khmer Rouge are being put on trial only recently. Kang Kek lew (Comrade Duch), who was the leader of the Tuol Sleng Prison, was sentenced to life in prison only earlier this year. Three other leaders in the Khmer Rouge are still on trial, and have not been sentenced yet, their names are Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Sary . (Reaksmmey, 2012). 30 years for a trial to begin, is much longer than many of the other trials. The act of war crimes is horrible in itself, but the fact that many current war criminals are being tried some 10-30 years after they commit their crime is outrageous. The Nuremberg trials were a fine example of how many times, a war crime can be brought to justice, but with little evidence, some men can be acquitted, although they should not be. Ratko Mladics trial shows the world that finding war criminals in hiding is vital in bringing out justice, as using the excuse of poor health, is somewhat valid. As trials may last extensive amounts of time, sometimes they must for criminals such as Theoneste Bagosoras trial. In the case of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge one may end their own life out of guilt, but is that justice? Do victims feel like them taking their own life is enough, or

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should they have been taken to court? Many war criminals are not being put in court and tried properly, so using past examples may help international war crimes trials to be as effective as possible.

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Works Cited

Bilefsky, Dan, and Doreen Carvajal. "Serbia Says Jailed Mladic Will Face War Crimes Trial." The New York Times. 26 May 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/world/europe/27ratko-mladic.html?_r=2&hp#>.

Iyer, Pico, and Gavin Scott. "SEARCHES A MANHUNT LEADS TO BONES Brazilian Police Claim To Have Found Josef Mengele's Remains." Time 125.24 (1985): 38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.
"Khmer Rouge." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Power, Samantha. A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic, 2002. Print. "MILOEVI, Slobodan." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. McGreal, Chris. "'Enemies of Humanity' Jailed for War Crimes." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/19/rwandaunited-nations>. POL POT. [serial online]. n.d.;Available from: Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 25, 2012. Press, Associated. "2-day Delay Announced for Start of Ratko Mladic Genocide Trial at UN War Crimes Tribunal." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2-day-delay-announced-for-start-of-ratko-mladicgenocide-trial-at-un-war-crimes-tribunal/2012/04/24/gIQAepH4dT_story.html>. "War Crimes Trials." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.