Biljana Plavsic, convicted war criminal, dies at 96
Former Bosnian Serb criminal Biljana Plavsic, who pleaded guilty to her role in the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, has died in Belgrade at the age of 96.
Plavsic died in the Serbian capital and is expected to be buried in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities.
Hague conviction
Plavsic was the only woman convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the UN tribunal established to prosecute crimes committed during the Balkan wars.
After learning that a confidential indictment had been issued against her, she surrendered to the tribunal in 2001. She admitted taking a leading role in a campaign of persecution against Bosniak Muslims and Croats during the war.
The tribunal sentenced her in 2003 to 11 years in prison. She was released early in 2009 after serving roughly two-thirds of her sentence in Sweden.
Plavsic had been a close political associate of Radovan Karadzic, the wartime Bosnian Serb leader who was later convicted of genocide and other crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Political reversal
During the war, Plavsic was known for her hardline Serbian nationalist position. She later underwent a political shift following the Dayton peace agreement.
Between 1996 and 1998, she served as president of Republika Srpska and adopted a more cooperative stance towards the international community.
She moved the political centre away from the nationalist stronghold of Pale to Banja Luka and became an opponent of some of her former hardline allies.
Plavsic gradually withdrew from politics after her party suffered losses in the 2000 local elections. She resigned from the Republika Srpska parliament in December of that year.
Bosnia war left deep scars
The Bosnian war killed around 100,000 people and forced approximately 2.2 million from their homes.
Plavsic, a biology professor before entering politics, was among the most prominent Bosnian Serb officials of the period. She was later described as the highest-ranking former Yugoslav official to accept responsibility for atrocities committed during the Balkan wars.
Srebrenica remains a lasting legacy of the war
The death of Plavsic comes as Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to commemorate the victims of the Srebrenica genocide.
Bosnian Serb forces under Ratko Mladic killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around Srebrenica in July 1995, after the UN had declared the town a safe area.
Thousands of civilians attempted to escape through forests towards territory held by Bosnian government forces. The route became known as the death road after large numbers of people were killed in ambushes.
International courts have recognized the Srebrenica killings as genocide. Mladic was convicted by the Hague tribunal of genocide and other crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Karadzic was also convicted of genocide and other crimes.
Ten more victims to be buried
Ten additional victims of the Srebrenica genocide are due to be buried following a commemorative ceremony marking the anniversary of the massacre.
Families of victims, officials, diplomats and representatives from several countries are expected to attend ceremonies at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre.
Source:AA
