Karadzic-Holbrooke agreement in Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Glas Javnosti - Sunday, March 25, 2007

An original of the agreement between former US diplomat Richard Holbrooke and Republika Srpska president Radovan Karadzic is in the archives of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIP), Vlado Nadezdin, former chief of cabinet of SRJ [Federal Republic of Yugoslavia] foreign minister Milan Milutinovic, told the Banja Luka paper Fokus.

"The agreement was executed in four identical copies, I saw them with my own eyes. It says that Karadzic is freed of accountability before the Hague tribunal," said Nadezdin.

The agreement says that "the SDS [Serbian Democratic Party] will not be banned, that Karadzic will withdraw from political life and that he will not influence elected representatives of RS [Republika Srpska]". "Paragraph three states that the Hague tribunal has no jurisdiction and that Karadzic is freed of accountability and prosecution by it."

"The agreement I saw was signed before the Dayton agreement. That is why Karadzic did not go to Dayton," claims Nadezdin. He adds that he knows that some intermediary[[-ies] brought papers to Holbrooke and Karadzic to sign, and that they personally [lit. directly] agreed on the elements of the agreement.

Former RS foreign minister Aleksa Buha was witness to the signing of the agreement, which was also signed by Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic, and by Slobodan Milosevic and Milan Milutinovic.

"When I asked Holbrooke, on July 19, 1996 at 02,00 hours, what this meant, he answered that "the SDS is going to the elections and the Hague tribunal is history for Radovan," said Buha. He explained that the text [of the agreement] was exchanged several times by fax between Karadzic and Holbrooke until it was agreed upon.

A facsimile of the agreement, which is denied by the [US] State Department and Holbooke himself, has been published by Focus. The agreement details that Karadzic is to move to a location agreed upon orally, either in RS or SRJ, and that he is to be provided with 600.000 dollars in local currency, for his life expenses for the next six years.

DRASKOVIC: I WILL CHECK

Serbian foreign minister Vuk Draskovic told Glas that he is unaware that an original of the agreement between Karadzic and Holbrooke is located in the archives of [the Serbian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"No, I don't believe it. I will check whether the document exists in our archives. But I think it's not true," commented Draskovic.

B. R.

Original URL: http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2007/03/25/srpski/T07032403.shtml
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