VZCZCXRO8931
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0268/01 0581352
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271352Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0352
INFO RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 3657
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1304
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SR YI
SUBJECT: MORE SERBIAN REACTIONS TO ICJ RULING 
 
REF: BELGRADE 260 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Serbia's major parties (DSS, DS, SRS, 
SPS) all heralded the findings issued yesterday 
by the International Court of Justice as a 
generally "not guilty" verdict for Serbia.  While 
welcoming the exoneration for complicity in 
genocide, both President Tadic and PM Kostunica 
did acknowledge the ICJ's charge that SCG did not 
act to prevent the genocide, and both 
acknowledged Serbia's need to meet its ICTY 
obligations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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OFFICIAL RESPONSES 
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¶2. (SBU) In his official statement, President 
Tadic noted that the ruling was "immensely 
important to Serbia and its citizens for proving 
that Serbia did not commit genocide in Bosnia? 
but that ?the part of the ruling pertaining to 
Serbia?s failure to do what was in its power and 
prevent the genocide of Bosnian citizens in 
Srebrenica is hard on Serbia".  He highlighted 
the court's demand that the country act on its 
ICTY obligations as soon as possible, stating 
that failure to do so would most likely result in 
"dramatic political and economic consequences". 
President Tadic also urged the Serbian parliament 
to adopt a declaration unequivocally denouncing 
the crimes committed in Srebrenica saying that 
"this would pave the way for improving relations 
between Serbia and BiH, building new trust among 
the peoples of the two countries and improving 
political and economic relations". 
 
¶3. (SBU) PM Kostunica stressed that ?the ICJ 
ruling in Bosnia's lawsuit against FRY is 
particularly important as it clears Serbia of the 
accusation of genocide.?  He allowed, however, 
that the only way to achieve reconciliation 
between the former Yugoslav nations was in the 
completion of the war crimes trials and bringing 
their perpetrators to justice.  He added that 
Serbia was ?undertaking and will continue to 
undertake? all the necessary measures leading to 
the full cooperation with the ICTY. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The single dissenting political voice 
was provided by the center-left LDP coalition. 
In their statement, the party and its partners 
expressed their disbelief at the verdict, stating 
that there is no room for satisfaction, 
highlighting the ICJ's finding that genocide was 
committed in Srebrenica.  "Serbia is guilty of a 
failure to prevent it (genocide) and to punish 
it.  This should be taken very seriously and the 
Serbian Assembly should vote in a resolution on 
the immediate arrest and extradition of Mladic". 
Local human rights organizations also decried the 
ruling as too soft on Serbia.  Serbia's most 
prominent advocate for justice in war crimes 
cases, Natasa Kandic, judged that Serbia's 
success in concealing critical evidence from the 
ICJ resulted in the lighter ruling. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Belgrade media largely followed the 
pattern of yesterday's coverage, with the major 
papers carrying headlines such as "Serbia is not 
guilty" and "Freed from the accusation of 
genocide". Some chose to highlight the fact that 
monetary reparations will not be paid to Bosnia, 
and many left out the details of the two negative 
findings on their front pages.  Most papers 
carried the disappointed reactions to the news 
from Bosnian and Croatian officials. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Opinion pieces were fairly balanced, 
although some authors took a slightly more 
cynical view of the verdict as it pertains to how 
Serbia is viewed in the world. Pro-government 
Politika's Editor-in-Chief Ljiljana Smajlovic 
writes that although expected, the International 
Court of Justice's ruling that Serbia was not 
 
BELGRADE 00000268  002 OF 002 
 
 
responsible for the genocide in Bosnia was 
received with relief by Serbians, but was not 
cause for celebration [Note:  This despite 
reports that the Serbian Embassy in The Hague 
held a party to celebrate the verdict on the 
evening of February 26.  End note.] Smajlovic 
believes that by this ruling, Serbia officially 
became linked to the genocide, and pointed out 
that Serbia's innocence is not complete. She 
writes that "one who watches a crime and does not 
do anything to prevent it is not a moral person," 
and concludes that the decision would most likely 
be used by Bosnians to destroy the legitimacy of 
Republika Srpska. 
 
MOORE