Rulings

Coincidences are funny. Surprising. Just two days ago Pi asked me to write about the most recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then she apologized for potentially ruining my weekend. I told her that the thought of that war doesn't depress me anymore, and that I'll try to write some over the weekend. Obviously, I did not get around to it. Then I listened to the BBC World Service this morning. And I cried. The UN court has cleared Serbia of direct responsibility for genocide in BIH. You can read a story over at BBC . Or, you can read what Washington Post has to say.
I like this quote:

But the 15-judge panel rejected Bosnia's claim that the Serbian state was responsible for the killing, saying it did not have effective control over the Bosnian Serb forces it had helped arm and finance.

Hmm. Not responsible. Sure. Gave a helping hand, and arm and more. Why not. We don't hold anybody responsible for that. They then continue on:

Instead, the judges ruled that Serbia stood by and allowed the massacre to happen.

Pardon my bosnian, but no shit.

The fact that the country is not responsible is not what bothers me. That the government is not responsible is what is not acceptable. And the worst part is that people who have committed the crimes will now think that they have been exonerated. They will say "See, we didn't do anything wrong. The court said so."

And, if that were not enough, let's hear more from the "Honorable" Judge Higgins:

They "were fully aware of the climate of deep-seated hatred which reigned between the Bosnian Serbs and the Muslims in the Srebrenica region."

I think few of us remember this in a slightly different light.

Update The Economist has put in its two cents.