Serbia wants war criminals to serve sentences at home

The government will ask the UN war crimes tribunal to allow convicts to serve their sentences in their home countries, Rasim Ljajic, the official in charge of ties with the UN court, said on Thursday (July 19th). Ljajic says the move would encourage the few remaining fugitives to surrender. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica will write a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, offering guarantees that the convicts will serve their terms in compliance with all relevant international standards.In other news, Bosnian and Serbian prosecutors met in Sarajevo on Wednesday to discuss their parallel investigations into the 1992 war crime dubbed the Tuzla Column. The case refers to a Bosnian Muslim paramilitary force’s attacks on the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) on May 15th, 1992. JNA troops came under fire as they were withdrawing — as agreed — from the city of Tuzla. The entire incident was broadcast live on a local TV station. Up to 200 JNA personnel reportedly were killed and 140 were taken prisoner. At Wednesday’s meeting, prosecutors agreed their findings largely coincide.