ŽUPLJANIN: VERDICT AGAINST SO-CALLED KLA LEADERS YET ANOTHER MOCKERY OF VICTIMS

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Slobodan Župljanin, president of the Organization of Republika Srpska Army /RSA/ Senior Officers, said that the verdicts against the four KLA leaders were yet another mockery of the victims, including Serbs, Roma, Ashkali and Albanians.

"Although this is a first-instance verdict, against which both the prosecution and the defense have the right to appeal, there are slim expectations that the perpetrators will receive sentences commensurate with the gravity of the crimes committed and provide appropriate redress for the victims," Župljanin told SRNA.

He said that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague had today handed down sentences to the KLA leaders that were two or three times shorter than those imposed on Serbs for the same or similar charges, thereby continuing what he described as the selective application of justice, although he said this was expected.

"The strictest standards of their justice were applied when Serbs were defendants, while the most lenient were applied in cases involving Bosniaks, Croats and Albanians," Župljanin told SRNA.

He noted that certain Albanians were also not spared the crimes committed by the so-called KLA leaders, particularly those who had publicly opposed the crimes being committed.

He said that the only hope for the Serbian people and Serbian victims was for the Serbian judiciary to initiate appropriate proceedings in which, based on the Constitution, the law and the principles of international law, the truth, gravity and legal classification of the crimes would be established, followed by appropriate sentences.

"Another hopeful possibility is for the new US administration to initiate proceedings, establish the truth and impose sanctions on all judges at the tribunal, as it did with the president and judges of the International Criminal Court," Župljanin concluded.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced Hasim Thaci and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years each, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years in prison.