What It Is Like To Chill-Out With Karadzic and Mladic

What It’s Like to Chill with Whom the Rest of World Considers To Be the Most Ruthless Men in the World:
Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic: Confessions of a Female War Crimes Investigator


    Retrospectively, it was all so simple, natural and matter of fact being on a boat restaurant in Belgrade, sitting with, laughing, drinking a two hundred bottle of wine and chatting about war and peace while Ratko Mladic held my hand.  Mladic,  a man considered the world’s most ruthless war criminal since Adolf Hitler, still at large and currently having a five million dollar bounty on his head for genocide by the international community.  Yet there I was with my two best friends at the time, a former Serbian diplomat, his wife, and Ratko Mladic just chilling.  There was no security, nothing you’d ordinarily expect in such circumstances.  Referring to himself merely as, Sharko; this is the story of it all came about.

    It all began as former United States President Bill Clinton spearheaded NATO’s war against Serbia, Montenegro and Slobodan Milosevic (March 1999).  Thirty-five years old, conducting graduate study work at the New School for Social Research in New York City in political science,  I planned graduating spring 1999 with an area study emphasis in international law and human rights.  I was naïve then, still believing strongly in democratic liberal concepts such as freedom of academic thought.  Hence, I never anticipated my political views would impede either my graduation or completing my master’s thesis work on whether NATO member states committed gross violations of customarily accepted international criminal law in launching military aggression against Serbia and Montenegro owing to not acquiring United Nations Security Counsel approval prior.

         
    Then as hit with the identical smart bomb dropped on Milosevic’s presidential palace in Serbia the night of April 22nd 1999, political science chairperson then at the New School, Professor David Plotke, summoned me into his office before class that evening and dismissed me from the master’s program at the New School owing to what he considered my possessing unsavory political science opinions.  

    Only having to complete two more classes to graduate, I always thought my future in political sciences as wide open with innumerous possibilities; unfortunately this proved untrue.  Plotke told me in no uncertain terms that I was not the type of person the New School wanted walking around with a degree stating the New School’s prestigious name on it.

    Ironically, the New School was an institution I attended only owing to its’ placing great pride and emphasis on allowing students complete academic freedom of thought without dictating what is and what is not politically correct to discuss.  Yet surprisingly, dismissal from the program and blow to my graduate work should not been completely unexpected since the semester immediately prior, the school refused allowing me to conduct my graduate thesis work on the subject of whether the NATO and Bill Clinton committed war crimes against the former Yugoslavia during the Kosovo war (1999) and internally suggested I write about infringement of Muslim human rights in France.  

    I suppose with the likes of Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair hanging about the fourth floor of the school at the renown World Policy Institute in 1999, I should have expected the university would not take kindly to student‘s speaking out critically against Bill Clinton and the Kosovo war (1999) he went down in history for advocating.  Then again, in 1999 I still believed in the school’s core ideals of academic freedom, especially since I was paying no less than one thousand United States dollars a credit to attend.  My civil rights lawsuit against the college is another story in and of itself not deserving extended amounts of space here, except what I already mentioned.


    Dismissal from graduate school left me in a complete state of  scholarly anomie seeking empathy and solace from my few friends and confidants at the time including many diplomats I studied with at the New School for several years.  The list included  but was not limited to ambassadors from Iran, Oman and a newly appointed First Secretary of the Bosnian Mission to the United Nations in New York, Darko Trifunovic.  

    Noteworthy of mentioning, both the ambassadors from Iran and Oman both confided in me their own extreme dissatisfactions and the scholarly problems they themselves currently encountered at the New School for Social Research.  On the last day attending the school, both aforementioned men explicitly complained to me the school was holding them back from graduating owing to their own so-called extremely unsavory political viewpoints.  In particular the Iranian ambassador, Amir, was writing his master’s thesis on the Iranian contra affair and the UN Ambassador from Oman told me, for years he was being held back from graduating because Greek Professor Addie Pollis strongly disdained his Islamic religious and cultural views insofar as human rights and multiple marriage partners by Muslim sultans in his country of origin.  It was May (1999).

    Riddled with uncertainty about my future scholarly status, I immediately applied for graduate study at Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey where I studied an additional two years before encountering similar problems with the graduate school faculty there.  Ironically it was only FDU professors whom formerly studied themselves at the New School still in touch with the faculty there, who were later responsible for my having to leave the graduate program at FDU in early 2002.  


    Between the time of my dismissal from the New School and my dismissal from FDU in the fall (2002), I stayed in touch with many scholars and other politically active persons sharing similar anti-war views as myself regarding NATO’s 1999 Kosovo war including: Professor Barry Lituchy (NYC), Ramsey Clark’s people at the International Action Center, and a couple of new acquaintances I’ve chanced meet online in Serbian political activist forums.  
    
    One of those people was, Darko Trifunovic. Darko and I were e-mailing each other regularly by early spring (1999) at which time he informed me that he became the newly appointed First Secretary of the Bosnian Mission to the United Nations in New York City and wondered whether I would pick him up at JFK airport when he arrives in a few weeks;  I acceded.  

    Another event in my life occurring in Manhattan in late spring (1999) was chance meeting Nikola Sainovic; Slobodan Milosevic’s former Deputy Serbian Prime Minister. It just so happened I was in the city attending Ramsey Clark’s anti-NATO lectures immediately after NATO’s bombing campaign against the former Yugolsavia began.  I was walking up to the main lecture building and paused at the door momentarily to examine how to enter and where to go when Nikola walked up for me , surprising me from behind, he said “hello, are you here for the lecture also“? I replied “yes.” I was shy, but Nikola kept the conversation going as we walked into the building together discussing the horrendous actions the NATO was currently undertaking against his country in Serbia.  Although I did not know then who exactly he was, he was handsome, educated and he wore a very sharp brown suit, tie and wore glasses. His identity is unmistakable to me now viewing the photos of him sitting in the Hague currently awaiting his own trial for complicity in war crimes.   During the lecture intermission he again came over to speak with me and asked me my telephone number stating he’d like to get together and talk sometime with me while he was in town; I acceded.

    
    It was not long after Ramsey Clark’s lecture that Nikola called me and we agreed to have dinner together at the Peking House in Butler NJ on Route 23.  He met me at the restaurant and we enjoyed a great dinner and lively conversation regarding American diplomacy and politics between the United States, NATO and Serbia.  After dinner he asked me if there was somewhere quite we both could go to continue talking and being shy about men and their intentions, I told him since it was a beautiful summer’s evening, I suggested we drive up 23 North into West Milford NJ where there was a lovely “rest stop” where we could sit down on the picnic table chairs and continue our conversation together.
    He offered to drive me up to the spot in his fancy brown Jaguar.  I had never really been in a Jaguar before and it drove really smooth.  Nikola and I spent several hours just chatting about Serbia and the illegal NATO actions undertaken against his country and when we commenced, he drove me back to my car waiting by the restaurant and we decided we would meet again for lunch in about a week; he would give me call soon.
    
    I was attending Montclair State University for one semester that summer so when Nikola call me in about a week for lunch I recommended we meet at about 4pm at the 6 Brothers Diner on Route 46 by the university. Nikola never made any unwanted advances towards me and we just like to chat about war and peace.  He told me, ‘Jill, I like to come talk with you because I can trust you. I can let down my hair so to speak with you and not worry about you wire tapping me or stabbing me in the back.” I thanked him for his compliment and company. He told me his daughter lived in Tarrytown New York and when we parted that day, he told me this is where he was headed. He gave me his business card bearing his name, Nikola Sainovic. I forget the business it listed, it might have just said Prime Minister but I think it said something else politically related but I can’t remember now. I took it and thanked him.



    Whomever I did meet, they also gave me photos and showed me a brief portfolio of their news ideas in the space saving architecture and additionally gave me some photos of their work and a business card for what I remember as a German PASSOS company.  It had to be be Nikola.  We actually had a great chat about what I thought about his new architectural ideas. I loved them telling Nikola I believed he would be extremely successful in his new endeavors. I think we may have had lunch one additional time and then I never heard from him again.

    Darko arrived first, his very beautiful wife, Bojana, arrived as expected about one month later after he was settled.  Darko greatly impressed me at the time.  Being a former political advisor to the to the former female President of the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia, he had a degree in international law, diplomatic immunity, was a writer, handsome, was extremely brilliant and fun to just hang-out with and work.  The three of us became extremely close friends and confidants.
    
    I even became voted in as the executive director of the Law Projects Center Yugoslavia in New York .  The Law Projects Center was a United Nations accredited NGO and offshoot of the Yugoslav Coalition to Establish and international criminal court.  Darko and some political people originally founded the organization in Belgrade Serbia prior his arrival in New York City in diplomatic capacity.

    I worked fervently legally registering the organization  in New Jersey as a legally filed non-profit successfully.      The Law Projects Center and its activities demanded Darko, his wife and I often stayed the night over each others’ apartments often; many times working days at a time with very little sleep.  From winter (1999) until fall (2002), Darko, his wife and I worked daily at the Bosnian Mission to the United Nations in New York City co-authoring two books: 1) The Bosnian Model of Al-Qaeda Terrorism and; 2) The Srebrenica Massacre.  As a young student of war and peace in the former Yugoslavia, I was in scholarly heaven accessing the United Nations to work with Darko daily.  This enabled my meeting many of the most fascinating people in the world.
    I vividly remember Senator Bill Richardson at the time giving nightly press interviews on television about meeting with OPEC members states, “setting them straight about lowering oil prices in 2000.”  Yet when I’d chit-chat with the Iranian ambassador in the city before class asking him about it he would say to me something to the effect as,” We at OPEC are so angry about former  colonialism by England and America, OPEC will continually attempt bringing both the United States and England to their financial knees on  energy issues…And by the way Jill, Russia does not in any manner intend to halt weapon sales to Iran.”  

    In fact Amir and I, notwithstanding our theological differences, got alone well.  We’d often sit together before class acceding on a great many matters.  In particular I remember us sitting one night and looking me square in the eye stating, “You know Jill, I will never believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  I replied, “And I Amir will never convert to Islam.” Now that we got that out of the way, we both smiled at one another getting  down to discussing real issues.
    
    The Bosnian mission to the United Nations in New York City in 2001 was an extremely interesting place.  Reflecting the rotating ethnic presidency existing in Bosnia unto present, Mission employees were comprised of people of completely bipolar ethnic, theological and politically ideological viewpoints.  

    The Head Ambassador of the Mission post 9-11 was then combating rumors of his soon becoming persona non grata in the United States for allegedly giving Osama Bin Laden a visa to travel through Bosnia illegally when previously stationed in Italy in 1993.  There were also rumors he confessed to the United States Department of State of running international arms trades in connection with Al-Qaeda.
 
    The number two man at the Bosnian mission, the First Ambassador was Serbian, Orthodox Christian and a doctor of medicine by university degree.

    The First Secretary of the Mission was my friend Darko, the Consulate department was headed by an ethnic Muslim lady from Bosnia, and there was an ethnic Croatian woman floating around with other various diplomats being of Roman Catholic Croatian descent.

    My time at the Mission was primarily spent fixing Darko’s laptop computer which became daily infected with computer viruses he continually claimed emanated from other employees at the Mission who were allegedly trying to sabotage him because of his ethnic Serbian background.  I vividly recall the constant bickering between all the mission employees; always accusing each other of committing war crimes and giving each other computer viruses making it virtually impossible for any of them to get along.  The Croatian diplomat usually stayed to herself with her office door shut while the others present usually just listened to Led Zeppelin rock music on their personal CD-ROM players.  They told me repeatedly they had nothing else to do with their time at the United Nations beyond an occasional meeting except for  listening to music and playing computer games.  

    Sad and ironic was the few things I noticed all the Bosnian mission employees agreeing upon was their undying love for the rock band, Led Zeppelin.

    A year had come and gone while I totally immersed myself into political inquiry as to just who was guilty of committing war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.  My favorite subjects of inquiry included:

    NATO, Kosovo & Metohia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and persons of interest such as Mladic and Hacim Thaci (Albanian Leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army).  It was not enough for my merely taking in nightly news reports from CNN and other mainstream American media; to conduct an investigation for inquiry of social fact, I needed to go to Serbia and investigate for myself.

    

    Only after seeing firsthand the goings on in the Balkans could I make a discriminate determination of guilty parties insofar as genocide there.   After my fateful month long trip to Serbia and Montenegro in the fall 2002 I later concluded all warring parties involved had blood on their hands (Croats, Serbs, Muslims and the NATO); there are no innocents.  But in 2001, neither my finances nor busy schedule allowed such a trip.  Moreover, not speaking fluent Serbian coupled with the  anti-American sentiment existing in Serbia then listed on the United States Department of State travel warning website caused going to there an unfeasible option.  Hence, my life and studies went on as usual.

    Several seasons went by and now it was spring 2001.  Darko and his wife Bojana had time off which they spent visiting friends and family in Serbia for about two weeks.  Because of this Darko was unable to function in full diplomatic capacity.  In spring 2001 there was a preparatory commission meeting of plenipotentiaries to establish an international criminal court at the United Nations in New York City.  Topics of the meeting included but were not limited to defining interstate acts of aggression, court financing etc..  Darko asked me if I would sit in for him at the meeting taking as many notes possible owing to the Law Projects Center possessing United Nations accreditation as a NGO (non governmental organization) with full observer status at the United Nations;  I acceded.

        Darko faxed me all necessary paperwork enabling my application attendance at this crucial meeting; I filled out the necessary forms and faxed them to the appropriate United Nations office for approval.     It was an extremely exciting time for me.  My close friend and colleague, Arnold Stark (History professor and Columbian University PhD) drove me into Manhattan walking me through the United Nations main entrance and security the day of attendance.      

    Professor Stark himself was an old foreign service man from way back in the day and he told me I never looked as professionally sharp as I did on that day; I wore a navy blue pin striped suit.  I must admit, I looked good.
    
    Only post attending that da

Irrefutable Proof Hague Is Corrupt Court

War crimes tribunals are only as effective as they are true tools of international social justice for bearing genuine historical record.

If anyone doubts what I am saying,  re-examine the political show trials of both Jesus and Socrates.

In the case of Dr Karadzic currently in the Hague, my eye witness testimony proves the Hague was never a true tool of international social justice from its very conceptions/construction phase.

This legal technicality indicates the Hague must dismiss charges against Dr karadzic and others awaiting trials in the Hague jail; like it or not.

If American criminal Madoff stood in front of court that was as seriously corrupted, flawed and compromised as the Hague, he would have to be acquitted or transferred to another court.

Unfortunately for the United Nations member states instituting the ICC housed at the Hague, in Karadzic and other Hague case, there is no other international court capable; even if there was, the same United Nations member states that spoke about trading judicial appointments and verdicts for funding when I attended the 2001 ICC Preparatory Meetings at the UN in Manhattan would be morally incapable of constructing another court to hear cases.


My suggestion is to transfer immediately Dr Karadzic and others awaiting trial at the Hague back to Serbia and their respective countries to decide how to proceed next.

Sending Pinochet back to Chile (The Pinochet Precedent) combines both international legal standing and international legal precedent enough to return Dr Karadzic to Serbia for further actions if any.

This owing to the my eye witness testimony insofar as the Hague’s criminal corruption. It also gives appropriate legal standing for Karadzic’s attorney for immediately filing a new obstruction of social legal jurisprudence in his case based on my comments on the entire matter.
J

And how is it, Richard Holbrook (Lying Moralist), the present Obama administration of my own country, the United States, and/or any other UN member state can stand anyone being tried at the Hague (ICC) court at all, which I testify to, is an institution at its very conception stages was based upon trading bribery for judicial appointments and verdicts (?)

Why is the entire world so quite and mentally bent on covering this fact up (?) How about an answer NBC, CBS AND CNN (?)
I know you have seen my blogs because my book is written all over your own news sites (!)

I witnessed with my own eyes and ears when attending the 2001 Preparatory Meetings to establish an newly emergent International Criminal Court, the exact caliber of criminal corruption running so very deeply at the Hague, that it was a perfectly viable topic of legitimate conversation in those meetings I attended to debate trading verdicts AND judicial appointments, for monetary funding.

Jilly wrote:*The rep from Spain became distraught and when her country’s proposal was not taken to well by the chair of the meeting , then Spain argued in a particularly loud and noticably strongly vocal manner, “Spain (my country) strongly believes if we contribute most financial support to the Hague’s highest court, that ought to give us and other countries feeding it financially MORE direct power over its decisions.”

J STarr
*

*I am glad to continue receiving your latest news on the status conference in Beograd (!) I am all for closing down the Hague ASAP and rallying international support to do so. I still vividly remember whereby Spain was one of the most vocal countries in the ICC Prep Meetings in 2001 at the UN NYC: The lady representative from Spain wearing glasses with shortish i hair sat in the far corner at the table to my left arguing that Spain wanted to give the ICC more money to directly influence its “decisions over verdicts and judges,” in particular...

Jill Starr in NJ