Croat war criminal’s death will shake Balkans

Significance

ICTY’s final verdict on six Bosnian Croat war criminals was a major blow to Zagreb, as it confirmed the Croatian wartime leadership’s responsibility for atrocities in Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH) during the 1992-95 war. Croatian and Bosnian Croat politicians have mostly adopted partisan positions, bluntly rejecting the ruling.

Impacts

• ICTY’s catastrophic security failure has overshadowed its already controversial record in the Balkans.
• Bosnian Croat and Croatian challenges to the court’s work will further weaken US, EU and other international positions in the Balkans.
• Balkan tensions could boil over into interethnic violence.