Biljana Plavšic
Encyclopedia
Biljana Plavšić (born 7 July 1930) is a former president of Republika Srpska
and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war
. She plea bargain
ed with the ICTY and only served two-thirds of her sentence in Sweden and was released 27 October 2009. Before her political engagements, she taught biology at the University of Sarajevo
.
and acted as Head of Department of Biology. She is a Fulbright Scholar, and as such she spent two years at Boyce-Thompson
institute at Cornell University
in New York
doing botany research. She then specialized in electron microscopy in London, and plant virology in Prague and Bari. A highly accomplished scientist, she published over one hundred scientific works and papers which have been widely cited in scholarly literature and textbooks.
On 28 October 2009, Plavšić was stripped of her degree by the University of Sarajevo.
, serving from 18 November 1990 until April 1992 after having been elected in the first multi-party elections in 1990 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
From 28 February 1992 to 12 May 1992, Plavšić became one of the two acting president
s of the self proclaimed Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thereafter she became one of two Vice-presidents of the Republika Srpska
and from circa 30 November 1992 she was a member of the Supreme Command of the armed forces of the Republika Srpska.
Plavšić was infamous for some of her comments during the war and for her 1992 widely-circulated photograph that shows her stepping over the body of a dead Muslim civilian to kiss Željko Ražnatović
. Plavšić declared that "six million Serbs can die so that the remaining six million can live in freedom." She considered the ethnic cleansing
carried out against non-Serbs during the war to be a "natural phenomenon". In July 1993, in a statement to Borba
, Plavšić reportedly claimed that Bosnian Serbs are ethnically-racially superior to Bosnian Muslims and claimed that:
In 1994 Plavšić stated that she and other Serbian nationalists were unable to negotiate with the Bosnian Muslims due to genetics:
.
Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
's support for the "Vance Owen Plan" caused her to refuse to shake his hand, as she denounced him as a traitor to the Serbian nation. Vojislav Šešelj
testified that "her positions were extreme, very extreme. She was popularly known as the Serbian Empress because of this extremism of hers."
The Dayton Agreement
, signed in 1995, banned the then President of Republika Srpska Radovan Karadžić
from office and Plavšić was chosen to run as the SDS candidate for President of the Republika Srpska for a two-year mandate.
Vojislav Šešelj, at the Milošević trial, described Karadžić's motives for nominating her.
Due to a growing isolation of the Republika Srpska after the peace was signed, she severed her ties with the SDS and formed Srpski narodni savez
(Serbian People's Alliance of the Republika Srpska), and nominated Milorad Dodik
, the then member of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
whose SNSD party had only two MPs, for Prime Minister.
This marked the beginning of political reform in the Republika Srpska and the cooperation with the International Community
. She lost the 1998 election to the joint candidate of the SDS and the Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
Nikola Poplašen
. She was a candidate of the reform "Sloga" coalition. Her political career was in decline until the release of the indictment by the ICTY, after which it was completely terminated.
During her time in prison, she released a book called "Witnessings" (Svjedočenja), revealing many aspects of the political life of the war-time Republika Srpska and casting an especially dark shadow on the then President of the Republika Srpska Karadžić, another ICTY indictee.
In 1998, Plavšić rewarded Momčilo Đujić, a Chetnik commander and collaborator, with an honorary award.
together with Momčilo Krajišnik
and Radovan Karadžić
for the "creation of impossible conditions of life, persecution
and terror
tactics in order to encourage non-Serbs to leave the area, deportation
of those reluctant to leave, and the liquidation
of others".
The Indictment charged Biljana Plavšić as follows:
She voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY on January 10, 2001, and was provisionally released on September 6.
On 16 December 2002 she plea bargained with the ICTY to enter a guilty plea to one count of crimes against humanity
for her part in directing the war and targeting civilians and expressed "full remorse" in exchange for prosecutors dropping seven other war crimes charges, including two counts of genocide. Plavšić's statement, read in her native Serbian language
, repeated her admission of guilt. It said she had refused to believe stories of atrocities against Bosniaks
and Croats
and accepted without question the claims that Serbs were fighting for survival.
However, in an interview
she gave in March 2005 to the Banja Luka
Alternativna Television, she admitted she had lied because she couldn't prove her innocence, as she was unable to find witnesses who would testify on her behalf. She repeated this in an interview for Swedish Vi magazine in January 2009. She claimed to have plead guilty in order to avoid the remaining charges against her, including genocide. Her pleading guilty led the Hague tribunal to lower her sentence and drop the remaining charges. Plavšić would have likely have been sentenced to 20-25 years in prison if she had not plead guilty and all eight charges were taken into account.
She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She served her sentence at the women's prison Hinseberg in Frövi
, Örebro County
, Sweden (since 26 June 2003).
In December 2008 the Swedish Ministry of Justice
rejected a request for pardon by Plavšić. She had cited "advancing age, failing health and poor prison conditions" as the reasons for her request. Željko Komšić
, a Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
had written a letter to the Swedish authorities in September 2008 urging them not to release Plavšić, stating that "any act of mercy would be big mistake and an insult to the victims and families of the victims".
On September 14, 2009, Patrick Robinson
, President of the United Nations
' International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
, said Plavšić "appears to have demonstrated substantial evidence of rehabilitation" and had accepted responsibility for her crimes. The Times continued that "Under Swedish law, she becomes eligible for release Oct. 27, after serving two-thirds of her term, though her release date has not been set." She was released on 27 October 2009. On the same day, Milorad Dodik
, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, provided an RS government jet to pick up Plavšić and welcomed her to Belgrade
after her early release from a Swedish prison. Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so.
On 10 November 2009, Milorad Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth."
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
. She plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
ed with the ICTY and only served two-thirds of her sentence in Sweden and was released 27 October 2009. Before her political engagements, she taught biology at the University of Sarajevo
University of Sarajevo
The University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
.
Career as a university professor
Plavšić was a university professor teaching biology at the University of SarajevoUniversity of Sarajevo
The University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
and acted as Head of Department of Biology. She is a Fulbright Scholar, and as such she spent two years at Boyce-Thompson
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
The Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research is a research and education organization devoted to plant science currently located on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York...
institute at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
doing botany research. She then specialized in electron microscopy in London, and plant virology in Prague and Bari. A highly accomplished scientist, she published over one hundred scientific works and papers which have been widely cited in scholarly literature and textbooks.
On 28 October 2009, Plavšić was stripped of her degree by the University of Sarajevo.
Political career
Plavšić was a member of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). She was the first female member of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and HerzegovinaPresidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the head of state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Overview:...
, serving from 18 November 1990 until April 1992 after having been elected in the first multi-party elections in 1990 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
From 28 February 1992 to 12 May 1992, Plavšić became one of the two acting president
Acting president
An Acting President is a person who temporarily fills the role of an organization's or country's president, either when the real president is unavailable or when the post is vacant .-See also:*Acting *Acting President of Pakistan*Acting President of Malta*Acting President of...
s of the self proclaimed Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thereafter she became one of two Vice-presidents of the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and from circa 30 November 1992 she was a member of the Supreme Command of the armed forces of the Republika Srpska.
Plavšić was infamous for some of her comments during the war and for her 1992 widely-circulated photograph that shows her stepping over the body of a dead Muslim civilian to kiss Željko Ražnatović
Željko Ražnatovic
Željko Ražnatović , widely known as Arkan was a Serbian career criminal and later a paramilitary leader who was notable for organizing and leading a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars...
. Plavšić declared that "six million Serbs can die so that the remaining six million can live in freedom." She considered the ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
carried out against non-Serbs during the war to be a "natural phenomenon". In July 1993, in a statement to Borba
Borba (newspaper)
Borba is a Serbian newspaper, formerly the official newspaper of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia...
, Plavšić reportedly claimed that Bosnian Serbs are ethnically-racially superior to Bosnian Muslims and claimed that:
"The Serbs in Bosnia, particularly in the border areas, have developed a keen ability to sense danger to the whole nation and have developed a defense mechanism. In my family they used to say that the Serbs in Bosnia were much better than Serbs in Serbia [...] and remember, the defense mechanism was not created through a short period of time; it take decades, centuries [...] I am a biologist and I know: most capable of adapting and surviving are those species that live close to other species from whom they are endangered."
In 1994 Plavšić stated that she and other Serbian nationalists were unable to negotiate with the Bosnian Muslims due to genetics:
"It was genetically deformed material that embraced Islam. And now, of course, with each successive generation it simply becomes concentrated. It gets worse and worse. it simply expresses itself and dictates their style of thinking, which is rooted in their genes. And through the centuries, the genes degraded further."This statement by Plavšić, which equated a specific ethnic group with a disease or illness, has been compared to how the Nazis identified the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
.
Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's support for the "Vance Owen Plan" caused her to refuse to shake his hand, as she denounced him as a traitor to the Serbian nation. Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...
testified that "her positions were extreme, very extreme. She was popularly known as the Serbian Empress because of this extremism of hers."
The Dayton Agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
, signed in 1995, banned the then President of Republika Srpska Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
from office and Plavšić was chosen to run as the SDS candidate for President of the Republika Srpska for a two-year mandate.
Vojislav Šešelj, at the Milošević trial, described Karadžić's motives for nominating her.
"She held very extremist positions during the war, insufferably extremist, even for me, and they bothered even me as a declared Serb nationalist. She brought Arkan and his Serb Volunteer GuardSerb Volunteer GuardThe Serb Volunteer Guard also known as Arkan's Tigers was a Serbian volunteer paramilitary unit, founded and led by Željko Ražnatović, that fought in Croatia ; Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Kosovo War ....
to Bijeljina, and she continued to visit him after their activities in BijeljinaBijeljinaBijeljina is a city and municipality in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is the second largest in the Republika Srpska entity after Banja Luka and fifth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is situated on the flat rich plains of Semberija...
and the surrounding area [...] Radovan Karadzic [...] believed her to be more extreme than himself in every way. He thought that the Western protagonists who tried eliminate him at any cost would have an even greater problem with her [...] Radovan Karadzic believed that she would continue to occupy her patriotic positions until the end. However, several months after she was elected, Biljana Plavsic changed her political orientation by 180 degrees under the influence of some Western protagonists and changed her policies completely."
Due to a growing isolation of the Republika Srpska after the peace was signed, she severed her ties with the SDS and formed Srpski narodni savez
Serbian People's Alliance of the Republika Srpska
The Serbian People's Alliance of the Republika Srpska is a Serbian political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina....
(Serbian People's Alliance of the Republika Srpska), and nominated Milorad Dodik
Milorad Dodik
Milorad Dodik , is the President of Republika Srpska, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats political party. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .-Political career:...
, the then member of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska is the legislative body of the Republika Srpska, one of two entities comprising the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
whose SNSD party had only two MPs, for Prime Minister.
This marked the beginning of political reform in the Republika Srpska and the cooperation with the International Community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
. She lost the 1998 election to the joint candidate of the SDS and the Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska
The Serbian Radical Party of the Republika Srpska is a Serbian ultra-nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina....
Nikola Poplašen
Nikola Poplašen
Nikola Poplašen is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He was the president of Republika Srpska for 6 months from 1998 through 1999.-References:...
. She was a candidate of the reform "Sloga" coalition. Her political career was in decline until the release of the indictment by the ICTY, after which it was completely terminated.
During her time in prison, she released a book called "Witnessings" (Svjedočenja), revealing many aspects of the political life of the war-time Republika Srpska and casting an especially dark shadow on the then President of the Republika Srpska Karadžić, another ICTY indictee.
In 1998, Plavšić rewarded Momčilo Đujić, a Chetnik commander and collaborator, with an honorary award.
ICTY indictment and sentence
She was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
together with Momčilo Krajišnik
Momcilo Krajišnik
Momčilo Krajišnik is a Bosnian Serb former politician convicted of murder and other crimes against humanity during the Bosnian war .He co-founded the Bosnian Serb nationalist Serbian Democratic Party with Radovan...
and Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
for the "creation of impossible conditions of life, persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
and terror
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
tactics in order to encourage non-Serbs to leave the area, deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of those reluctant to leave, and the liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
of others".
The Indictment charged Biljana Plavšić as follows:
- Two counts of genocide (Article 4 of the Statute of the Tribunal - genocide; and/or, complicity to commit genocide)
- Five counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 thereof - extermination; murder; persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; deportation; alternatively, inhumane acts)
- One count of violations of the laws or customs of war (Article 3 thereof - murder)
She voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY on January 10, 2001, and was provisionally released on September 6.
On 16 December 2002 she plea bargained with the ICTY to enter a guilty plea to one count of crimes against humanity
Crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
for her part in directing the war and targeting civilians and expressed "full remorse" in exchange for prosecutors dropping seven other war crimes charges, including two counts of genocide. Plavšić's statement, read in her native Serbian language
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, repeated her admission of guilt. It said she had refused to believe stories of atrocities against Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
and Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and accepted without question the claims that Serbs were fighting for survival.
However, in an interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
she gave in March 2005 to the Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
Alternativna Television, she admitted she had lied because she couldn't prove her innocence, as she was unable to find witnesses who would testify on her behalf. She repeated this in an interview for Swedish Vi magazine in January 2009. She claimed to have plead guilty in order to avoid the remaining charges against her, including genocide. Her pleading guilty led the Hague tribunal to lower her sentence and drop the remaining charges. Plavšić would have likely have been sentenced to 20-25 years in prison if she had not plead guilty and all eight charges were taken into account.
She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She served her sentence at the women's prison Hinseberg in Frövi
Frövi
Frövi is a locality situated in Lindesberg Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 2,493 inhabitants in 2005....
, Örebro County
Örebro County
Örebro County is a county or län in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland.- Province :...
, Sweden (since 26 June 2003).
In December 2008 the Swedish Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (Sweden)
The Ministry of Justice is a Cabinet level ministry in the Government of Sweden with responsibility for legislation. The ministry is responsible for the Swedish legal system in Constitution and general administrative law, civil law, procedural law and criminal law...
rejected a request for pardon by Plavšić. She had cited "advancing age, failing health and poor prison conditions" as the reasons for her request. Željko Komšić
Željko Komšic
Željko Komšić is a Bosniaks politician from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.On 1 October 2006, he was elected by Bosnikas as the representatives of Croat to a four-year term as the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Early life and the war in Bosnia:Komšić has a law degree...
, a Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the head of state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Overview:...
had written a letter to the Swedish authorities in September 2008 urging them not to release Plavšić, stating that "any act of mercy would be big mistake and an insult to the victims and families of the victims".
On September 14, 2009, Patrick Robinson
Patrick Lipton Robinson
Patrick Lipton Robinson is the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, a position he was elected to in November 2008...
, President of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
, said Plavšić "appears to have demonstrated substantial evidence of rehabilitation" and had accepted responsibility for her crimes. The Times continued that "Under Swedish law, she becomes eligible for release Oct. 27, after serving two-thirds of her term, though her release date has not been set." She was released on 27 October 2009. On the same day, Milorad Dodik
Milorad Dodik
Milorad Dodik , is the President of Republika Srpska, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats political party. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .-Political career:...
, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, provided an RS government jet to pick up Plavšić and welcomed her to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
after her early release from a Swedish prison. Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so.
On 10 November 2009, Milorad Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth."
External links
- ICTY's page on Plavšić case
- Article in Serbian in Glas JavnostiGlas javnostiGlas javnosti is a daily newspaper published in Belgrade.Its first issue appeared on April 20, 1998, published by a group of journalists from Blic daily who, led by Manojlo Vukotić, left to form their own newspaper.Initially, their new paper carried the Novi Blic name, but the Belgrade Commercial...
- BBC Profile On Biljana Plavšić
- Article and video in Swedish on Sveriges TelevisionSveriges TelevisionSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
's website.