Judgment at The Hague

THE HAGUE: In the first war crimes conviction since World War II, a U.N. tribunal found Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic found guilty on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the systematic beatings, torture and persecution of Muslims and Croats living in and around three Serb-run camps in northwest Bosnia. A sentencing hearing scheduled for July 1 is likely to be postponed pending an appeal by Tadic's lawyer. While the tribunal hails Tadic's conviction as a sign that justice can be served, its reach has so far proved limited. The tribunal, which has no police powers, has managed the arrest of only eight of 74 suspected Bosnian war criminals. Key figures such as former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and army General Ratko Mladic, both indicted for genocide, still manage to elude arrest from safe havens in Serbia. Without them, the peace in Bosnia remains far from complete.