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Post-conflict reception of war criminals

Topic: Unsolved

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Statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Kyiv
Yasukuni Shrine has been the subject of political controversies due to the war criminals enshrined there.

The reception of individuals guilty of violations of international criminal law after a conflict differs greatly, ranging from bringing them to justice in war crimes trials to ignoring their crimes or even glorifying them as heroes. Such issues have led to controversies in many countries, including Australia, the United States, Germany, the Baltic states, Japan, and the former Yugoslavia.

By country

Australia

A book by Mark Aarons argues that Australia has been "a safe haven for war criminals" including Nazis, Khmer Rouge, former Chilean secret police, and those guilty of war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars.[1] Some have played a role in Australian politics or the intelligence services.[1][2]

In 2023, former Australian SAS soldier Oliver Schulz was arrested and charged with murdering an unarmed Afghan civilian. He is the first person to be charged in connection with the Brereton Report, a report published by the Australian Defence Force on war crimes in Afghanistan. Schulz is also the first Australian soldier to ever be charged under Australian law with a war crime. In 2023, Australia's most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, lost a defamation suit he filed against several publications which had accused him of being a war criminal. The case is currently under appeal.[3]

Balkans

Protest against the arrest, extradition and trial of Radovan Karadžić in Belgrade, Serbia, 2008

Former President of Croatia Ivo Josipović has highlighted that former Yugoslav countries were reluctant to prosecute their own nationals for war crimes because "everybody considers their own people to be heroes and only sees the victims on their own side".[4]

In Republika Srpska, memorials to victims of the Bosnian genocide are forbidden. Instead, memorials are erected to commemorate Serb perpetrators of war crimes such as Radovan Karadžić.[5] Secondary school textbooks discuss Karadžić without mentioning that he was convicted of war crimes and genocide.[6] In Serbia, convicted war criminals such as Vojislav Šešelj enjoy public support which goes along with Bosnian genocide denial as well as denial of other war crimes committed by Serbs.[7][8][9]

After the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted six Bosnian Croat military leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity in November 2017, Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković described the verdict as a "deep moral injustice".[10] Branimir Glavaš, a former Croatian general and current politician who was previously found guilty of torturing and murdering Serb civilians in the town of Osijek during the Croatian War of Independence, received a warm welcome following his release in 2015 which included a concert in front of 1,500 people featuring singers Miroslav Škoro and Mate Bulić.[11]

In Kosovo, convicted war criminals such as Lahi Brahimaj and Rrustem Mustafa have been appointed to state offices. When Sylejman Selimi was released from prison after serving his sentence for war crimes, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi said: "Kosovo is better and safer with the living hero Sylejman Selimi at liberty."[12] Following the death of Kosovo Albanian war crimes convict Haradin Bala in January 2018, the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo held a minute of silence to mark his death.[13]

Johan Tarčulovski, the only Macedonian citizen to be convicted by the ICTY, was elected to Parliament in 2016 for the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party. A high-ranking member of the party told Balkan Insight, "He is our Macedonian hero and we are proud to have him among our ranks. Who best to work for Macedonian interests than Tarčulovski?"[14]

Cambodia

In Cambodia, Pol Pot's tomb has been the focus of cult activities.[15]

Germany

Defendants in the dock at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg

Some German war criminals were put on trial at the Nuremberg trials, although most escaped responsibility for their crimes.[16] Today Germany denounces the actions of Nazi war criminals and does not have memorials to them.[17] In contrast, there are many Holocaust memorials in Germany.[18]

SS officer Joachim Peiper, convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the Malmedy massacre, but eventually reprieved, later achieved cult status among those who romanticize the Waffen-SS.[19]

Japan

Major Japanese war criminals convicted and executed by the Tokyo Trial are enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine.[20] Visits to the shrine by Japanese prime ministers have therefore been subjects of controversy.[21]

Latin America

A number of Nazi war criminals immigrated to various countries in Latin America, including Josef Mengele, Klaus Barbie, and Franz Stangl.[22] In 1961, Argentina protested against Israel's abduction of Adolf Eichmann, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews, and initially demanded his return to Argentina. Before his abduction, Eichmann openly discussed his crimes with other German immigrants.[23][24] Following his arrest a wave of antisemitic attacks were committed against Argentine Jews.[23]

Latvia

2008 Legionnaire Day procession through the flag alley at the foot of Freedom Monument

Commemoration of the Latvian Legion, a Waffen-SS formation during World War II, is controversial due to the war crimes committed by it. Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires was celebrated as a state holiday from 1998 to 2000.[25] Annual marches continue to be held as of 2018 and are opposed by groups such as Latvia Without Fascism.[26]

Lithuania

Controversy has arisen around figures such as Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, Jonas Noreika, and Juozas Ambrazevicius Brazaitis, who are viewed as heroes due to opposing Soviet aggression against Lithuania but who have been accused of Nazi collaboration.[27][28][29] Noreika's involvement in the mass murder of Jews has been proven beyond any doubt. He directly gave the order to carry out the Plungė massacre, in which 1,700 Jewish men, women, and children were killed. In 1997, Noreika, who was executed by the Soviets in 1947, was posthumously the Order of the Cross of Vytis by the Lithuanian government.[30]

Rwanda

(As of 2020), Paul Kagame is president of Rwanda. He was in command of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which committed widespread war crimes during the Rwandan Civil War, for which the commander is legally responsible under the doctrine of command responsibility. Kagame was not tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.[31][32][33] According to scholar Filip Reyntjens, Kagame is "the greatest war criminal" currently in power measured by the number of people killed.[34]

Sudan

In 2019, Omar al-Bashir, who was previously indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict, was deposed as President of Sudan and arrested.[35] In December 2019, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.[36] As of October 2020, the Sudanese government is exploring the possibility of a hybrid tribunal to try al-Bashir and others for war crimes.[35]

Turkey

Tomb of Talaat Pasha in the cemetery of Monument of Liberty, Istanbul

Talaat Pasha, the architect of the Armenian genocide, is buried under the Monument of Liberty, Istanbul, dedicated for "heroes of the fatherland".[37] The glorification of Talaat and other Armenian Genocide perpetrators goes along with Turkey's state-sponsored Armenian genocide denial.[37]

Ukraine

There are competing legacies of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who is viewed as a national hero by some but who led an uprising that involved widespread massacres of Jews.[38] The World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) is also controversial, being viewed by some Ukrainians as a national movement. However, the UPA in collaboration with the Nazis was responsible for mass killings of Jews and Poles during the Holocaust in Ukraine. Renaming of streets after Nazi collaborators and erection of monuments to them has been criticized by civil society groups.[39][40]

United States

Twenty soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military honor, for alleged "gallantry" and "bravery" during the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in which hundreds of Lakota civilians were killed.[41] In 2019, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley introduced a bill to revoke the medals.[41]

Only one United States soldier, William Calley, was convicted for the 1968 My Lai massacre of between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S. Army units.[42] However, Seymour Hersch's reporting on the massacre, "I sent them a good boy and they made him a murderer", won the Pulitzer Prize.[43]

President Donald Trump's use of pardon powers to pardon soldiers convicted of or charged with war crimes has attracted criticism.[44][45][46] According to law professor Stuart Ford, some of the pardons are illegal under international law, which requires that countries hold war criminals accountable.[47]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Aarons, Mark (2020) (in en). War Criminals Welcome: Australia, a Sanctuary for Fugitive War Criminals Since 1945. Black Inc.. ISBN 978-1-74382-163-3. 
  2. ↑ "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia" (in en-US). 2001-06-16. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121565505/. 
  3. ↑ McKinnell, Jamie (11 July 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith to appeal after losing landmark defamation case". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-11/nsw-ben-roberts-smith-to-appeal-after-losing-defamation-case/102587878. 
  4. ↑ "Poor Cooperation Leaves Balkan War Crime Suspects at Large". Balkan Insight. 1 October 2018. https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/01/poor-cooperation-leaves-balkan-war-crime-suspects-at-large-09-26-2018/. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  5. ↑ Pettigrew, David (2018). "The Suppression of Cultural Memory and Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (in en). Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Genocide and Memory. Springer International Publishing. pp. 187–198. ISBN 978-3-319-65513-0. 
  6. ↑ "Bosnian, Serbian Schoolbooks Teach Rival Versions of History". Balkan Insight. 30 October 2020. https://balkaninsight.com/2020/10/30/bosnian-serbian-schoolbooks-teach-rival-versions-of-history/. Retrieved 31 October 2020. 
  7. ↑ "Serbia: Unrepentant War Criminals Enjoy Public Spotlight". Balkan Insight. 27 December 2018. https://balkaninsight.com/2018/12/27/serbia-unrepentant-war-criminals-enjoy-public-spotlight-12-21-2018/. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  8. ↑ "Serbia: A Year of Denying War Crimes". Balkan Insight. 26 December 2019. https://balkaninsight.com/2019/12/26/serbia-a-year-of-denying-war-crimes/. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  9. ↑ Ramet, Sabrina P. (2007). "The denial syndrome and its consequences: Serbian political culture since 2000". Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (1): 41–58. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.12.004. 
  10. ↑ Ilic, Igor (29 November 2017). "Croatian PM Plenkovic regrets Praljak's death in The Hague". https://de.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUKKBN1DT2GO. Retrieved 1 November 2020. 
  11. ↑ Milekic, Sven (2 February 2015). "Glavas Returns to Warm Welcome in Croatia". https://balkaninsight.com/2015/02/02/branimir-glavas-returns-to-croatia/. 
  12. ↑ Radovanovic, Milica (12 October 2020). "'A Hero Returns': How Freed War Criminals are Glorified in Kosovo". Balkan Insight. https://balkaninsight.com/2020/10/12/a-hero-returns-how-freed-war-criminals-are-glorified-in-kosovo/. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  13. ↑ Isufi, Perparim (9 February 2018). "Kosovo, Serbia Criticised for Honouring War Crimes Convicts". https://balkaninsight.com/2018/02/09/kosovo-parliament-criticised-for-commemorating-war-crimes-convict-02-09-2018/. Retrieved 1 November 2020. 
  14. ↑ "Macedonian War Crimes Convict Enters Parliament". Balkan Insight. 19 December 2016. https://balkaninsight.com/2016/12/19/macedonia-s-war-crimes-convict-enters-parliament-12-18-2016/. Retrieved 31 October 2020. 
  15. ↑ Guillou, Anne Yvonne (2018). "The "Master of the Land": Cult Activities Around Pol Pot's Tomb". Journal of Genocide Research 20 (2): 275–289. doi:10.1080/14623528.2018.1459169. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02531875/file/18%20Pol%20Pot%20%20tomb%20J%20of%20Genocide%20Final.pdf. 
  16. ↑ Pendas, Devin O. (December 2009). "Review of Heberer, Patricia; Matthäus, Jürgen, eds., Atrocities on Trial: Historical Perspectives on the Politics of Prosecuting War Crimes" (in en). H-German, H-Review. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=25921. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  17. ↑ Neiman, Susan (14 September 2019). "There Are No Nostalgic Nazi Memorials". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/germany-has-no-nazi-memorials/597937/. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  18. ↑ "Vibrant Culture of Remembrance" (in en). 23 January 2020. https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/holocaust-memorials-in-germany-an-interactive-map. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  19. ↑ Smelser, Ronald; Davies, Edward J. (2008). The Myth of the Eastern Front: The Nazi-Soviet war in American popular culture. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780521833653. 
  20. ↑ Enshrinement Politics: War Dead and War Criminals at Yasukuni Shrine | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. https://apjjf.org/-Akiko-TAKENAKA/2443/article.html. 
  21. ↑ Mathur, Arpita (2001). "Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni shrine". Strategic Analysis 25 (6): 825–830. doi:10.1080/09700160108458999. 
  22. ↑ Minster, Christopher. "Nazi War Criminals Who Hid Out in South America" (in en). ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/fugitive-nazi-war-criminals-south-america-2136210. Retrieved 5 November 2020. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Rein, Raanan (2001). "The Eichmann Kidnapping: Its Effects on Argentine-Israeli Relations and the Local Jewish Community". Jewish Social Studies 7 (3): 101–130. doi:10.2979/JSS.2001.7.3.101. ISSN 0021-6704. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4467612. 
  24. ↑ SPIEGEL, DER. "The Long Road to Eichmann's Arrest: A Nazi War Criminal's Life in Argentina - DER SPIEGEL - International" (in en). www.spiegel.de. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-long-road-to-eichmann-s-arrest-a-nazi-war-criminal-s-life-in-argentina-a-754486.html. Retrieved 5 November 2020. 
  25. ↑ Kazyrytski, Leanid (2016). "Latvian SS-Legion: Past and Present. Some Issues Regarding the Modern Glorification of Nazism". Criminal Law Forum 27 (3): 361–385. doi:10.1007/s10609-016-9286-3. 
  26. ↑ Liphshiz, Cnaan (16 March 2018). "Hundreds march with Nazi SS veterans in Latvia". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. https://www.jta.org/2018/03/16/global/hundreds-accompany-ss-veterans-march-latvia. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  27. ↑ "Lithuania reburial of WWII leader angers Jewish groups". BBC News. 17 May 2012. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18101716. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  28. ↑ "Lithuania monument for 'Nazi collaborator' prompts diplomatic row". BBC News. 7 May 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48186346. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  29. ↑ Higgins, Andrew (10 September 2018). "Nazi Collaborator or National Hero? A Test for Lithuania". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/world/europe/nazi-general-storm-lithuania.html. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  30. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Balciunas
  31. ↑ Rever, Judi (2020) (in en). In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. Random House of Canada. ISBN 978-0-345-81210-0. 
  32. ↑ Haskell, Leslie; Waldorf, Lars (2011). "The Impunity Gap of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: Causes and Consequences". Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 34: 49. https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol34/iss1/2/. 
  33. ↑ Morrill, Hanna (2012). "Challenging Impunity - The Failure of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to Prosecute Paul Kagame". Brooklyn Journal of International Law 37: 683. https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/bjil/vol37/iss2/9/. 
  34. ↑ "23 09 16 L'Oeil du Patriote - Le Professeur Filip Reytjens persiste et signe : Paul Kagame est le plus grand criminel en fonction!" (in fr-FR). Congoforum.be. 23 September 2016. https://www.congoforum.be/fr/2016/09/23-09-16-loeil-du-patriote-le-professeur-filip-reytjens-persiste-et-signe-paul-kagame-est-le-plus-grand-criminel-en-fonction/. Retrieved 14 November 2020. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Omar Bashir: ICC delegation begins talks in Sudan over former leader". BBC News. 17 October 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54548629. Retrieved 5 November 2020. 
  36. ↑ Quinlan, Casey (14 December 2019). "Omar al-Bashir, deposed president of Sudan, has been sentenced to 2 years in a reform facility" (in en). Vox. https://www.vox.com/world/2019/12/14/21021847/omar-al-bashir-sudan-sentenced-corruption-icc. Retrieved 5 November 2020. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Garibian, Sévane (2018). ""Commanded by my Mother's Corpse": Talaat Pasha, or the Revenge Assassination of a Condemned Man". Journal of Genocide Research 20 (2): 220–235. doi:10.1080/14623528.2018.1459160. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:104682. 
  38. ↑ Glaser, Amelia M. (2015). "Bohdan Khmelnytsky as Protagonist: Between Hero and Villain" (in en). Stories of Khmelnytsky: Competing Literary Legacies of the 1648 Ukrainian Cossack Uprising. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-9496-1. https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=24577&i=Introduction.html. 
  39. ↑ Sokol, Sam. "Ukraine's new memory czar tones down glorification of war criminals". www.timesofisrael.com. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraines-new-memory-czar-tones-down-glorification-of-war-criminals/. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  40. ↑ "i24NEWS". www.i24news.tv. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/americas/173240-180426-us-congress-members-lambaste-ukraine-gov-t-for-nazi-glorification. Retrieved 13 October 2020. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Bekiempis, Victoria (28 November 2019). "Warren introduces bill to strip Medals of Honor for Wounded Knee massacre". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/28/warren-bill-revoke-medals-of-honor-wounded-knee-massacre. Retrieved 26 October 2020. 
  42. ↑ Savelsberg, Joachim J.; King, Ryan D. (2011) (in en). American Memories: Atrocities and the Law. Russell Sage Foundation. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-61044-749-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=XDLVOJSmth0C&q=my+lai+prosecutions. 
  43. ↑ "'I sent them a good boy and they made him a murderer'" (in en). https://www.pulitzer.org/article/i-sent-them-good-boy-and-they-made-him-murderer. 
  44. ↑ Prine, Leo Shane III, Meghann Myers, Carl (22 November 2019). "Trump grants clemency to troops in three controversial war crimes cases". Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/11/16/trump-grants-clemency-to-troops-in-three-controversial-war-crimes-cases/. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  45. ↑ "Pardoning Alleged War Criminals: Bad for the United States, Bad for the World" (in en). https://www.csis.org/analysis/pardoning-alleged-war-criminals-bad-united-states-bad-world. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  46. ↑ Luscombe, Richard (27 December 2019). "Navy Seal pardoned of war crimes by Trump described by colleagues as 'freaking evil'". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/27/eddie-gallagher-trump-navy-seal-iraq. Retrieved 12 October 2020. 
  47. ↑ Ford, Stuart (2019–2020). "Has President Trump Committed a War Crime by Pardoning War Criminals?". American University International Law Review 35: 757. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2049&context=auilr. 

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