    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [August 3, 2001]
    [Pages 942-943]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Bringing War Criminals to Justice
    August 3, 2001

        I welcome today's transfer to the U.N. International Tribunal for
    former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of three military officers accused of war
    crimes by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This decision, like
    similar decisions by the Governments in Croatia and Yugoslavia, shows
    that the democratic governments of the region are taking seriously their
    international obligations and the need to make a break from the violence
    and atrocities of the past.
        I also welcome the decision of the Tribunal convicting General
    Radislav Krstic of genocide in the 1995
    massacre of Muslims from Srebrenica. I welcome and fully support the
    Tribunal's judgment. Those who commit war crimes must face justice. As I
    said in Kosovo, we must not allow difference to be a license to kill and
    vulnerability an excuse to dominate.
        These two important steps advance the cause of justice but also help
    to consolidate

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    peace and promote rule of law. They bring closer to reality our vision
    in which the countries of the Balkans are part of a Europe that is
    whole, free, and at peace.