2006 Press Releases
U.S. Ambassador At-Large for War Crimes Visits Banja Luka and Sarajevo
08/02/06
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson visited Banja Luka on Friday, July 28, 2006, and Sarajevo July 31-August 2 during a regional tour that included Belgrade and Zagreb. During his visit, Ambassador Williamson met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency Sulejman Tihic, RS President Dragan Cavic, RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, RS Minister of Interior Stanislav Cadjo, the BiH Chief Prosecutor Marinko Jurcevic and Deputy Chief Prosecutor for War Crimes Vaso Marinkovic, the BiH State Court President Meddzida Kreso, and the Head of the State Intelligence Service Almir Dzuvo.The primary purpose of the visit to the region was to address the cases of the remaining fugitives from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), particularly Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić. Secondly, Ambassador Williamson engaged governments on enhancing capabilities for domestic prosecutions of war crimes and ensuring more effective regional cooperation.
In his meetings with BiH State officials, Ambassador Williamson praised Bosnia and Herzegovina’s commitment to bringing war criminals to justice in the BiH State War Crimes Chamber. In his meetings with RS officials, Ambassador Williamson urged the RS government to uphold its obligation to cooperate fully with the ICTY, a precondition for BiH to move forward with NATO and EU integration. He recognized the Republika Srpska’s efforts since January 2005 to transfer war crimes indictees to The Hague and received assurances from RS officials that the RS government is prepared to take the steps necessary to ensure full cooperation with The Hague Tribunal. Ambassador Williamson stressed in all his meetings the importance of capturing Mladic and Karadzic for reconciliation efforts and the region’s future prosperity. The United States will look for ways to promote increased regional cooperation to apprehend these and other persons indicted for war crimes, including the disruption of their networks of supporters.
President Bush appointed Clint Williamson, of Louisiana, as Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in July, 2006. Ambassador Williamson previously served as Director for Stability Operations for the National Security Council. Prior to this, he served as Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of the Department of Justice for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and also as a prosecutor at the ICTY in The Hague, The Netherlands. Ambassador Williamson received his bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University and his law degree from Tulane University.
