Mr Karadzic and Gen Mladic have been indicted for genocide but remain at large

Mr Karadzic and Gen Mladic have been indicted for genocide, but remain at large.Gen Krstic denies genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention. His defence, which argues that he was unaware of his soldiers’ crimes because the chain of command was split, is expected to try to exploit the fact that few witnesses survived.But yesterday the prosecutor argued that Gen Krstic was fully aware of the activities of immediate subordinates. The prosecutor described a phone call between him and one officer who “complained that he had 3,500 parcels to distribute and he had no solution, and he asked Gen Krstic for more men for the job”. Mr Harmon added that “parcels” was code for Muslim men and “distribute” for murder. The prosecution painted a picture of a well-orchestrated massacre that required 50 to 60 buses, detention centres and digging equipment..

In an eerie echo of Jörg Haider’s populism, Germany’s desperate Christian Democrats are dredging up xenophobia for a crucial regional election campaign. In an eerie echo of Jörg Haider’s populism, Germany’s desperate Christian Democrats are dredging up xenophobia for a crucial regional election campaign.
Jürgen Rüttgers, the leader of the CDU in the industrial Land (constituency) of North Rhine-Westphalia, has coined the slogan “kinder statt Inder”- “children instead of Indians”. Mr Rüttgers is protesting against a decision by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to bring 10,000 computer experts from India and eastern Europe to solve an acute labour shortage.The Christian Democrats led by Mr Rüttgers are hoping to unseat the regional government in Germany’s most populous Land in elections in May. After the recent funding scandals, the party’s chances looked slim, but a xenophobic campaign inHesse last year brought the CDU a surprising victory.Mr Rüttgers, a Roman Catholic with two children, does not explain how more German children would help German industry, which is already crying out for 100,000 IT experts.

But his slogan is intended to strike a chord with Germans worried about immigration.Similar tactics were deployed by the Austrian far-right leader Jörg Haider. Mr Haider promised financial incentives for women to have more children. When his Freedom Party came to power, the measure was introduced with one important amendment. All mothers are now entitled to the benefit, irrespective of their ethnic origin.Although Mr Rüttgers claims he was merely concerned that Third World countries would be deprived of their best talent, the German public feel his objections were of a different nature. “What we need is blond German kids who already know at the age of three what a mouse click is,” Spiegel magazine commented wryly.Chancellor Schröder reiterated yesterday that the new measure would go ahead but stressed the IT experts would receive temporary visas only..

Spain’s once mighty Socialist Party, reeling under the impact of Jose Maria Aznar’s sweeping election victory on Sunday, has been plunged into its biggest crisis for decades. Its leadership met in emergency session yesterday afternoon after the shock resignation of the party head, Joaquin Almunia, and promised a thorough shake-up. Spain’s once mighty Socialist Party, reeling under the impact of Jose Maria Aznar’s sweeping election victory on Sunday, has been plunged into its biggest crisis for decades. Its leadership met in emergency session yesterday afternoon after the shock resignation of the party head, Joaquin Almunia, and promised a thorough shake-up.
Mr Aznar’s achievement in winning Spain’s biggest conservative election victory since the restoration of democracy was not only a body-blow to the main opposition Socialists. It bucks the trend in Europe towards moderate left-wing rule. Those who sniggered at Mr Aznar’s attempts to measure himself against Tony Blair or Lionel Jospin of France are not laughing now.Confounding the pundits who reckoned that he was too ordinary to triumph, Mr Aznar has not only secured a clear domestic mandate for the next four years with his 44.7 per cent vote, but overnight he also becomes a significant European player, well placed to act as a focus for a rallying of the European right.

Haiderists need not apply: this project steals the centre-left’s clothes.The key to this hitherto improbable scenario lies in Mr Aznar’s success in reinventing the conservative Popular Party as the forward-looking modern face of Spain, and presenting the Socialists as worn-out figures of the past. He won over voters with an irresistible offer: stay with me and I will give you progress.His vision was a skilful reversal of the classic left-right divide, and a message that his Socialist opponents led by Mr Almunia did not grasp until too late. His victory shows how far the country’s political scene has been stripped of ideological content. Borne gently upon a pillow of prosperity, Spaniards seem to have floated free from ideas to pursue pragmatic parcels of individual pleasures and personal advancement.He promised liberation from both the fears and deprivations of the Franco regime, and the earnest democratic crusade that succeeded it. His task was helped by the abject failure of the Socialists – and their Communist allies – to break the old-fashioned mould he slapped on to them.Mr Aznar’s electoral programme was so ill-defined that it is not easy to predict his next moves.