Endless Battles of Contrasting Memories

"The ones who did [historic massacre] can always rationalize their actions and even forget what they did. They can turn away from things they don’t want to see. But the surviving victims can never forget. They can’t turn away. Their memories are passed on from parent to child. That’s what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories."

Haruki Murakami

As many of you already know, our group has moved from Utrecht to Berlin in order to continue our program,  however; there are a few moments from the Netherlands that I feel absolutely need to be included in my reflections. First and foremost, our experience at the Hague.

In early September, our group traveled to the Hague in order to see a trail conducted at the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). One of the first facts we learned upon our arrival was that this particular tribunal was only a few months away from its closure. Following the trials of the last indicted war criminals, the ICTY's mission is said to have been completed and the doors will close. Luckily for us, we were able to make it just in time to see a portion of the trial of Rako Mladić, former military leader of the Bosnian Serb Army. Mladić, arrested just over a year ago, had recently pleaded not guilty on the indictments of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violation of the laws or customs of war.

Rako Mladić pictured in the tribunal.

For obvious reasons, we were not allowed to take pictures in the courtroom, though the trials are regularly available through web streaming. However, you can see how the courtroom was set up in the picture below. The judges sit at the head of the courtroom, marked by the blue curtains on the right hand side of the picture. The desks situated in the foreground (look, AP Studio Art became useful at some point) of the picture are seats reserved for the prosecution. On the opposite side, the defendant sits with his council. Above the defendant, marked by the windows in the background of the photo, various translators sit in order to translate to the audience and the courtroom in real time. In the sole chair located on the left side of the photo, various witnesses sit to testify directly in front of the judges. And finally, behind the window located on the far left of the photo, audience members sit to view the trial.

Picture from the ICTY website.

Although one cannot properly see it in the picture, the windows on the left are equipped with curtains that can be drawn up or down. When the court is in closed session- meaning the information being discussed is too sensitive to reveal to the public- the curtains are drawn to prevent any lip-reading or other invasions of privacy from the audience. Additionally, the windowed area is provided with televisions and headphones where the speeches of the courtroom are translated into different languages. Each individual may set the channel to his/her/hir language.

Although with this window blockade and translations systems it may seem as if the audience is a detached entity, the set up of the court room meant that our group was seated only a glass wall and 20 feet of space away from a man convicted of mass genocide. It a chilling experience to say the least.

The courtroom also turned into a more surreal experience when a protected witness entered the court room. Her physical body was blocked from view and her words were scrambled by a voice modifier. She was also given pseudonyms, and all identifying characters and locations in her life were assigned a number system so they were not said aloud to the public. Interestingly, this witness' identity was compromised by the defendant's attorney within the first few moments of his defense. Though I am sure this slip was edited from the future broadcasts, the audience members within the courtroom knew this witness' identity. It made our group wonder if this slip was intentional or not being that the ICTY clearly states, "In case any party would disclose the identity or any other identifying information of a protected witness, this party could be held in contempt of the Tribunal and be liable to a maximum penalty of 100,000 Euros, or a term of imprisonment of seven years or both."

While the whole experience felt like a dramatic episode of International Law & Order, it was not free from critical insights. First, I noticed the chambers were quite a bit gendered. The specific trial we were in had no female judges. Which, of course to me, seemed more than a bit problematic. Additionally, though there were some female courtroom clerks and security guards, there was only one female attorney. It made me question the concept of equity and justice in the system of international law when the courtroom itself could not even mirror a sense of gender equality. However, as a complete newcomer to this entire experience, I cannot be overly critical of a system with which I am not familiar. All I know was that this singular experience will be forever etched in my mind.