Radovan Karadzic, who was ultimately convicted of committing genocide and other war crimes during the Bosnian war, hid for 10 years and managed to avoid capture. Ironically enough, his neighbor during those 10 years was an Interpol officer who was totally oblivious that the person whom he knew by the name Dragan Dabic was one of the top three most wanted men in the world.
Was Karadzic able to evade the authorities for so long because he was getting some kind of help? Or was it the insufficient capabilities of the security forces that allowed him to get away for so long? This question has yet to be answered. What is clear today is the obvious failure of the international organizations in the war of Bosnia.
Even though it seems a relatively peaceful and stable place today, Europe has witnessed countless bloody wars throughout its history. European countries even took part in the wars of remote places such as China, Africa and Americas.
Many international organizations were founded to prevent such wars from breaking out again. After the League of Nations failed to do that, others followed including United Nations. Yet, given the conflicts that broke out in Bosnia, Rwanda, Chechnya, Afghanistan and those in many Muslim countries today, it is obvious that the international community has once again failed. But what is the real reason behind this colossal failure?
The relationships between countries are regulated according to four basic principles: realism, idealism, the global system and constructiveness. Realism dictates that a country shall consider its own interests and security no matter what and it is the foremost principle which dominates international relations. The idealist approach attaches just as much as importance to the institutions as to states themselves and assigns them the important task of regulating relations. The current global system forces actors to pursue the position of the strongest and shapes relations accordingly. The constructive principle takes human rights and freedoms - as well as democracy - as the most important factors in the relations between the countries. There is one final approach, which is in stark contrast with the four previously mentioned: a critical theory that is based on equality, justice and freedom in relations.
Even though all these methods are based on different factors that play roles in relations, they all have one thing in common: Unnecessary conflicts between states mostly end up in wars and destruction. What is more painful is that many people consider this struggle and conflict natural.
This order that dominates international relations is observed by both far right and far left ideologies: For instance, the oppression of the communist dictator Todor Jivkov targeting Turks in Bulgaria was very similar to the actions of Karadzic in Bosnia and both pursued the same goal.
There is no logical reason that justifies the casualties or devastation that wars cause. The primary reason behind all these devastating wars and conflicts is to be found in a war-mongering personality which expresses the desire to violate the rights of others. These war-mongers, who are selfish, ruthless and merciless, only seek to satisfy their personal desires and feed their ego, leading millions down a path of destruction.
The reason behind the actions of these people, who have arguably lost all touch of humanity with their ability to carry out cold-blooded massacres, is the way they were raised. In the system in which they were educated, they were wrongly taught to see other humans as so-called animals; in this system torture and violence are not only entirely justifiable but glorified and as a result, all kinds of moral values are considered unimportant and many see humans killing humans as merely a natural phenomenon, just like a wolf killing a deer.
When relationships are based on interests and the quest to be the most powerful and the so-called need for conflict, international organizations inevitably fail. This comes about because states and their leaders begin to believe in the necessity of conflict as well. For these reasons, it is of paramount importance to change this frame of mind that dominates the administrations of the international organizations.
To do this, states should prevent new generations from being raised as morally corrupt individuals who possess no feelings of humanity such as compassion, mercy and love. The members of all religions, be they Christians, Muslims or Jews, should be taught starting from a young age that it is nothing less than tyranny to oppress, exile or kill people.
Europe has immense resources with a well-developed industry, tourism and wealth. Uniting, tolerating and embracing differences and building bridges of love can be done without compromising one iota quality. A union that is based on policies of patience, education, good moral values and most importantly, love, must be established to shape world politics and Europe can stand as a continent from where love spreads to the rest of the world.
Adnan Oktar's piece on Balkan Chronicle: