PEN condemns publication of Karadzic poems
Slovakian literary magazine under fire after printing poetry by Bosnian Serb war criminal
Alison Flood rpoerting in the guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 15 April 2009

Left - Radovan Karadzic, pictured at the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague in September 2008. Photograph: Valerie Kuypers/AP

A Slovakian literary magazine has been denounced by writers' organisation PEN for publishing poems by Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Karadzic was captured by Serbian intelligence last July after 12 years in hiding. The Slovakian PEN Centre, part of PEN International, criticised Slovakian magazine Dotyky "from an ethical and moral point of view" for publishing Karadzic's poetry earlier this month without any editorial commentary about his background while he is "indicted for war crimes in connection with the 1990s Bosnian conflict, including crimes against humanity".
Dotyky magazine is published by the Slovakian Writers Association. Its editor Boris Brendza is a member of the Slovakian PEN centre, which said in an official statement that it would punish him for publishing the poems by withdrawing his membership for one year.
Slovakian foreign minister Miroslav Lajčák was also critical of the move, telling local press that the publication of the poems did not reflect the attitude of the country's government towards Karadzic.

But editor Brendza defended the publication to local journalists, saying the poems were "high-quality", and that "the damage would be if they were not to be published".
During his time on the run, Karadzic managed to publish a new volume of poetry, one poem in which variously declared that "judges torture me for insignificant acts", and that "I can't stand the sight of you you file of scum / You file of snails". His poems – which won him the Russian Writers' Union Mikhail Sholokhov prize in 1994 - often have warlike or violent themes, with titles including A Morning Hand Grenade, Assassins, A Man Made of Ashes and War Boots.