(english / italiano)
Dal Comitato Internazionale per la Difesa di Slobodan Milosevic (ICDSM)
1. Aperta la fase della "autodifesa" di Milosevic:
- Tapuskovic on the rights of Milosevic and notice how to watch
the opening speech
2. Come volevasi dimostrare:
IMPOSTO A MILOSEVIC UN AVVOCATO "DIFENSORE" CHE LAVORA PER LA ACCUSA
- una nota di Michael Parenti
- l'articolo di Michael Scharf (consulente legale di Madeleine
Albright ed autore dello "Statuto" del "Tribunale") apparso sul
Washington Post del 29 agosto u.s., nel quale si chiarisce in maniera
persino sfacciata che le pressioni per imporre a Milosevic un
"avvocato d'ufficio" contro la sua volonta' provengono direttamente
dal New York e da Washington
3. DUE APPELLI:
- AD OFFRIRSI COME TRADUTTORI
- PER LA CAMPAGNA DI AUTOFINANZIAMENTO
==========================
ICDSM - Sezione Italiana
c/o GAMADI, Via L. Da Vinci 27
00043 Ciampino (Roma)
tel/fax +39-06-4828957
email: icdsm-italia @ libero.it
Conto Corrente Postale numero 86557006
intestato ad Adolfo Amoroso, ROMA
causale: DIFESA MILOSEVIC
sito internet:
http://www.pasti.org/linkmilo.htm
==========================
1. Aperta la fase della "autodifesa" di Milosevic
Dopo la riapertura del "processo" politico contro Slobodan Milosevic
nell'aula dell'illegittimo "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia (ICTY), il
pubblico attende per domani la decisione ufficiale della "Corte" in
merito alla possibile assegnazione di un "avvocato d'ufficio".
Tale assegnazione avverrebbe in contrasto con la volonta'
dell'imputato - che notoriamente non riconosce alcuna legittimita' a
questo "Tribunale" - ed in contrasto anche con numerosi precedenti e
consuetudini giuridiche (vedi in proposito la memoria gia'
sottoscritta da numerose decine di giuristi ed avvocati di tutto il
mondo: http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm , e la intervista
all'avvocato Tapuskovic riportata di seguito). Con il pretesto di
tutelare la salute dell'imputato, di fatto, imponendogli un "avvocato
d'ufficio", la Corte otterrebbe il risultato - altamente desiderato
dalla "pubblica accusa" e dai veri sponsor del "Tribunale ad hoc",
cioe' i leader della NATO - di mettere il bavaglio a Milosevic,
impedendogli di gestire in prima persona il seguito della sua
"autodifesa".
La dichiarazione di apertura di Milosevic - un lungo, dettagliato
"J'accuse" contro i veri criminali che hanno squartato la Jugoslavia -
ha avuto luogo ieri ed oggi. La trascrizione integrale si dovrebbe
poter leggere a breve sul sito ufficiale dell'ICTY:
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/transe54.htm
Non appena essa sara' disponibile (speriamo presto) provvederemo a
farne circolare ampi stralci; seguira', prima possibile, una
traduzione in lingua italiana.
Allo stesso sito - http://www.un.org/icty/ - si potra' fare
riferimento anche nel seguito, per seguire le udienze del processo
anche in audio/video (in formato RealPlayer).
(...)
=====
Da: "Vladimir Krsljanin"
Data: Lun 30 Ago 2004 16:59:25 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: Tapuskovic on the rights of Milosevic and notice how to watch
the opening speech
HAGUE TRIBUNAL: IMPOSITION OF COUNSEL ON SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC?
Interview of Belgrade lawyer Branislav Tapuskovic (former Amicus
Curiae at the Hague process) to the German daily "junge Welt", 30
August 2004
By Anna Gutenberg
Q: The ICTY Registrar recently asked you whether you would agree to be
on the list of potential lawyers to be imposed on Mr. Milosevic. Were
you surprised that the judges reintroduced that issue after Mr.
Milosevic successfully defended himself during the Prosecution case?
Or did you have some other thoughts on the matter?
A: Yes, I was surprised, because, if Slobodan Milosevic is ill, even
if he had had a counsel all the time, the trial could not have gone on
as long as the illness lasted. The proposal of the Prosecution to use
a video-link is senseless: a video link cannot make an ill person
process-capable.
Q: Why did you refuse?
A: I have respected the provision of Article 21, point 4/d of the
Statute of the ICTY, according to which every defendant has the
guaranteed right TO BE TRIED IN HIS PRESENCE AND TO DEFEND HIMSELF IN
PERSON.
Q: I remember the occasions when the judges treated you harshly
whenever you put forward the important facts during the testimony of
prosecution witnesses. They once accused you of defending Mr.
Milosevic. Can you comment on that?
A: I did not see it that way. My duty in particular was to insist on
releasing evidence that came out of the exhibits I was receiving from
the Prosecution. It was really not my problem to worry about how the
Judges treated me.
Q: What do you think about the argument that an accused can be too ill
to present his case, but fit enough to stand trial? Is that common?
A: About the accused's health condition, only physicians can decide on
that. And, in my opinion, that has to be obligatory for the court. If
the physicians conclude that Slobodan Milosevic is ill, unfit to
defend himself, and cannot be present in the court, then there can be
no trial at all. Simply, in that case the Prosecution does not have a
case.
Q: Critical voices say that imposing counsel on Mr. Milosevic is an
attempt to prevent him from presenting his facts and witnesses.
Comment, please.
A: The trial cannot be valid if Slobodan Milosevic does not present his
evidence.
Q: What do you think about the fact that former US Secretary of State
M. Albright was visiting the ICTY on the very day in early July when
the judges accepted the possibility of imposing counsel?
A: One can only guess, but my position has always been that politics
must not influence the work of any court.
Q: Thank you very much.
Den Artikel finden Sie unter:
http://www.jungewelt.de/2004/08-30/018.php
(c) Junge Welt 2004
http://www.jungewelt.de
***********************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
==================
ALL WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO BE AT THE HAGUE ON 31 August AND 1 September
2004 CAN WATCH THE HISTORIC OPENING SPEECH OF SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC VIA
INTERNET.
Everything you have to do is to go to the tribunal's web site:
www.un.org/icty
and to choose the proper link on the main page (video or audio,
English, French or Serbian channel - in all cases you need the
freeware called Real Player, that can be also downloaded from the
Internet).
***********************************************************
THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC AND THE INTERNATIONAL LAW ARE IN PERIL.
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS' PETITION:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS' APPEAL FOR MILOSEVIC:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/artists.htm
SUPPORT THE ICDSM:
http://www.icdsm.org/
*********************************************************
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INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DEFEND SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC
www.icdsm.org
slobodavk@ yubc. net
**************************************************************
In the struggle US/NATO vs. People which is going on at The Hague,
US/NATO is represented by 1300 employees fed every year with 100.000 $
per person. People is represented by Slobodan Milosevic alone, armed
only with truth and with your support!
NOW is the last moment for full mobilization of all our political,
intellectual and financial potentials to prevent the worse and to
decisively help People and Slobodan Milosevic to win the battle for
truth.
ICDSM has to set up an effective information center at The Hague to
prevent criminal injustices and to promote, in closest interaction
with President Milosevic and with the small team of his assistants,
his struggle for truth, to bring his numerous important witnesses
before the press and to show the mass people's support.
SO - ACT NOW - DON'T LET THE TRUTH BE SILENCED!
Vladimir Krsljanin,
Secretary of ICDSM,
Foreign Relations Assistant to President Milosevic
*************************************************************
Please send us your donations and engage in organizing fundraising.
*************************************************************
You can find detailed instructions at:
http://www.icdsm.org/battle.htm
(please also follow the links therein) or
*************************************************************
You can make transfers to ICDSM accounts in Europe:
Peter Betscher
Stadt- und Kreissparkasse Darmstadt, Germany
IBAN: DE 21 5085 0150 0102 1441 63
SWIFT-BIC: HELADEF1DAS
or
Vereinigung für Internationale Solidarität (VIS)
4000 Basel, Switzerland
PC 40-493646-5
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THE ILLEGAL HAGUE PROCESS MUST END.
Statement by the President of the World Peace Council Orlando Fundora
(Cuba)
http://www.icdsm.org/more/fundora.htm
*************************************************************
*************************************************************
VIDOVDAN PEOPLE'S RALLY IN BELGRADE ORGANIZED BY SLOBODA
to mark the third anniversary of kidnapping of President Milosevic
http://www.icdsm.org/more/galery2806.htm
**************************************************************
SLOBODA urgently needs your donation.
Please find the detailed instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm
To join or help this struggle, visit:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association)
http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan
Milosevic)
http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsm-us.org/ (US section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland)
http://www.pasti.org/milodif.htm (ICDSM Italy)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
===========
2. Come volevasi dimostrare:
IMPOSTO A MILOSEVIC UN AVVOCATO "DIFENSORE" CHE LAVORA PER LA ACCUSA
Vi siete mai chiesti come mai, se i giudici dell'Aia nutrono tanta
preoccupazione per le condizioni di salute di Milosevic, non hanno mai
preso alcun serio provvedimento in materia durante tutta la fase della
"accusa", che e' durata per due anni e mezzo?
Vi siete mai chiesti come mai i giudici dell'Aia hanno aspettato
proprio adesso, l'inizio della fase della "difesa", per imporre a
Milosevic un "avvocato d'ufficio" per "tutelare la sua salute" - come
richiesto dalla Del Ponte?
Se della salute di Milosevic vogliamo parlare - piuttosto che non
della illegittimita' del "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia - diciamo allora
che numerosi precedenti e consuetudini giuridiche giustificano
piuttosto la richiesta dell'IMMEDIATO RILASCIO dell'imputato, per
consentirgli di curarsi.
Su questa ennesima scandalosa vicenda della quale si rende
responsabile il "Tribunale ad hoc" si vedano di seguito:
- una nota di Michael Parenti (vedi anche la precedente, tradotta in
italiano su:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/icdsm-italia/message/93 )
- la memoria gia' sottoscritta da un centinaio di giuristi ed avvocati
di tutto il mondo (vedi anche l'elenco provvisorio delle adesioni su:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm
- l'articolo di Michael Scharf, consulente legale di Madeleine
Albright ed autore dello "Statuto" del "Tribunale", apparso sul
Washington Post del 29 agosto u.s., nel quale si chiarisce in maniera
persino sfacciata che le pressioni per imporre a Milosevic un
"avvocato d'ufficio" contro la sua volonta' provengono direttamente
dal New York e da Washington.
Nel frattempo, la trascrizione della dichiarazione preliminare di
Milosevic, enunciata il 31 agosto ed il 1 settembre, non e' stata
ancora pubblicata sul sito del "Tribunale". Mentre le agenzie di
stampa battono dispacci tendenziosi, disinformativi o persino
sarcastici, all'opinione pubblica viene negato il testo del discorso
di Milosevic, almeno finche' la questione non si sara' "raffreddata"...
Come sempre, come da 15 anni a questa parte, come per tutti gli altri
discorsi pubblici e dichiarazioni di Milosevic.
(a cura del coord. tecnico di ICDSM Italia)
---
From : "Michael Parenti"
To : "ICDSM Italia"
Date : Fri, 27 Aug 2004 07:47:37 -0700
Subject : Milosevic and his illness
Dear Friends at ICDSM Italia and other interested parties:
I wish to reiterate and amplify a point I made in an earlier
correspondence to you:
If President Milosevic is too ill to carry out his own defense and
needs to have a court appointed lawyer, as the Hague ICTY insists,
then he is too ill to continue to stand trial.
One right of any defendent is to be able to participate in the
preparation of his own case. Indeed, it is not only a right but an
essential consideration for the defense. Even if the ICTY appoints a
lawyer--whose political awareness and legal competence may leave much
to be desired--President Milosevic would still be obliged to play a
strenuously active preparatory role.
And he would have the additional difficulty of not only confronting
the Court but wrestling with the court appointed lawyer whose ability
and determination to make the strongest case is not assured. In other
words, the appointment of a lawyer will not ease Milosevic's burden
but only add to it--which may be one reason the ICTY is pushing for
such an appointment.
The converse is also true. If President Milosevic is well enough to
stand trial and take on the additional burden of tutoring a court
appointed lawyer, then he is obviously well enough to argue his own
case.
Given the time constraints imposed on Milosevic, it would be easier
for him to make his own defense (as he has been doing with much
brilliant success) than to attempt to guide and tutor a court
appointed lawyer regarding the many particulars of the case, even a
lawyer who might be willing to make a sincere effort.
In sum, the court cannot have it both ways: they cannot say that
President Milosevic is too sick to plead his own case yet well enough
to continue to be subjected to the grueling challenge of a public trial.
Solidarietà
Michael Parenti
ICDSM USA
---
Da: "Vladimir Krsljanin"
Data: Gio 2 Set 2004 11:44:05 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: URGENT - HAGUE: Imposition of International Dictatorship
HAGUE: IMPOSITION OF INTERNATIONAL DICTATORSHIP
NATO/US/UN "Tribunal" at The Hague decided today to impose a counsel
on Slobodan Milosevic against his will.
This way this para-judicial creation overran the Nazi court which
tried Dimitrov and Apartheid court which tried Mandela.
The decision was made immediately after the opening speech of
President Milosevic, which was the most concentrated presentation of
arguments and historical facts that totally annulled the NATO
anti-Serbian war propaganda.
This speech also announced the President Milosevic's strategy - to
beat the false indictments by proving the real guilt of those who
broke-up, bombed and abolished the glorious European nation, Yugoslavia.
This is another aggressive crime against this country and its people,
against the International Law and against freedom and sovereignty of
peoples.
At the same time, this is a total denial of the whole international
system of human rights protection.
Brutal force imposes its own "international law" to silence, convict
and eliminate each political opponent or freedom fighter. This new
"law" is an art of punishing innocent.
Our struggle enters a new phase - phase of open struggle against
international dictatorship which has absolutely no scrupules.
Our struggle, which is people's struggle, remains a struggle for
freedom. In our struggle, truth remains our strongest weapon.
Our main slogan and our imminent goal is:
FREEDOM FOR SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC!
RAISE YOUR VOICE NOW!
LAUNCH A MOST POWERFUL ACTION NOW!
The open dictatorship legitimizes all forms of resistance!
SLOBODA/ICDSM
2nd September 2004-09-02
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COMPARE YOURSELF THE ARGUMENTS:
ARGUMENTS OF JUSTICE AND LOW THROUGH THE VOICE OF 100 INTERNATIONAL
LAWYERS AND LAW PROFESSORS AND
POLITICAL ARGUMENTS OF THE EMPIRE THROUGH THE VOICE OF MICHAEL SCHARF,
ALBRIGHT'S LEGAL ADVISER AND THE AUTHOR OF ICTY STATUTE.
****************************************************************
IMPOSITION OF COUNSEL ON SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC THREATENS THE FUTURE OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE LIFE OF THE DEFENDANT
(...)
[ SEE THE WHOLE DOCUMENT AND SIGNATURES AT:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm ]
**********************************************************
The Washington Post
August 29, 2004 Sunday
Final Edition
SECTION: Outlook; B02
LENGTH: 1413 words
HEADLINE: Making a Spectacle of Himself;
Milosevic Wants a Stage, Not the Right to Provide His Own Defense
BYLINE: Michael P. Scharf
Almost everyone knows the old legal saying: "He who represents himself
has a fool for a client and an idiot for a lawyer." The trial of
former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic suggests a related adage: "A
judge who permits a rogue leader to represent himself in an
international war crimes trial is just as misguided."
On Tuesday, Milosevic's trial -- more than two years old and counting
-- is scheduled to resume before the International Criminal Tribunal
in The Hague.
The opening act of the trial's new phase will be the judges'
announcement of their decision on whether to allow Milosevic to
continue acting as his own lawyer.
At the start of the trial in February 2002, the original presiding
judge, Britain's Richard May, ruled that "under international law, the
defendant has a right to counsel, but he also has a right not to have
counsel."
Virtually everything that has gone wrong with the Milosevic trial can
be traced back to that erroneous ruling.
The decision has caused the trial to drag on twice as long as
anticipated.
Because of concerns about Milosevic's high blood pressure (240 over
120), the judges have had to scale back the length and frequency of
the proceedings to ensure that the former leader is not "tried to
death." As a result, the trial takes place only three times a week as
opposed to the standard five; the number of hours per day has been
reduced from eight to four; and there are frequent lengthy recesses to
allow the defendant-lawyer to regain his strength. These delays have
taken their toll on justice. Judge May recently died of cancer and a
replacement had to be found; witness memories are fading; and the
international community is losing interest.
The judges have given Milosevic wider latitude than an ordinary
defendant or lawyer. Normally, the accused addresses the court only
when he takes the stand to give testimony, and he must take an oath to
tell the truth.
Moreover, he is limited to offering evidence that is relevant to the
charges, and is subject to cross-examination by the prosecution. By
acting as his own counsel, Milosevic was able to begin the trial with
an 18-hour-long opening argument, which included Hollywood-quality
video and slide-show presentations showing the destruction wrought by
the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.
As his own defense counsel, Milosevic has been able to treat the
witnesses, prosecutors and judges in a manner that would earn ordinary
defense counsel a citation or incarceration for contempt of court. In
addition to regularly making disparaging remarks about the court and
browbeating witnesses, Milosevic pontificates at length during
cross-examination of every witness, despite repeated warnings from the
bench. Milosevic, who spends his nights at the tribunal's detention
center, has no incentive to heed the judges' admonitions.
Milosevic's caustic defense strategy is unlikely to win him an
acquittal, but it isn't aimed at the court of law in The Hague. His
audience is the court of public opinion back home in Serbia, where the
trial is a top-rated TV show and Milosevic's standing continues to rise.
Opinion polls have reported that 75 percent of Serbs do not feel that
Milosevic is getting a fair trial, and 67 percent think that he is not
responsible for any war crimes. "Sloba Hero!" graffiti is omnipresent
on Belgrade buses and buildings. Last December, he easily won a seat
in the Serbian parliament in a national election.
In creating the Yugoslavia tribunal statute, the U.N. Security Council
set three objectives: first, to educate the Serbian people, who were
long misled by Milosevic's propaganda, about the acts of aggression,
war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his regime;
second, to facilitate national reconciliation by pinning prime
responsibility on Milosevic and
other top leaders and disclosing the ways in which the Milosevic
regime had induced ordinary Serbs to commit atrocities; and third, to
promote political catharsis while enabling Serbia's newly elected
leaders to distance themselves from the repressive policies of the
past. May's decision to allow Milosevic to represent himself has
seriously undercut these aims.
May felt he had no choice in the matter because the tribunal's legal
charter stated that the defendant has the right "to defend himself in
person or through legal assistance of his own choosing." But some
experts -- and I'm including myself -- are now arguing that May got
the law wrong.
The language from the Yugoslavia tribunal statute originally comes
from a human rights treaty known as the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. The negotiating record of the
International Covenant indicates that the drafters' concern was with
effective representation, not self-representation. In other words, the
drafters felt that a defendant should have a right to either be
represented by a lawyer or to represent himself; they did not state
that each defendant must be asked to choose between the two. Unlike
Britain and the United States, most countries of the world do not
allow criminal defendants to represent themselves under any
circumstances, and this has been deemed consistent with international
law by the European Court of Human Rights.
Even if May was correct in his reading of the law as providing a right
to self-representation, he was wrong to treat that right as absolute.
As authority for his position, May cited the U.S. Supreme Court's 1975
ruling in Feratta v. California, which held that there was a
fundamental right to self-representation in U.S. courts. But the high
court also added a caveat, which May overlooked, stating that "a right
of self-representation is not a license to abuse the dignity of the
courtroom." U.S. appellate courts have subsequently held that the
right of self-representation is subject to exceptions -- such as when
the defendant acts in a disruptive manner, when self-representation
interferes with the dignity of the proceedings or when the issues in
the case are too complex for a defendant to represent himself
adequately.
Milosevic's antics and poor health have repeatedly disrupted the
trial, justifying appointment of counsel to represent him in court for
the remainder of the proceedings. There's precedent for taking such a
step: In the trial of former Serbian paramilitary leader Vojislav
Seselj, the Yugoslavia tribunal required Seselj -- over his objection
-- to accept "stand-by counsel," ready to step in as soon as the
defendant became disruptive or the issues became too complex.
In a sense, the tribunal has already appointed standby counsel for
Milosevic in the guise of Stephen Kay and the other amicus ("friends
of the court") counsel. While not bound to follow the defendant's
directives, their job has been to ensure that legal arguments favoring
the defense are presented to the judges. It would be a small step to
transform the amicus counsel into a full-blown defense team, and
instruct it to represent Milosevic for the rest of the trial. The
lawyers are already intimately familiar with the case and are willing
to take on such a role. And unlike Milosevic, they will be bound to
play by the rules.
If, on the other hand, the tribunal rules that Milosevic still has a
right to represent himself, the precedent will affect other
international cases.
Saddam Hussein, whose war crimes trial is set to begin later this
year, will be able to argue that he, too, has a right to represent
himself before the Iraqi Special Tribunal.
If Hussein were allowed to follow Milosevic's playbook -- using the
unique opportunity of self-representation to launch daily attacks
against the legitimacy of the proceedings and the U.S. invasion of
Iraq -- this would seriously undermine the goal of fostering
reconciliation between the Iraqi Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. The
historic record developed by such a trial would forever be questioned.
And the trial would transform Hussein and his subordinates into
martyrs, potentially fueling violent opposition to the new Iraqi
government.
Justice demands that Milosevic and Hussein be given fair trials. That
can best be guaranteed by appointing distinguished counsel to defend
them, not by permitting them to act as their own lawyers.
Author's e-mail:
michael.scharf@...
Michael Scharf is professor of law and director of the Frederick K.
Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland. His latest book is "Slobodan Milosevic on Trial" (Continuum).
========
3. RINNOVIAMO I NOSTRI DUE APPELLI:
AD OFFRIRSI COME TRADUTTORI
La battaglia per la difesa di Milosevic non va sottovalutata.
Essa ha un valore strategico, e non solo etico, in quanto puo'
avere conseguenze importanti per tutte le altre battaglie
internazionaliste del movimento contro la guerra.
Infatti, con il processo-farsa contro Milosevic, le grandi potenze
imperialiste vogliono creare un precedente. Esse vogliono avere
mano libera in futuro nelle loro decisioni sugli assetti del pianeta;
vogliono avere formalmente riconosciuta la facolta' di stabilire
ad arbitrio quali guerre scatenare, contro chi e con quali mezzi;
esse vogliono garantirsi la impunita' su tutti i propri crimini
di guerra, e si arrogano la facolta' di giudicare e condannare -
anche formalmente, non solo mediaticamente - le loro stesse
vittime... condannandole persino al risarcimento dei danni causati
da loro stesse, con le loro guerre imperialiste!
Dopo Milosevic, potrebbe essere la volta di Saddam; e non
illudiamoci: la "guerra preventiva e permanente" non finisce certo
in Iraq. Ma intanto, i crimini di Pancevo (1999) o di Falluja (2004)
chi li dovrebbe giudicare? Il "tribunale" dell'Aia si e' ostinatamente
rifiutato di aprire qualsivoglia procedimento per tutti quei crimini di
guerra, ben documentati, commessi dalla NATO nella primavera del
1999, in spregio alle richieste formali e nonostante tutta la
documentazione pervenuta.
Dunque, dobbiamo impedire che la storia tragica e vergognosa di
questi anni in Jugoslavia sia scritta esclusivamente sulla base delle
"sentenze giudiziarie" dettate dai servizi di intelligence della NATO.
Per questo, noi possiamo essere di grande aiuto, in effetti.
Sara' sufficiente far circolare i testi di cio' che e' stato e verra'
detto in quell'aula. Ne' piu' ne' meno.
I giornalisti hanno evitato finora di fare cronaca sul "processo",
perche' non conviene ai loro datori di lavoro: percio' dobbiamo
pensarci noi.
E' necessario costituire subito una rete di persone disponibili
a TRADURRE DALL'INGLESE IN LINGUA ITALIANA. Ogni
giorno le pagine di nuovi verbali saranno decine e decine: si
trattera' di selezionarne una parte e di dividerci il lavoro di
traduzione e diffusione dei testi.
Affinche' tutti sappiano, e nessuno possa dire: "Io non sapevo".
Per contatti, per offrirsi volontari nel lavoro di traduzione:
segreteria: tel/fax +39-06-4828957
email: icdsm-italia@ libero. it
PER LA CAMPAGNA DI AUTOFINANZIAMENTO
Nello scontro che si sta svolgendo al "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia, gli
interessi imperialisti della NATO sono rappresentati da uno staff di
1300 persone profumatamente pagate (circa 100mila dollari l'anno a
testa), mentre gli interessi della Jugoslavia e di tutti i suoi popoli
sono rappresentati dal solo Slobodan Milosevic, il quale dispone
esclusivamente dei poveri mezzi del suo comitato internazionale di
sostegno: l'ICDSM.
L'impresa cui deve far fronte Milosevic appare dunque titanica, ma non
puo' comunque essere abbandonata. Se pure essa avesse solo valore
testimoniale, tale valore sarebbe comunque inestimabile, poiche' si
tratta di testimoniare a proposito di almeno un decennio di
macchinazioni e crimini finalizzati alla distruzione di un paese
europeo, ovvero - nelle parole dello stesso Milosevic - finalizzati al
"capovolgimento degli esiti della Seconda Guerra Mondiale" nei
Balcani. Crimini e macchinazioni su cui nessun altro e' stato o sara'
mai intenzionato a fare chiarezza.
Senza mezzi finanziari, la difesa di Milosevic non ha chances.
Si valuta che sia indispensabile raccogliere diverse migliaia euro
ogni mese per far fronte a tutte le necessita' di assistenza legale,
di documentazione e di comunicazione.
La Sezione Italiana dell'ICDSM, ringraziando tutti quelli che
hanno finora contribuito alla campagna di autofinanziamento
(in Italia sono gia' state raccolte alcune migliaia di euro), chiede
che lo sforzo in tal senso prosegua, cosi' come sta proseguendo
in tutte le altre realta' nazionali.
Si badi bene:
NON ESISTONO ALTRE FONTI DI FINANZIAMENTO.
Una recente legge passata dal Parlamento serbo - che
in linea di principio avrebbe garantito una parziale copertura
delle spese - e' stata subito "congelata" in seguito alle
minacce occidentali. Una qualsivoglia campagna di finanziamento
su basi volontarie a Belgrado e' praticamente irrealizzabile:
a causa delle scelte estremistiche, in senso neoliberista, del regime
instaurato il 5 ottobre 2000 la situazione sociale e' disastrosa, la
disoccupazione dilaga, i salari sono da fame, chi ha i soldi per
mangiare li tiene ben stretti e non rischia certo la galera (o peggio:
vedi le torture in carcere nella primavera 2003, durante la
cosiddetta "Operazione Sciabola") in attivita' politiche o di
solidarieta' a favore di Milosevic, che viene tuttora demonizzato
dai media locali - oramai tutti in mano a societa' occidentali,
soprattutto tedesche - esattamente come da noi.
I nuovi ricchi votano i partiti filo-occidentali e di destra, e
preferiscono che Milosevic marcisca in carcere, insieme alla
loro cattiva coscienza. A tutti deve essere infine chiaro - se ancora
ci fosse bisogno di ripeterlo - che al di la' delle menzogne
giornalistiche non esiste e non e' mai esistito alcun "tesoro
nascosto" di Milosevic, e che il nostro impegno per la sua
difesa e' insostituibile oltreche' indispensabile.
Contribuite dunque e fate contribuire, attraverso il
*** Conto Corrente Postale numero 86557006
intestato ad Adolfo Amoroso, ROMA
causale: DIFESA MILOSEVIC ***
Dal Comitato Internazionale per la Difesa di Slobodan Milosevic (ICDSM)
1. Aperta la fase della "autodifesa" di Milosevic:
- Tapuskovic on the rights of Milosevic and notice how to watch
the opening speech
2. Come volevasi dimostrare:
IMPOSTO A MILOSEVIC UN AVVOCATO "DIFENSORE" CHE LAVORA PER LA ACCUSA
- una nota di Michael Parenti
- l'articolo di Michael Scharf (consulente legale di Madeleine
Albright ed autore dello "Statuto" del "Tribunale") apparso sul
Washington Post del 29 agosto u.s., nel quale si chiarisce in maniera
persino sfacciata che le pressioni per imporre a Milosevic un
"avvocato d'ufficio" contro la sua volonta' provengono direttamente
dal New York e da Washington
3. DUE APPELLI:
- AD OFFRIRSI COME TRADUTTORI
- PER LA CAMPAGNA DI AUTOFINANZIAMENTO
==========================
ICDSM - Sezione Italiana
c/o GAMADI, Via L. Da Vinci 27
00043 Ciampino (Roma)
tel/fax +39-06-4828957
email: icdsm-italia @ libero.it
Conto Corrente Postale numero 86557006
intestato ad Adolfo Amoroso, ROMA
causale: DIFESA MILOSEVIC
sito internet:
http://www.pasti.org/linkmilo.htm
==========================
1. Aperta la fase della "autodifesa" di Milosevic
Dopo la riapertura del "processo" politico contro Slobodan Milosevic
nell'aula dell'illegittimo "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia (ICTY), il
pubblico attende per domani la decisione ufficiale della "Corte" in
merito alla possibile assegnazione di un "avvocato d'ufficio".
Tale assegnazione avverrebbe in contrasto con la volonta'
dell'imputato - che notoriamente non riconosce alcuna legittimita' a
questo "Tribunale" - ed in contrasto anche con numerosi precedenti e
consuetudini giuridiche (vedi in proposito la memoria gia'
sottoscritta da numerose decine di giuristi ed avvocati di tutto il
mondo: http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm , e la intervista
all'avvocato Tapuskovic riportata di seguito). Con il pretesto di
tutelare la salute dell'imputato, di fatto, imponendogli un "avvocato
d'ufficio", la Corte otterrebbe il risultato - altamente desiderato
dalla "pubblica accusa" e dai veri sponsor del "Tribunale ad hoc",
cioe' i leader della NATO - di mettere il bavaglio a Milosevic,
impedendogli di gestire in prima persona il seguito della sua
"autodifesa".
La dichiarazione di apertura di Milosevic - un lungo, dettagliato
"J'accuse" contro i veri criminali che hanno squartato la Jugoslavia -
ha avuto luogo ieri ed oggi. La trascrizione integrale si dovrebbe
poter leggere a breve sul sito ufficiale dell'ICTY:
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/transe54.htm
Non appena essa sara' disponibile (speriamo presto) provvederemo a
farne circolare ampi stralci; seguira', prima possibile, una
traduzione in lingua italiana.
Allo stesso sito - http://www.un.org/icty/ - si potra' fare
riferimento anche nel seguito, per seguire le udienze del processo
anche in audio/video (in formato RealPlayer).
(...)
=====
Da: "Vladimir Krsljanin"
Data: Lun 30 Ago 2004 16:59:25 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: Tapuskovic on the rights of Milosevic and notice how to watch
the opening speech
HAGUE TRIBUNAL: IMPOSITION OF COUNSEL ON SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC?
Interview of Belgrade lawyer Branislav Tapuskovic (former Amicus
Curiae at the Hague process) to the German daily "junge Welt", 30
August 2004
By Anna Gutenberg
Q: The ICTY Registrar recently asked you whether you would agree to be
on the list of potential lawyers to be imposed on Mr. Milosevic. Were
you surprised that the judges reintroduced that issue after Mr.
Milosevic successfully defended himself during the Prosecution case?
Or did you have some other thoughts on the matter?
A: Yes, I was surprised, because, if Slobodan Milosevic is ill, even
if he had had a counsel all the time, the trial could not have gone on
as long as the illness lasted. The proposal of the Prosecution to use
a video-link is senseless: a video link cannot make an ill person
process-capable.
Q: Why did you refuse?
A: I have respected the provision of Article 21, point 4/d of the
Statute of the ICTY, according to which every defendant has the
guaranteed right TO BE TRIED IN HIS PRESENCE AND TO DEFEND HIMSELF IN
PERSON.
Q: I remember the occasions when the judges treated you harshly
whenever you put forward the important facts during the testimony of
prosecution witnesses. They once accused you of defending Mr.
Milosevic. Can you comment on that?
A: I did not see it that way. My duty in particular was to insist on
releasing evidence that came out of the exhibits I was receiving from
the Prosecution. It was really not my problem to worry about how the
Judges treated me.
Q: What do you think about the argument that an accused can be too ill
to present his case, but fit enough to stand trial? Is that common?
A: About the accused's health condition, only physicians can decide on
that. And, in my opinion, that has to be obligatory for the court. If
the physicians conclude that Slobodan Milosevic is ill, unfit to
defend himself, and cannot be present in the court, then there can be
no trial at all. Simply, in that case the Prosecution does not have a
case.
Q: Critical voices say that imposing counsel on Mr. Milosevic is an
attempt to prevent him from presenting his facts and witnesses.
Comment, please.
A: The trial cannot be valid if Slobodan Milosevic does not present his
evidence.
Q: What do you think about the fact that former US Secretary of State
M. Albright was visiting the ICTY on the very day in early July when
the judges accepted the possibility of imposing counsel?
A: One can only guess, but my position has always been that politics
must not influence the work of any court.
Q: Thank you very much.
Den Artikel finden Sie unter:
http://www.jungewelt.de/2004/08-30/018.php
(c) Junge Welt 2004
http://www.jungewelt.de
***********************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
==================
ALL WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO BE AT THE HAGUE ON 31 August AND 1 September
2004 CAN WATCH THE HISTORIC OPENING SPEECH OF SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC VIA
INTERNET.
Everything you have to do is to go to the tribunal's web site:
www.un.org/icty
and to choose the proper link on the main page (video or audio,
English, French or Serbian channel - in all cases you need the
freeware called Real Player, that can be also downloaded from the
Internet).
***********************************************************
THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC AND THE INTERNATIONAL LAW ARE IN PERIL.
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS' PETITION:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS' APPEAL FOR MILOSEVIC:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/artists.htm
SUPPORT THE ICDSM:
http://www.icdsm.org/
*********************************************************
*************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DEFEND SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC
www.icdsm.org
slobodavk@ yubc. net
**************************************************************
In the struggle US/NATO vs. People which is going on at The Hague,
US/NATO is represented by 1300 employees fed every year with 100.000 $
per person. People is represented by Slobodan Milosevic alone, armed
only with truth and with your support!
NOW is the last moment for full mobilization of all our political,
intellectual and financial potentials to prevent the worse and to
decisively help People and Slobodan Milosevic to win the battle for
truth.
ICDSM has to set up an effective information center at The Hague to
prevent criminal injustices and to promote, in closest interaction
with President Milosevic and with the small team of his assistants,
his struggle for truth, to bring his numerous important witnesses
before the press and to show the mass people's support.
SO - ACT NOW - DON'T LET THE TRUTH BE SILENCED!
Vladimir Krsljanin,
Secretary of ICDSM,
Foreign Relations Assistant to President Milosevic
*************************************************************
Please send us your donations and engage in organizing fundraising.
*************************************************************
You can find detailed instructions at:
http://www.icdsm.org/battle.htm
(please also follow the links therein) or
*************************************************************
You can make transfers to ICDSM accounts in Europe:
Peter Betscher
Stadt- und Kreissparkasse Darmstadt, Germany
IBAN: DE 21 5085 0150 0102 1441 63
SWIFT-BIC: HELADEF1DAS
or
Vereinigung für Internationale Solidarität (VIS)
4000 Basel, Switzerland
PC 40-493646-5
*************************************************************
*************************************************************
THE ILLEGAL HAGUE PROCESS MUST END.
Statement by the President of the World Peace Council Orlando Fundora
(Cuba)
http://www.icdsm.org/more/fundora.htm
*************************************************************
*************************************************************
VIDOVDAN PEOPLE'S RALLY IN BELGRADE ORGANIZED BY SLOBODA
to mark the third anniversary of kidnapping of President Milosevic
http://www.icdsm.org/more/galery2806.htm
**************************************************************
SLOBODA urgently needs your donation.
Please find the detailed instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm
To join or help this struggle, visit:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association)
http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan
Milosevic)
http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsm-us.org/ (US section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland)
http://www.pasti.org/milodif.htm (ICDSM Italy)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
===========
2. Come volevasi dimostrare:
IMPOSTO A MILOSEVIC UN AVVOCATO "DIFENSORE" CHE LAVORA PER LA ACCUSA
Vi siete mai chiesti come mai, se i giudici dell'Aia nutrono tanta
preoccupazione per le condizioni di salute di Milosevic, non hanno mai
preso alcun serio provvedimento in materia durante tutta la fase della
"accusa", che e' durata per due anni e mezzo?
Vi siete mai chiesti come mai i giudici dell'Aia hanno aspettato
proprio adesso, l'inizio della fase della "difesa", per imporre a
Milosevic un "avvocato d'ufficio" per "tutelare la sua salute" - come
richiesto dalla Del Ponte?
Se della salute di Milosevic vogliamo parlare - piuttosto che non
della illegittimita' del "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia - diciamo allora
che numerosi precedenti e consuetudini giuridiche giustificano
piuttosto la richiesta dell'IMMEDIATO RILASCIO dell'imputato, per
consentirgli di curarsi.
Su questa ennesima scandalosa vicenda della quale si rende
responsabile il "Tribunale ad hoc" si vedano di seguito:
- una nota di Michael Parenti (vedi anche la precedente, tradotta in
italiano su:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/icdsm-italia/message/93 )
- la memoria gia' sottoscritta da un centinaio di giuristi ed avvocati
di tutto il mondo (vedi anche l'elenco provvisorio delle adesioni su:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm
- l'articolo di Michael Scharf, consulente legale di Madeleine
Albright ed autore dello "Statuto" del "Tribunale", apparso sul
Washington Post del 29 agosto u.s., nel quale si chiarisce in maniera
persino sfacciata che le pressioni per imporre a Milosevic un
"avvocato d'ufficio" contro la sua volonta' provengono direttamente
dal New York e da Washington.
Nel frattempo, la trascrizione della dichiarazione preliminare di
Milosevic, enunciata il 31 agosto ed il 1 settembre, non e' stata
ancora pubblicata sul sito del "Tribunale". Mentre le agenzie di
stampa battono dispacci tendenziosi, disinformativi o persino
sarcastici, all'opinione pubblica viene negato il testo del discorso
di Milosevic, almeno finche' la questione non si sara' "raffreddata"...
Come sempre, come da 15 anni a questa parte, come per tutti gli altri
discorsi pubblici e dichiarazioni di Milosevic.
(a cura del coord. tecnico di ICDSM Italia)
---
From : "Michael Parenti"
To : "ICDSM Italia"
Date : Fri, 27 Aug 2004 07:47:37 -0700
Subject : Milosevic and his illness
Dear Friends at ICDSM Italia and other interested parties:
I wish to reiterate and amplify a point I made in an earlier
correspondence to you:
If President Milosevic is too ill to carry out his own defense and
needs to have a court appointed lawyer, as the Hague ICTY insists,
then he is too ill to continue to stand trial.
One right of any defendent is to be able to participate in the
preparation of his own case. Indeed, it is not only a right but an
essential consideration for the defense. Even if the ICTY appoints a
lawyer--whose political awareness and legal competence may leave much
to be desired--President Milosevic would still be obliged to play a
strenuously active preparatory role.
And he would have the additional difficulty of not only confronting
the Court but wrestling with the court appointed lawyer whose ability
and determination to make the strongest case is not assured. In other
words, the appointment of a lawyer will not ease Milosevic's burden
but only add to it--which may be one reason the ICTY is pushing for
such an appointment.
The converse is also true. If President Milosevic is well enough to
stand trial and take on the additional burden of tutoring a court
appointed lawyer, then he is obviously well enough to argue his own
case.
Given the time constraints imposed on Milosevic, it would be easier
for him to make his own defense (as he has been doing with much
brilliant success) than to attempt to guide and tutor a court
appointed lawyer regarding the many particulars of the case, even a
lawyer who might be willing to make a sincere effort.
In sum, the court cannot have it both ways: they cannot say that
President Milosevic is too sick to plead his own case yet well enough
to continue to be subjected to the grueling challenge of a public trial.
Solidarietà
Michael Parenti
ICDSM USA
---
Da: "Vladimir Krsljanin"
Data: Gio 2 Set 2004 11:44:05 Europe/Rome
Oggetto: URGENT - HAGUE: Imposition of International Dictatorship
HAGUE: IMPOSITION OF INTERNATIONAL DICTATORSHIP
NATO/US/UN "Tribunal" at The Hague decided today to impose a counsel
on Slobodan Milosevic against his will.
This way this para-judicial creation overran the Nazi court which
tried Dimitrov and Apartheid court which tried Mandela.
The decision was made immediately after the opening speech of
President Milosevic, which was the most concentrated presentation of
arguments and historical facts that totally annulled the NATO
anti-Serbian war propaganda.
This speech also announced the President Milosevic's strategy - to
beat the false indictments by proving the real guilt of those who
broke-up, bombed and abolished the glorious European nation, Yugoslavia.
This is another aggressive crime against this country and its people,
against the International Law and against freedom and sovereignty of
peoples.
At the same time, this is a total denial of the whole international
system of human rights protection.
Brutal force imposes its own "international law" to silence, convict
and eliminate each political opponent or freedom fighter. This new
"law" is an art of punishing innocent.
Our struggle enters a new phase - phase of open struggle against
international dictatorship which has absolutely no scrupules.
Our struggle, which is people's struggle, remains a struggle for
freedom. In our struggle, truth remains our strongest weapon.
Our main slogan and our imminent goal is:
FREEDOM FOR SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC!
RAISE YOUR VOICE NOW!
LAUNCH A MOST POWERFUL ACTION NOW!
The open dictatorship legitimizes all forms of resistance!
SLOBODA/ICDSM
2nd September 2004-09-02
*****************************************************************
COMPARE YOURSELF THE ARGUMENTS:
ARGUMENTS OF JUSTICE AND LOW THROUGH THE VOICE OF 100 INTERNATIONAL
LAWYERS AND LAW PROFESSORS AND
POLITICAL ARGUMENTS OF THE EMPIRE THROUGH THE VOICE OF MICHAEL SCHARF,
ALBRIGHT'S LEGAL ADVISER AND THE AUTHOR OF ICTY STATUTE.
****************************************************************
IMPOSITION OF COUNSEL ON SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC THREATENS THE FUTURE OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE LIFE OF THE DEFENDANT
(...)
[ SEE THE WHOLE DOCUMENT AND SIGNATURES AT:
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm ]
**********************************************************
The Washington Post
August 29, 2004 Sunday
Final Edition
SECTION: Outlook; B02
LENGTH: 1413 words
HEADLINE: Making a Spectacle of Himself;
Milosevic Wants a Stage, Not the Right to Provide His Own Defense
BYLINE: Michael P. Scharf
Almost everyone knows the old legal saying: "He who represents himself
has a fool for a client and an idiot for a lawyer." The trial of
former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic suggests a related adage: "A
judge who permits a rogue leader to represent himself in an
international war crimes trial is just as misguided."
On Tuesday, Milosevic's trial -- more than two years old and counting
-- is scheduled to resume before the International Criminal Tribunal
in The Hague.
The opening act of the trial's new phase will be the judges'
announcement of their decision on whether to allow Milosevic to
continue acting as his own lawyer.
At the start of the trial in February 2002, the original presiding
judge, Britain's Richard May, ruled that "under international law, the
defendant has a right to counsel, but he also has a right not to have
counsel."
Virtually everything that has gone wrong with the Milosevic trial can
be traced back to that erroneous ruling.
The decision has caused the trial to drag on twice as long as
anticipated.
Because of concerns about Milosevic's high blood pressure (240 over
120), the judges have had to scale back the length and frequency of
the proceedings to ensure that the former leader is not "tried to
death." As a result, the trial takes place only three times a week as
opposed to the standard five; the number of hours per day has been
reduced from eight to four; and there are frequent lengthy recesses to
allow the defendant-lawyer to regain his strength. These delays have
taken their toll on justice. Judge May recently died of cancer and a
replacement had to be found; witness memories are fading; and the
international community is losing interest.
The judges have given Milosevic wider latitude than an ordinary
defendant or lawyer. Normally, the accused addresses the court only
when he takes the stand to give testimony, and he must take an oath to
tell the truth.
Moreover, he is limited to offering evidence that is relevant to the
charges, and is subject to cross-examination by the prosecution. By
acting as his own counsel, Milosevic was able to begin the trial with
an 18-hour-long opening argument, which included Hollywood-quality
video and slide-show presentations showing the destruction wrought by
the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.
As his own defense counsel, Milosevic has been able to treat the
witnesses, prosecutors and judges in a manner that would earn ordinary
defense counsel a citation or incarceration for contempt of court. In
addition to regularly making disparaging remarks about the court and
browbeating witnesses, Milosevic pontificates at length during
cross-examination of every witness, despite repeated warnings from the
bench. Milosevic, who spends his nights at the tribunal's detention
center, has no incentive to heed the judges' admonitions.
Milosevic's caustic defense strategy is unlikely to win him an
acquittal, but it isn't aimed at the court of law in The Hague. His
audience is the court of public opinion back home in Serbia, where the
trial is a top-rated TV show and Milosevic's standing continues to rise.
Opinion polls have reported that 75 percent of Serbs do not feel that
Milosevic is getting a fair trial, and 67 percent think that he is not
responsible for any war crimes. "Sloba Hero!" graffiti is omnipresent
on Belgrade buses and buildings. Last December, he easily won a seat
in the Serbian parliament in a national election.
In creating the Yugoslavia tribunal statute, the U.N. Security Council
set three objectives: first, to educate the Serbian people, who were
long misled by Milosevic's propaganda, about the acts of aggression,
war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his regime;
second, to facilitate national reconciliation by pinning prime
responsibility on Milosevic and
other top leaders and disclosing the ways in which the Milosevic
regime had induced ordinary Serbs to commit atrocities; and third, to
promote political catharsis while enabling Serbia's newly elected
leaders to distance themselves from the repressive policies of the
past. May's decision to allow Milosevic to represent himself has
seriously undercut these aims.
May felt he had no choice in the matter because the tribunal's legal
charter stated that the defendant has the right "to defend himself in
person or through legal assistance of his own choosing." But some
experts -- and I'm including myself -- are now arguing that May got
the law wrong.
The language from the Yugoslavia tribunal statute originally comes
from a human rights treaty known as the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. The negotiating record of the
International Covenant indicates that the drafters' concern was with
effective representation, not self-representation. In other words, the
drafters felt that a defendant should have a right to either be
represented by a lawyer or to represent himself; they did not state
that each defendant must be asked to choose between the two. Unlike
Britain and the United States, most countries of the world do not
allow criminal defendants to represent themselves under any
circumstances, and this has been deemed consistent with international
law by the European Court of Human Rights.
Even if May was correct in his reading of the law as providing a right
to self-representation, he was wrong to treat that right as absolute.
As authority for his position, May cited the U.S. Supreme Court's 1975
ruling in Feratta v. California, which held that there was a
fundamental right to self-representation in U.S. courts. But the high
court also added a caveat, which May overlooked, stating that "a right
of self-representation is not a license to abuse the dignity of the
courtroom." U.S. appellate courts have subsequently held that the
right of self-representation is subject to exceptions -- such as when
the defendant acts in a disruptive manner, when self-representation
interferes with the dignity of the proceedings or when the issues in
the case are too complex for a defendant to represent himself
adequately.
Milosevic's antics and poor health have repeatedly disrupted the
trial, justifying appointment of counsel to represent him in court for
the remainder of the proceedings. There's precedent for taking such a
step: In the trial of former Serbian paramilitary leader Vojislav
Seselj, the Yugoslavia tribunal required Seselj -- over his objection
-- to accept "stand-by counsel," ready to step in as soon as the
defendant became disruptive or the issues became too complex.
In a sense, the tribunal has already appointed standby counsel for
Milosevic in the guise of Stephen Kay and the other amicus ("friends
of the court") counsel. While not bound to follow the defendant's
directives, their job has been to ensure that legal arguments favoring
the defense are presented to the judges. It would be a small step to
transform the amicus counsel into a full-blown defense team, and
instruct it to represent Milosevic for the rest of the trial. The
lawyers are already intimately familiar with the case and are willing
to take on such a role. And unlike Milosevic, they will be bound to
play by the rules.
If, on the other hand, the tribunal rules that Milosevic still has a
right to represent himself, the precedent will affect other
international cases.
Saddam Hussein, whose war crimes trial is set to begin later this
year, will be able to argue that he, too, has a right to represent
himself before the Iraqi Special Tribunal.
If Hussein were allowed to follow Milosevic's playbook -- using the
unique opportunity of self-representation to launch daily attacks
against the legitimacy of the proceedings and the U.S. invasion of
Iraq -- this would seriously undermine the goal of fostering
reconciliation between the Iraqi Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. The
historic record developed by such a trial would forever be questioned.
And the trial would transform Hussein and his subordinates into
martyrs, potentially fueling violent opposition to the new Iraqi
government.
Justice demands that Milosevic and Hussein be given fair trials. That
can best be guaranteed by appointing distinguished counsel to defend
them, not by permitting them to act as their own lawyers.
Author's e-mail:
michael.scharf@...
Michael Scharf is professor of law and director of the Frederick K.
Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland. His latest book is "Slobodan Milosevic on Trial" (Continuum).
========
3. RINNOVIAMO I NOSTRI DUE APPELLI:
AD OFFRIRSI COME TRADUTTORI
La battaglia per la difesa di Milosevic non va sottovalutata.
Essa ha un valore strategico, e non solo etico, in quanto puo'
avere conseguenze importanti per tutte le altre battaglie
internazionaliste del movimento contro la guerra.
Infatti, con il processo-farsa contro Milosevic, le grandi potenze
imperialiste vogliono creare un precedente. Esse vogliono avere
mano libera in futuro nelle loro decisioni sugli assetti del pianeta;
vogliono avere formalmente riconosciuta la facolta' di stabilire
ad arbitrio quali guerre scatenare, contro chi e con quali mezzi;
esse vogliono garantirsi la impunita' su tutti i propri crimini
di guerra, e si arrogano la facolta' di giudicare e condannare -
anche formalmente, non solo mediaticamente - le loro stesse
vittime... condannandole persino al risarcimento dei danni causati
da loro stesse, con le loro guerre imperialiste!
Dopo Milosevic, potrebbe essere la volta di Saddam; e non
illudiamoci: la "guerra preventiva e permanente" non finisce certo
in Iraq. Ma intanto, i crimini di Pancevo (1999) o di Falluja (2004)
chi li dovrebbe giudicare? Il "tribunale" dell'Aia si e' ostinatamente
rifiutato di aprire qualsivoglia procedimento per tutti quei crimini di
guerra, ben documentati, commessi dalla NATO nella primavera del
1999, in spregio alle richieste formali e nonostante tutta la
documentazione pervenuta.
Dunque, dobbiamo impedire che la storia tragica e vergognosa di
questi anni in Jugoslavia sia scritta esclusivamente sulla base delle
"sentenze giudiziarie" dettate dai servizi di intelligence della NATO.
Per questo, noi possiamo essere di grande aiuto, in effetti.
Sara' sufficiente far circolare i testi di cio' che e' stato e verra'
detto in quell'aula. Ne' piu' ne' meno.
I giornalisti hanno evitato finora di fare cronaca sul "processo",
perche' non conviene ai loro datori di lavoro: percio' dobbiamo
pensarci noi.
E' necessario costituire subito una rete di persone disponibili
a TRADURRE DALL'INGLESE IN LINGUA ITALIANA. Ogni
giorno le pagine di nuovi verbali saranno decine e decine: si
trattera' di selezionarne una parte e di dividerci il lavoro di
traduzione e diffusione dei testi.
Affinche' tutti sappiano, e nessuno possa dire: "Io non sapevo".
Per contatti, per offrirsi volontari nel lavoro di traduzione:
segreteria: tel/fax +39-06-4828957
email: icdsm-italia@ libero. it
PER LA CAMPAGNA DI AUTOFINANZIAMENTO
Nello scontro che si sta svolgendo al "Tribunale ad hoc" dell'Aia, gli
interessi imperialisti della NATO sono rappresentati da uno staff di
1300 persone profumatamente pagate (circa 100mila dollari l'anno a
testa), mentre gli interessi della Jugoslavia e di tutti i suoi popoli
sono rappresentati dal solo Slobodan Milosevic, il quale dispone
esclusivamente dei poveri mezzi del suo comitato internazionale di
sostegno: l'ICDSM.
L'impresa cui deve far fronte Milosevic appare dunque titanica, ma non
puo' comunque essere abbandonata. Se pure essa avesse solo valore
testimoniale, tale valore sarebbe comunque inestimabile, poiche' si
tratta di testimoniare a proposito di almeno un decennio di
macchinazioni e crimini finalizzati alla distruzione di un paese
europeo, ovvero - nelle parole dello stesso Milosevic - finalizzati al
"capovolgimento degli esiti della Seconda Guerra Mondiale" nei
Balcani. Crimini e macchinazioni su cui nessun altro e' stato o sara'
mai intenzionato a fare chiarezza.
Senza mezzi finanziari, la difesa di Milosevic non ha chances.
Si valuta che sia indispensabile raccogliere diverse migliaia euro
ogni mese per far fronte a tutte le necessita' di assistenza legale,
di documentazione e di comunicazione.
La Sezione Italiana dell'ICDSM, ringraziando tutti quelli che
hanno finora contribuito alla campagna di autofinanziamento
(in Italia sono gia' state raccolte alcune migliaia di euro), chiede
che lo sforzo in tal senso prosegua, cosi' come sta proseguendo
in tutte le altre realta' nazionali.
Si badi bene:
NON ESISTONO ALTRE FONTI DI FINANZIAMENTO.
Una recente legge passata dal Parlamento serbo - che
in linea di principio avrebbe garantito una parziale copertura
delle spese - e' stata subito "congelata" in seguito alle
minacce occidentali. Una qualsivoglia campagna di finanziamento
su basi volontarie a Belgrado e' praticamente irrealizzabile:
a causa delle scelte estremistiche, in senso neoliberista, del regime
instaurato il 5 ottobre 2000 la situazione sociale e' disastrosa, la
disoccupazione dilaga, i salari sono da fame, chi ha i soldi per
mangiare li tiene ben stretti e non rischia certo la galera (o peggio:
vedi le torture in carcere nella primavera 2003, durante la
cosiddetta "Operazione Sciabola") in attivita' politiche o di
solidarieta' a favore di Milosevic, che viene tuttora demonizzato
dai media locali - oramai tutti in mano a societa' occidentali,
soprattutto tedesche - esattamente come da noi.
I nuovi ricchi votano i partiti filo-occidentali e di destra, e
preferiscono che Milosevic marcisca in carcere, insieme alla
loro cattiva coscienza. A tutti deve essere infine chiaro - se ancora
ci fosse bisogno di ripeterlo - che al di la' delle menzogne
giornalistiche non esiste e non e' mai esistito alcun "tesoro
nascosto" di Milosevic, e che il nostro impegno per la sua
difesa e' insostituibile oltreche' indispensabile.
Contribuite dunque e fate contribuire, attraverso il
*** Conto Corrente Postale numero 86557006
intestato ad Adolfo Amoroso, ROMA
causale: DIFESA MILOSEVIC ***