==========================
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
==========================
(english / italiano)
Peter Worthington
Due articoli dell'editorialista del "Toronto Sun" P. Worthington. Nel
primo si racconta la storia del cineasta Garth Pritchard, che fu
testimone - e filmo' - dei crimini dei separatisti croati contro la
popolazione serba della Croazia, e che denuncia l'occultamento delle
sue prove da parte dell'illegale "Tribunale" dell'Aia. Nel secondo si
fa il punto sulla scandalosa conduzione del "processo".
1. Mysteries at The Hague
2. Credibility of court eroding
NOTA: SONO FINALMENTE DISPONIBILI ONLINE LE TRASCRIZIONI DELLA RIPRESA
DEL "PROCESSO":
31 agosto
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040831ED.htm
1 settembre
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040901IT.htm
2 settembre
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040902IT.htm
NEI PROSSIMI GIORNI NE DIFFONDEREMO AMPI STRALCI, E SUCCESSIVAMENTE
ANCHE IN LINGUA ITALIANA.
(a cura del coord. tecnico di ICDSM Italia)
---( 1 )---
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Peter_Worthington/
2004/08/25/pf-600588.html
Wed, August 25, 2004
Mysteries at The Hague
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Calgary filmmaker Garth Pritchard admits to being confused -- and
angry. He has rejected Slobodan Milosevic's attempt to use him as a
witness at his war crimes trial, but Pritchard says The Hague now wants
him as a witness -- but not against Milosevic.
Instead they want him as a witness for atrocities and human rights
abuses committed by Croats when they overran the centre of Knin,
capital of Serbian-occupied Krajina, which Croatia attacked and
conquered in 1995.
"I don't get it," says Pritchard. "Film footage I shot for the National
Film Board around 1995 was turned over to prosecutors at The Hague, as
evidence of massacres of people and all livestock in Knin. My tapes and
testimony mysteriously disappeared -- were supposedly lost. Now they
are found. Equally mysteriously."
After a report in the Sun last weekend, Pritchard says he was phoned
yesterday by the RCMP working in The Hague, saying his video footage
has since been found and he's wanted to testify.
"Something seems fishy," Pritchard says. "The Sun article was quoted,
and I was told my tapes and testimony had been turned over to the
Croats for prosecution."
He said RCMP officer Tom Steendoordan phoned him from The Hague,
reported finding his "lost" material and it was now intended to
investigate what happened in Knin.
Pritchard has fretted over the ignoring of Knin atrocities for years --
one of the Balkan war's horror stories.
When the Croats -- re-armed by the Germans -- occupied Krajina,
attention focused on the Medak pocket where Canadians came under Croat
fire.
"I was in Knin, where Maj. Gen. Alain Forand was in command of some 32
Canadians and gave sanctuary to about 800 Serbian refugees, feeding and
protecting them for close to two months."
The UN insisted these Serbs were not refugees and should not be
protected. "We all knew they'd be killed if we didn't protect them.
Forand told the world 'not on my watch' will they be turfed out to be
killed. In my eyes, Forand is a hero for refusing to turn these people
over to the Croats."
Eventually the 800 were safely delivered to Serbian territory, and Knin
was relegated to the Memory Hole.
"But I had it all on video," Pritchard says. "Livestock slaughtered,
women eviscerated, raped, burned."
He says Steendoordan told him 82 bodies were found in Knin, and that
the Croats want to follow up on war crimes.
"That makes me suspicious," says Pritchard. "Croats investigating Croat
war crimes in Knin? They've got to be kidding. It smells of coverup."
As for Kosovo, Pritchard says, Steendoordan corrected his claim of only
3,000 bodies found, not the widely accepted 200,000 dead in mass graves.
"He said 3,000 was accurate then. Now 5,080 bodies have been found --
but still no mass graves." Pritchard is pleased that some of the truth
is beginning to come out. Pritchard told the Sun that Milosevic could
"rot in hell" before he'd testify on his behalf that there were no mass
murders in Kosovo.
Bosnia, yes, but not Kosovo.
"Yes, I want the truth to come out, but as a journalist I have no
intention of testifying on behalf of Croats either. They only got my
video footage in the first place because the film board owned it and
gave it to them."
A test of The Hague's sincerity in exposing war crimes in Knin will be
if Gen. Forand, now retired, testifies.
"This is a man whose courage and integrity saved the lives of 800 Serb
refugees, when his Canadian superiors and the UN wanted them sacrificed
to expediency." He adds: "Frankly, I don't trust much that happens at
The Hague."
---( 2 )---
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Peter_Worthington/
2004/09/08/619600.html
Wed, September 8, 2004
Credibility of court eroding
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- For the Toronto Sun
After two years of conducting his own defence at his war crimes trial
in The Hague, Slobodan Milosevic has been declared by the court as "not
fit to represent himself."
Two British lawyers, Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, who are "friends
of the court," have been appointed -- over Milosevic's vehement
objections --to represent him.
"Unfit to conduct his own defence" implies mental instability or
incompetence. Though unpredictable, indignant, erratic and at times
outrageous, Milosevic's mental state seems alarmingly acute. It's his
physical health -- especially his heart -- that is questionable.
Scott Taylor, publisher of the military magazine Esprit de Corps, has
agreed at Milosevic's request to testify at his trial. Taylor, whose
articles have run in the Sun and other newspapers, spent three hours
being interviewed by Milosevic, and although bound by oath not to
reveal the discussions, is adamant that Milosevic is mentally competent.
"He's sharp, he's on top of things and he seems to know exactly what
he's doing," said Taylor when I talked to him last week. "Tired, yes,
maybe not well, but he's conducting his own defence better than anyone
thought he could."
A cynic might argue that Milosevic's competence at his trial may be why
he's been ruled "unfit" to continue.
Ironically, it casts more doubts on the International Criminal Court.
Calgary filmmaker Garth Pritchard has refused to testify, arguing that
a journalist's job is to report, not take sides.
Taylor and Pritchard refute allegations of massacres and mass graves in
Kosovo.
The United States, Russia, China, Israel and other nations don't agree
with a permanent International Criminal Court, and won't subscribe to
its terms. Although some 74 countries have ratified their support (of
139 which have signed their intent), others view it as little more than
a "kangaroo court," set up by winners to condemn losers. Canada is an
enthusiastic supporter, as is the European Union.
The court's ruling that Milosevic is unfit to defend himself upsets
many, including former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who usually
supports left-wing causes, but is co-chairman of the committee to
defend Milosevic.
"Under international law, every person accused of a crime has the right
to represent himself," says Clark. "Milosevic is no exception."
By violating Milosevic's "fundamental human right," Clark feels the
tribunal has "destroyed its last claim to legality."
He says appointing two lawyers who are "friends of the court" to defend
Milosevic is a contradiction. "You cannot serve two masters."
In some 300 trial days and the examining of more 250 prosecution
witnesses, creating 30,000 pages of testimony, Milosevic has been
curiously effective at either manipulating the court as critics
suggest, or confusing the process.
Witnesses like Scott Taylor will refute the prosecution's case of
genocide in Kosovo, where former chief prosecutor Louise Arbour claimed
200,000 were massacred and buried in mass graves. It has since turned
out that no mass graves have been found in Kosovo and "only" 5,000
bodies -- mostly war-related -- have been found.
Milosevic is easier to convict for mass murder in Bosnia, and may well
be acquitted in Kosovo.
Milosevic's trial has been repeatedly delayed because of his high blood
pressure -- which prosecutors claim is Milosevic's fault because he
refuses to take heart medication. Milosevic says the drugs make him
drowsy and unsure, thus preventing him from thinking clearly.
Whatever, the trial is already an endless ordeal -- and unnecessary.
After the Kosovo war, the newly elected government in Belgrade was
moving to put him on trial. Then NATO intervened and hustled him off to
The Hague.
If the Milosevic trial is something of a nightmare, there's growing
unease that the trial of Saddam Hussein will be even more chaotic --
especially if the new Iraqi regime isn't allowed to dispense its brand
of justice quickly and effectively.
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
==========================
(english / italiano)
Peter Worthington
Due articoli dell'editorialista del "Toronto Sun" P. Worthington. Nel
primo si racconta la storia del cineasta Garth Pritchard, che fu
testimone - e filmo' - dei crimini dei separatisti croati contro la
popolazione serba della Croazia, e che denuncia l'occultamento delle
sue prove da parte dell'illegale "Tribunale" dell'Aia. Nel secondo si
fa il punto sulla scandalosa conduzione del "processo".
1. Mysteries at The Hague
2. Credibility of court eroding
NOTA: SONO FINALMENTE DISPONIBILI ONLINE LE TRASCRIZIONI DELLA RIPRESA
DEL "PROCESSO":
31 agosto
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040831ED.htm
1 settembre
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040901IT.htm
2 settembre
http://www.un.org/icty/transe54/040902IT.htm
NEI PROSSIMI GIORNI NE DIFFONDEREMO AMPI STRALCI, E SUCCESSIVAMENTE
ANCHE IN LINGUA ITALIANA.
(a cura del coord. tecnico di ICDSM Italia)
---( 1 )---
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Peter_Worthington/
2004/08/25/pf-600588.html
Wed, August 25, 2004
Mysteries at The Hague
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Calgary filmmaker Garth Pritchard admits to being confused -- and
angry. He has rejected Slobodan Milosevic's attempt to use him as a
witness at his war crimes trial, but Pritchard says The Hague now wants
him as a witness -- but not against Milosevic.
Instead they want him as a witness for atrocities and human rights
abuses committed by Croats when they overran the centre of Knin,
capital of Serbian-occupied Krajina, which Croatia attacked and
conquered in 1995.
"I don't get it," says Pritchard. "Film footage I shot for the National
Film Board around 1995 was turned over to prosecutors at The Hague, as
evidence of massacres of people and all livestock in Knin. My tapes and
testimony mysteriously disappeared -- were supposedly lost. Now they
are found. Equally mysteriously."
After a report in the Sun last weekend, Pritchard says he was phoned
yesterday by the RCMP working in The Hague, saying his video footage
has since been found and he's wanted to testify.
"Something seems fishy," Pritchard says. "The Sun article was quoted,
and I was told my tapes and testimony had been turned over to the
Croats for prosecution."
He said RCMP officer Tom Steendoordan phoned him from The Hague,
reported finding his "lost" material and it was now intended to
investigate what happened in Knin.
Pritchard has fretted over the ignoring of Knin atrocities for years --
one of the Balkan war's horror stories.
When the Croats -- re-armed by the Germans -- occupied Krajina,
attention focused on the Medak pocket where Canadians came under Croat
fire.
"I was in Knin, where Maj. Gen. Alain Forand was in command of some 32
Canadians and gave sanctuary to about 800 Serbian refugees, feeding and
protecting them for close to two months."
The UN insisted these Serbs were not refugees and should not be
protected. "We all knew they'd be killed if we didn't protect them.
Forand told the world 'not on my watch' will they be turfed out to be
killed. In my eyes, Forand is a hero for refusing to turn these people
over to the Croats."
Eventually the 800 were safely delivered to Serbian territory, and Knin
was relegated to the Memory Hole.
"But I had it all on video," Pritchard says. "Livestock slaughtered,
women eviscerated, raped, burned."
He says Steendoordan told him 82 bodies were found in Knin, and that
the Croats want to follow up on war crimes.
"That makes me suspicious," says Pritchard. "Croats investigating Croat
war crimes in Knin? They've got to be kidding. It smells of coverup."
As for Kosovo, Pritchard says, Steendoordan corrected his claim of only
3,000 bodies found, not the widely accepted 200,000 dead in mass graves.
"He said 3,000 was accurate then. Now 5,080 bodies have been found --
but still no mass graves." Pritchard is pleased that some of the truth
is beginning to come out. Pritchard told the Sun that Milosevic could
"rot in hell" before he'd testify on his behalf that there were no mass
murders in Kosovo.
Bosnia, yes, but not Kosovo.
"Yes, I want the truth to come out, but as a journalist I have no
intention of testifying on behalf of Croats either. They only got my
video footage in the first place because the film board owned it and
gave it to them."
A test of The Hague's sincerity in exposing war crimes in Knin will be
if Gen. Forand, now retired, testifies.
"This is a man whose courage and integrity saved the lives of 800 Serb
refugees, when his Canadian superiors and the UN wanted them sacrificed
to expediency." He adds: "Frankly, I don't trust much that happens at
The Hague."
---( 2 )---
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Peter_Worthington/
2004/09/08/619600.html
Wed, September 8, 2004
Credibility of court eroding
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- For the Toronto Sun
After two years of conducting his own defence at his war crimes trial
in The Hague, Slobodan Milosevic has been declared by the court as "not
fit to represent himself."
Two British lawyers, Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, who are "friends
of the court," have been appointed -- over Milosevic's vehement
objections --to represent him.
"Unfit to conduct his own defence" implies mental instability or
incompetence. Though unpredictable, indignant, erratic and at times
outrageous, Milosevic's mental state seems alarmingly acute. It's his
physical health -- especially his heart -- that is questionable.
Scott Taylor, publisher of the military magazine Esprit de Corps, has
agreed at Milosevic's request to testify at his trial. Taylor, whose
articles have run in the Sun and other newspapers, spent three hours
being interviewed by Milosevic, and although bound by oath not to
reveal the discussions, is adamant that Milosevic is mentally competent.
"He's sharp, he's on top of things and he seems to know exactly what
he's doing," said Taylor when I talked to him last week. "Tired, yes,
maybe not well, but he's conducting his own defence better than anyone
thought he could."
A cynic might argue that Milosevic's competence at his trial may be why
he's been ruled "unfit" to continue.
Ironically, it casts more doubts on the International Criminal Court.
Calgary filmmaker Garth Pritchard has refused to testify, arguing that
a journalist's job is to report, not take sides.
Taylor and Pritchard refute allegations of massacres and mass graves in
Kosovo.
The United States, Russia, China, Israel and other nations don't agree
with a permanent International Criminal Court, and won't subscribe to
its terms. Although some 74 countries have ratified their support (of
139 which have signed their intent), others view it as little more than
a "kangaroo court," set up by winners to condemn losers. Canada is an
enthusiastic supporter, as is the European Union.
The court's ruling that Milosevic is unfit to defend himself upsets
many, including former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who usually
supports left-wing causes, but is co-chairman of the committee to
defend Milosevic.
"Under international law, every person accused of a crime has the right
to represent himself," says Clark. "Milosevic is no exception."
By violating Milosevic's "fundamental human right," Clark feels the
tribunal has "destroyed its last claim to legality."
He says appointing two lawyers who are "friends of the court" to defend
Milosevic is a contradiction. "You cannot serve two masters."
In some 300 trial days and the examining of more 250 prosecution
witnesses, creating 30,000 pages of testimony, Milosevic has been
curiously effective at either manipulating the court as critics
suggest, or confusing the process.
Witnesses like Scott Taylor will refute the prosecution's case of
genocide in Kosovo, where former chief prosecutor Louise Arbour claimed
200,000 were massacred and buried in mass graves. It has since turned
out that no mass graves have been found in Kosovo and "only" 5,000
bodies -- mostly war-related -- have been found.
Milosevic is easier to convict for mass murder in Bosnia, and may well
be acquitted in Kosovo.
Milosevic's trial has been repeatedly delayed because of his high blood
pressure -- which prosecutors claim is Milosevic's fault because he
refuses to take heart medication. Milosevic says the drugs make him
drowsy and unsure, thus preventing him from thinking clearly.
Whatever, the trial is already an endless ordeal -- and unnecessary.
After the Kosovo war, the newly elected government in Belgrade was
moving to put him on trial. Then NATO intervened and hustled him off to
The Hague.
If the Milosevic trial is something of a nightmare, there's growing
unease that the trial of Saddam Hussein will be even more chaotic --
especially if the new Iraqi regime isn't allowed to dispense its brand
of justice quickly and effectively.