(francais / english)
In Slovenia, documenting war crimes is not allowed?
(Su JUGOINFO del 13 Aprile u.s. si era parlato del video che mostra
il primo crimine commesso nella guerra di squartamento della
Jugoslavia: l'assassinio, da parte dei secessionisti sloveni, di tre
giovani reclute dell'Armata Popolare Jugoslava. Il video, anzichè
essere portato a conoscenza del vasto pubblico (ma quando mai...), è
adesso l'oggetto di una causa contro l'attivista del Comitato
Helsinki sloveno che lo ha riportato all'attenzione, Neva Miklavcic-
Predan. L'attivista è stata citata in tribunale da 26 "veterani"
della guerra di secessione; a questo procedimento legale ne sono
stati affiancati altri, di carattere pretestuoso, allo scopo di
tappare la bocca a Neva Miklavcic-Predan ed intimorire tutti quelli
che osino mettere in dubbio la liceità della secessione slovena, che
diede il via allo squartamento della RFS di Jugoslavia...)
SEE ALSO: http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/afp040506.htm
=== ENGLISH ===
Will the Whistleblower Who Revealed the First War Crime in Yugoslavia
Go to Jail Soon ?
GEORGES BERGHEZAN
June 25, 1991: Slovenia and Croatia unilaterally proclaim their
independence, the Yugoslav army is deployed at the country's
international borders. Three days later, in the village of Holmec, at
the Slovene-Austrian border, three young conscripts, attacked by
Slovene police who had encircled their tank, waved a white flag and
surrendered. They were killed in cold blood by the police in the
presence of a cameraman from the Austrian TV network ORF. It was the
first documented war crime in a conflict that would continue spilling
blood in the former Yugoslavia for the next eight years.
These facts were kept secret for the next seven years until the ORF
footage showing the surrender and the execution of the three soldiers
-- two Serbs and one Croat -- was finally broadcast on Slovenian
television. Pressured by the Slovene branch of the NGO Helsinki
Monitor and its president, Neva Miklavcic Predan, an official inquiry
was conducted, but it concluded in 1999 that no war crimes at all had
been committed (the soldiers would have simulated their execution and
they would have been killed shortly afterward in combat).
Things probably could have stayed there -- and the affair could have
continued to be completely ignored by the international media -- if
Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian president, during his cross-
examination of the Slovene President, Milan Kucan, who had been
summoned by The Hague Tribunal in May 2003 to testify against
Milosevic, had not posed several troubling questions to his adversary
and brought several supplementary pieces of information to the case,
which included the death certificates of the aforementioned soldiers.
Visibly caught off guard, Kucan gave assurances that the case had not
been closed, all the while denying that the conscripts had been
executed. A few days later, Neva Miklavcic Predan held a press
conference in Ljubljana in which she cast a shadow of doubt on Kucan
testimony. The statements made at this press conference sparked a
defamation lawsuit filed by twenty-six Slovene war veterans whose
"feelings were profoundly hurt" by her allegation of war crime.
At the same time, a Slovenian court closed the case once again at the
beginning of April 2006, reiterating that no war crime had taken
place in Holmec, basing its decision on the 1999 inquiry. On the
other hand, in Belgrade, a special tribunal for war crimes finally
decided to open an inquest on the matter. At The Hague, despite the
evidence provided by Miklavcic Predan, and then by Milosevic, there
still does not seem to be any interest in what appears to be the
first war crime committed in the Yugoslav wars.
For Neva Miklavcic Predan, however, the case has not been closed. The
complaint filed by the war veterans has gone its course and resulted
in the trial now taking place. She risks being sentenced to two years
imprisonment and the next hearing has been set for May 30. During the
first two hearings, the accusations relied on a gross falsification
of the ORF video that tries to make one believe that the Slovene
police did not fire upon the Yugoslav conscripts.
Furthermore, she is accused of having tried to bribe a government
official in order to obtain citizenship for a Roma. This second trial
has now been suspended. She could be sentenced to three years more in
prison as a result of the proceedings. Finally, a judge in Ljubljana,
feeling offended by a remark that Miklavcic Predan made, has also
filed a complaint. She is subject to three months' imprisonment if
she is sentenced.
Neva Miklavcic Predan considers herself to be the victim of political
trials intended to punish her for having cast a shadow over the mini-
war of independence waged by Slovenia, which has often been
characterized as a model among the new members of the European Union.
Even if the affair starts making headlines throughout the former
Yugoslavia, it still remains unknown beyond. However, the World
Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation
for Human Rights (FIDH) have initiated a campaign of support and have
requested writing to the Slovene authorities in order to stop the
harassment of the president of Helsinki Monitor. We have taken up
their appeal, which we reproduce below.
Action requested:
Please write to the Slovenian authorities and ask them to:
i. Put an end to any kind of harassment against Mrs. Neva Miklavcic-
Predan, and ensure that her right to a fair and impartial trial be
guaranteed in any circumstances;
ii. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that
"everyone has the right, individually or in association with others,
to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and
article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any
violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred
to in the present Declaration";
iii. More generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human
rights instruments binding Slovenia.
Addresses:
· President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovsek,
Erjavceva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00,
Fax: 00 386 1 478-12-00, Email: janez.drnovsek@...; gp.uprs@up-
rs.si
· Premier of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, Gregorciceva 20,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00, Fax: 00 386 1
478-17-21, Email: janez.jansa@...; gp.upv@...
· Minister of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Lovro Sturm,
Zupanciceva 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 369-52-72,
Fax: 00 386 1 369-52-76, Email: lovro.sturm@...
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Presernova 25,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00386 1 478-23-73, Fax: 00386 1
478-21-70, Email: dimitrij.rupel@...
· Supreme State Prosecutor, Barbara Brezigar, Dunajska 22, Ljubljana,
Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 434-19-35, Fax: 00 386 1, Email:
bbrezigar@...
· District Court of Ljubljana, president, Tavcarjeva 9, 1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-44-44, Fax: 00 386 1
366-45-18, Email: marjan.pogacnik@...
· Local Court of Ljubljana, President Vesna Pavlic Pivk, Miklosiceva
12, 1000 Ljubljana. Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 47 47.701, Fax: 00 386 1
47-47-705, Email: urad.@...
· Higher Court in Ljubljana, President Jernej Potocar, Tavcarjeva 9,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-40-00, Fax: 00 386 1
366-40-70, Email: jernej.potocar@...
· Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Franc Testen,
Tavcarjeva 9, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 336-42-02, Fax: 00
386 1 336-43-01, Email: urad.vhrs@...
· Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Janez
Cebulj, Betthovnova 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel: 00 386 1
477-64-00, Fax: 00 386 1 251-04-51, Email: info@...
· Ambassador Mr. Aljaz Gosnar, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the
United Nations in Geneva, rue de Lausanne 147, 1202 Geneva,
Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 716 17 80, Fax: + 41 22 738 66 65, Email:
mge@...
· Permanent Mission of Slovenia in Brussels, 30 avenue Marnix, 1000
Bruxelles, Belgium, Tel : +32 25124466, Fax : + 32 25120997
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS : g.berghezan @ tele2.be
MORE : See chapter "Medialies" in the book
Liar's Poker -Yugoslavia, the great powers and the next wars.
Info : michel.collon @ skynet.be
MORE ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA, MEDIA-LIES? HIDDEN US and GERMAN STRAGIES... :
http://www.michelcollon.info/
(in French)
=== FRANCAIS ===
http://www.michelcollon.info/articles.php?dateaccess=2006-04-28%
2015:54:01&log=lautrehistoire
Bientôt la prison pour la dénonciatrice du premier crime de guerre en
Yougoslavie ?
Georges Berghezan
25 juin 1991 : la Slovénie et la Croatie proclament unilatéralement
leur indépendance, l’armée yougoslave se déploie aux frontières
internationale du pays. Trois jours plus tard, dans le village de
Holmec, à la frontière entre la Slovénie et l’Autriche, trois jeunes
conscrits, attaqués par la police slovène qui a encerclé leur tank,
agitent un drapeau blanc et se rendent. Ils sont froidement exécutés
par les policiers, en présence d’un cameraman de la chaîne
autrichienne ORF. Il s’agit du premier crime de guerre documenté des
conflits qui ensanglanteront l’ex-Yougoslavie durant les 8 années
suivantes.
Pendant près de sept ans, ces faits ont été tenus secrets, jusqu’à ce
que la séquence d’ORF montrant la reddition et l’exécution des trois
soldats – 2 Serbes et 1 Croate – soit enfin diffusée sur une
télévision de Slovénie. Sous la pression de la section slovène de
l’ONG Helsinki Monitor et de sa présidente Neva Miklavcic Predan, une
enquête officielle sera menée, mais conclura en 1999 à l’inexistence
de tout crime de guerre (les soldats auraient simulé leur exécution
et auraient été tués peu après au combat).
On en serait probablement resté là – et l’affaire aurait continué à
être totalement ignorée des médias internationaux – si, lors de son
face-à-face avec le président slovène Milan Kucan, convoqué en mai
2003 par l’accusation du Tribunal de La Haye pour témoigner contre
Slobodan Milosevic, l’ancien président serbe n’avait pas posé
quelques questions gênantes à son adversaire et apporté quelques
pièces supplémentaires au dossier, dont les certificats de décès des
soldats. Visiblement pris au dépourvu, Kucan assura que l’enquête
n’était pas close, tout en niant que les conscrits aient été
exécutés. Quelques jours plus tard, Neva Miklavcic Predan tint une
conférence de presse à Ljubljana où elle fit le point sur l’affaire
et mit en doute le témoignage de Kucan. Les propos tenus à cette
occasion ont entraîné une plainte en diffamation de 26 vétérans de
guerre slovènes, « profondément blessés dans leurs sentiments » par
ses allégations de crime de guerre.
Dans le même temps, la justice slovène refermait, en ce début avril
2006, le dossier, répétant qu’il n’y avait eu aucun crime de guerre à
Holmec en se basant sur l’enquête de 1999. Par contre, à Belgrade, le
tribunal spécial pour crimes de guerre décidait enfin d’ouvrir une
enquête à ce sujet. A La Haye, malgré les pièces déposées par
Miklavcic Predan, puis par Milosevic, on ne semble toujours pas
disposé à s’intéresser à ce qui apparaît comme le premier crime des
guerres yougoslaves.
Pour Neva Miklavcic Predan, en revanche, l’affaire n’est pas close.
La plainte des vétérans de guerre a suivi son cours et débouché sur
un procès, actuellement en cours. Elle risque deux ans de prison et
la prochaine audience est prévue le 30 mai. Lors des deux premières,
l’accusation a eu recours à une grossière falsification de la vidéo
d’ORF pour tenter de faire croire que les policiers slovènes
n’avaient pas tiré sur les conscrits yougoslaves.
En plus de cette affaire, elle est accusée d’avoir tenté de corrompre
un fonctionnaire pour obtenir la naturalisation d’un Rom. Ce second
procès est actuellement suspendu. Elle pourrait être condamnée à
trois ans de prison supplémentaires à l’issue de la procédure. Enfin,
une juge de Ljubljana, qui se serait sentie offensée par une remarque
de Miklavcic Predan, a également entamé porté plainte. Elle est
passible de trois mois de prison en cas de condamnation.
Neva Miklavcic Predan estime être victime de procès politiques visant
à la punir d’avoir jeté une ombre sur la mini-guerre d’indépendance
de la Slovénie, souvent qualifiée d’élève modèle parmi les nouveaux
adhérents à l’Union européenne. Si l’affaire commence à faire du
bruit un peu partout en ex-Yougoslavie, elle reste encore
confidentielle au-delà. Cependant, l’Organisation mondiale contre la
torture (OMCT) et la Fédération internationale des droits de l’homme
(FIDH) ont entamé une campagne de soutien et demandent d’écrire aux
autorités slovènes pour faire cesser les poursuites contre la
présidente du Helsinki Monitor. Nous nous associons à leur appel, que
nous reproduisons ci-dessous.
Action requested:
Please write to the Slovenian authorities and ask them to:
i. put an end to any kind of harassment against Mrs. Neva Miklavcic-
Predan, and ensure that her right to a fair and impartial trial be
guaranteed in any circumstances;
ii. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that
“everyone has the right, individually or in association with others,
to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and
article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any
violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred
to in the present Declaration”;
iii. more generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human
rights instruments binding Slovenia.
Addresses:
• President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovšek,
Erjavceva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00,
Fax: 00 386 1 478-12-00, Email: janez.drnovsek@...; gp.uprs@up-
rs.si
• Premier of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, Gregorciceva 20,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00, Fax: 00 386 1
478-17-21, Email: janez.jansa@...; gp.upv@...
• Minister of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Lovro Šturm,
Županciceva 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 369-52-72,
Fax: 00 386 1 369-52-76, Email: lovro.sturm@...
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Prešernova 25,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00386 1 478-23-73, Fax: 00386 1
478-21-70, Email: dimitrij.rupel@...
• Supreme State Prosecutor, Barbara Brezigar, Dunajska 22, Ljubljana,
Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 434-19-35, Fax: 00 386 1, Email:
bbrezigar@...
• District Court of Ljubljana, president, Tavcarjeva 9, 1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-44-44, Fax: 00 386 1
366-45-18, Email: marjan.pogacnik@...
• Local Court of Ljubljana, President Vesna Pavlic Pivk, Miklošiceva
12, 1000 Ljubljana. Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 47 47.701, Fax: 00 386 1
47-47-705, Email: urad.@...
• Higher Court in Ljubljana, President Jernej Potocar, Tavcarjeva 9,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-40-00, Fax: 00 386 1
366-40-70, Email: jernej.potocar@...
• Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Franc Testen,
Tavcarjeva 9, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 336-42-02, Fax: 00
386 1 336-43-01, Email: urad.vhrs@...
• Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Janez
Cebulj, Betthovnova 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel: 00 386 1
477-64-00, Fax: 00 386 1 251-04-51, Email: info@...
• Ambassador Mr. Aljaz Gosnar, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the
United Nations in Geneva, rue de Lausanne 147, 1202 Geneva,
Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 716 17 80, Fax: + 41 22 738 66 65, Email:
mge@...
• Permanent Mission of Slovenia in Brussels, 30 avenue Marnix, 1000
Bruxelles, Belgium, Tel : +32 25124466, Fax : + 32 25120997
In Slovenia, documenting war crimes is not allowed?
(Su JUGOINFO del 13 Aprile u.s. si era parlato del video che mostra
il primo crimine commesso nella guerra di squartamento della
Jugoslavia: l'assassinio, da parte dei secessionisti sloveni, di tre
giovani reclute dell'Armata Popolare Jugoslava. Il video, anzichè
essere portato a conoscenza del vasto pubblico (ma quando mai...), è
adesso l'oggetto di una causa contro l'attivista del Comitato
Helsinki sloveno che lo ha riportato all'attenzione, Neva Miklavcic-
Predan. L'attivista è stata citata in tribunale da 26 "veterani"
della guerra di secessione; a questo procedimento legale ne sono
stati affiancati altri, di carattere pretestuoso, allo scopo di
tappare la bocca a Neva Miklavcic-Predan ed intimorire tutti quelli
che osino mettere in dubbio la liceità della secessione slovena, che
diede il via allo squartamento della RFS di Jugoslavia...)
SEE ALSO: http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/afp040506.htm
=== ENGLISH ===
Will the Whistleblower Who Revealed the First War Crime in Yugoslavia
Go to Jail Soon ?
GEORGES BERGHEZAN
June 25, 1991: Slovenia and Croatia unilaterally proclaim their
independence, the Yugoslav army is deployed at the country's
international borders. Three days later, in the village of Holmec, at
the Slovene-Austrian border, three young conscripts, attacked by
Slovene police who had encircled their tank, waved a white flag and
surrendered. They were killed in cold blood by the police in the
presence of a cameraman from the Austrian TV network ORF. It was the
first documented war crime in a conflict that would continue spilling
blood in the former Yugoslavia for the next eight years.
These facts were kept secret for the next seven years until the ORF
footage showing the surrender and the execution of the three soldiers
-- two Serbs and one Croat -- was finally broadcast on Slovenian
television. Pressured by the Slovene branch of the NGO Helsinki
Monitor and its president, Neva Miklavcic Predan, an official inquiry
was conducted, but it concluded in 1999 that no war crimes at all had
been committed (the soldiers would have simulated their execution and
they would have been killed shortly afterward in combat).
Things probably could have stayed there -- and the affair could have
continued to be completely ignored by the international media -- if
Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian president, during his cross-
examination of the Slovene President, Milan Kucan, who had been
summoned by The Hague Tribunal in May 2003 to testify against
Milosevic, had not posed several troubling questions to his adversary
and brought several supplementary pieces of information to the case,
which included the death certificates of the aforementioned soldiers.
Visibly caught off guard, Kucan gave assurances that the case had not
been closed, all the while denying that the conscripts had been
executed. A few days later, Neva Miklavcic Predan held a press
conference in Ljubljana in which she cast a shadow of doubt on Kucan
testimony. The statements made at this press conference sparked a
defamation lawsuit filed by twenty-six Slovene war veterans whose
"feelings were profoundly hurt" by her allegation of war crime.
At the same time, a Slovenian court closed the case once again at the
beginning of April 2006, reiterating that no war crime had taken
place in Holmec, basing its decision on the 1999 inquiry. On the
other hand, in Belgrade, a special tribunal for war crimes finally
decided to open an inquest on the matter. At The Hague, despite the
evidence provided by Miklavcic Predan, and then by Milosevic, there
still does not seem to be any interest in what appears to be the
first war crime committed in the Yugoslav wars.
For Neva Miklavcic Predan, however, the case has not been closed. The
complaint filed by the war veterans has gone its course and resulted
in the trial now taking place. She risks being sentenced to two years
imprisonment and the next hearing has been set for May 30. During the
first two hearings, the accusations relied on a gross falsification
of the ORF video that tries to make one believe that the Slovene
police did not fire upon the Yugoslav conscripts.
Furthermore, she is accused of having tried to bribe a government
official in order to obtain citizenship for a Roma. This second trial
has now been suspended. She could be sentenced to three years more in
prison as a result of the proceedings. Finally, a judge in Ljubljana,
feeling offended by a remark that Miklavcic Predan made, has also
filed a complaint. She is subject to three months' imprisonment if
she is sentenced.
Neva Miklavcic Predan considers herself to be the victim of political
trials intended to punish her for having cast a shadow over the mini-
war of independence waged by Slovenia, which has often been
characterized as a model among the new members of the European Union.
Even if the affair starts making headlines throughout the former
Yugoslavia, it still remains unknown beyond. However, the World
Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation
for Human Rights (FIDH) have initiated a campaign of support and have
requested writing to the Slovene authorities in order to stop the
harassment of the president of Helsinki Monitor. We have taken up
their appeal, which we reproduce below.
Action requested:
Please write to the Slovenian authorities and ask them to:
i. Put an end to any kind of harassment against Mrs. Neva Miklavcic-
Predan, and ensure that her right to a fair and impartial trial be
guaranteed in any circumstances;
ii. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that
"everyone has the right, individually or in association with others,
to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and
article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any
violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred
to in the present Declaration";
iii. More generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human
rights instruments binding Slovenia.
Addresses:
· President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovsek,
Erjavceva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00,
Fax: 00 386 1 478-12-00, Email: janez.drnovsek@...; gp.uprs@up-
rs.si
· Premier of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, Gregorciceva 20,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00, Fax: 00 386 1
478-17-21, Email: janez.jansa@...; gp.upv@...
· Minister of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Lovro Sturm,
Zupanciceva 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 369-52-72,
Fax: 00 386 1 369-52-76, Email: lovro.sturm@...
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Presernova 25,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00386 1 478-23-73, Fax: 00386 1
478-21-70, Email: dimitrij.rupel@...
· Supreme State Prosecutor, Barbara Brezigar, Dunajska 22, Ljubljana,
Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 434-19-35, Fax: 00 386 1, Email:
bbrezigar@...
· District Court of Ljubljana, president, Tavcarjeva 9, 1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-44-44, Fax: 00 386 1
366-45-18, Email: marjan.pogacnik@...
· Local Court of Ljubljana, President Vesna Pavlic Pivk, Miklosiceva
12, 1000 Ljubljana. Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 47 47.701, Fax: 00 386 1
47-47-705, Email: urad.@...
· Higher Court in Ljubljana, President Jernej Potocar, Tavcarjeva 9,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-40-00, Fax: 00 386 1
366-40-70, Email: jernej.potocar@...
· Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Franc Testen,
Tavcarjeva 9, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 336-42-02, Fax: 00
386 1 336-43-01, Email: urad.vhrs@...
· Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Janez
Cebulj, Betthovnova 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel: 00 386 1
477-64-00, Fax: 00 386 1 251-04-51, Email: info@...
· Ambassador Mr. Aljaz Gosnar, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the
United Nations in Geneva, rue de Lausanne 147, 1202 Geneva,
Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 716 17 80, Fax: + 41 22 738 66 65, Email:
mge@...
· Permanent Mission of Slovenia in Brussels, 30 avenue Marnix, 1000
Bruxelles, Belgium, Tel : +32 25124466, Fax : + 32 25120997
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS : g.berghezan @ tele2.be
MORE : See chapter "Medialies" in the book
Liar's Poker -Yugoslavia, the great powers and the next wars.
Info : michel.collon @ skynet.be
MORE ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA, MEDIA-LIES? HIDDEN US and GERMAN STRAGIES... :
http://www.michelcollon.info/
(in French)
=== FRANCAIS ===
http://www.michelcollon.info/articles.php?dateaccess=2006-04-28%
2015:54:01&log=lautrehistoire
Bientôt la prison pour la dénonciatrice du premier crime de guerre en
Yougoslavie ?
Georges Berghezan
25 juin 1991 : la Slovénie et la Croatie proclament unilatéralement
leur indépendance, l’armée yougoslave se déploie aux frontières
internationale du pays. Trois jours plus tard, dans le village de
Holmec, à la frontière entre la Slovénie et l’Autriche, trois jeunes
conscrits, attaqués par la police slovène qui a encerclé leur tank,
agitent un drapeau blanc et se rendent. Ils sont froidement exécutés
par les policiers, en présence d’un cameraman de la chaîne
autrichienne ORF. Il s’agit du premier crime de guerre documenté des
conflits qui ensanglanteront l’ex-Yougoslavie durant les 8 années
suivantes.
Pendant près de sept ans, ces faits ont été tenus secrets, jusqu’à ce
que la séquence d’ORF montrant la reddition et l’exécution des trois
soldats – 2 Serbes et 1 Croate – soit enfin diffusée sur une
télévision de Slovénie. Sous la pression de la section slovène de
l’ONG Helsinki Monitor et de sa présidente Neva Miklavcic Predan, une
enquête officielle sera menée, mais conclura en 1999 à l’inexistence
de tout crime de guerre (les soldats auraient simulé leur exécution
et auraient été tués peu après au combat).
On en serait probablement resté là – et l’affaire aurait continué à
être totalement ignorée des médias internationaux – si, lors de son
face-à-face avec le président slovène Milan Kucan, convoqué en mai
2003 par l’accusation du Tribunal de La Haye pour témoigner contre
Slobodan Milosevic, l’ancien président serbe n’avait pas posé
quelques questions gênantes à son adversaire et apporté quelques
pièces supplémentaires au dossier, dont les certificats de décès des
soldats. Visiblement pris au dépourvu, Kucan assura que l’enquête
n’était pas close, tout en niant que les conscrits aient été
exécutés. Quelques jours plus tard, Neva Miklavcic Predan tint une
conférence de presse à Ljubljana où elle fit le point sur l’affaire
et mit en doute le témoignage de Kucan. Les propos tenus à cette
occasion ont entraîné une plainte en diffamation de 26 vétérans de
guerre slovènes, « profondément blessés dans leurs sentiments » par
ses allégations de crime de guerre.
Dans le même temps, la justice slovène refermait, en ce début avril
2006, le dossier, répétant qu’il n’y avait eu aucun crime de guerre à
Holmec en se basant sur l’enquête de 1999. Par contre, à Belgrade, le
tribunal spécial pour crimes de guerre décidait enfin d’ouvrir une
enquête à ce sujet. A La Haye, malgré les pièces déposées par
Miklavcic Predan, puis par Milosevic, on ne semble toujours pas
disposé à s’intéresser à ce qui apparaît comme le premier crime des
guerres yougoslaves.
Pour Neva Miklavcic Predan, en revanche, l’affaire n’est pas close.
La plainte des vétérans de guerre a suivi son cours et débouché sur
un procès, actuellement en cours. Elle risque deux ans de prison et
la prochaine audience est prévue le 30 mai. Lors des deux premières,
l’accusation a eu recours à une grossière falsification de la vidéo
d’ORF pour tenter de faire croire que les policiers slovènes
n’avaient pas tiré sur les conscrits yougoslaves.
En plus de cette affaire, elle est accusée d’avoir tenté de corrompre
un fonctionnaire pour obtenir la naturalisation d’un Rom. Ce second
procès est actuellement suspendu. Elle pourrait être condamnée à
trois ans de prison supplémentaires à l’issue de la procédure. Enfin,
une juge de Ljubljana, qui se serait sentie offensée par une remarque
de Miklavcic Predan, a également entamé porté plainte. Elle est
passible de trois mois de prison en cas de condamnation.
Neva Miklavcic Predan estime être victime de procès politiques visant
à la punir d’avoir jeté une ombre sur la mini-guerre d’indépendance
de la Slovénie, souvent qualifiée d’élève modèle parmi les nouveaux
adhérents à l’Union européenne. Si l’affaire commence à faire du
bruit un peu partout en ex-Yougoslavie, elle reste encore
confidentielle au-delà. Cependant, l’Organisation mondiale contre la
torture (OMCT) et la Fédération internationale des droits de l’homme
(FIDH) ont entamé une campagne de soutien et demandent d’écrire aux
autorités slovènes pour faire cesser les poursuites contre la
présidente du Helsinki Monitor. Nous nous associons à leur appel, que
nous reproduisons ci-dessous.
Action requested:
Please write to the Slovenian authorities and ask them to:
i. put an end to any kind of harassment against Mrs. Neva Miklavcic-
Predan, and ensure that her right to a fair and impartial trial be
guaranteed in any circumstances;
ii. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that
“everyone has the right, individually or in association with others,
to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and
article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any
violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred
to in the present Declaration”;
iii. more generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human
rights instruments binding Slovenia.
Addresses:
• President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovšek,
Erjavceva 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00,
Fax: 00 386 1 478-12-00, Email: janez.drnovsek@...; gp.uprs@up-
rs.si
• Premier of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, Gregorciceva 20,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 478-10-00, Fax: 00 386 1
478-17-21, Email: janez.jansa@...; gp.upv@...
• Minister of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Lovro Šturm,
Županciceva 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 369-52-72,
Fax: 00 386 1 369-52-76, Email: lovro.sturm@...
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Prešernova 25,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00386 1 478-23-73, Fax: 00386 1
478-21-70, Email: dimitrij.rupel@...
• Supreme State Prosecutor, Barbara Brezigar, Dunajska 22, Ljubljana,
Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 434-19-35, Fax: 00 386 1, Email:
bbrezigar@...
• District Court of Ljubljana, president, Tavcarjeva 9, 1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-44-44, Fax: 00 386 1
366-45-18, Email: marjan.pogacnik@...
• Local Court of Ljubljana, President Vesna Pavlic Pivk, Miklošiceva
12, 1000 Ljubljana. Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 47 47.701, Fax: 00 386 1
47-47-705, Email: urad.@...
• Higher Court in Ljubljana, President Jernej Potocar, Tavcarjeva 9,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 366-40-00, Fax: 00 386 1
366-40-70, Email: jernej.potocar@...
• Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Franc Testen,
Tavcarjeva 9, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel.: 00 386 1 336-42-02, Fax: 00
386 1 336-43-01, Email: urad.vhrs@...
• Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, President Janez
Cebulj, Betthovnova 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tel: 00 386 1
477-64-00, Fax: 00 386 1 251-04-51, Email: info@...
• Ambassador Mr. Aljaz Gosnar, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the
United Nations in Geneva, rue de Lausanne 147, 1202 Geneva,
Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 716 17 80, Fax: + 41 22 738 66 65, Email:
mge@...
• Permanent Mission of Slovenia in Brussels, 30 avenue Marnix, 1000
Bruxelles, Belgium, Tel : +32 25124466, Fax : + 32 25120997