"Il Manifesto", 24 Febbraio 2002

Nuove idee a Belgrado

Il premier serbo Zoran Djindjic, il massimo artefice a Belgrado
dell'arresto e della consegna di Slobodan Milosevic al Tribunale
dell'Aja, sotto pressioni euro-americane, si è pentito. Ieri in
una intervista a der Spiegel ha dichiarato di essere allarmato
per la quantità di soldi che il tribunale ha speso e sta spendendo
per "raccogliere testimoni inefficaci e prove debolissime",
lasciando in compenso a Milosevic "una tribuna straordinaria per
la sua demagogia". Djindjic ha detto di essere preoccupato perché
sa che un gran numero di cittadini jugoslavi "sta guardando
affascinato le esibizioni" dell'ex presidente. Non basta: per
il premier serbo, la cattura dell'ex capo militare dei serbo-
bosniaci, generale Ratko Mladic, insistentemente chiesta dal
procuratore del Tribunale dell'Aja Carla Del Ponte, è fuori
discussione. "Devo rischiare la vita dei miei poliziotti per
prendere Mladic e i 100 uomini della sua scorta e servirli su
un piatto all'Aja, quando per anni gli americani e la Nato non
sono riusciti a prenderli? Da noi ci sono 200mila rifugiati
bosniaci, molti dei quali armati: devo rischiare una guerra
civile? Il prezzo è troppo alto". Un'ultima stoccata di Djindjic
è per l'Unione europea: "Un altro scandalo. I due terzi dei fondi
che ci sono stati promessi sono stati poi trattenuti per ripagare
i debiti del tempo di Milosevic... Questi sono trucchi volgari".

===*===

LA POLIZIA NON ARRESTERA' I GENERALI DELLA RS,
HA DETTO DJINDJIC ALLO "SPIEGEL"

Amburgo (Beta, AFP) - Il primo ministro serbo Z. Djindjic:
"Il Tpi permette a Milosevic di far ricorso alla propria
demagogia e di condurre lui stesso il processo. Resto senza
parole davanti ai dati sulle somme spese dal TPI in cinque
anni per procurarsi questi testimoni senza valore. Tutto
questo circo per me e per il mio governo rappresenta un
grave problema."
"In Serbia tanta gente è convinta che Milosevic abbia
dimostrato la originaria colpevolezza della Nato. Dunque,
quali argomenti potrei io ora trovare per decidere
l'estradizione delle altre persone e la collaborazione
con il TPI?"
Secondo Djindjic, la polizia serba non puo' arrestare il
generale serbo Mladic nella Republika Srpska e consegnarlo
ai procuratori del TPI. E se il suo arresto provocasse la
guerra civile? Noi in Serbia abbiamo 200 mila rifugiati
bosniaci, dei quali moltissimi armati. Il prezzo della
cattura è troppo alto, ha dichiarato Djindjic.


Policija neæe da hapsi generala VRS, rekao Ðinðiæ za "Spigl"
Hapsenje Mladiæa izazvalo bi rat!

HAMBURG (Beta-AFP) - Srpski premijer Zoran Ðinðiæ ocenio je
suðenje bivsem predsedniku SRJ pred Haskim tribunalom kao
skupi "cirkus".
- Tribunal dozvoljava Miloseviæu da koristi svoju demagogiju
i vodi suðenje. Zanemim kada vidim koliko je novca baèeno,
da bi Tribunalu bilo omoguæeno da tokom pet godina tra?i
tako beznaèajne svedoke. Mene i moju vladu taj cirkus
stavlja pred tesku dilemu - izjavio je Ðinðiæ u intervjuu
nemaèkom nedeljniku "Spigl" koji izlazi u ponedeljak.
- Mnogi ljudi (u Srbiji) su ubeðeni da je (Miloseviæ)
uspeo da predstavi NATO kao glavnog krivca. S kakvim
argumentima ja sada mogu da odluèim o ekstradiciji nekih
drugih ljudi i da tra?im jaèu saradnju s Tribunalom -
upitao je Ðinðiæ.
Ðinðiæ je odbacio moguænost da srpska policija uhapsi
bivseg srpskog generala u Republici Srpskoj Ratka Mladiæa
i da ga izruèi istra?iteljima Haskog tribunala.
- Sta bi se desilo da njegovo hapsenje izazove graðanski
rat? Mi imamo u Srbiji vise od 200.000 izbeglica iz Bosne
od kojih su mnogi naoru?ani. Cena (hapsenja) bila bi suvise
velika - rekao je Ðinðiæ.
(IZ: GLAS JAVNOSTI, Nedelja, 24. februar 2002.)

===*===

DJINDJIC SURPRISED BY START OF MILOSEVIC'S TRIAL
BELGRADE, Feb. 24 (Beta) - Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic said on Feb.
24, following cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), that "10 million people in Serbia should
not be the hostages of five or six individuals. We believe that they
should prove their innocence in a legal process before the eyes of the
entire world public," the Serbian premier said, adding that it will
"become clear during the trial "whether the indictees are not guilty and
whether there is no evidence of their guilt."
He also said that he was "slightly surprised" by the beginning of
Milosevic's trial.
"We expect a legal process in which evidence for individual
responsibility is presented and not a historic-political seminar on how
the autonomy of Kosovo was changed, when it was introduced, who played
what role in the central committee (of the Alliance of Communists),"
Djindjic said.
"I think that it is a bit unusual and we see it as a small political
difficulty to explain to our people that we should cooperate with the
ICTY, if the trials resemble Milosevic's," Djindjic concluded.

DJINDJIC UNWILLING TO ARREST MLADIC
BERLIN, Feb. 24 (B92) An attempt to arrest former Bosnian Serb military
commander Ratko Mladic could result in civil war, Serbia's prime
minister said today.
Zoran Djindjic, noting that 50,000 NATO troops in Bosnia had failed to
capture Mladic, said he was unwilling to risk the lives of Serb police
in order to serve Mladic up at the table in The Hague.
"We have more than 200,000 Bosnian refugees, many of them armed. The
price is too high," Djindjic told German weekly Der Spiegel.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE PROTESTS OVER DJINDJIC STATEMENT ON THE HAGUE
TRIBUNAL
STRASBOURG, Feb 25 (Tanjug) - The President of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly, Peter Schieder, on Monday protested over the
recent statements by Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic regarding the trial
before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, saying that, regardless of
what the Serbian premier or anyone else thinks, it is Yugoslavia's
obligation to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal and a
condition for its Council of Europe membership.
"I object to the recent statements by the Serbian Premier with regard to
the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The
Hague," Schieder said in a statement sent to Tanjug from Strasbourg.
The statement said that "it is Yugoslavia's obligation to cooperate with
the Tribunal which, first foremost, includes the handing over of any
indicted persons who are currently in its territory, and does not depend
on what the Premier or anybody else thinks about the way the trial has
been proceeding so far."
In an interview to German weekly Der Spiegel, parts of which were
published on Saturday, Djindjic described the start of the trial of
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague as an
expensive circus and that the testimonies of insignificant
witnesses place him and his government in a serious dilemma about the
continuation of cooperation with the Tribunal and the extradition of the
remaining indictees.
Schieder said that Yugoslavia's obligation to "fully and unequivocally"
cooperate with the Tribunal is based on its membership in the United
Nations and the honoring of this obligation, "up to now and in the
future, will be closely scrutinized by the reporters examining
Yugoslavia's request for Council of Europe membership."
Schieder believes that "full cooperation with The Hague Tribunal is in
the interest of the Yugoslav people, because it rejects the notion of
collective responsibility for the crimes that have been committed."
He concluded that "those indicted will receive a fair trial" and "if the
case against them is proved according to the required standard of
evidence, they will be found guilty, if not, they will be acquitted."

PRIME MINISTER BACKS DOWN ON HAGUE CRITICISM
BELGRADE, Feb. 25 (B92) Serbia's prime minister has today defended the
transparency of the Hague Tribunal, little more than hours after
condemning the international court as an expensive circus.
Zoran Djindjic told media in the central Serbian city of Uzice that,
although he had a number of objections to the conduct of the trial, it
was certain that the Hague proceedings were not staged.
"If they are, then the entire world is staged," he said.
The prime minister added that although there were many criticisms to be
made of the prosecution in the Milosevic trial, it was not within the
jurisdiction of Serbia to assess whether the Hague Tribunal was good or
not.
Djindjic, whose government defied Yugoslavia's federal authorities to
extradite the former Yugoslav president to The Hague last year, told
German weekly Der Spiegel yesterday that the court was allowing full
rein to Milosevic's demagoguery and allowing him to control the trial.
"I am speechless when I see how much money has gone up in smoke to allow
the court to take five years to unearth such insignificant witnesses,"
he said, adding that the trial made it difficult to justify further
extradition.
This circus has left both myself and my government facing an awkward
dilemma," said Djindjic, claiming that he had been left without any
arguments to convince others in Belgrade that greater cooperation with
the court was needed.He took advantage of this morning's press
conference in Uzice to call on indicted suspects in Serbia to surrender
to the Tribunal.
"I think these individuals face far less risk than that faced by the
nation if they stay in the country and we risk the future of ten million
people by protecting and defending them," said Djindjic.

SERBIAN PREMIER SAYS EU DECISION TO REDUCE AID TO YUGOSLAVIA UNJUSTIFIED
BELGRADE, Feb 25 (Tanjug) - Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic described
Tuesday as unjustified the idea of the European Commission to reduce
financial aid to Yugoslavia by 15 million euros a year in the coming
three years, since the situation in this country is no longer as
critical as before and reforms are underway.
This is unjustified, Djindjic told the press, underlining his conviction
that a country which is successfully implementing reforms should be
rewarded, not be told it now needs less as it is managing to resolve its
budget problems.
This is not a good approach, Djindjic said, adding he intends to appeal
to the public opinion in Europe and the world to urge their politicians
to look into the work of the EC.

===*===

Subject: Djindjic Blasts Hague - For Putting Him In Hot Seat
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 15:06:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Rick Rozoff

[Hereafter the name Djindjic will supplant the
derogatory epithet quisling; as in "Vidkun Quisling,
the Norwegian djindjic, was executed in 1945."
This bought-and-paid-for US/NATO traitor, as a careful
reading of the BBC report reveals, is only concerned
about one thing: Preserving his own precious hide at
the expense of his country, his people and their
well-being.
May he have more and more reason to worry.]


BBC News
February 23, 2002

Serb PM attacks Milosevic trial

The Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, has
condemned the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic as an expensive "circus".
Mr Djindjic's government decided last June to hand Mr
Milosevic over to the international tribunal in The
Hague. His trial began on 12 February.
Speaking in an interview with the Germany weekly Der
Spiegel, Mr Djindjic also ruled out any Serbian police
operation to capture Ratko Mladic, a top Bosnian Serb
war crimes suspect.
Mr Djindjic said the court in The Hague was "allowing
Milosevic to behave like a demagogue and to control
the trial".
'Insignificant witnesses'
"I am speechless when I see how much money has gone up
in smoke to allow the court to take five years to
unearth such insignificant witnesses.
"This circus has left both myself and my government
facing an awkward dilemma," he said, arguing that the
trial made it hard to justify further extraditions.
Many Serbs believe that in court Mr Milosevic has
exposed Nato as the guilty party in the 1999 Kosovo
conflict, Mr Djindjic said.
"What arguments can I now use to convince other people
to push for greater co-operation with the court?" he
said.
Mr Milosevic is accused of crimes against humanity,
war crimes and genocide in connection with atrocities
committed by Serb forces in Kosovo in 1999, Croatia
between 1991 and 1992 and Bosnia-Hercegovina between
1992 and 1995.
No hunt for Mladic
Mr Djindjic said the price of trying to arrest the
Bosnian Serb wartime military commander, Ratko Mladic,
would be "too high".
"What would happen if his arrest unleashed a civil
war? We have 200,000 Bosnian refugees in Serbia, many
of whom possess weapons," he said.
The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal,
Carla del Ponte, says Mr Mladic is living in
Yugoslavia protected by the Yugoslav army - a charge
denied by the military.
The Yugoslav President, Vojislav Kostunica, has also
criticised the Milosevic trial and has accused the
tribunal of an anti-Serb bias.

===*===

DJINDJIC ED I SERVIZI SEGRETI FILO-NATO ISOLANO
I COLLABORATORI DI MILOSEVIC

SLOBO DEFENDERS UNDER ATTACK

Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 22:05:20 -0000
Source Beta
Beograd - Vladimir Krsljanin (SPS) reports that the
authorities have cut the phone
lines of all Milosevic associates in order to make his
defence at the Hague
more difficult.

TAGLIATE LE COMUNICAZIONI TELEFONICHE AI PROFESSORI

Belgrado, 27 febbraio 2002 - Il servizio segreto jugoslavo
ha tagliato le linee telefoniche a cinque professori della
Facolta' di Legge di Belgrado. Questa informazione e' stata
confermata anche dal Professor Branko Rakic. Al gruppo di
professori, che procuravano informazioni a Milosevic aiutandolo
a difendersi all'Aia, il servizio di sicurezza jugoslavo ha
interrotto le comunicazioni per impedire i contatti con
Milosevic.
Si tratta tra l'altro dei professori Kosta Cavoski, Branko
Rakic, e Stefanovski.
Paradossalmente, i tre professori suddetti erano grandi
oppositori di Milosevic. Essi si sono decisi ad aiutarlo
in quanto intendono l'accusa contro Milosevic come una
accusa contro tutta la Serbia, mirata a gravare ulteriormente
su tutto il paese.
In una intervista recentemente rilasciata allo "Spiegel"
dal premier serbo Zoran Djindjic, costui ha affermato:
"Non mi piace vedere come Milosevic abbia trasformato il
processo contro di lui in un processo contro la NATO!"


+++ Professoren werden die Telefonleitungen gekappt +++

BELGRAD, 27. Februar 2002. Der jugoslawische Geheimdienst
hat fünf Professoren der Rechtsuniversität in Belgrad die
Telefonleitungen gekappt. Diese Information bestätigte
auch Professor Branko Rakic. Der Gruppe von Professoren
die Slobodan Milosevic Informationen zukommen ließen, wie
er sich in Den Haag verteidigen soll, hat der jugoslawische
Sicherheitsdienst die Leitungen unterbrochen um den
Professoren es unmöglich zu machen mit Slobodan Milosevic
in Kontakt zu bleiben. Hierbei handelt es sich um die
Professoren, Kosta Cavoski, Branko Rakic und Prof. Stefanovski.
Um die Ironie an der ganzen Sache zu verdeutlichen, die
drei oben genannten Professoren, waren große Gegner
von Milosevic. Sie haben sich entschieden Slobodan
Milosevic zu helfen, weil sie mit der Anklage gegen ihn,
eine Anklage gegen ganz Serbien sehen, die das Land noch mehr
belastet.
In einem vor kurzem, dem Spiegel, gegebenen Interview vom
MinisterPräsidenten von Serbien, Zoran Djindic, sagte der
"Mir gefällt es nicht, das Milosevic einen Prozess gegen
ihn, in einen Prozess gegen die NATO gedreht hat!"

STIMME KOSOVOS / AMSELFELD.COM

ATTI MIRATI A RENDERE IMPOSSIBILE LA AUTODIFESA DI MILOSEVIC

Belgrado, 27 febbraio 2002. Vladimir Krsljanin, esponente dell'SPS, ha
comunicato che il governo serbo ha ordinato la interruzione di tutte le
linee telefoniche dei collaboratori di Milosevic, impegnati ad aiutarlo
nella difesa. Questo mira a rendergli sensibilmente piu' difficile la
difesa stessa.

+++ Um Milosevic Verteidigung unmöglich zu machen +++

BELGRAD, 27. Februar 2002. Vladimir Krsljanin, ein Mitglied der SPS,
berichtete das die Regierung Serbiens angeordnet hat, alle
Telefonleitungen zu Milosevics Verbündeten zu unterbrechen, die ihm bei
seiner Verteidigung helfen. Das erschwert ihm seine Verteidigung
bedeutend.

BETA / AMSELFELD.COM