Milosevic "trial": "Tribunal" abandons last traces of judiciary
1. TRIBUNAL ABANDONS LAST TRACES OF JUDICIARY
Statement by Sloboda/ICDSM, October 8, 2003
2. SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Statement from the CDSM in the United Kingdom
3. TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION I.S.
IVANOV
Letter from Duma to Foreign Minister Ivanov on President Milosevic
(All documents have been forwarded to us by V. Krsljanin of
SLOBODA Association, Belgrade: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ )
LINK:
Dutch TV documentary on the Hague process, in two parts:
http://info.vpro.nl/info/tegenlicht/index.shtml?7738514+7738518+8048024
=== 1 ===
TRIBUNAL ABANDONS LAST TRACES OF JUDICIARY
WHILE ITS PRESIDENT PRAISES WARMONGERS BEFORE GOING TO UN
Total Desperation and Harassment of Law in the "Trial" of President
Milosevic
In another astonishing development at the political creation known as
the ICTY, the Appeals Chamber has granted the Prosecution's request to
admit written statements instead of testimony, if the witness attends
the hearing and affirms that the statement is true, and makes himself
available for cross-examination and questions from the bench.
After the world's major news media abandoned any significant coverage
of this shameful farce, now the even the Prosecutor wishes to avoid the
embarrassment of public testimony. Her own witnesses shielded from
public view, like dust swept under a rug. It will now be possible to
request that not a single witness actually testify before being
cross-examined! And it is likely that cross-examination will be as
brutally limited as what has been "granted" to President Milosevic in
the past: only one hour!!!
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the
right to a public trial. Throughout this process, all have observed the
increasingly private proceedings in the matter of President Milosevic.
More secret applications by the Prosecutor, more closed sessions, more
secret witnesses, and now witnesses who do not have to testify at all
before being cross-examined. Cross-examinations cannot make sense to
the public if they have not heard the witness' evidence! This
institution is violating the public's right to understand the content
of President Milosevic's cross-examinations ! The right to a public
trial benefits everyone, including the public, for who will judge the
judges?
If the Prosecution had a case, would she really want to hide it? Where
is the right to a fair and public hearing? Where is the search for
truth? NOT AT THE HAGUE, to be sure!
Why the rush to judgment? Do the ICTY staff have something better to do
than hear the witnesses who were supposed reveal the "truth" and bring
about "reconciliation"?
In the worst manipulative sense, one can expect now that the
Prosecution submits immediately couple of dozen of written statements
and claims that they have proved the indictment. But what about
cross-examinations? Well, the witnesses are too busy to come just in
the days when President Milosevic is not too ill.
At the same time, his life-threatening illness is a matter of the
particular care of the tribunal. Yesterday, having the illness as a
pretext, the so-called judges granted surrogate counsels called "Amici
Curiae" more rights. A step towards imposing a counsel against
defendant's will.
And then, another gesture of generosity. A nurse measured President
Milosevic's blood pressure in one of the breaks. Only 160/110! Not
enough! He will certainly not have an infarct in the next three hours!
So he can go on!
Adding insult to injury, the ICTY President Theodor Meron ("a man of
continuity" - once Israeli Ambassador to Canada, then Clinton's
negotiator for the Rome Treaty and finally Bush's executive at The
Hague) yesterday, only two days before delivering his annual report to
UN (October 9 to the Security Council and October 10 to the General
Assembly) addressed the "US Helsinki Commission", praising the US which
refuses to be subjected to the authority of any international judicial
body for the atrocities committed in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq or
anywhere else - for its "contribution to international justice".
Special, well deserved homage he devoted to the murderers of
Yugoslavia, to the father and mother of the tribunal, Bill Clinton and
Madeleine Albright, by quoting their hypocritical blasphemies from
Srebrenica (crocodile tears over "the vulnerability of ordinary people
to the dark claims of religious and ethnic superiority") and New York,
from the time of the creation of the tribunal: "This will be no
victor's tribunal. The only victor that will prevail in this endeavour
is the truth."
The only "Truth" now is that this is a Show Trial. The only trappings
of justice left at the ICTY are judicial robes and the ability to turn
off President Milosevic's microphone.
The "task of the continuity" of crime is there. That's why Meron says:
"I chair a group of judges assigned to search for additional ways to
improve our efficiency, and the Prosecutor has also offered a number of
helpful suggestions that the judges are actively considering." What it
means in practice, we have seen yesterday and today.
All this proves that the end of the tyranny is near. The magnificent
struggle of President Milosevic backed by all the Serbian people has
completely defeated the attempt to cover the blood of innocent victims
with the Hague robes.
Now, when everything is so rudely clear, let us all rise to save the
life of Slobodan Milosevic and future of Serbia from the deadly hug of
The Hague!
Sloboda/ICDSM, October 8, 2003
=== 2 ===
Statement from the CDSM in the United Kingdom.
SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE – SAY NO TO THE NEW WORLD
ORDER.
Crisis at The Hague: President Milosevic demands a two-year suspension
of case.
"At the ICTY there is only prosecution and no defence." Slobodan
Milosevic 2nd September 2003.
The CDSM in the United Kingdom strongly support the demand for a
two-year suspension both of the ICTY proceedings and of the
incarceration of Mr Milosevic in The Hague as essential conditions so
that 1) the defendant can prepare a proper and effective response to
the allegations against him and against Serbia and 2) he can recuperate
his health.
Imprisoned for over two years by the ICTY at The Hague, the former
Yugoslav head of state has endured 19 months of the prosecution’s
allegations at this so-called ‘trial of the century’.
Suffering acute hyper tension and life threatening heart and blood
conditions and being denied proper medical care, the ex-President has
been presented with over one million pages of alleged ‘evidence’ to
respond to.
Since Mr Milosevic has insisted on his right to represent himself, he
has been refused access to the media, refused visitations from his
family and now, indefinitely refused visitations from his advisors and
associates in Serbia. Meanwhile the prosecution has been given every
liberty and convenience and enjoys a privileged position within this
‘tribunal’.
It is a basic principle of justice that prosecution and defence should
enjoy an ‘equality of arms’. It is axiomatic that the defendant should
be given adequate opportunity to prepare his response. But how can Mr
Milosevic interview witnesses and prepare his presentations from the
extreme and totally arbitrary isolation he endures in the prison cell?
Therefore:
We demand a two-year break in the proceedings.
We demand suspension of the incarceration.
We demand that Mr Milosevic be afforded these essential conditions in
order to protect his life and to prepare his case.
For Freedom, Truth & Justice.
=== 3 ===
Letter from Duma to Foreign Minister Ivanov on President Milosevic
TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
I. S. IVANOV
Dear Igor Sergeyevich,
Already for nearly two years in The Hague a trial is being
held against the former President of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic. In all that time, its extremely
expensive efforts notwithstanding, the Prosecution of the International
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has failed to produce convincing
evidence of guilt of the Serbian leader for the crimes attributed to
him.
The Prosecution’s case, following a court ruling, should be
concluded by the end of 2003 or by the beginning of 2004. After that,
the case for the Defendant should begin. As we all know, until now
Slobodan Milosevic had the possibility only to participate in the
examination of the witnesses for the Prosecution. As far as we know, he
intends to present to the Tribunal exceptionally compelling proof of
his innocence. However, mounting a defence takes systematic
preparations.
The Indictment against Slobodan Milosevic was being prepared
for more than four years with the participation of hundreds of the
Tribunal’s officials. And Slobodan Milosevic is self-represented. He is
entitled to be allotted as much preparation time for his defence as the
Tribunal’s Prosecution had to prepare its Indictment. As we all know,
the Defendant’s right to have adequate time and necessary conditions
for the preparation of his defence is provided for in many
international documents, including the European Convention on Human
Rights.
The equality of arms between defendants and prosecutors is
one of the basic norms of the international law. The violation of that
right would serve as a confirmation of numerous allegations that under
the mask of a trial at The Hague the political settling up with
Slobodan Milosevic is in fact being carried out. At the same time, the
persecution of his family is taking place, with the purpose of
deepening his isolation.
In this regard, our deep concern has arisen from the recent
ruling of the Tribunal to ban visits to Slobodan Milosevic by the
representatives of the Socialist Party of Serbia, whose President he
is, as well as by the SLOBODA Association, which supports him. We see
this ruling as a dangerous act of moral and psychological pressure
against a political prisoner and as the additional abridgement of his
rights.
In order to make his defence effective (in the sense of
gathering documents, communication with witnesses and with his legal
assistants), Slobodan Milosevic has to have the possibility to defend
himself not from a prison but from freedom. At the same time, he needs
to be restored to health, which has been undermined by the prolonged
custody and gruelling court proceedings.
In view of certain moral obligations, taken on by the
Russian part at the time of well-known events of October 2000, we
believe that as a minimum Russia is obligated to make sure that time is
allotted and conditions secured to the former President of the friendly
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for an effective defence, as provided
for by the international law.
The settling up with Milosevic and his colleagues creates a
precedent for analogous actions against the heads of other states,
Russia included. As we all know, the preparations for such actions are
already under way.
We ask you to make necessary efforts in order to contribute
for a purpose of securing the equality of arms in the court
proceedings. In view of the scope of the charges (covering multi-year
conflicts in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia), the trial has to be
interrupted for at least two years. Such a solution is fully in
compliance with the norms of the international law.
At the same time, in accordance with the principle of the
presumption of innocence, Slobodan Milosevic has to be released, which
would give him the possibility to get prepared more fully for his
defence. Our presupposition is that the international community has the
interest to establish all the circumstances related to the aforesaid
conflicts. The documents and witnesses that Slobodan Milosevic intends
to present could help establishing the truth about the events in
Yugoslavia in 1990s.
We also believe that he has to be given the possibility of
his returning to Belgrade in order to be given a qualified medical care
by his physicians who treated him for many years.
DEPUTIES OF THE STATE DUMA
(LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT):
Followed by 22 signatures of the deputies representing the absolute
majority within Duma, among them the Caucus Chairmen Zyuganov (KPRF –
Communist Party of the Russian Federation), Kharitonov (Agroindustrial
Faction), Raykov (People’s Deputy Faction – a centrist,
pro-presidential faction); the Deputy Speaker of the Duma Romanov; the
State Duma Committee Chairmen: General Nikolaev (Defence Committee),
Rizhkov (Committee for Yugoslavia), Nikitin (National Debt Committee);
as well as the Deputy Chairmen of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, on
Security Affairs, on CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Affairs
and Compatriots, on Defence, on Environment, on Culture, on Energy, on
Capital Construction.
=== * ===
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.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
1. TRIBUNAL ABANDONS LAST TRACES OF JUDICIARY
Statement by Sloboda/ICDSM, October 8, 2003
2. SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Statement from the CDSM in the United Kingdom
3. TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION I.S.
IVANOV
Letter from Duma to Foreign Minister Ivanov on President Milosevic
(All documents have been forwarded to us by V. Krsljanin of
SLOBODA Association, Belgrade: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ )
LINK:
Dutch TV documentary on the Hague process, in two parts:
http://info.vpro.nl/info/tegenlicht/index.shtml?7738514+7738518+8048024
=== 1 ===
TRIBUNAL ABANDONS LAST TRACES OF JUDICIARY
WHILE ITS PRESIDENT PRAISES WARMONGERS BEFORE GOING TO UN
Total Desperation and Harassment of Law in the "Trial" of President
Milosevic
In another astonishing development at the political creation known as
the ICTY, the Appeals Chamber has granted the Prosecution's request to
admit written statements instead of testimony, if the witness attends
the hearing and affirms that the statement is true, and makes himself
available for cross-examination and questions from the bench.
After the world's major news media abandoned any significant coverage
of this shameful farce, now the even the Prosecutor wishes to avoid the
embarrassment of public testimony. Her own witnesses shielded from
public view, like dust swept under a rug. It will now be possible to
request that not a single witness actually testify before being
cross-examined! And it is likely that cross-examination will be as
brutally limited as what has been "granted" to President Milosevic in
the past: only one hour!!!
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the
right to a public trial. Throughout this process, all have observed the
increasingly private proceedings in the matter of President Milosevic.
More secret applications by the Prosecutor, more closed sessions, more
secret witnesses, and now witnesses who do not have to testify at all
before being cross-examined. Cross-examinations cannot make sense to
the public if they have not heard the witness' evidence! This
institution is violating the public's right to understand the content
of President Milosevic's cross-examinations ! The right to a public
trial benefits everyone, including the public, for who will judge the
judges?
If the Prosecution had a case, would she really want to hide it? Where
is the right to a fair and public hearing? Where is the search for
truth? NOT AT THE HAGUE, to be sure!
Why the rush to judgment? Do the ICTY staff have something better to do
than hear the witnesses who were supposed reveal the "truth" and bring
about "reconciliation"?
In the worst manipulative sense, one can expect now that the
Prosecution submits immediately couple of dozen of written statements
and claims that they have proved the indictment. But what about
cross-examinations? Well, the witnesses are too busy to come just in
the days when President Milosevic is not too ill.
At the same time, his life-threatening illness is a matter of the
particular care of the tribunal. Yesterday, having the illness as a
pretext, the so-called judges granted surrogate counsels called "Amici
Curiae" more rights. A step towards imposing a counsel against
defendant's will.
And then, another gesture of generosity. A nurse measured President
Milosevic's blood pressure in one of the breaks. Only 160/110! Not
enough! He will certainly not have an infarct in the next three hours!
So he can go on!
Adding insult to injury, the ICTY President Theodor Meron ("a man of
continuity" - once Israeli Ambassador to Canada, then Clinton's
negotiator for the Rome Treaty and finally Bush's executive at The
Hague) yesterday, only two days before delivering his annual report to
UN (October 9 to the Security Council and October 10 to the General
Assembly) addressed the "US Helsinki Commission", praising the US which
refuses to be subjected to the authority of any international judicial
body for the atrocities committed in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq or
anywhere else - for its "contribution to international justice".
Special, well deserved homage he devoted to the murderers of
Yugoslavia, to the father and mother of the tribunal, Bill Clinton and
Madeleine Albright, by quoting their hypocritical blasphemies from
Srebrenica (crocodile tears over "the vulnerability of ordinary people
to the dark claims of religious and ethnic superiority") and New York,
from the time of the creation of the tribunal: "This will be no
victor's tribunal. The only victor that will prevail in this endeavour
is the truth."
The only "Truth" now is that this is a Show Trial. The only trappings
of justice left at the ICTY are judicial robes and the ability to turn
off President Milosevic's microphone.
The "task of the continuity" of crime is there. That's why Meron says:
"I chair a group of judges assigned to search for additional ways to
improve our efficiency, and the Prosecutor has also offered a number of
helpful suggestions that the judges are actively considering." What it
means in practice, we have seen yesterday and today.
All this proves that the end of the tyranny is near. The magnificent
struggle of President Milosevic backed by all the Serbian people has
completely defeated the attempt to cover the blood of innocent victims
with the Hague robes.
Now, when everything is so rudely clear, let us all rise to save the
life of Slobodan Milosevic and future of Serbia from the deadly hug of
The Hague!
Sloboda/ICDSM, October 8, 2003
=== 2 ===
Statement from the CDSM in the United Kingdom.
SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE – SAY NO TO THE NEW WORLD
ORDER.
Crisis at The Hague: President Milosevic demands a two-year suspension
of case.
"At the ICTY there is only prosecution and no defence." Slobodan
Milosevic 2nd September 2003.
The CDSM in the United Kingdom strongly support the demand for a
two-year suspension both of the ICTY proceedings and of the
incarceration of Mr Milosevic in The Hague as essential conditions so
that 1) the defendant can prepare a proper and effective response to
the allegations against him and against Serbia and 2) he can recuperate
his health.
Imprisoned for over two years by the ICTY at The Hague, the former
Yugoslav head of state has endured 19 months of the prosecution’s
allegations at this so-called ‘trial of the century’.
Suffering acute hyper tension and life threatening heart and blood
conditions and being denied proper medical care, the ex-President has
been presented with over one million pages of alleged ‘evidence’ to
respond to.
Since Mr Milosevic has insisted on his right to represent himself, he
has been refused access to the media, refused visitations from his
family and now, indefinitely refused visitations from his advisors and
associates in Serbia. Meanwhile the prosecution has been given every
liberty and convenience and enjoys a privileged position within this
‘tribunal’.
It is a basic principle of justice that prosecution and defence should
enjoy an ‘equality of arms’. It is axiomatic that the defendant should
be given adequate opportunity to prepare his response. But how can Mr
Milosevic interview witnesses and prepare his presentations from the
extreme and totally arbitrary isolation he endures in the prison cell?
Therefore:
We demand a two-year break in the proceedings.
We demand suspension of the incarceration.
We demand that Mr Milosevic be afforded these essential conditions in
order to protect his life and to prepare his case.
For Freedom, Truth & Justice.
=== 3 ===
Letter from Duma to Foreign Minister Ivanov on President Milosevic
TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
I. S. IVANOV
Dear Igor Sergeyevich,
Already for nearly two years in The Hague a trial is being
held against the former President of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic. In all that time, its extremely
expensive efforts notwithstanding, the Prosecution of the International
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has failed to produce convincing
evidence of guilt of the Serbian leader for the crimes attributed to
him.
The Prosecution’s case, following a court ruling, should be
concluded by the end of 2003 or by the beginning of 2004. After that,
the case for the Defendant should begin. As we all know, until now
Slobodan Milosevic had the possibility only to participate in the
examination of the witnesses for the Prosecution. As far as we know, he
intends to present to the Tribunal exceptionally compelling proof of
his innocence. However, mounting a defence takes systematic
preparations.
The Indictment against Slobodan Milosevic was being prepared
for more than four years with the participation of hundreds of the
Tribunal’s officials. And Slobodan Milosevic is self-represented. He is
entitled to be allotted as much preparation time for his defence as the
Tribunal’s Prosecution had to prepare its Indictment. As we all know,
the Defendant’s right to have adequate time and necessary conditions
for the preparation of his defence is provided for in many
international documents, including the European Convention on Human
Rights.
The equality of arms between defendants and prosecutors is
one of the basic norms of the international law. The violation of that
right would serve as a confirmation of numerous allegations that under
the mask of a trial at The Hague the political settling up with
Slobodan Milosevic is in fact being carried out. At the same time, the
persecution of his family is taking place, with the purpose of
deepening his isolation.
In this regard, our deep concern has arisen from the recent
ruling of the Tribunal to ban visits to Slobodan Milosevic by the
representatives of the Socialist Party of Serbia, whose President he
is, as well as by the SLOBODA Association, which supports him. We see
this ruling as a dangerous act of moral and psychological pressure
against a political prisoner and as the additional abridgement of his
rights.
In order to make his defence effective (in the sense of
gathering documents, communication with witnesses and with his legal
assistants), Slobodan Milosevic has to have the possibility to defend
himself not from a prison but from freedom. At the same time, he needs
to be restored to health, which has been undermined by the prolonged
custody and gruelling court proceedings.
In view of certain moral obligations, taken on by the
Russian part at the time of well-known events of October 2000, we
believe that as a minimum Russia is obligated to make sure that time is
allotted and conditions secured to the former President of the friendly
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for an effective defence, as provided
for by the international law.
The settling up with Milosevic and his colleagues creates a
precedent for analogous actions against the heads of other states,
Russia included. As we all know, the preparations for such actions are
already under way.
We ask you to make necessary efforts in order to contribute
for a purpose of securing the equality of arms in the court
proceedings. In view of the scope of the charges (covering multi-year
conflicts in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia), the trial has to be
interrupted for at least two years. Such a solution is fully in
compliance with the norms of the international law.
At the same time, in accordance with the principle of the
presumption of innocence, Slobodan Milosevic has to be released, which
would give him the possibility to get prepared more fully for his
defence. Our presupposition is that the international community has the
interest to establish all the circumstances related to the aforesaid
conflicts. The documents and witnesses that Slobodan Milosevic intends
to present could help establishing the truth about the events in
Yugoslavia in 1990s.
We also believe that he has to be given the possibility of
his returning to Belgrade in order to be given a qualified medical care
by his physicians who treated him for many years.
DEPUTIES OF THE STATE DUMA
(LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT):
Followed by 22 signatures of the deputies representing the absolute
majority within Duma, among them the Caucus Chairmen Zyuganov (KPRF –
Communist Party of the Russian Federation), Kharitonov (Agroindustrial
Faction), Raykov (People’s Deputy Faction – a centrist,
pro-presidential faction); the Deputy Speaker of the Duma Romanov; the
State Duma Committee Chairmen: General Nikolaev (Defence Committee),
Rizhkov (Committee for Yugoslavia), Nikitin (National Debt Committee);
as well as the Deputy Chairmen of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, on
Security Affairs, on CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Affairs
and Compatriots, on Defence, on Environment, on Culture, on Energy, on
Capital Construction.
=== * ===
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.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)