The Ottawa Citizen
January 30, 2001
Argument & Observation, Page A19
TRIBUNAL ON TRIAL, by. James Bissett
Carla Del Ponte, the Chief Prosecutor of The International Criminal
Tribunal
for Yugoslavia [ICTY] was in Belgrade on Tuesday of this week demanding
that
President Kostunica hand over Slobodan Milosovic so that he might stand
trial before her Tribunal in The Hague. NATO countries and the western
media
have been vocal in insisting that Milosovic be surrendered to the court.
It
will be difficult for the new democratic authorities in Yugoslavia to
refuse
to do so. Economic and financial help to rebuild what the NATO bombing
has
destroyed will undoubtedly be conditional on cooperation with the
Tribunal.
Moreover, there are many Serbs in addition to his political enemies who
would be happy to see the end of the man many believe responsible for
the
disasters that has overtaken Yugoslavia since 1990.
Nevertheless, it would appear that the President Kostunica has serious
misgivings about the independence and impartiality of the Hague
Tribunal. He
is not alone in this. From its inception there has been doubts about the
legitimacy of the Tribunal. It was not established by treaty or by the
General Assembly of the United Nations as would normally be required for
such a court. The Security Council alone established the Tribunal and
only
after heavy lobbying by the government of the United States. Whatever
the
legitimacy of the Tribunal, there is strong evidence to believe the
Tribunal
was established more to satisfy political goals than to bring war
criminals
to justice.
Certainly the performance of the Tribunal so far has displayed more of
the
characteristics of a medieval Star Chamber than an independent judicial
body. A number of those who have been secretly indicted by the Tribunal
have
been kidnapped by armed thugs and transported against their will to The
Hague to wait in detention for months or years for trial without benefit
of
bail. They are then required to face unknown and often hidden accusers
before a Tribunal that acts as both prosecutor and judge. There is no
jury.
If the prisoner confesses while in custody, the confession is presumed
to be
voluntary. The trial may even be held in secret.
The Tribunal had a firm policy not to reveal the names of those on its
indictment list. Yet Louise Arbour, the former Chief Prosecutor violated
this policy when she publicly announced the indictment of Milosovic
during
the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. There seems little doubt the
announcement
was timed to bolster sagging public support for the bombing. After all,
who
would dare oppose the bombing of a country whose leader had been
indicted as
a war criminal? That Louise Arbour would violate the Tribunal's policy
is
not surprising. Her appointment to the Tribunal was conditional upon
receiving the approval of Madeline Albright.
It is also significant that the indictment against Milosovic did not
include crimes he might have committed during the Bosnian conflict but
was
confined to allegations about crimes in Kosovo. It would not do to have
the
man Madeline Albright hailed as, " a man of peace,"at the time of the
Dayton
Accords, indicted for crimes in Bosnia after he had played such a
pivotal
role in bringing about an end to the bloodshed there
. At the center of the indictment against Milosovic was the infamous
"Racic
Massacre,"alleging that Serbian security forces had murdered in cold
blood
forty-five Kosovo Albanian civilians. Madeline Albright has described
the
"Racac Massacre" as the galvanizing event leading to the air war against
Yugoslavia. However, the final report published last week by the Finnish
forensic experts who examined the bodies of the alleged victims confirms
what many suspected at the time- that there was no evidence to show the
bodies discovered in the shallow trench by United States general William
Walker were executed at close range. It seems the victims were armed
members
of the KLA who were killed in the fighting that had taken place in the
hills
above Racac the day before. Their bodies had been placed in the trench
to
simulate a massacre. This would suggest that at least some of the
evidence
against Milosovic presented by the United States to the Tribunal to
support
his indictment has been fabricated.
Article sixteen of the statute setting up the Tribunal stipulates that
the
Prosecutor," shall not receive instruction from any government or any
other
source." Yet the record of close cooperation between the Tribunal and
the
government of the United States suggests this article has not been
respected
by the Tribunal. Moreover although it is the United Nations that was to
finance the Tribunal it is in fact United States money that has enabled
the
Tribunal to carry out its operations, thus compromising any claim of
independence by the Tribunal.
The Tribunal has also been remarkably selective about who it has
indicted.
Almost all those so far indicted have been Serbs. To my knowledge no
Muslims
have yet been brought before the Tribunal. The notorious Naser Oric has
not
been indicted. He was the leader of the Muslim paramilitary forces in
Srebrenica who used this UN safe haven as a base to raid neighboring
Serbian
villages and butcher all of the elderly inhabitants who were unable to
flee.
Oric has openly boasted to journalists of these atrocities and they are
well
documented but nothing has been done. Oric is managing a bistro in Tuzla
numbering among his customer's UN peacekeepers.
Another individual well known to the Tribunal is Agim Ceku, an Albanian
from
Kosovo, who led the Croatian forces that in September, 1993 overran
Serbian
villages in the Medak pocket being protected by Canadian peace keepers.
After a firefight, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
retook
the villages only to find that dreadful atrocities had been committed
against Serbian civilians. Two years later Agim Ceku led Croatian forces
in
the infamous "Operation Storm," that "cleansed" Croatia of its entire
Serbian population. The Tribunal has not indicted Agim Ceku. On the
contrary, NATO has rewarded him by appointing him commander of the
Albanian
security forces in Kosovo.
The most serious charge against the War Crimes Tribunal has been its
adamant
refusal to indict NATO leaders for violating international law and the
United Nations Charter by waging aggressive war against a sovereign
state
without UN approval. Repeated demands by eminent lawyers from around the
world have been in vain. The Tribunal has refused to accept that the
bombing
of civilian targets, the employment of weapons containing depleted
uranium
and the use of cluster bombs was a crime.
There is no question that former Yugoslav President Milosovic should
face
trial. Nevertheless it is unfortunate that should he go to The Hague it
will
be seen as an endorsement of a Tribunal that represents everything an
independent international court should not be. It has been a Tribunal
dominated and paid for by its political masters. It has been a Tribunal
that
by any standard of measurement has been a travesty of justice. It has
been a
Tribunal that has sacrificed basic principals of law and due process to
act
as a willing tool for the achievement of US political goals and as an
apologist for NATO's political blunders in the Balkans. Let us hope that
the
new International Criminal Court that may soon come into existence can
do
better.
---
A cura del Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'".
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma
vengono fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al
solo scopo di segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only").
Archivio:
> http://www.ecircle.it/an_ecircle/articles?ecircleid%c2%91979
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/messages
Sito WEB:
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
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January 30, 2001
Argument & Observation, Page A19
TRIBUNAL ON TRIAL, by. James Bissett
Carla Del Ponte, the Chief Prosecutor of The International Criminal
Tribunal
for Yugoslavia [ICTY] was in Belgrade on Tuesday of this week demanding
that
President Kostunica hand over Slobodan Milosovic so that he might stand
trial before her Tribunal in The Hague. NATO countries and the western
media
have been vocal in insisting that Milosovic be surrendered to the court.
It
will be difficult for the new democratic authorities in Yugoslavia to
refuse
to do so. Economic and financial help to rebuild what the NATO bombing
has
destroyed will undoubtedly be conditional on cooperation with the
Tribunal.
Moreover, there are many Serbs in addition to his political enemies who
would be happy to see the end of the man many believe responsible for
the
disasters that has overtaken Yugoslavia since 1990.
Nevertheless, it would appear that the President Kostunica has serious
misgivings about the independence and impartiality of the Hague
Tribunal. He
is not alone in this. From its inception there has been doubts about the
legitimacy of the Tribunal. It was not established by treaty or by the
General Assembly of the United Nations as would normally be required for
such a court. The Security Council alone established the Tribunal and
only
after heavy lobbying by the government of the United States. Whatever
the
legitimacy of the Tribunal, there is strong evidence to believe the
Tribunal
was established more to satisfy political goals than to bring war
criminals
to justice.
Certainly the performance of the Tribunal so far has displayed more of
the
characteristics of a medieval Star Chamber than an independent judicial
body. A number of those who have been secretly indicted by the Tribunal
have
been kidnapped by armed thugs and transported against their will to The
Hague to wait in detention for months or years for trial without benefit
of
bail. They are then required to face unknown and often hidden accusers
before a Tribunal that acts as both prosecutor and judge. There is no
jury.
If the prisoner confesses while in custody, the confession is presumed
to be
voluntary. The trial may even be held in secret.
The Tribunal had a firm policy not to reveal the names of those on its
indictment list. Yet Louise Arbour, the former Chief Prosecutor violated
this policy when she publicly announced the indictment of Milosovic
during
the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. There seems little doubt the
announcement
was timed to bolster sagging public support for the bombing. After all,
who
would dare oppose the bombing of a country whose leader had been
indicted as
a war criminal? That Louise Arbour would violate the Tribunal's policy
is
not surprising. Her appointment to the Tribunal was conditional upon
receiving the approval of Madeline Albright.
It is also significant that the indictment against Milosovic did not
include crimes he might have committed during the Bosnian conflict but
was
confined to allegations about crimes in Kosovo. It would not do to have
the
man Madeline Albright hailed as, " a man of peace,"at the time of the
Dayton
Accords, indicted for crimes in Bosnia after he had played such a
pivotal
role in bringing about an end to the bloodshed there
. At the center of the indictment against Milosovic was the infamous
"Racic
Massacre,"alleging that Serbian security forces had murdered in cold
blood
forty-five Kosovo Albanian civilians. Madeline Albright has described
the
"Racac Massacre" as the galvanizing event leading to the air war against
Yugoslavia. However, the final report published last week by the Finnish
forensic experts who examined the bodies of the alleged victims confirms
what many suspected at the time- that there was no evidence to show the
bodies discovered in the shallow trench by United States general William
Walker were executed at close range. It seems the victims were armed
members
of the KLA who were killed in the fighting that had taken place in the
hills
above Racac the day before. Their bodies had been placed in the trench
to
simulate a massacre. This would suggest that at least some of the
evidence
against Milosovic presented by the United States to the Tribunal to
support
his indictment has been fabricated.
Article sixteen of the statute setting up the Tribunal stipulates that
the
Prosecutor," shall not receive instruction from any government or any
other
source." Yet the record of close cooperation between the Tribunal and
the
government of the United States suggests this article has not been
respected
by the Tribunal. Moreover although it is the United Nations that was to
finance the Tribunal it is in fact United States money that has enabled
the
Tribunal to carry out its operations, thus compromising any claim of
independence by the Tribunal.
The Tribunal has also been remarkably selective about who it has
indicted.
Almost all those so far indicted have been Serbs. To my knowledge no
Muslims
have yet been brought before the Tribunal. The notorious Naser Oric has
not
been indicted. He was the leader of the Muslim paramilitary forces in
Srebrenica who used this UN safe haven as a base to raid neighboring
Serbian
villages and butcher all of the elderly inhabitants who were unable to
flee.
Oric has openly boasted to journalists of these atrocities and they are
well
documented but nothing has been done. Oric is managing a bistro in Tuzla
numbering among his customer's UN peacekeepers.
Another individual well known to the Tribunal is Agim Ceku, an Albanian
from
Kosovo, who led the Croatian forces that in September, 1993 overran
Serbian
villages in the Medak pocket being protected by Canadian peace keepers.
After a firefight, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
retook
the villages only to find that dreadful atrocities had been committed
against Serbian civilians. Two years later Agim Ceku led Croatian forces
in
the infamous "Operation Storm," that "cleansed" Croatia of its entire
Serbian population. The Tribunal has not indicted Agim Ceku. On the
contrary, NATO has rewarded him by appointing him commander of the
Albanian
security forces in Kosovo.
The most serious charge against the War Crimes Tribunal has been its
adamant
refusal to indict NATO leaders for violating international law and the
United Nations Charter by waging aggressive war against a sovereign
state
without UN approval. Repeated demands by eminent lawyers from around the
world have been in vain. The Tribunal has refused to accept that the
bombing
of civilian targets, the employment of weapons containing depleted
uranium
and the use of cluster bombs was a crime.
There is no question that former Yugoslav President Milosovic should
face
trial. Nevertheless it is unfortunate that should he go to The Hague it
will
be seen as an endorsement of a Tribunal that represents everything an
independent international court should not be. It has been a Tribunal
dominated and paid for by its political masters. It has been a Tribunal
that
by any standard of measurement has been a travesty of justice. It has
been a
Tribunal that has sacrificed basic principals of law and due process to
act
as a willing tool for the achievement of US political goals and as an
apologist for NATO's political blunders in the Balkans. Let us hope that
the
new International Criminal Court that may soon come into existence can
do
better.
---
A cura del Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'".
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono il Coordinamento, ma
vengono fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al
solo scopo di segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only").
Archivio:
> http://www.ecircle.it/an_ecircle/articles?ecircleid%c2%91979
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/messages
Sito WEB:
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
Per iscriversi al bollettino: <jugoinfo-subscribe@...>
Per cancellarsi: <jugoinfo-unsubscribe@...>
Per inviare materiali e commenti: <jugocoord@...>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Consulteque.com e' il sito internet dove l'offerta dei
professionisti incontra la domanda delle imprese!
Seleziona on line i professionisti piu qualificati per
svolgere un'attivita di consulenza per la tua azienda.
Entra anche tu in consulteque.com e risparmia il tuo tempo.
http://www.ecircle.it/ad1083358/www.consulteque.com