YUGOSLAVIA RESISTS!
Mass Action In Serbia * Pictures From June 29th Rally * And A Few Comments
[2 July 2001]

Pictures (finally!) from Friday, June 29th Demonstration in Belgrade. This included people from the Radical Party, the Socialist Party, Serbian Renewal, Serbian Unity as well as other parties plus tens of thousands of people who might have voted for the DOS authorities but are now furious that these leaders have kidnapped the former Yugoslav head of state, Slobodan Milosevic, and shipped him to the discredited Tribunal at The Hague.

This unity is a new feature, something special for Serbia.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers' coalition is in disarray; the Djindjic-Kostunica politicians are trading insults in the 'N.Y. Times.'

The DOS coalition has splintered. The Montenegrin Socialists (SNP) resigned from the Federal government, causing it to collapse. The Serbian and Montenegrin socialists (SPS and SNP) called for a special meeting of the Federal Parliament for today, to vote down the extradition decree. The president of Parliament cancelled the session giving some vague non-reason. The DOS leaders don't know what to do. Terrified of the anger of millions of people, afraid to let the Federal Parliament meet because the SPS, SNP and Radical Party can together constitute a majority and equally afraid that new elections would be a landslide defeat.

The police were put on the rebellious streets in force Thursday and Friday, and threats of mass arrests were made but the DOS leaders shrank back in the face of huge numbers of people spontaneously demonstrating. The regular police sympathized with the thousands in the streets. Only the special police, some of whom are drawn from organized crime, are "reliable."
In the face of these unorganized demonstrations all over Serbia and immense demonstrations in Belgrade Thursday (totally spontaneous) Friday (due to police roadblocks, people could only come from Belgrade itself yet the crowd was somewhere over 100,000 according to the SPS, the largest opposition party in Serbia. Meanwhile another rally which the SPS estimated at more than 20,000 took place in the city of Novi Sad) and Monday (SPS estimated around 200,000) DOS remains frozen, like a deer in the headlights. The forces of national independence have immense strength.

At Monday's rally, the largest yet, police refused to let organizers set up loud speakers, so the vast crowd marched to the Serbian Parliament.
A Note on the Size of the Belgrade Rallies
I attended and spoke at the March 24 rally in Belgrade's Republic Square. Over the years I have taken part in a dozen giant marches and rallies in the U.S., including the famous one where Dr. King made his "I Have a Dream" speech. The point is, I therefore have some idea about crowd size and also some idea of what it takes to fill Republik Square in Belgrade.

The SPS estimated the crowd at the March 24 rally in Belgrade to number about 50,000. That seemed right to me.
The German media said 5,000. In Britain I believe they said 2,000.
Now of course it is possible that the SPS, or I, might estimate high.
But what about the Western media? It routinely lies in the interest of attacking Milosevic and the Serbs.

Consider this example. I would wager you have read in some newspaper or heard on some TV or radio that in June 1989 Milosevich made a speech in Kosovo during which he whipped up Serbian ultra-nationalism.
The truth is, he did make a speech on June 28, but that speech called for ethnic unity.

The Western media, anxious to give their readers and viewers the impression that most Yugoslavs are unconcerned by the extradition of Milosevic, have a reason to drastically downplay the numbers involved in these protests. Though the media could easily film panoramic views of the demonstrations they don't because such views would make it impossible to hide the huge numbers of people involved.
The pictures below show a limited part of the June 29th rally. It is clear the demonstration was immense.
Anyway, if the SPS is making all this up, if vast number of people are not in the streets, protesting the extradition, why has the DOS coalition fallen apart? Why are Djindjic and Kostunica at each other's throats? Why are we being treated to the spectacle of these two gentlemen calling each other liars?
--Jared Israel

International Call from the PCN-NCP (June 28, 2001) :
WE MUST HELP THE PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC AND ALL SERBIAN IMPRISONED BY THE SO-CALLED "INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL" !

Since creation, the alleged " International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia "(ICTY) is a war machine leaded against the Serbian People and its defenders, in Yugoslavia and in Republika Srpska
(Bosnia).

Directly financed by NATO, the ICTY and his slavish magistrates abiding by the orders of Washington, is a shame to all the magistracy and the international judicial world.

The proceedings they use - secret charging, anonymous accounts without any proofs, kidnapping of the accused regardless of the international law, automatic presumption of guiltiness of the accused, investigations in accusation and not in defence, and so on. - remind us of the sinister inquisition and would deserve a non-admissibility of the charging in any independent court of law , starting with those in the US.

The detention conditions in the ICTY jails are also outrageous. Especially the medical help brought to the prisoners , the behaviour of the medical staff of the ITCY prison is also a shame to all the medical world.
These are instances that are enough as proofs: Death of general DJUKIC, just after his liberation from the prison in the Hague (insufficiency of medical care). Sudden death in prison of Dr KOVACEVIC (who did not receive in time the necessary emergency medical help). Alleged suicide of Slavko DOKMANOVIC in his cell. Army general of the Republika Srpska Radislav KRSTIC, war disabled person, deprived of medical care that is requiring his serious health (he has been denied of a leg amputation in a independent hospital, and in fact the lack of suitable care in prison is
responsible for this). The administration in overdose of mind-destroying medicines is also common in the prison of the ICTY.

The moral loneliness of the Serbian prisoners, victims of an incessant manhunt, is terrible. Adding to a detention duration abnormally long and
contrary to the disposals of the European Convention of Human Rights.

We must help them : they are not allowed to receive perishable foodstuff, but you can send them books, clothes and others useful stuff. And above all write them in order to support them.

THE MAIL ADDRESS :
UN Detention Unit - P.O. Box 87810 - 2508 DE The Hague - Netherlands.

HERE IS THE LIST OF THE SERBIAN PRISONERS IN THE
JAILS OF THE ICTY. HELP THEM IS A DUTY ! :
Radoslav BRDJANIN - Damir DOSE - Stanislav GALIC - Goran JELISIC - Dragan KOLUNDZIJA - Milojica KOS - Radomir KOVAC - Momcilo KRAJISNIK - Milorad KRNOJELAC - Radislav KRSTIC - Dragoljub KUNARAC - Miroslav KVOCKA - Slobodan MILOSEVIC - Dragan NIKOLIC - Dragan OBRENOVIC - Biljana PLAVSIC - Dragoljub PRCAC - Mladen RADIC - Dusan SIKIRICA - Milan SIMIC - Nomir TALIC - Stevan TODOROVIC - Mitar VASILJEVIC - Zoran VUCKOVIC - Zoran ZIGIC.

100.000 PARTICIPANTS OF THE POPULAR RALLY
on June 26, 2001 in Belgrade

Today, at 6 p.m. another popular rally organized by the Socialist Party of Serbia is expected in Belgrade. Failure of the authorities to fulfill demands of the protesters and threatening statements and moves of Djindjic's NATO/Mafia junta will certainly cause today's rally to be even more massive. Wave of protests will cover whole Serbia. Protests will continue until all demands will be fulfilled.

1. Immediate release of Slobodan Milosevic to stand free before charges;

2. No citizen should be delivered to no one outside our country;

3. The decree the Federal Government on extradition of our citizens to
the Hague Tribunal to be declared as unconstitutional and unlawful;

4. Federal and Serbian governments to resign;

5. Urgent call for extraordinary elections on all levels;

6. Personal responsibility for the unconstitutional and unlawful Federal
government decree to be determined;

7. Free media and stop of the satanization of political opponents;

The participants of the popular rally expect from President Kostunica and Serbian Prime-minister Djindjic to answer in public what they are going to do referring to the realization of these demands.

Twenty members delegation of SPS leadership handed personally the above list to President Kostunica today at 11 a.m. in Belgrade. Same delegation expects the urgent reception by Prime-Minister Djindjic.

After the meeting with Kostunica, SPS delegation has been met by around thousand citizens and many journalists in front of the Federation Palace.

In the meeting, President Kostunica have expressed the position that Decree on extradition shall not be implemented before the Federal Constitutional Court decides on its (un)constitutionality. Since yesterday, the Federal Constitutional Court is in session on the basis of appeals from SPS, 50 professors of law from Belgrade University, president Milosevic's lawyers, several NGOs and many individuals.

Talks between President Kostunica and SPS delegation are expected to be continued. Kostunica promised that he will take into consideration also some other possible steps and activities on the basis of his presidential power, position in the leadership of DOS who provoked the current events in Serbia, in respond to growing wariness of people.

Belgrade, June 27, 2001

THE DEMANDS OF PARTICIPANTS OF THE PUBLIC RALLY
Socialist Party of Serbia, June 17, 2001. Belgrade

Over 50.000 citizens from whole Serbia, participants of public rally which took place in Belgrade on June 16, 2001 under the slogan "Against the Hague Tribunal, for liberty of Serbia, for Kosmet in Serbia, for freedom of Slobodan Milosevic"

DEMANDS:

1. That no one has the right to deliver any citizen of Serbia and Yugoslavia to anyone outside our country, because it is forbidden by the Constitutions of Serbia and Yugoslavia.
The proposed law for cooperation with the Hague Tribunal on extradition should be withdrawn from parliamentary procedure.

2. That without delay Slobodan Miloshevich, earlier President of the Republic of Serbia, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the president of SPS, the largest opposition party, should be released from detention. After all the witnesses were heard there is no legal justification for his detention.

3. That all political violence and other hostile political processes against people with differing political ideas must be immediately stopped.

4. That DOS regime must be stopped from making laws that reduce the citizens of Serbia to poverty.

5. That from the member countries of NATO should be demanded compensation for war damages of over 100 billions US $ and to unblock our assets frozen in their banks, instead of spreading fraud to the people about false promises from "donors conferences".

6. That the Yugoslav government directs a demand to the UN Security Council to retread the Hackerup's Constitutional Framework for Kosovo and Metohia and to secure the maintenance of public peace and order for safe return of all refugees back to Kosovo and Metohia. That Kosmet must be left by hundreds of thousand of foreigners who are illegally staying there. Without that there can be no compromise about the census and the elections.

7. That real truth about the fate of 1300 missing persons of Serbian origin from Kosovo and Metohia should be revealed and published.

ICDSM FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Belgrade, June 17, 2001

The ICDSM Working Committee has considered and accepted the preliminary report presented by Christopher Black, after his week long mission in Belgrade.

Mr. Black is a Canadian lawyer with a great deal of experience with
and knowledge of the so-called International War Crimes Tribunals. He has
written several papers on their structure, financing and role in the New
World Order.

Mr. Black is one of the group of lawyers, led by Professor Michael Mandel, who
in May, 1999 brought war crimes charges against NATO leaders and officials
for their responsibility for the criminal aggression against Yugoslavia.

During the week of June 11, Attorney Black was in Belgrade on behalf of the
International Committee to Defend Slobodan Miloshevich. His goal: to
determine the facts concerning the arrest and detention of Mr. Miloshevich
and to report his conclusions to the ICDSM and to the public.

The following findings are based on Mr. Black's report, as well as on other
well-known facts:

After meeting with Mr. Toma Fila, counsel for Mr. Milosevich, with officials
of the Ministry of Justice, with the Deputy Presiding Judge of the Belgrade
District Court and with the Investigative Judge and others involved in Mr.
Miloshevich's case, it is clear that there is not a shred of evidence that Mr.
Miloshevich committed any crime. The inability of the present regime to
produce any evidence against Mr. Miloshevich after all this time can
lead to only one conclusion: that his arrest and detention are for political
reasons.

Several other factors support this conclusion:

a) His position as leader of the Socialist Party;

b) The attempted abduction and threat to his life by forces unknown on the
first night of the arrest drama;

c) The massive police presence before he voluntarily surrendered, meant to
portray Miloshevich as dangerous and an escape risk, at the same time
terrorizing his supporters and family;

d) The timing of the arrest attempt - at night - under cover of darkness to
heighten the elements of surprise and intimidation;

e) The hurried attempt to arrest Miloshevich in time to meet a deadline set
by Washington, which is criminally responsible for the war of aggression
against Yugoslavia;

f) The accompanying arrests of 250 other members of the SPS and YUL on
similarly vague charges of "misuse of power" - the signature of political
arrests.

It is also clear that his arrest has two main political objectives:

a) to discredit, demoralize and destroy the SPS, YUL and other progressive
and patriotic forces in Yugoslavia who still believe in national sovereignty
and honor;

b) to help the NATO criminals justify their aggression against the people of
Yugoslavia, which, if successful will have devastating consequences for the
people of this beautiful country, the Balkans and the whole world.

The DOS regime calls itself "democratic". But real democracy can not exist
without the rule of law and without economic and social justice.

Their attempt to change the law after the fact to allow extradition in order
to hand Mr. Miloshevich over to the Hague tribunal is a violation of the
universally accepted legal principle that criminal laws cannot be enacted
retroactively.

The DOS leaders have tried to justify their proposed extradition law on two
grounds.

First, they say that such a law is constitutional because while the Yugoslav
Federal Constitution forbids extradition of Yugoslav citizens to another
country, the Hague Tribunal is not another country. This is sophistry. When
the Yugoslav constitution was written there was no tribunal, so of course no
tribunal was mentioned. Clearly the intention was to prevent extradition of
citizens. Moreover, the Serbian Republican Constitution simply forbids
extradition, without regard to destination.

Second, they say that the Tribunal's authority is higher than that of the nation.
But from what power does this super-national sovereignty derive?

To create a UN judicial body with binding authority requires treaty ratification by individual nations. This was never done with the Hague War Crimes Tribunal. Thus it has no authority over Yugoslavia or any other state.

Instead, the Security Council simply set up the War Crime Tribunal on the
authority of the UN Charter, Article VII. But Article VII does not grant the
SC the right to create judicial bodies. In setting up the court, the Security
Council acted ultra vires. The Tribunal is an illegal body.

At an award ceremony, held at the American Supreme Court on April 5, 1999,
the President of the Hague Tribunal, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, acknowledged that the Tribunal was essentially created by Madeline Albright, the Soros Foundation and various agencies in and around the United States government. That same month, Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour held a joint press conference in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State
Madeline Albright. Thus Arbour, a key figure in a supposed war crimes
Tribunal, endorsed the conduct of a government waging criminal war
even as the bombs were falling.

The various Yugoslav and Serbian officials with whom Attorney Black Met all conceded that there was no evidence of any kind against Slobodan Miloshevich. They justified their actions on the grounds that they were doing what the U.S. government wanted.

The DOS leaders are not demanding that Yugoslavia's national sovereignty
be surrendered to the Hague Tribunal. They are demanding that Yugoslavia's
national sovereignty be surrendered to the United States.

On the basis of these findings, the ICDSM demands that the DOS regime obey
the rule of law and release Slobodan Miloshevich and all other political prisoners
immediately. No Yugoslav citizen or anybody else should be extradited to the Hague Tribunal.

Declaration of the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic (ICDSM)
DEFEND THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA FROM LIES AND TERROR!
Belgrade, June 17, 2001

THE ICDSM condemns the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) attack on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and applauds the brave efforts of the people to defend that embattled nation.
The KLA attack could not have taken place if it were not sponsored by NATO, led by Washington. We urge people everywhere: defend FYROM from the international smear campaign which has been launched by the Western mass media and so-called human rights groups.
NATO always claimed that ethnic conflict in the Balkans was the work of Mr. Miloshevich and the Yugoslav government. But Mr. Miloshevich has been illegally jailed for 10 weeks. And the Yugoslav government is now pro-NATO.
Yet NATO and the Western media have suddenly discovered that FYROM, once praised, is terribly abusive to Albanians, thus justifying what the media falsely calls a 'rebellion.'
The terrorist attack on FYROM demonstrates that no subservience to NATO protects a country from NATO's 'Greater Albanian' terrorism. FYROM's government did everything NATO asked. It let NATO station troops on its territory. It applied for membership in the European Union. It applied for membership in NATO's so-called Partnership for Peace. It let NATO use its territory to conduct raids against the friendly nation of Yugoslavia. Thus it was an accomplice in crimes of war.
But NATO does not wish to have compliant nations in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It wishes to have weak protectorates dominated by gangsters, racists and terrorists, under NATO dictat.
Let this be a lesson to people the everywhere. If a country surrenders 'just a little' of its national sovereignty to NATO, NATO will take it all. For NATO has no friends, only future victims.
This Declaration unanimously adopted by the following people, meeting as the ICDSM Working Committee, on June 17th, in Belgrade:
Professor Velko Valkanov, Member of Parliament, President, Bulgarian Antifascist Union, Founder and Co-Chairman, ICDSM
Professor Mihail N. Kuznecov, Russian Federation, Vice-Chairman, ICDSM
Sergei Dovgan', President, Peasants' Party, Deputy of Parliament, Ukraine, Vice-Chairman, ICDSM
Fulvio Grimaldi, Journalist and Film-Maker, Rome, Italy, Vice-Chairman, ICDSM
Aldo Bernardini, Professor of International Law, Italy
Christopher Black, ICDSM International Lawyers' Group, Canada

FEDERAL ASSEMBLY COMMISION SUPPORTED APPEAL FOR SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC MEDICAL TREATMENT OUT OF PRISON

Commission for applications and suggestions of the Federal Assembly supported the appeal of 20 medical doctors, members of Assembly who are demanding medical treatment out of prison for Slobodan Milosevic. This treatment is supposed to be held in highly specialized medical institution. According to Fonet, this appeal that was sent to authorities of Serbia and FRY, medical experts and public was supported by 4 members of commission, one was against it, and one was detached. Commission didn't support suggestion for previous opinion from prison and Military Medical Academy experts. Commission evaluated this appeal as "human and sustainable".

HALF MILLION SIGN UKRAINE PETITION
And they're still signing....

On May 5th the powerful Peasant Party, the 3rd or 4th biggest in Parliament, launched a major campaign called, "FREEDOM FOR SLOBODAN Miloshevich!". They set up 449 action committees to collect signatures demanding Miloshevich be released from jail. As of 16 May they have collected about one half MILLION signatures.
Here's what people signed [capital letters as per Ukrainian original]:
"To President Kostunica:
"Stating the will of hundreds of thousands of citizens of Ukraine, we address to you the demand that you release from the walls of his jail THE GREAT CITIZEN OF YUGOSLAVIA, THAT IS, OF THAT COUNTRY WHICH BY AN ACCIDENT OF HISTORY YOU LEAD. In demanding you take this action we count on your honorable relationship with the heroic past of your very much suffering but never broken people and with its best sons such as the steadfast leader of the Socialist Party, Slobodan Miloshevich."
This statement has been sent along with a letter to Yugoslav President Kostunica. We don't yet have the exact wording of the letter but in general it attacks the conditions under which President Miloshevich was arrested and explains in detail what has been done in Ukraine to organize to organize for Slobodan Miloshevich's release.
The Ukrainian activists are sending a similar letter to the United Nations, to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to the OSCE, and to the leaderships of Russia, Belarus and Greece and the Parliamentary opposition in all the NATO countries.

RUSSIANS DEMAND ACTION

The Russian statement was circulated among members of the Federal Council, upper house of the Russian Parliament. While the Council is not the primary legislative body it includes all provincial Governors as well as Mayors of the biggest cities. This group wields immense political and economic strength. Included are Mayor Luzhkov of Moscow, Mayor Yakovlyev of Petersburg and Governor Kondratyenko of the Krasnodarsk region.
The signers, including members of all parties including Pres. Putin's UNITY Party, called on Putin and the Russian Government to take immediate action to secure the release of Mr. Miloshevich.
Here is a translation of their statement, transcribed by phone hookup:
"We cannot understand how it is possible that those who used armed force to bomb the cities and villages of Yugoslavia, trampling all human values without any justification in International Law, are now trying to destroy one of the greatest Yugoslav and world politicians, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a true patriot of his country."
"The attack on Miloshevich is an attempt to avoid the punishment for the crimes they committed directly and for encouraging genocide against the Serbian population in Kosovo."
"We protest the policy of the United States and NATO countries in the Balkans and demand that the prosecution of Slobodan Miloshevich cease. We declare our support and solidarity for Slobodan Miloshevich in this most difficult struggle."
"We appeal to the President and government of the Russian Federation: Take action to defend the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a country which has always been Russia's most reliable friend!"
The Council members have also signed the petition being circulated by the newly formed Russian Committee to Defend Slobodan Miloshevich. We will have the Russian Committee's petition translated into English and other languages as soon as possible.