AND
NOW, FROM LONDON, YOUR MILOSEVIC MISINFO
FOR THE DAY
The
excerpt below is from the London
'Telegraph.' This newspaper has no
connection with the Belgrade 'Telegraph'
which published a transcript of an
alleged phone conversation between
Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic and
Yugoslav President Kostunica before they
illegally kidnapped President Milosevic.
The
London 'Telegraph' article is educational
for it demonstrates the extent to which
the media spreads pro-Washington
misinformation about the Serbian people
in general and Slobodan Milosevic in
particular.
The
'Telegraph' writers claim they have
spoken to Milosevic lawyers and ferreted
out details of Mr. Milosevic's legal
strategy. This is remarkable since
Milosevic's Legal Defence team has not
yet been assembled. That is, there is no
lawyer in the world from whom they could
have ferreted. These details of strategy
are purely fictional.
According
to the 'Telegraph,' Mr. Milosevic will
make the following argument: "Sure I
did bad things, but British leaders
helped me." According to the
'Telegraph,' in this way Milosevic will
show that "NATO is guilty" and,
adds the 'Telegraph,' NATO leaders are
very nervous.
Sure
they are.
I can tell you one thing with certainty.
The "Yes-I-am-bad-but-you
helped-me-do-it-so-you're-guilty-too"
argument will NOT be part of Mr.
Milosevic's legal strategy.
For years, outrageous actions by NATO
were preceded by a kind of mock-criticism
in the press. Media pundits would attack
the Serbs for some atrocity, invariably
fictitious. They would then castigate
this or that NATO government
(particularly the governments of the U.S.
and England) for failing to take
sufficiently strong action against the
'Serbian monsters.'
Since
people tend to identify with
anti-governmental critics, this approach
has the beauty of producing public
support for even harsher government
actions in the guise of attacking
uncaring officials.
When the
NATO governments proceeded to take harsh,
unfair and unjustified actions against
the Serbs, the ground had been prepared.
Instead of being furious at the blatant
imperialism of NATO intervention, a
section of the public thought, "Well
it's about time they did something about
those Serb fascists. Better late than
never."
Now the
'Telegraph' is suggesting that Mr.
Milosevic will use the same sort of
argument, though in retroactive form,
saying, "Who are they to preach
about war crimes? While I was committing
all those war crimes they sat on their
hands or even helped me." If Mr.
Milosevic were to adopt such an approach,
he would accomplish two things for NATO.
First he would agree that he (and of
course the Serbian people) was guilty as
charged. Second, he would justify NATO's
most aggressive actions. And third, such
a defence would be devastating to those
who want to use this 'trial' to attack
NATO and the Tribunal and clear the name
of the Serbs.
For the
record, I have contacted a representative
of the Socialist Party of Serbia.
Speaking for the Head Committee, he had
the following comment about the
'Telegraph's' claims:
"This, and you may quote me, is
*expletive meaning horse manure*."
(SPS spokesman, interviewed by phone, 1
July 2001)
When Mr. Milosevic was being 'processed'
at The Hague. He reportedly said:
"I am not afraid of the Hague
tribunal...that is no
court but a political circus aimed at
jeopardizing the Serb people....And let
me tell you one thing - you are not
arresting me, you are kidnapping me and
you will answer for your crimes. Drop the
buffoonery, let's hurry up." ('AP,'
30 June 2001)
I contacted Chris Black, Chairman of the
Lawyers section of the International
Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic.
(3) Mr. Black suggests that, based on
common sense, and knowing Mr. Milosevic's
political principles, one might expect
the following legal defence:
1) The
Hague is a tool illegally created by the
UN Security Council under orders of
Washington; it functions in violation of
all legal standards to demonize and
brutalize Serbian leaders and the Serbian
people.
2) NATO and its proxy forces are the ones
guilty of war crimes. Covering this up is
a key function of the Tribunal.
3) The media has systematically lied,
slandering the Serbian people, in
coordination with NATO and its solely
owned subsidiary, the Tribunal.
Such a defense would greatly increase the
effectiveness of all those trying to
challenge the U.S. Empire and its
violence and slanders against the Serbian
and other target peoples. Because of the
central importance of this 'trial,' our
ideas and information would have far more
power to reach ordinary people.
OK, OK, now swallow your daily dose,
courtesy of the 'Telegraph' from sunny
London. And remember this, boys and
girls: a dumb citizen is a good citizen.
So please - stay misinformed.
-- Jared Israel
"Milosevic:
I'll name British leaders who helped me
"By Julius Strauss and Philip
Sherwell in Belgrade and Joe Murphy in
London
"SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC is planning to
embarrass Britain and other Western
governments by revealing at his war
crimes trial at The Hague the secret
deals which he claims propped up his
regime during a decade of bloodshed in
the Balkans.
"Milosevic:
Lawyers will claim Western Governments
propped up his regime
"Lawyers for the deposed Serbian
president will name three former Foreign
Secretaries, Lord Hurd, Lord Carrington
and Lord Owen, in a strategy designed to
implicate British and American diplomatic
figures in the bloody break-up of
Yugoslavia. They will claim that he was
given a "green light" for many
of his most controversial actions,
including the use of force, by Western
governments. Branimir Gugl, one of
Milosevic's lawyers, told The Telegraph
yesterday: "Mr Milosevic feels that
Nato are the real criminals and that will
be part of his defence." Milosevic
will argue that the British peers, along
with Foreign Office diplomats, were
involved in negotiating peace deals that
were designed to maintain him in power
despite his record. Lord Hurd's later
role as a director of National
Westminster Bank in striking a lucrative
deal with Milosevic to refinance the
Serbian economy is likely to be
highlighted during the trial. Milosevic
is expected in court on Tuesday."
(London 'Telegraph,' 1 July 2001)
CANA
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
William Spring has sent by fax a letter
to Geoff Hoon MP, Secretary of State for
Defence, a copy of which is pasted below.
He requests Geoff Hoon to provide him
with names of those involved in the
decision making process to transport
Slobodan Milosevic to The Netherlands,
& says those involved have engaged in
an illegal act under UK law, the crime of
kidnapping.
"I am framing an indictment. I hope
for legal aid so the indictment can be
settled by counsel, but because of the
urgency will frame my own indictment if
legal aid is not forthcoming soon.
"The Magistrate is required to sign
the indictment, but will not hear the
case. It should then be remitted to the
Crown Court.
"The government will probably plead
The Royal Prerogative as a defence, but
at least I hope to get them into Court
this time.
Last time, May 99, when I sought to
summon Tony Blair, Lloyd Axworthy,
Albright, Holbrooke & co to Highgate
Magistrates Court alleging conspiracy to
cause explosions & murder people in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
contravention of an 1861 Act the
Magistrate refused to issue the summons,
in violation of the law."
I have sent a copy of my letter to Geoff
Hoon to the Hague War Crimes Tribunal by
e mail & request that it be
transmitted to Mr Milosevic immediately.
A copy of my letter to The Hague Tribunal
is also pasted below.
To the Chief
Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte
International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia
From William Spring
29th June 2001
Dear Mme Ponte,
I am writing to you
regarding Mr Milosevic, who was abducted
illegally yesterday from the territory of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
I paste below a
letter which I have already sent to Geoff
Hoon, Secretary of State for Defence,
asking that he provide information in
connection with a private prosecution I
intend to bring alleging complicity by
him & others in the
political/military chain of command in
the heinous crime of
kidnapping.
If the Court were in
UK & not in the Netherlands, where
another system of law applies, with which
I am unfamiliar you would be required by
now to respond to a writ of habeas
corpus.
It is totally
disgraceful that you as a prosecutor are
willing to receive someone into your
detention facilities who you know has
been unlawfully abducted from another
sovereign country.
It lessens the
respect we might otherwise have for your
Tribunal, but actually I don't have any
anyway, not since your staff wrote to me
at the time I requested an investigation
to commence into NATO atrocities, &
said they weren't interested, & the
conclusion I inevitably drew from such
comments was that you are a partisan
Court, only set up to produce employment
for lawyers, but not remotely interested
in issues of public morality.
As I have discovered
more about the irregularities &
sleaze which surround the day to day
operations of your Court so I am
increasingly disgusted that The Secretary
General & the Security Council allows
your Court to continue to function as a
UN agency.
At this point I do
not want to get into an argument about
its character, other than to say I ask
you & require you as an international
public servant to communicate this
letter, + my good wishes, to Mr
Milosevic, as soon as possible, & can
you please confirm to me that you have
done so.
I would point out
that the conditions you impose in
limiting Mr Milosevic's telephone calls
only to seven minutes per hour strike me
as very restrictive, when one considers
the enormous work that has to be done by
his defence team, & their restricted
facilities, compared with the profligate
misuse of Mr Soros's money, in terms of
the resources you have available as a
prosecutor.
You represent a NATO
Court set up to forward US foreign
policy.
At the same time, as
I know I cannot appeal to your
conscience, as you don't appear to have
one, (as otherwise you would have done
your job & investigated the Nato
atrocities, & additionally tried to
stop the genocide which has gone in
Kosovo since NATO entered the province,
of the indigenous
Serbian & Roma people) it will not
enhance the Tribunal in the eyes of the
international public if you treat Mr
Milosevic in a manner inconsistent with
the European Convention of Human Rights,
to which Convention I presume you are
bound, as you are located in a European
country.
I therefore request
you to desist from torturing Mr
Milosevic, nor to hold him for long
periods in solitary confinement, allow
him full freedom to receive visitors at
any time of his choosing & further
that The United Nations fund his legal
team.
I, and most people in
UK, are convinced that Mr Milosevic
cannot under any circumstances receive a
fair trial at your Court, & your
press conference earlier tonight, in
which your hatred & personal
animosity towards the prisoner, & all
Serbs was barely concealed, will not
enhance either your
moral stature, or the integrity of your
Court's proceedings.
Yours sincerely,
William Spring
To the Secretary
of State for Defence Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP
Ministry of Defence London
From William Spring
http://canauk.human-rights.org/
Date: June 29th 2001 one page by fax:
also by post
Dear Geoff Hoon, I am
concerned about the illegality of the
action by which Mr Milosevic was
transported by RAF plane from the
territory of the Former Yugoslavia, when
you were well aware he didn't go
willingly, and that the flight out of
Belgrade was illegal, according to the
country's President.
As the flight from Belgrade to the Hague
must be regarded as a single operation,
notwithstanding the fact that different
aircraft were used,
& as you were also aware
that the Government of Yugoslavia had
been unsuccessful in terms of obtaining
Parliamentary approval for a change in
the Constitution to allow the extradition
of Yugoslav citizens,
& as you also knew
that the Constitutional Court had placed
a stay on the consideration of the decree
for two weeks,
THEN you must have also known
that the removal of Slobodan Milosevic
from the sovereign territory of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an
illegal act, & as such cannot be
justified by reference to the supposedly
noble end you felt was being served.
As a British citizen I am disgusted by
RAF involvement in such a squalid
operation, by which you sought to
undermine the authority of the Federal
President, arraigning Mr Milosevic at an
illegally funded George Soros Time Warner
Mickey Mouse so called Court in The
Hague, staffed by otherwise unemployable
apartheid era judges from South Africa,
& presided over by a Prosecutor who
everyone knows is being blackmailed in
Switzerland.
Taking into account too
the disgusting selective nature of the so
called justice dispensed at the Hague,
& the Prosecutor's refusal to
consider the investigation of numerous
complaints she has received as to the
various unlawful & barbaric war
crimes committed by you & your
colleagues, against a virtually
defenceless civilian population in March
99,
in a NATO-EU war long in gestation, and
deliberately prepared & executed as
an aggressive war, the supreme war crime,
I would like you to inform me forthwith
of the names of all those involved in the
command structure/decision making
process, by which these unlawful travel
arrangements were authorised, so that an
indictment can be framed for signature to
be heard at the Crown Court in respect to
the offence of kidnapping, which is a
heinous crime, of which I verily believe
you to be guilty.
It is a pity that you and your Prime
Minister in your zeal to always do what
the Americans tell you, even if it means
wiping their bottoms, have turned the RAF
into the equivalent of a flotilla of
Barbary Pirates, one night bombing
tribesmen in the Iraqi desert, another
night sending missiles against a soft
civilian target, & now yanking Mr
Milosevic out of his homeland, trampling
over all considerations of legality in
your irrational guilt stricken quest to
legitimise through this show trial the
original NATO aggression!!!
I want to inform you that large numbers
of people in Britain, despite the torrent
of abuse coming from the state controlled
media here, admire Mr Milosevic.
At least he stood up for his people, a
concept somewhat puzzling to New Labour.
I do not need now to know the names of
air crew involved, as I do not believe
they were necessarily aware of the
unlawful character of the acts you were
requiring them to perform.
But I do need the names of the RAF
Minister & the chief RAF operational
officer. Also of any Americans involved,
so they can be enjoined into the action.
I will be asking for legal aid so counsel
can settle the indictment.
Yours sincerely/ William Spring
http://canauk.human-rights.org/
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR OF NEW YORK TIMES BY
PROFFESOR RAYMOND K. KENT OF UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
In reference to
"Milosevic and the Beginning of
Honesty," I applaud the part of
Peter Maass' Op-Ed essay where he
recommends that Serb judges be included
and that Serb journalists be helped to
report on the Hague tribunal's
proceedings in order to make the verdict
convincing to the Serbs. I do so because
Carla del Ponte has already condemned
Milosevic in public for life in prison
without a trial, with additional charges
beyond Kosovo. Under such a circumstance
she needs to recuse herself from
prosecuting the man she has already
sentenced and a new prosecutor is in
order. It is not only that Milosevic is
on trial but, also, the Tribunal itself.
It has so far been unable to provide
absolute public evidence of a single fair
and impartial trial. An open trial, with
full defense rights and with a new
prosecutor would provide the needed
environment for a verdict that all can
accept. Otherwise the Rule of Law which
the International Community has sought to
promote in the Balkans, will have no
future. This is already evident in the
way that Milosevic was delivered to the
Hague in an RAF plane in clear violation
of the Rule of Law in Belgrade itself.
Where I disagree with
Mr. Maass is on the subject of the need
to "cure" the Serbs of their
"victim mythology." His text
allows for no Serb victims and that is
the problem when the Victor imposes his
version of History. Between August 1991
and February 1992, some 40,000 Serbs were
ethnically cleansed out of Western
Slavonia. Their Churches were
systematically destroyed, their
properties were looted and taken over and
many of their elderly were simply
executed. It was the ethnic cleansing
that started it all. No Serb victims?
Four years later, in August 1995, some
250,000 Serbs were ethnically cleansed
from Krajina, with more properties looted
and torched and more of the dead elderly
who could not flee. No Serb victims?
Between 28 March and 6 June 1999, after
eleven weeks of relentless bombing by
NATO (Mainly U.S. and Britain), some
3,000 Serbs were dead and about three
times that number were wounded No Serb
victims? The infrastructure of Serbia was
"taken out." This did not
victimize the Serbs? Since the NATO/UN
advent in Kosovo, over 250,000 Serbs have
been ethnically cleansed by the so-called
"Kosovo Liberation Army." More
than a thousand Serbs have been kidnapped
and murdered piecemeal. It is still going
on. Clearly , the "Beginning of
Honesty" must start here at home.
Otherwise, we only dishonor ourselves
while lecturing others.
Raymond K. Kent, Emeritus
History Department, U. of California,
Berkeley, CA. 94720 (Tel 510/642-1971)
WE DID IT. NOW ITS YOUR TURN
These are the
pathetic words of Miroljub Labus,
Yugoslavia's Deputy Prime Minister as he
shamelessly begs for his 'thirty pieces
of silver'
What 'they' did will
for ever besmirch the reputation of the
Serb people. Behind the back of Yugoslav
President Kostunica, the one politician
whose integrity has provided credibility
for the 'gang' headed up by Djindjic, and
in collaboration with foreign states (The
R.A.F was involved), Yugoslavia's former
president was whisked away
surreptitiously for a show trial at the
American financed 'kangaroo' court in the
Hague. In so doing these clandestine
plotters, the NATO acclaimed harbingers
of 'reform' and 'democracy', ignored
parliamentary rule, their own laws, and
their own courts. America had to be
appeased and America needed the 'show
trial' to cover up America's clandestine
involvement in sparking the civic
upheaval in Kosovo and their
geo-political goals to enable them to
establish a military base in Kosovo to
facilitate the building and future
protection of the Trans-Balkan oil pipe
line.
Let's all make sure
these disgusting politicians are
rewarded. Let's all send thirty pieces of
silver (in Canada and the U.S.A. thin
dimes will do) to Messrs Djindjic, Lubus,
Jus and any others who come to mind. You
might want to enclose a note saying. '
Here is your reward to fulfill the deal
whose archetype is recorded in Matthew
26; 14-16'.
William J. Hutton
Milosevic's Arrest, Extradition
Condemned
Several
representatives of the political parties
and NGOs met in New Delhi in an emergency
meeting convened by the National Panthers
Party President, Prof. Bhim Singh to
review the situation created following
the illegal detention and extradition of
Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, former President
of Yugoslavia. The representatives of
National Panthers Party, International
Jurists Council, Non-Aligned Congress of
Youth, Global Women Lib, Indo-African
Solidarity Committee, State Legal Aid
Committee and several other groups of the
Lawyers discussed the dangers caused to
the security of the sovereign states due
to the draconian command of the New World
Order unleashed by the unipolar command
of the USA.
1. 103
representatives of several political
groups and NGOs in a resolution condemned
the arrest of the Serbian Hero and the
Former President of Yugoslavia and
described his deportation to Hague on the
dictates of the Anglo-American Order.
2. The
resolution condemned deportation of
President Milosevic who is also President
of Socialist Party of Serbia as most
illegal, unconstitutional, improper and
in violation of the Constitution of
Yugoslavia and fraud on the Charter of
the United Nations. The resolution said
that the decree under which President
Milosevic was handed over to the hungry
wolves running the so-called Criminal
Tribunal in Hague was totally
unconstitutional and discriminatory on
several accounts;
a) The
decree was illegal as it had no mandate
of the Parliament of Yugoslavia. The
decree was issued by the so-called
cabinet committee, which was not headed
by President of Yugoslavia. President
Kostunica did not preside that cabinet
meeting which issued the decree to hand
over President Milosevic to the Criminal
Tribunal in Hague,
b) The
decree was also illegal because it
convened Articles 23, 24, 25, 26,27 and
28 which assured freedoms to a citizen of
Yugoslavia and equality before law. No
person can be deprived of his freedoms
without the application of due process of
law. President Milosevic has been denied
the right to make a representation even
against his arrest and deportation to a
foreign country,
c)
Deportation of President Milosevic is
also in violation of national and
international law as the constitutional
court of Yugoslavia had suspended the
decree passed by the Cabinet Committee
authorising the government to deport
President Milosevic,
d) The
decree passed to deport the foremost
Serbian leader and former President of
Yugoslavia is betrayal of the commitment
and the promise made by President
Kostunica to ensure and protect the
freedom of the individuals and democratic
norms and the values in Yugoslavia. This
act of President Kostunica has
established that the present Kostunica
government is working under the dictates
of the US masters and some other enemies
of Serbian nation,
e)
President Milosevic is being tortured and
terrorised because he with the support
and the help of the Serbian people
resisted the inhuman and brutal
aggression of NATO forces led by US
against Yugoslavia,
f) The
NATO allies led by US have committed
another aggression against the popular
leadership of the Balkans. Mr. Milosevic
is being crucified by the USA for daring
to remain in the NAM countries by defying
the brutal command of NATO alliance,
g)
Because President Milosevic openly,
sincerely and courageously opposed the
unipolar command of the USA and advocated
for the cooperation of the third world
countries in the interest of
international justice and peace,
h)
Because President Milosevic refused to
barter the Yugoslavian sovereignty with
the USA and refused to compromise on the
national security.
3. The
resolution has called on President
Kostunica to withdraw the decree and
accept the command of the rule of law.
Resolution condemned the DOS rulers for
selling the pride, glory and dignity of
the Serbian nation just for one billion
dollars.
4. The
resolution urged on Mr. Kofi Annan, the
Secretary General of the United Nations
to intervene immediately in the interest
of the prestige and credibility of the
United Nations itself by disbanding the
so-called Criminal Tribunal in Hague
which has no locus or jurisdiction to try
President Milosevic for administrative or
political action by legitimate government
in Kosovo as Kosovo as an integral part
of Serbia, a constituent of the Republic
of Yugoslavia. Article 2(7) of the UN
Charter does not allowed United Nations
or any of its agency to interfere with
the domestic affairs of any Member State.
Kosovo is and shall be and internal and
domestic affairs of Yugoslavia. The
United Nations has no authority or
jurisdiction whatsoever to try a Head of
the State for his administrative acts.
This act on the part of Kostunica
government is the dangerous move to
surrender the Yugoslavian sovereignty
before the US (not UN) Criminal Tribunal
in Hague.
5. The
resolution warned Mr. Kostunica of
serious consequences in case he failed to
withdraw the decree and ensure safe
return of President Milosevic.
6. Prof. Bhim Singh who preside over the
emergency meeting said that the US hawks
are demanding 15 more Serbian leaders
including Mr. Milan Milutinovic, elected
President of Serbia, Nikola Sainovic, the
former Federal Vice President of
Yugoslavia, General Milutin Oydaivic, who
commanded the Yugoslavian army during the
NATO aggression against Yugoslavia and
former Home Minister of Serbia, Mr.
Stojiljkovic who is a sitting Member of
Parliament. Prof. Bhim Singh accused US
for trying to demolish the Serbian
leadership and their pride by bulldozing
those who dared oppose and resist the
NATO aggression. This is an attempt to
destabilise the Balkans.
7. Prof.
Bhim Singh while addressing the
politicians, parliamentarians,
intellectuals and jurists reminded Mr.
Kostunica of his promise to restore
democratic values in Yugoslavia. He
(Kostunica) had declared on June 26, 2001
that under the terms of the decree,
extradition "cannot be carried out
in 48 hours". He had himself
stressed "that kind of cooperation
between our judiciary and The Hague would
be better". Mr. Kostunica had
repeatedly assured the nation that
President Milosevic shall never be handed
over to the so-called UN Criminal
Tribunal. Prof. Bhim Singh said that this
is the greatest tragedy of the century
that Mr.Kostunica who appeared to be a
gentleman has surrendered his authority
and consensus to that, "The pressure
of Washington at the international level
and the majority stance of DOS leaders on
the domestic level".
8. In a
special communication to the NAM
countries and its prominent Members, the
National Panthers Party has demanded an
urgent meeting of the NAM countries to
discuss this situation and adopt such
measures as are necessary within the
meaning and scope of the UN Charter and
the Constitution to save the life of
President Slobodan Milosevic and
democracy in Yugoslavia which has been
mortgaged to the dictates of Washington.
9. Prof.
Bhim Singh declared that his party shall
move a petition before the International
Court of Justice at Hague against the
illegal and unconstitutional trial of
President Milosevic by the so-called UN
Criminal Tribunal. Prof. Bhim Singh who
is a specialist on the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) has decided to
challenge the very authority of the UN
War Tribunal which has been constituted
by the US and her allies in contravention
of the UN Charter.
10 The resolution expressed full
solidarity with and support to the
Socialist Party of Serbia in their noble
and just struggle to restore rule of law
and democracy in Yugoslavia and ensure
safe and immediate return of President
Milosevic.
Prof. Bhim Singh
President JKNPP
New Delhi,
25th June, 2001
CANA STATEMENT: Immediate Release
RAF
AIR CREW MINISTERS & COMMANDERS TO BE
INDICTED IN UK COURTS FOR KIDNAPPING
I have just heard on BBC television that
the former head of state of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan
Milosevic, has been transported to
Holland by an RAF plane.
If this proves to be true, later today I
will be visiting the British Ministry of
Defence to ask for the names of the
pilots & air crew of the aircraft
involved, so that their names can be
included in an indictment I plan to lodge
at the Crown Court on the charge of
kidnapping.
If the MOD refuse to give me these names,
I will instead proceed against the
appropriate Minister, senior civil
servants & RAF commanders, whose
names are known, & who gave the
orders & acted as accomplices in the
illegal abduction of a foreign national.
I hope others might consider other moves,
such as applying for a writ of Habeas
Corpus, but such a writ would have to be
directed I presume against the Dutch
authorities.
What Britain has done & Mr Tony Blair
has endorsed is a loathsome act of
international brigandage.
It makes the RAF no better than the
Barbary pirates.
I denounce the George Soros/ Warner Bros/
Mickey Mouse illegally financed
institution @ the Hague masquerading as a
UN Court, whose operations are entirely
selective, & which refused to
investigate my earlier allegations of war
crimes perpetrated by the NATO leaders,
including the British PM, in the March
1999 illegal war by the NATO powers on
the FRY.
It is the duty of the Federal President
of Yugoslavia & the security forces
of Yugoslavia to arrest those members of
the Serbian so called Government for
breaching the law & Constitution of
the state, consorting with enemy powers,
& illegally depriving Slobodan
Milosevic of his liberty.
I believe the peoples of Europe, who have
had ample experience of fighting fascism
in the past, have now to rise up against
the neo- fascist globalist rulers of the
new corporate Europe, & take all
necessary steps to restore the rule of
law & democracy to this Continent, a
rule of law which has been subverted by
EU-NATO's operations, both in the Former
Yugoslavia, & against the present
FRY, & now the state of Macedonia,
which NATO is also seeking to dismember,
using Albanian surrogates.
What is most disturbing is the wholesale
media censorship & the use of
propaganda to form public opinion in
Yugoslavia & the rest of Europe, as
wielded by irresponsible untruthful &
corrupt organisations, such as the BBC
& CNN.
I would very much wish to be in Belgrade
for the rally planned later today but
hope this press release can be read out
by one of my Yugoslav friends &
comrades, & the Yugoslav people
should be assured that the English
people, & Londoners are with Serbia
100% in the battle against the worthless
& immoral Djindjic criminal clique,
& the NATO occupation forces in
Kosovo & Bosnia, which forces must be
removed, and the US base at Camp
Bondsteel permanently dismantled.
Yesterday Yugoslavia was raped by evil
forces, every bit as evil as those of
Adolph Hitler
Yet Serbia has fallen before, on the
field of Kosovo, on the 28th June, in a
former era, & then its worthy
soldiers sought a heavenly kingdom,
preferring death to dishonour &
shame, & so the peoples of Europe,
from the left & right, must form
together a new popular front against
fascism, globalism, EU & NATO German
militarism + American imperialism, which
evil forces are strangling
democracy/socialism & the free life
of national states on this continent.
cana.london@ic24.net
LETTER OF CHRISTOPHER
BLACK TO EDITOR OF TORONTO SUN
The Editor,
Toronto Star
Your piece on Milosevic entitled "No
place To Hide" constitutes nothing
less than criminal journalism. A series
of lies from beginning to end, it
attempts to control public opinion about
the truth of events in Yugoslavia in
order to justify the criminal aggression
by Canada and the other NATO countries on
the last progressive country in eastern
Europe and cover the war crimes of
Chretien and Arbour and the rest of
gangsters who pretend to control the New
World Order.
Mr. Milosevic was never "undisputed
master" of Yugoslavia. He was duly
elected in popular elections unlike
President Bush in the United States who
was installed against the popular will.
He was never a notorious nationalist as
you claim and never seduced his people
with dreams of a greater Serbia. In every
speech and in his actions he did what he
could to preserve a multiethnic state
against the Machiavellian scheming of the
United States and Germany which promoted
the Albanian's bloody thirst for a
Greater Albania, a blood soaked ambition
fuelled and directed by the United States
and its axis and which is today
destroying Macedonia and threatens
Greece.
It was not Milosevic who delivered ethnic
hatred. It was NATO and its tightly
controlled media that sowed that hatred
with every press release and every
article.
It was not Milosevic who brought war and
disintegration, sanctions and ruin. It
was the United States and Germany,
Britain and Canada and the rest of the
NATO gangsters who decided to destroy the
last progressive government in the east
for the benefit of their economic elites.
It was not Milosevic who dropped bombs.
It was the cowards in the armed forces of
all the Nato countries who failed in
their duty to defy illegal and immoral
orders and instead dropped cluster bombs
on innocent women and children. It was
not Milosevic who destroyed international
law. It was Chretien and the rest of
Nato. It was not Milosevic who has
contempt for the rule of law and
democracy. It is every leader of every
government in Nato who never consulted
their own people before attacking a small
innocent country, and who broke their own
domestic laws in that attack.
Where were you when Chretien broke the
law in the National Defence Act which
forbids the use of the Canadian Armed
Forces to attack another country unless
attacked first or under UN mandate. Where
were you Chretien lied to the Canadian
people about the reality in the Balkans.
Where were you when Chretien and the rest
broke the UN Charter and threw it in the
mud. Where were you when they destroyed
every principle established at Nuremberg,
the Geneva Conventions and dozens of
other international protocols.
You talk about the "reformist"
government" in Belgrade when in
truth it is a fascist regime which has
shut down the opposition press, arrested
hundreds of people on political charges
and fired over 40,000 people in a
population of only 11 million from jobs
in factories, government, schools,
hospitals, unions who had any progressive
or patriotic beliefs.
You praise Louise Arbour whose crass
political indictment of Milosevic on May
27, 1999 occurred under US instruction at
a point at which the Nato alliance was
fracturing and domestic support for the
bombing was waning. Her action justified
the continued violation of international
law and criminal aggression against a
sovereign state whose only crime was to
resist the diktats of Madeleine Albright.
You praise a woman who refused to
investigate Chretien and other Nato
leaders for war crimes as lawyers and
jurists around the world insisted,
including the group of Canadian lawyers
of whom I was one lead by Professor
Michael Mandel. Far from shattering
Milosevic's credibility, the indictment
against him by Arbour shattered
completely the credibility of the Hague
Tribunal viewed around the world by
esteemed jurists as a kangaroo court
partly funded by people like George
Soros, who also just happened to fund the
KLA at the same time.
Milosevic is not a broken man. I visited
with President Milosevic in the Belgrade
Central Prison on June 15 as a
representative of the International
Committee To Defend Slobodan Milosevic.
The Committee is composed of jurists,
writers, scientists, politicians,
professors and other esteemed citizens
from over 20 countries who are convinced
that the charges against Milosevic are
false and a slander against the people of
Yugoslavia and an insult to the
intelligence of the people in the Nato
countries. It includes members such as
the great British playwright Harold
Pinter, and the former Attorney general
of the Untied States, Ramsey Clark.
Mr. Milosevic is in good spirits. He is
not suicidal. That is a lie put out to
explain in advance his possible murder at
the hands of the Nato Quislings presently
in power in Belgrade because they know
very well that any trial before the Hague
tribunal will be an embarrassment for
Nato because there is no evidence of
crimes that never took place except in
the pages of the western press ever
anxious to please the economic powers
that own them and who are linked with the
governments that want to eliminate those,
like Milosevic who have the courage to
defy them.
Milosevic told me one thing he wanted the
world to know. He has a clear conscience.
He stated to me, "The only reasons I
am in this prison are because I am a
socialist and because I stood up to Nato.
I am a political prisoner." The
corruption charges against him are false.
The Investigative Judge told me that
there is no evidence of any criminal
wrongdoing by Mr. Milosevic at all and
that he is detained because of strong
political pressure until he can be handed
over to Carla Del Ponte. A Ministry of
Justice official told me that there is no
evidence against him but that I must
understand that "there are many
members of the new regime who would like
to see all the socialists hanged from
lampposts."
The Toronto Star which prides itself on
its liberalism and support of democracy
is so blinded by its subservience to its
masters that it openly supports the
decree by Kostunica stating that
Milosevic can be extradited despite the
fact that the Yugoslavian parliament
opposed the extradition law that
Kostunica tried to pass. Apparently, the
Star's support of democracy only goes so
far. When the Yugoslav parliament opposes
the extradition, an unconstitutional
decree which openly violates the will of
the people and the Yugoslav constitution
is praised as courageous. When Nato and
Chretien violated and threw under the
Nato jackboot every international law you
said nothing. Now you want Canadians to
believe that Milosevic's extradition is a
shining example of the benefits of
international law. Hypocrisy we know your
name.
Christopher Black, Barrister
Head, Legal Committee
International Committee To Defend
Slobodan Milosevic
Toronto, Ontario
FROM CAMPEACE
10 Dalegarth Hurst Park Avenue Cambridge
CB4 2AG campeace@altavista.co.uk
24 June 2001
TO: President
Kostunica Federal President of Yugoslavia
Belgrade
Dear President
Kostunica,
CamPeace,(Cambridge
Campaign for Peace) is an organisation
which evolved from Cambridge Against
NATO's War in the Balkans, which was
established more than two years ago to
oppose the criminal bombing of your
country.
Thousands of people
in the United Kingdom protested against
this illegal action, and campaigned for
the lifting of sanctions against
Yugoslavia.
Now we see you
presiding over a coup in your country,
acting completely unconstitutionally (you
who pride yourself on being a
"legalist") as you allow your
DOS colleagues to force through this
illegal compliance with the Hague War
Crimes Tribunal. You and the DOS
Government are capitulating to those
forces that destroyed Yugoslavia, and for
what? For 30 silver coins which
Yugoslavia will have to pay back many
times over.
We urge you not to be
intimidated by the bullies, we urge you
not to yield to these illegal pressures.
You must stop the blackmail. Call their
bluff. Otherwise you are delivering your
country into the hands of international
gangsters.
If Milosevic goes to
The Hague, then his trial will turn into
the trial of a nation, ie Serbia, to the
delight of Madeleine Albright and other
"friends" of Serbia. It will
justify the bombing of Yugoslavia and
"prove" that the NATO gangsters
were moved by humanitarian concerns.
We are not supporters
of Milosevic, but we are supporters of a
better world in which the law will be
adhered to, instead of a world dominated
by international gangsters.
You must be strong,
resist blackmail, speak the truth about
Rambouillet, speak the truth about this
blackmail and the proud Serbian people
will support you, and the peoples of the
world will show their solidarity with the
Serbian people.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Sara Payne
Polydoros Polydorou
David Grove
Chairmen, Cambridge Campaign for Peace
DEMOCRACY IS VISITED
UPON YUGOSLAVIA
Belgrade, Yugoslavia , June 24
* SPECIAL *
"'Bypassing
the Yugoslav parliament is a positive
step toward full democracy. That's
why the State Department, CIA, NED,
USAID, Heritage House and Mr. Cheney
are all closely monitoring this
though of course we have no material
stake, just a passion for
humanitarianism,' said a senior
American official who spoke on
condition of anonymity."
The Yugoslav cabinet
adopted a decree today committing itself
to kiss NATO's ring, sending the former
president, Slobodan Milosevic, to the
United Nations tribunal in The Hague to
face trial on charges of insufficient
devotion to the Indispensable Nation.
The extradition of
Mr. Milosevic could set the stage for a
trial such as hasn't been seen in Europe
since the Reichstag fire. "This
really puts us on the map, "
commented a Washington official on
condition of anonymity. Bechtel
Engineering announced plans for a high
security prison complex at The Hague for
foreign heads of state who respond
sluggishly to U.S. advice.
Mr. Milosevic, who
was indicted, along with four of his top
officials, by the entirely independent
War Crimes Tribunal at the request of
Madeleine Albright in May 1999 for
refusing to hand Yugoslavia over to the
League of Genocidal Capitalists, is first
on the list for "surrender" to
The Hague, DOS leaders state.
The decree takes
effect Sunday, and some officials
suggested that the former president,
already in detention in Belgrade central
jail, could be extradited "very
soon," before the people of
Yugoslavia can respond to the decree,
which has charitably been described as an
act of loathsome self-prostration.
Other officials
suggested, however, that it could take
until the end of the month, because
lawyers and supporters
of Mr. Milosevic have noted that the
decree violates the Yugoslav and Serbian
constitutions, and would mean
surrendering an elected head of state to
a gang of bomb-happy murdering
imperialists, who are responsible for the
deaths of their brothers and sisters.
Supporters of the decree, however, point
out that there are no such constitutional
provisions except the ones which
unambiguously forbid the extradition of
Yugoslav and Serbian citizens.
Deputy Prime Minister
and G-17 leader Miroljub Labus made clear
at a news conference today after the
cabinet meeting that the pro-extradition
faction intends to carry out the measure
"whether it is legal, and whether
the people, or even other members of the
coalition government, like it or
not."
"Washington has
demanded we give them Milosevic plus lots
of Yugoslav Army men and they're gonna
get Milosevic plus lots of Yugoslav Army
men," commented Labus. "That's
democracy."
Beta news agency
quoted the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran
Djindjic, as saying before the 'vote'
that Mr. Milosevic's transfer to The
Hague "will pass without problems,
in regular, public procedures." When
a reporter noted that the Yugoslav
Parliament had a majority against
surrendering the former head of state,
Djindjic snorted, replying, "So?
What's your point?"
When pressed to
explain why he would circumvent the
wishes of Parliament and various election
pledges, Mr.
Djindjic pulled a pair of woman's
stockings over his head and
commented, "Because we was installed
in power by means of the generosity of
certain Indispensable gents, which gents
would view as most undemocratic any
individuals which accepted their lettuce
but subsequently failed to produce a
salad."
The United States has
threatened to boycott the upcoming
International Monetary Fund-organized
"Donors" Conference unless
Yugoslavia extradites someone the U.S.
has demonized within 27 minutes thus
giving the mass media a focus for
re-broadcasting the lies used to justify
murdering two thousand innocent Yugoslavs
and crippling their economy. Washington
warns that without its Indispensable
presence the "Donors"
Conference would flop thus rendering the
IMF unable to destroy
those industries the U.S. somehow
neglected to bomb.
"Bypassing the
Yugoslav parliament is a positive step
toward full democracy. That's why the
State Department, CIA, NED, USAID,
Heritage House, and Mr. Cheney are
gleefully monitoring the action though of
course we have no material stake, just a
passion for humanitarianism,"
commented a senior American official on
condition of anonymity.
"Is that
true," asked this reporter?
"No," said
the Source, "but it sure beats
saying we need to eliminate the Serbs
because they are an extremely annoying
obstacle to bringing the entire Balkans
area under the rule of our pet Kosovo
Liberation Sadists thus consolidating the
southern flank for our planned attack on
Russia and other former Soviet countries
which might of course lead to nuclear war
meaning the end of civilization as we
know it but, hey, no pain no gain."
Say
NO to Traitors
Proclamation
of Socialist Party of Serbia
Esteemed citizens,
An attempt to commit
treason and to force shameful
capitulation on our country is underway!
The statutory instrument which the top
leadership of the DOS has used to
authorize the extradition of our citizens
to the Hague Tribunal is unprecedented,
anti-constitutional and anti-democratic.
It brings into question the survival of
the Federal State, our freedom and our
sovereignty.
The passage of this
extradition decree was accompanied by
lies and manipulation. There were claims
that the Dayton Accords imposed
obligations on us; there were claims that
the 'international community' was of one
mind and resolved on the issue of
extradition; there were claims that we
would receive favourable treatment at the
so-called donor conference.
Rumors are being
floated suggesting that if we only kneel
at NATO's Hague court, we will be granted
a write-off on the interest due on our
debts. But to whom do we owe this money?
To the bankers of the "international
community". And when did this debt
accrue? Why, during the time that this
same 'international community' waged war
and inflicted draconian sanctions on
Yugoslavia.
Conspicuously, the
DOS leaders do not mention that if we
agree to cooperate with the
Hague--thereby falsely confessing to
guilt--we will become much poorer. For we
will, in effect, have abandoned our
claims for war damages. In addition, we
will lay ourselves open to war
reparations claims from Bosnia and
Croatia. The DOS leaders also fail to
mention that the much-touted cooperation
with the international bankers will
require the fire-sale of our industries
at rock-bottom prices.
The real aim of this
historically unprecedented decision is to
grant amnesty to NATO leaders and to
impose collective quilt on the Serbian
people. It will mean our accepting
responsibility for all the suffering in
this area. It will leave our people
without any hope of improving their
lives. And it will open the gates to the
mass extradition of our people to a
foreign political court financed by US
Government agencies and billionaire
financiers like George Soros.
By taking this
action, DOS has destroyed the Federal
Administration. Because its actions are
being resisted in Montenegro, it wants to
destroy the Federal State as well. For
weeks, DOS leaders have used the media to
slander the Yugoslav Army. Now they
threaten to deport heroes of the Yugoslav
Army to the Hague. The Presidents of
Yugoslavia and Serbia are not doing their
job, which is to protect the
constitutional order; indeed, they have
become a cover for the destruction of
that order. DOS is blackmailing and
attempting to abuse the judiciary. The
economic system is ruined and poverty is
increasing rapidly. Education, health
care and culture are humiliated. The
country is sinking towards hopelessness.
Esteemed citizens,
Say a decisive NO to
these traitors to the people and the
state!
Say NO to those who
would sell the soul of the Serbian nation
and its honor for a fistful of dollars!
A people whose
heroism was admired all over the world
will not accept this utter humiliation!
The Serbian people will never accept this
DOS capitulation! Let us unite to protect
democracy, sovereignty and the
constitutional order! Let us protect
Slobodan Milosevic and every citizen of
this country!
Belgrade, 23rd June
2001
THE
SOCIALIST PARTY OF SERBIA
Head Committee
Belgrade, June 23, 2001
THE STATEMENT
The Executive
Committee of the Socialist Party of
Serbia warns that the
decision of the DOS Politburo to adopt a
federal decree authorizing
extradition of Yugoslav citizens to the
Hague Tribunal represents a
most severe violation of the Constitution
and paves the way for
the imposition of martial law in the
country.
Since the DOS regime
has failed in its attempt to pass the
anticonstitutional [extradition] law in
Parliament, they decided to simply adopt
a decree which in its essence abolishes
the multiparty parliamentary system.
In so doing DOS has
taken control over the state by decrees;
there is nothing left of the rule of law.
The Federal Government
is not working. The Presidents of
Yugoslavia and Serbia who are obliged
to protect the Constitution as well as
the interests and dignity of the
people and the country are not reacting
to this major violation of the
Constitution and even more, they are
serving to cover for this policy
that produces serious harm to the country
and the people. The
interests of the people can not be
subordinated to anyone's personal,
leadership or political ambitions. No one
has right to violate the
Constitution which forbids extradition of
our citizens, nor can anyone agree to
commitments [such as this one to deport
Yugoslav citizens] in contradiction to
the interests of the people.
No one has the right
to diminish and insult the thousands of
victims of the
NATO aggression, nor to forgive the mass
destruction and grant amnesty to the
people responsible for crimes against
peace and humanity. The aim
of the DOS decree is, by the surrender of
our citizens, to impose
collective guilt on the Serbian people
for everything that happened in
the past. The actions of DOS and of the
Soros representatives in the
Federal Government are unprecedented in
world history. All those
who are taking part in it or are agreeing
with it must be clear that
they bear the responsibility for
unforeseeable consequences.
Since they act contrary to the
Constitution and to their powers - both
they and the so-called International
Community must know that Serbian
people and our citizens will never
recognize the legitimacy of these
actions.
The leadership of the
Socialist Party of Serbia, on behalf of
its
highest Party organs and on behalf of its
Parliamentary Groups in the
Federal and Serbian Assemblies, has sent
a letter to the president of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Vojislav Kostunica, demanding that
this violation of the Constitution be
stopped, as well as the system of
capitulation derived from the
anticonstitutional decree on extradition.
THE
SOCIALIST PARTY OF SERBIA
Belgrade, June 23, 2001
THE
STATEMENT
The Socialist Party
of Serbia underlines that by today's DOS
decree
an unprecedented coup has been carried
out against the constitutional
order of the country. The constitutional
protection of all citizens of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and
in the first place of the
defenders of the fatherland, the Army and
police, has been abolished.
The Socialist Party
of Serbia, as the largest opposition
party, considers
this to be a disgraceful fraud against
the people, who will never accept the
legitimacy of such an act.
The Socialist Party
of Serbia decided to send immediately an
appeal to
the Federal Constitutional Court to judge
the legality of the decree of
the DOS part of the Federal Government.
The Socialist Party
of Serbia expects that the Federal
Constitutional
Court will:
1.
Declare the decree issued by the DOS
members of the Federal Government
unconstitutional, since the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
the Constitution of the Republic of
Serbia explicitly forbid the extradition
of their citizens;
2.
Issue an injunction against the
implementation of any individual act or
action that might be based on this
unconstitutional decree, since it
can lead to irreversible harmful
consequences for the interests of the
people and state, until a final decision
will be made.
COMMITTEE
BACKING MILOSEVIC WARNS AGAINST
EXTRADITION TO ICTY.
Agence France Presse. 21 June 2001.
BELGRADE
-- An official of an international
committee set up to defend Slobodan
Milosevic Thursday warned of catastrophic
consequences for Yugoslavia if the former
president is handed over to the UN war
crimes tribunal in The Hague.
"Be
sure that misery, poverty, famine and
total destruction would prevail in the
country" if Milosevic is sent to The
Hague, said Mikhail Kuznecov, deputy
chairman of the International Committee
for the Defense of Slobodan Milosevic.
"Do
not have any illusions that the United
States or NATO will give you money and
help you rebuild your economy?" he
told reporters.
The
committee was set up on March 24, just a
week before Milosevic's arrest by
Belgrade reformers on charges of abuse of
power and corruption, to clear the
ex-president's name over the war crimes
indictment by the International Criminal
Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). NATO
"is aiming to destroy Yugoslavia and
its citizens," Kuznecov said, adding
that Milosevic "is in prison since
he was the only one to confront the
Alliance, and even managed to stop
it."
He said
that no "law can legalise"
Milosevic's extradition to ICTY, as the
move "is clearly banned by the
Constitutions of Yugoslavia and
Serbia."
The
committee, chaired by Bulgarian MP Velko
Valkanov, and grouping figures like
former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark
and writer Harold Pinter, said it has
members from 20 countries throughout the
world.
Its
activities are supported by more than 600
prominent figures from 30 countries, said
a statement on its website, www.predsednikmilosevic.com
Kuznecov
said the committee has set up an
international working group to monitor
legal procedures against Milosevic, led
by Canadian lawyer Christopher Black, who
had visited the former president in
prison last week.
Black
was among the lawyers who in 1999 brought
war crimes charges against NATO leaders
for the bombing campaign on Yugoslavia.
(c) 2001
Agence France Presse Reprinted for Fair
Use Only.
STATEMENT
OF INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DEFEND
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC
The International
Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic
held a Working Committee meeting in
Belgrade on June 17th.
In documents which
were acknowledged on that occasion, the
International Committee repeated its
demand for the immediate release of
President Milosevic from custody and
accented the danger to the sovereignty
and economic future of Yugoslavia as well
as to International Law if the threats
being made by political extremists to
extradite Mr. Milosevic to the Hague
Tribunal are carried out.
The Committee has
approved and published the report of its
legal representative, well-known Canadian
attorney Christopher Black, who indicated
that there is not the least evidence that
Milosevic is guilty. He stated that his
further imprisonment deeply undermines
legality and human rights and
characterized this entire process as
political. These conclusions were reached
following his visit to Belgrade and
discussions with Yugoslav state and
justice representatives.
It was pointed out
that the illegitimate Hague Tribunal has
been used as an instrument of NATO
aggression.
Respected legal
experts from several countries have
evaluated the claims made by some leaders
of the Belgrade regime. According to the
DOS claims, the extradition of President
Milosevic must proceed despite the fact
that the Constitutions of Serbia and
Yugoslavia explicitly forbid such
extraditions, must proceed even in the
absence of an appropriate law. The legal
experts find such claims to be entirely
contrary to the most elementary
understanding of law, dangerous for
democracy and sovereignty and very
immoral. If such a legal precedent were
established, Yugoslavia would be
considered responsible for all the
catastrophical consequences of NATO
policy in the Balkans. Yugoslavia would,
in that case, lose its right to
compensation for war damage and be forced
to pay war compensation to Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina, possibly
involving several billion dollars.
Germany extradited
Bosnian Serb Dusko Tadic after the
adoption of an appropriate law, but that
law forbids the extradition of German
citizens, because the German Constitution
forbids such action; so does the
Constitution of Yugoslavia.
The Committee demands
that the current Belgrade regime respect
the principles of right reign and
therefore release Slobodan Milosevic
immediately as well as all political
prisoners.
The special document
accents the example of Macedonia whose
survival is endangered by terrorist
forces created and controlled by NATO
intelligence and military structures.
This example is striking, because
Macedonia signed a partnership agreement
with NATO and put all its resources at
NATO's disposal.
At the meeting, the
Committee, whose membership consists of
nearly 80 respected persons from more
than 20 countries, elected former US
Attorney General Ramsey Clark as its
Co-Chairman as well as adding three more
Vice-Chairmen, from Italy, Greece and
Ukraine.
SLOBODAN
- A SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE TO NATO
AGGRESSION
Press conference by Christopher Black,
lawyer from Toronto, member of the
International Committee for the Defense
of Slobodan Milosevic.
"It
is absolutely clear that no evidence can
be provided in proceedings against
Slobodan Milosevic and that keeping him
in custody is exclusively politically
motivated," said Christopher
Black, adding that, according to
information he gathered, 250 political
prisoners, mostly members of the Left,
were in Serbian jails.
In Black's view,
demands for Milosevic's extradition to
The Hague derive from a simple fact that
the West is eager to get rid of the guilt
for unprecedented bombing of Yugoslavia.
By sentencing Milosevic before a court
that can hardly be called a court of law,
the United States and other Western
countries, as Black put it, want to wash
their hands of the war they wagged
contrary to all international norms.
Black said he had
just returned from Africa, where the
people he had spoken to were astonished
by the fact that the symbol of resistance
to NATO aggression was in jail. Referring
to the work of the International Crime
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Black
said that unlike other courts, this
"quasi-court" presumed people
guilty, rather than innocent. It would
not be logical, said Black, to expect it
to be "fair" when one bears in
mind the way it was financed. All trials
held before the court were typical
political cases and one should not look
forward to a fair trial to Milosevic, or
Karadzic and Mladic should they be
extradited to The Hague, concluded Black.
Watch
Video (Videos are in Real format, You
need RealPlayer8 to
watch them)
We
Accuse: Washington's Aid Promises Are A
Traitorous Lie!
Socialist Party of Serbia Statement, 31
May
For the
leaders of a country to tell the people
in that country that they should
extradite patriots in exchange for money
from the forces which have bombed that
country - is an outrage.
But for leaders of a
country to pretend that they are getting
money from the bombers when they know
perfectly well they are not - to tell the
people that they should support the
jailing of their patriots in exchange for
money which these leaders know does not
exist - this is the worst treason.
The present
authorities in Belgrade are guilty of
treason.
No Donors' Conference
has ever given any money to any country.
The term "Donors'' is itself a
deception. The proper title is
''Creditors' Conference.'' If a
"Donors' Conference" takes
place in June it will be a meeting of the
banks that claim Yugoslavia owes them
money. The purpose of that meeting, like
the purpose of all Donors' Conferences,
will be to plan how to sell Yugoslav
property so they can get back the money
they claim they are owed as quickly as
possible.
To whom will they
sell Yugoslav industries to get their
money? To themselves basically.
How much will they
sell it for? Pennies on the dollar.
How much of the
so-called Yugoslav debt will get paid in
this way? Very little.
What will happen to
the industry that the 'Donors' scoop up
in this fashion? Wherever such industries
might compete with some industry from the
'Donor' countries, the factories will be
closed down.
Let us take an
example that occurred in Hungary, a
country whose leaders have more than
cooperated with the U.S. The U.S. firm,
General Electric, bought the big light
bulb factory in Hungary and closed it
down. Now Hungarians have to buy light
bulbs imported by GE.
This has happened in
dozens of countries.
Donors' Conferences
helped plan the devastation of the
economies of:
* Ukraine - went
from the bread basket of Europe to
being dependant on Western surplus
"food")
* Bulgaria -
industry stripped and shut down)
* Russia - wages
fell almost 90% overnight)
* Vietnam - after
the "Donors' Conference"
its industry was stripped to raise
the money to pay off 'debts'. This
was particularly vicious because
those 'debts' had been accumulated by
the puppet regime of South Vietnam.
South Vietnam incurred the 'debts'
when it bought weapons from the U.S.
to fight Vietnamese patriots!
That's what a Donors'
Conference does.
Sometimes the real
work takes place after the official
Conference is over, in meetings of the
so-called Paris and London Clubs, which
are made up, respectively, of big
commercial and national banks from the US
and Europe.
But one thing no
Donors' Conference has ever, anywhere in
the world done is give 1 billion dollars
- or in fact any money - to a country
which supposedly owes these banks money.
If they do lend any money on paper they
immediately take it away.
That is, a little
money may be lent with one hand, but it
will be immediately taken away with the
other hand, to "repay the
debt."
This has already
happened with millions of dollars
supposedly "given" to
Yugoslavia by the international
community. As is reported in a text by
Dr. Prof. Michel Chossudovsky: "
"The [IMF]
Board approved a loan [of] US $151
million under the IMF's policy on
emergency post-conflict assistance in
support of a program to stabilize the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's
economy and help rebuild
administrative capacities. Of this
amount, the [Belgrade] authorities
will draw... US $130 million to repay
the bridge loans they received [from
Switzerland and Norway] to eliminate
arrears with the IMF.""
(Quoted in "Economic
Terrorism," by Dr. Prof.
Michel Chossudovsky)
In other words, the
authorities in Belgrade borrowed money
from Switzerland and Norway to pay money
owed to the IMF. Then they borrowed money
from the IMF - and that was used to pay
Switzerland and Norway!
This is a con game.
Sometimes the truth
about the phony "Donors'
Conferences" leaks out. Consider
this excerpt from a 'Reuters' news
dispatch. 'Reuters' lists all the
terrible things that will happen if
Yugoslavia does not cooperate. The first
thing is:
1. "The US
will oppose Yugoslav loans and
assistance from international
financial institutions such as the
International Monetary Fund and World
Bank. At stake will be a planned $260
million loan from the IMF to back up
reform of an economy on the verge of
collapse after years of sanctions and
warfare."
NOTE that they speak
of loan not gift. No
donation here!
Based on the evidence
from past experience, this money may
never be loaned. And even if it were
loaned, it would immediately be used to
pay back part of the supposed debt. No
money would go to the economy or reach
ordinary people. And then the $260
million that we never received would have
to be paid back by selling our
industries, by agreeing to purchase
shoddy goods from the NATO countries and
by agreeing to laws that eliminated
social services in our country.
That is why every
country that has relied on these phony
loans has suffered. For 8 years we had no
loans. Plus we had sanctions. But Rumania
and Bulgaria which had no sanctions and
which had loans lost all their industry
and now their unemployed come to
Yugoslavia looking for work.
We will always be
better off helping ourselves than being
saddled with parasites from the
International Monetary Fund and World
Bank who are in business to strip
countries like ours of everything we have
sweated to build.
Here's the second
'disastrous' consequence of not
cooperating with Washington:
2. "[This
will mean putting off] Belgrade's
plans to start negotiating a debt
settlement with the Paris Club of
sovereign creditors and commercial
banks of the London Club... Of its
total $12.2 billion external debt,
Yugoslavia owes some $5 billion to
the Paris Club and around $3 billion
to the London Club." ('Reuters',
April 2, 2001)
So the
"international community"
claims Yugoslavia owes it at least $12
billion (US). And if Yugoslavia does not
hand over Milosevic it will not have the
pleasure of stripping all its industry to
repay this debt. Wouldnt that be
terrible?
And how does the
"international community"
figure that Yugoslavia owes it $12.2
billion dollars? This is almost entirely
interest on debts supposedly owed by the
now nonexistent Yugoslav Socialist
Republic. Here is a news report from Dec.
31, 1992, which explains it all:
"From:
'Facts on File World News Digest,'
December 31, 1992
"Headline:
IMF Revokes Yugoslavia's Membership
"Text: The
International Monetary Fund December
15 revoked Yugoslavia's membership
and apportioned the country's foreign
debt among what the financial
institution designated as
Yugoslavia's five successor
republics. The IMF took the action on
the grounds that Yugoslavia had
ceased to exist as a legal entity.
"Yugoslavia's
foreign debt was about $15 billion,
including $217 million owed to the
IMF and $2 billion owed to the World
Bank.
"A total of
36.5% of the debt was apportioned to
Serbia-Montenegro, the new Yugoslav
federation, which the IMF treated as
a single republic. Croatia was deemed
to owe 28.5% of the debt;
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 13.2%; Slovenia,
16.4%; and Macedonia, 5.4%."
[End of 'Facts on
File' news dispatch]
So in 1992, the IMF
simply decided to say that the Federal
Republic owed 5.475 billion US dollars.
Since it now says we owe over $12
billion, that means that almost $7
billion of the supposed debt is interest!
And when did that interest get charged?
That interest got
charged during the years of sanctions
imposed by the same international
community that now claims we owe all this
interest!
Those sanctions hurt
the Yugoslav economy to the tune of
billions of dollars U.S.
By what right do
these men, who starved Yugoslavia with
sanctions, costing us billions, and then
bombed Yugoslavia, causing us at least
$60 billion in damage not to mention the
incalculable cost in human death and
suffering, the pain of relatives who lost
loved ones, the psychological damage to
children, forced to hide in shelters from
bombs, the long term damage of depleted
uranium - how dare these starvers and
bombers now claim that Yugoslavia owes
them money?
Who are these men?
A Donors' Conference
would give no money to Yugoslavia.
The only result would
be: devastation of the Yugoslav economy.
The Donors would order a forced sale of
Yugoslavia's precious industries for
pennies on the dollar to the same bankers
who make up the Donors' Conference.
And when it was all
over, the debt would still be there.
Because the money
raised would be too little - as it is
always too little, in every country where
these bankers have imposed this scam - to
pay the debt. Because you see that is the
whole idea. They use the inflated debt to
get hold of the industry, and when it is
all over, they leave the country stripped
of all it sweated for years to build, of
everything except - billions of dollars
in debt.
We would gain nothing
from this Donors' Conference.
But some things would
be gone.
Our industry would be
gone.
Our pride would be
gone.
Our honor would be
gone.
And our patriots,
they would be gone as well, starting with
Mr. Milosevic, but not ending with him.
Not ending with him.
Let us not follow
this fool's gold chase proposed by the
present authorities in Belgrade. Let us
rely on ourselves, on our integrity and
our own hard work. Let us trade with
friends, not with thieves who try to
break us with the fake lure of suckers'
gold.
When they speak of
the urgency of this Donors' Conference,
the present authorities in Belgrade speak
with passion.
Their passion is
real.
But it is not because
they fear that if we do not go along with
their proposals, Yugoslavia will lose
money that it needs. On the contrary,
they fear that if they do not produce for
their masters in Washington, they will be
punished.
For Washington has no
friends, only future victims.
Washington has laid
down the law to these Belgrade
authorities.
It has told them: you
are taking too much time. Give us
Milosevic. Give us the patriots of the
Yugoslav Army. Give us those who fought
us in Bosnia and Croatia. Give them to us
NOW. And give us everything of value in
Yugoslavia.
Because if you do not
we will take you - the DOS leaders - in
their place.
- SPS, 31 May 2001
AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL BACKS U.S. ATTACK ON
MILOSHEVICH; A MEMBER PROTESTS
by Phillip Greenspan [23 May 2001]
To
Amnesty International:
For several years I have been a member of
Amnesty International [AI] and was very
proud of its human and civil rights
positions.
However,
I was deeply disappointed when I opened
the current edition of 'Amnesty Now' to
see a circled request for members to urge
the transfer of Slobodan Milosevic to the
International Criminal Tribunal.
An
organization that fights so hard on
behalf of those unjustly punished should
not be an instigator of just such an
injustice. The exaggerated claims of
atrocities have subsequently been shown
to be completely false. Additionally, the
International Criminal Tribunal as a
court of justice is as shocking as those
false atrocity charges.
So many
articles have been published by reliable
sources, on both the court and the
atrocities (if you are unaware of them, I
will provide you with some) that it
should have, at least, caused hesitancy.
I may be
mistaken to assume you are much too
knowledgeable and intelligent to be duped
by the lies of governments and their
subservient media. It is extremely
disheartening to find a worldwide human
rights organization of your stature
taking such a reprehensible action.
Sincerely,
Philip Greenspan
[Mr. Greenspan is a retired lawyer living
in New York.]
DENIAL
OF MEDICAL TREATMENT THREATENS
MILOSEVIC'S LIFE
by Jared Israel and George Szamuely [11
May 2001]
We are
members of the International Committee
(ICDSM) that is circulating the petition
to Free President Milosevic from jail.
In our view, Slobodan Milosevic's arrest
is a clear escalation of Washington's
attempt to destroy Yugoslav sovereignty.
Washington is demanding that Milosevic be
transferred to The Hague where a show
trial would be staged. This trial would
blame the Serbian people for NATO's
crimes of aggression. Meanwhile, Mr.
Milosevic is being denied critical
medical treatment.
A group
of doctors who are deputies in the
Serbian and Yugoslav Parliaments have
examined Slobodan Milosevic's medical
file. The doctors belong to different
parties. Some are members of the
governing coalition. The doctors have
written a Medical Appeal. It expresses in
the sharpest possible medical language
their concerns about Milosevic's health.
Below is our summary of the doctors'
statement, written in layman's language,
followed by the doctors' Appeal itself.
SUMMARY
OF PHYSICIANS' APPEAL
While in
jail, President Milosevic has been
suffering from crisis hypertension. He
has also suffered a cardiac infarction.
He was taken to a hospital and underwent
a brief treatment. Following this, he
should have been kept in intensive care
under the supervision of specialists.
Instead he was almost immediately
returned to his jail cell, where the only
follow-up treatment consists of receiving
two medications. The doctors state it
bluntly: Never in medical history have
these medications cured a condition such
as that of Mr. Milosevic. By keeping him
in jail, rather than in intensive care
under specialist supervision, the
government is subjecting President
Milosevic to suffering heart failure or
stroke, unavoidable under his present
conditions.
We urge
all readers of this summary, and the
medical statement below, to sign the
petition "FREE MILOSEVIC NOW".
President Milosevic's medical condition
is itself sufficient reason for freeing
him. In addition, though Belgrade
officials have kept the former President
in jail for six weeks, supposedly so that
they could present evidence of alleged
crimes, they have yet to bring forth a
single witness against him. What further
evidence is needed that his arrest was
simply an attempt to satisfy a US
Administration that is determined to
punish the leader of a small country who
had the temerity to assert his nation's
sovereignty? One must also ask: Given
this clear denial of necessary medical
treatment, is this part of an effort,
orchestrated by Washington, to ensure
that President Milosevic dies in prison
before his scheduled show trial collapses
through its own absurdity?
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