UN: H.E. Mr. Kofi ANNAN, Secretary General of the United Nations; H.E. Mr.
Andrei DENISOV, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the
UN, Presiding the UN Security Council; H.E. Mr. Julian Robert HUNTE,
President of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly; Ms. Louise Arbour,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
ICTY: Mr. Theodor MERON, President; Mr. Patrick ROBINSON, Mr. O-Gon KWON,
Mr. Iain BONOMY, Judges of the Trial Chamber III; Mr. Steven KAY, Prof.
Timothy L.H. McCORMACK, Amici Curiae
Serbia and Montenegro: H.E. Mr. Svetozar MAROVIC, President of the State
Community Serbia and Montenegro; Mr. Zoran SAMI, Chairman of the Assembly of
Serbia and Montenegro; H.E. Mr. Boris TADIC, President of the Republic of
Serbia; H.E. Dr. Vojislav Kostunica, Prime Minister of the Republic of
Serbia; Mr. Predrag MARKOVIC, Chairman of the National Assembly of the
Republic of Serbia; Heads of the Parliamentary Caucuses in the National
Assembly of the Republic of Serbia
URGENT CALL TO PROTECT INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONS' RIGHT FOR TRUTH AND LIFE
OF PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC
During the whole lasting of the Hague process against President
Slobodan Milosevic the most responsible persons of the ICTY at The Hague
have been aware, on the basis of numerous doctors' reports and of numerous
communications from our organization, from other organizations and
individuals, of the health situation of President Milosevic and of the fact
that the process itself puts his life at stake. In spite of this awareness,
the tribunal never treated President Milosevic's health situation properly,
nor ever properly considered the legitimate demands for his release for
medical treatment, recovery and preparation for his case. By that and by the
way the process has been conducted, the tribunal only contributed to the
deterioration of the health of President Milosevic.
Together with other international and national organizations and
individuals from different countries, we were several times informing the
highest UN organs and highest organs of the Republic of Serbia and FR
Yugoslavia (now SC Serbia and Montenegro) about this situation, requesting
their action and warning them of their share in responsibility.
In the recent weeks, the tribunal has shown the sudden interest in
the health situation of President Milosevic, trying to misuse it as an
excuse to impose him a counsel against his will and to change other rules of
the proceedings on his detriment.
These attempts of the tribunal are contrary to the International
Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, as the principal source of law for
the tribunal, to the ICTY's own Statute and to the basic principles of the
adversarial system of law and of the democratic judiciary in general, as
explained in detail in the petition of 75 distinguished lawyers and law
professors, sent these days to the UN and to the ICTY. The proposed measures
would only decisively act against the fair character and efficiency of the
process and the life and health of President Milosevic, as declared motives
for their imposition. Above all, these measures would act against justice
and make establishing the truth impossible.
By their essence, these attempts cannot be understood otherwise,
but as an intention to silence the truth, and by that to secure impunity for
the real criminals responsible for the break-up of Yugoslavia, tragedy of
its peoples and numerous victims and huge war damages produced by the 1999
NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. The amount of illegality contained in
the tribunal's intended decisions testifies about someone's panic.
Its legal dimensions cannot characterize the current behavior of
the ICTY otherwise, but as a crime in progress.
We call upon the highest representatives of the UN, ICTY and
Serbia and Montenegro to act immediately to stop the crime. Refusal or
avoidance to act in this way would be a complicity in the crime. Reflecting
the opinion of the people of Serbia, the Freedom Association is determined
to use all legal means to establish the criminal responsibility of all who
are or would be involved in this crime.
The World Nations require respect of the International Law. They
also have right for truth about the tragedy in the Balkans. President
Milosevic has right to live and to represent the truth and himself.
Freedom for Slobodan Milosevic!
Belgrade, 6 August 2004
On behalf of the Freedom Association,
Bogoljub Bjelica, president /signed/
*************************************************************
THE INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS' PETITION:
"IMPOSITION OF COUNSEL ON SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC THREATENS THE FUTURE OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE LIFE OF THE DEFENDANT"
http://www.icdsm.org/Lawappeal.htm
GETS NEW SIGNATURES: Mark Littman, QC (UK), Jean-Marie Dermagne (Belgium),
Giuseppe Pelazza (Italy)...
LAWYERS, JURISTS, PROFESSORS OF LAW ARE INVITED TO JOIN BEFORE IT IS TOO
LATE (THE ICTY CAN ADOPT ITS DECISIONS ALREADY IN MID-AUGUST. DATA OF NEW
SIGNERS SHOULD BE SENT TO:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*************************************************************
SLOBODA urgently needs your donation.
Please find the detailed instructions at:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm
To join or help this struggle, visit:
http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association)
http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan
Milosevic)
http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsm-us.org/ (US section of ICDSM)
http://www.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland)
http://www.pasti.org/milodif.htm (ICDSM Italy)
http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council)
http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center)
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
