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/