http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html July 22, 2001 Can Milosevic get a fair trial? By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun Just as a society's commitment to the ideal of free speech hinges on those holding unpopular views being able to freely express them, so a justice system's worth depends on the right of unpopular defendants getting a fair trial. Which brings us to Slobodan Milosevic and the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague. Looked at objectively, the tribunal seems little more than a kangaroo court - winners putting losers on trial. It's not about justice, not about punishing crimes against humanity, not about peace and security. It's about politics and expediency - witness Milosevic being formally indicted as a war criminal in the middle of an air war launched against his country by the U.S. and NATO. A year or so earlier, after signing the Dayton, Ohio, accords, the U.S. was praising Milosevic as a man of "peace" who encouraged compromise in the Balkans. That wasn't true either, any more than he's a conventional war criminal Shed no tears for Milosevic. He wrecked Serbia, destroyed Yugoslavia, caused misery throughout the Balkans. But if he's punished for his policies and deeds, it should be in Belgrade - tried, judged and convicted by his own people, not by a court sanctioned and supported by foreigners which already considers him guilty. PM BRIBED Milosevic would have been put on trial in Belgrade had not the U.S. bribed Serbia's PM, the unpleasant Zoran Djindjic, to secretly surrender him to NATO, contrary to the declared wishes of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica - an anti-Milosevic, anti-Communist, Serbian nationalist beholden to no one except his country and his own unsullied integrity. Kostunica has thus been betrayed by Djindjic, his positive influence undermined and the Balkans once again destabilized. In essence, Milosevic was ransomed to the War Crimes Tribunal for $1 billion in aid that otherwise would have been withheld or delayed. A benefit to the U.S. by having Milosevic tried at the Hague instead of Belgrade, is that there's more control over possible testimony regarding America's onetime support of Milosevic as Tito's heir to prevent Yugoslavia's disintegration. Embarrassing. A couple of years ago the U.S. (rightly) vetoed plans to establish a permanent International Criminal Court on grounds it would be a political and propaganda arm for whatever cause was fashionable at the moment. Now the U.S. supports the Hague Tribunal - winners against the losers. NATO, which launched the war against Serbia, now gathers evidence to convict the loser - who was indicted even before evidence of "crimes against humanity" in Kosovo had been gathered. The Hague Tribunal has rejected hearing evidence against those who launched an "aggressive" (as opposed to "defensive") war: Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Jean Chretien and others. Why? Contrary to the Geneva Convention, our side bombed civilians ("collateral damage") to undermine Serbian morale. In 1995 Croatia overran Krajina and committed war crimes against Serb civilians that matched in savagery anything Serbs did in Bosnia or Kosovo. Yet no charges were ever contemplated against the late Croatian leader, Franjo Tudjman, whose fascist ideology dated back to Adolf Hitler. Tudjman was aided and encouraged by NATO and the U.S., but atrocities against Serbs were not considered crimes. Incidentally, evidence of atrocities committed in Krajina that were turned over to the tribunal - including video footage by Canadian filmmaker Garth Pritchard, who was there - have apparently been lost. So no criminal charges are pending. Convenient. Before she had much more than hearsay evidence, Canada's Louise Arbour, when she was chief prosecutor for the Hague Tribunal, declared Milosevic guilty of mass murders in Kosovo - and cited a massacre of 45 Albanians at the village of Racak. Atrocities, but not mass graves, have since been found in Kosovo, and the Racak massacre turns out to have been faked by the Kosovo Liberation Army. Albanian fighters killed in battle were dumped in a ditch as if they were civilians murdered in cold blood. (Bosnia is different - mass killings abound, witness Srebrenica.) Even if Milosevic isn't being framed - he has much to answer for - he's certainly being scapegoated. The war against Kosovo was a staged war, orchestrated by the U.S. and blamed on Milosevic. DEAL WITH THEM AT HOME Tyrants and leaders who fail are best dealt with by their own people, unless they savage others: Gen. Augusto Pinochet by Chileans, Milosevic by Serbs, Idi Amin by Ugandans, Emperor Jean Bokassa by Central African Republicans, Laurent Kabila and Mobuto Sese Seko by Congolese, Ferdinand Marcos by Filipinos, Alberto Fujimori by Peruvians, Stockwell Day by the Alliance. As it is, by hijacking Milosevic, the U.S.and NATO have weakened hopes for democracy in the Balkans, contributed to further destabilization and denied Serbs the chance (right) to impose their own brand of justice on Milosevic. As well, America's erstwhile Albanian allies now threaten Macedonia and Montenegro and pose a potentially greater danger than Milosevic, whose every effort to achieve a "greater" Serbia resulted in a "shrinking" Serbia. And now he's the fall guy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Letters to the editor should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Za izlazak sa liste, posaljite prazno pismo na: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Za upis novih clanova, prazno pismo sa emaila novog clana na adresu: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Prezentacija je na adresi: http://www.egroups.com/group/ljudska_prava Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ NSP Lista isprobava demokratiju u praksi ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://Topica.com/u/?bUrBE8.bVKZIq Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
