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AFP (with additional material by BBC). 21 December 2001. Milosevic issues latest challenge to international community. STRASBOURG -- Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic issued his latest challenge to the international community on Friday, filing a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights against his detention at The Hague on war crimes charges. The Serb president has invoked articles in the European Convention of Human Rights in an effort to secure his release from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), whose authority he refuses to acknowledge. The articles he invoked guarantee the rights to liberty and security, a fair trial, freedom of expression, an effective remedy, and the prohibition of discrimination. "Milosevic's application is brought against the Netherlands, where on August 31, 2001 the President of the Hague Regional Court... found that the Netherlands had no jurisdiction," a statement from the court said. The court, based in Strasbourg, can only hear complaints against one of the signatories of the European Convention, in this case the Netherlands. However, it may follow the Dutch courts in judging that the Netherlands has no jurisdiction over the UN tribunal. Earlier this week the court threw out a case brought against NATO by relatives of journalists who died in the bombing of Belgrade's main television station, on the grounds that Yugoslavia is not a signatory to the European Convention. The statement added that Milosevic's complaints were directed against his arrest, detention and court proceedings at the ICTY in The Hague. He also complains that his rights to liberty and security, and to freedom of expression, have been violated. The latest step comes after months of confrontation between Milosevic and the court, where he is detained, indicted on charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during his rule, which saw the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia. Earlier this month, the 60-year-old refused to enter a plea to charges of genocide committed in Bosnia, insisting that he had been a peacemaker in the country's 1992-1995 conflict, in which more than 200,000 people were killed. "I should be credited with peace in Bosnia, not war," he told the court. In previous appearances before the tribunal, Milosevic has defiantly refused to answer charges, describing the international court as a political instrument with a vendetta against Belgrade. A lawyer by training, he has repeatedly declined to be represented in court by a lawyer. "I'm not asking for any advice from anybody," he said at his latest appearance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
