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THREE MONTHS – AN
OUTRAGE! PRESIDENT’S HEALTH IN
DRAMATIC CONDITION! PROTESTS IN RUSSIA AND
USA. Belgrade, September 17This morning’s decision of the Hague tribunal to grant only three months to President Milosevic for preparation of his case (in the prison!) is an outrage and violence against law and justice – Vladimir Krsljanin stated at the press conference of “Sloboda”. In the fear of the total debacle, the tribunal at the same time has a goal to break President Milosevic’s health and to threaten his life, he added.The other Krsljanin’s points at the “Sloboda” press conference were the following: �
Yesterday, for the first
time, the session of the tribunal ended earlier, since President Milosevic was
very sick. His blood pressure jumped to 220/120mmHg, so he was unable to
continue. In spite of this, he appeared in the court room this morning. Now
tribunal expects from a person whose health is seriously damaged by the two
years of detention and enormous efforts in the unprecedented process with the
absence of adequate medical care, to stand three months of intensive
preparations and another two years of his case. This is something that a young
and healthy person could hardly stand. �
The
protests in the World against this violence and political warfare increase and
will go on. Yesterday several more important MP’s have joined the petition of
Russian Parliamentarians, among them Gennady Raikov, head of “People’s Deputy” –
a pro-presidential, centrist faction. Two dozen important MPs who signed the
petition represent five important factions in Duma and absolute majority of MPs.
Duma petition quotes: “Without fulfilling these demands [two-years break with
the provisional release, end of the visit ban] the process against Slobodan
Milosevic will remain an open political harassment, having nothing in common
with judiciary”. At its beginning, the petition reminds:
“after they
have submitted mountains of the suspicious documents, brought hundreds false
witnesses and spent hundreds of millions of dollars from the UN budget, the
prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) haven’t succeeded to show any evidence of guilt of the Serbian leader for
the alleged crimes. The Prosecution undergoes total fiasco.” [1] �
At the
same time, the important American scholars, activists and lawyers, chaired by Dr
Michael Parenti, who have just formed the American Committee for the Defense of
Slobodan Milosevic, announce series of continued activities. They condemn in
strongest terms the terrible human rights violations by the tribunal and see it
as a tool of “political warfare against the people of Serbia and against the
basic democratic rights of the whole of humanity that cannot be allowed to
succeed.” [2] �
Tomorrow, president of the
tribunal Theodor Meron pays an “official visit” to Belgrade regime. “Sloboda”
invites him publicly to visit our Belgrade offices, where he would be presented
the legal arguments only. Perhaps it can help him to preserve at least a bit of
his lawyer’s integrity and to fulfill more successfully his proclaimed duty to
take care of the “legality” of the work of the tribunal, which now violates even
its own Statute, by denying the rights to defense and health. We would also ask
him when he thinks to reply to our request (with 15 pages of legal arguments)
[3] to annul the Registrar’s decision on visit ban and to suspend the
rules preventing President Milosevic from the contacts with the press. It would
be also interesting to hear whether judge Meron sees the role of the tribunal in
the protection of the real war criminals and terrorists, so that one of them can
run for US presidential nomination and another one (his ex-boss and supreme
commander) can come to occupied Pristina to get a “honorary doctorate” of
Pristina University from his favorite Al-Qaida
proxies. �
For all
that reasons Serbs and other progressive citizens of Europe and the World will
hold a major demonstration on 8 November 2003 at The Hague. “Sloboda” will fight
back legally, politically and with all forms of engagement for freedom and true
democracy. Notes: [1] The statement of Russian
Parliamentarians http://www.icdsm.org/more/ruspar.htm [2] The press release of US
National Section of ICDSM http://www.icdsm.org/more/icdsmus1.htm [3] “Sloboda” motion to the
president of the tribunal 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.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland) http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council) http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center) |
