---------- ["is that, in line with its underlying political objective, the criminals were established once and for all, and they are in Serbia, while NATO, as Caesar's wife, is above suspicion"]
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11479071 Interfax March 15, 2006 State Duma calls for Yugoslavia tribunal to be disbanded MOSCOW - The Russian State Duma has described the activity of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as over-politicized and inappropriate and has called for its closure. "The State Duma once again calls for all cases currently being handled by the ICTY within the framework of the so-called Completion Strategy endorsed by the UN Security Council to be wrapped up within the soonest possible period of time and declares that further activity by the ICTY is inappropriate," the State Duma said in a resolution titled "In connection with the death of former President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia," which was passed unanimously on Wednesday. ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=4598344&PageNum=0 Itar-Tass March 15, 2006 Duma deems Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia inexpedient -[T]he State Duma believes the Tribunal should "create all the necessary conditions for an independent international investigation of the reasons and circumstances of Milosevic's death". "Those guilty of his death, either due to negligence or evil design, must be named and brought to trial," the MPs are convinced. MOSCOW - The Russian State Duma approved on Wednesday a statement on the death of former president of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, noting that the further functioning of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ITFY) is inexpedient. The MPs believe the tribunal "was unable to implement the idea embedded in its foundation". Moreover, the decisions, which the Tribunal had passed during the entire period of its existence, are marked by extreme politization and partiality," the State Duma holds. "Dual standards grew to be a norm of its entire work," the statement notes. The parliamentarians "reiterate the need of shortly completing the investigation of all the cases now on the agenda of the Tribunal", the document says. They note the absolutely impermissible "facts, testifying to the extremely gross violation of human rights in the ITFY Hague prison, which found expression, in particular, in the refusal to render qualified medical aid to Slobodan Milosevic, who was badly in need of it". Hence, on the motion of Viktor Kuznetsov, a member of the Communist party faction, the word "completing" was replaced in the document by that of "discontinuing". Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov seconded the motion and the State Duma voted for this amendment. Hence, the final text of the statement calls for discontinuing all the Tribunal investigations. The authors of the document recall that the State Duma had repeatedly expressed its anxiety about Milosevic's health and had called on the Tribunal to suspend the trial of the ex-president of Yugoslavia. "The Tribunal ignored its appeals, thereby assuming the entire responsibility for the life of the defendant," the document stresses. At the same time, the State Duma believes the Tribunal should "create all the necessary conditions for an independent international investigation of the reasons and circumstances of Milosevic's death". "Those guilty of his death, either due to negligence or evil design, must be named and brought to trial," the MPs are convinced. The Duma has also expressed sincere condolences to Milosevic's relatives and close ones. ------------------------------------------------------ http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060315/44334700.html Russian Information Agency (Novosti) March 15, 2006 Hague Tribunal now redundant - Russian parliament MOSCOW - Russia's lower house of parliament said Wednesday that the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia had no further use. Russian lawmakers approved a statement following the death of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, found in his cell at The Hague March 11. Milosevic had been on trial on charges of genocide and war crimes. "[The Tribunal] failed to realize the ideas behind its foundation," the statement said. "Resolutions adopted by the tribunal during its existence are highly politicized and biased. Double standards have become the norm in [the tribunal's] work," it said. The statement said that the human rights of those on trial had been severely infringed, which lawmakers said was "utterly unacceptable". "The death of Milosevic is not the first case in which a former Yugoslav leader has died while in prison," the statement said. Milan Babic, former leader of Serbs in Croatia and also in custody in The Hague, died in prison a few days before Milosevic. The lawmakers also demanded that all cases at the tribunal be wound up. http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20060315134525.shtml RosBusinessConsulting March 15, 2006 Duma calls for an end to the Hague Tribunal Moscow - The State Duma lower house of the Russian parliament has issued a statement about the necessity to close the Hague Tribunal in connection with the death of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. Russian lawmakers said the tribunal had failed to perform its function, and criticized its decisions as "very politicized and biased." "Double standards have become the norm for the tribunal," the deputies said in their statement. They also expressed condolences to the friends and relatives of Slobodan Milosevic who died on March 11. "He was a bright politician who was the Yugoslav leader during the most tragic period in the history of this country," the statement said. ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/15/dumaonmilos.shtml MosNews March 15, 2006 Russian Lawmakers Call for Closure of UN Tribunal Over Milosevic Death The lower house of the Russian parliament harshly criticized the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague Wednesday, blaming it for Slobodan Milosevic's death and calling for its quick closure, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. The State Duma voted unanimously to approve a statement that accused the tribunal of being "extremely politicized and biased" in its inquiries and said that its failure to provide Milosevic with adequate medical care led to the former Yugoslav president's death on Saturday. "Russia had been ready to accept Slobodan Milosevic for treatment and provide the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia with the guarantees of his return to The Hague, but the tribunal had ignored these appeals, undertaking full responsibility for Milosevic's life," the lower house said. It said the tribunal's failure to provide qualified medical care to Milosevic amounted to "flagrant violation of human rights." The statement adopted by the lower house called for a quick completion of the tribunal's inquiries and said that its "further activities will be unfeasible." Milosevic was arrested in 2001 and put on trial in February 2002 on 66 counts for war crimes and genocide in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo during Yugoslavia's violent break-up in the 1990s. He was the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes. He was the sixth war crimes suspect from the Balkans to die at The Hague. A week earlier, convicted former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, a star prosecution witness against Milosevic, killed himself in the same prison. The Russian parliament alluded to the deaths, saying that "such a tragic chain of events is in clear discord with European calls for observing human rights." During the Wednesday debates, some MPs angrily recalled the Western criticism of Russia's rights record, saying that Milosevic's death shows the West doesn't have the moral right to judge Russia. "We must immediately end all European Union inspections of Russian prison facilities," said nationalist MP Sergei Abeltsev. ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.interfax.com/3/138672/news.aspx Interfax March 15, 2006 Del Ponte criticized by Kosachyov MOSCOW - Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov has accused International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Prosecutor Carla del Ponte of violating the principle of the presumption of innocence. "When Hague Tribunal Prosecutor Carla del Ponte said that the other criminals must be punished in an interview following Slobodan Milosevic's death, she raised the questions: What about the presumption of innocence? What about the basic principle of law, according to which only a court can find defendants guilty?" Kosachyov said at a State Duma session on Wednesday. Kosachyov, one of the authors of a resolution which declares further of activity of the court inappropriate, said the Yugoslav tragedy was "undoubtedly extremely complicated," crimes were committed by both sides, and it is obvious that criminals must answer for their deeds. "However, no less obvious is that it is wrong to designate only one people and only certain political figures as criminals," he said. Commenting on Carla del Ponte's remarks, Kosachyov noted, "Where is the principle of the rule of law and the unconditional observance of human rights, which are praised so much in Europe?" "The problem of The Hague Tribunal is that, in line with its underlying political objective, the criminals were established once and for all, and they are in Serbia, while NATO, as Caesar's wife, is above suspicion," Kosachyov said. Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
