Agence France Presse
March 5, 2002 Tuesday 2:44 PM Eastern Time
HEADLINE: Former chief of warcrimes court blasts Del Ponte
DATELINE: ROME, March 5
The former head of the UN war crimes tribunal on Tuesday accused war
crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte of damaging the case against
Slobodan Milosevic by playing to the media before the trial.
Antonio Cassese, an Italian, accused the Swiss prosecutor of damaging
the tribunal in an outspoken attack in an interview with Italy's ANSA
news agency three weeks into the former Serbian leader's trial for
alleged war crimes in the Balkans.
And he criticised the United States for the way it made millions of
dollars in development aid conditional on Milosevic's handover by
Belgrade. "All Ms Del Ponte's statements before the debate, in which
she shouted from the rooftops about having damning evidence against
Milosevic, have allowed him to use the ICTY as a political platform,"
said Cassese, chairman of the UN court from 1995-1999.
"My concern is that the ICTY, in such a big trial, is being
transformed into a political platform. It's what Milosevic is doing,
it's what on some occasions Carla Del Ponte has a tendency to do.
That creates a malaise and is damaging to the ICTY (International
Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia). Justice is not done by statements
to the media. I must say that it's Ms Del Ponte who started it," said
Cassese, who is professor of international law at Florence
University.
He added that the trial had functioned well until now but warned of
the danger of it becoming a political stage.
Del Ponte "must prove not only that Milosevic had effective control
of
the crimes committed by his subordinates, but also that they were
really his subordinates, including Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic,
and that he had effective control over them."
Asked about how some believe Milosevic is a victim, Cassese said:
"These people are right concerning the not very proper way in which
Milosevic was handed over to the tribunal in The Hague.
"Deep down, it was bargaining. The Americans were putting pressure,
saying 'we won't give you any money if you don't give us Milosevic.'"
Cassese noted that four other officials had been indicted along with
Milosevic, but had been largely forgotten about since his handover
last April.
"If the Americans want to be coherent and believe in justice, then
they must bring pressure to bear so that all five are brought to
trial."
The four are incumbent Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, currently
residing in Belgrade, former Yugoslav deputy prime minister Nikola
Sainovic, former Yugoslav army chief of staff Dragoljub Ojdanic, and
former Serbian interior minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic.
They have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity
for
crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo.
As Serbian president, Milutinovic currently enjoys immunity, as do
Sainovic and Stojiljkovic, who are deputies in the Yugoslav
parliament.
Former Yugoslav president Milosevic has been on trial in The Hague
court for the past three weeks on charges of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity.
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Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
