Posted on 09/07/2001 2:51:46 PM PDT by oxi-nato
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- Setting aside the conviction of a Serb, Kosovo's U.N.-run Supreme Court said acts committed by Slobodan Milosevic's forces in the province constituted war crimes or crimes against humanity -- but not genocide. The actions of Milosevic's regime in 1999 "cannot be qualified as criminal acts of genocide, since the purpose was not the destruction of the Albanian ethnic group in whole or in part," said the three-judge court's ruling, obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
Milosevic's campaign aimed to force ethnic Albanians to leave "as a result of systematic campaign of terror including murders, rapes, arson and severe maltreatment," said the ruling, issued last week. Milosevic, who ruled Yugoslavia for 13 years, is being held at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of crimes against humanity and other violations of international law in Serbia's repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte plans to submit two other indictments for crimes allegedly committed during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, including charges of genocide in Bosnia. But Del Ponte said late last month that mass graves found recently in Serbia would not be enough evidence to convict Milosevic of genocide in Kosovo, which is a province of Serbia, the main Yugoslav republic. "Bodies are not enough," she said at the time. "There needs to be more." U.N. officials and NATO peacekeepers have controlled Kosovo since the 1999 air war launched to halt Milosevic's campaign against ethnic Albanians.
The U.N. court in Kosovo, which is separate from the war crimes tribunal, discussed the nature of crimes committed under Milosevic's regime in a ruling that dismissed a genocide conviction against Serb activist Miroslav Vuckovic. In January, a local court convicted Vuckovic and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. The Supreme Court ordered a retrial of Vuckovic, who is accused of killing two people, assisting in the displacement of several hundred ethnic Albanians and looting houses between March and May 1999.
His conviction raised fears that the courts in Kosovo -- mainly staffed by ethnic Albanians -- were biased against Serbs. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe had called for an appeal before an international panel, saying the conviction was "inconsistent with the evidence heard in the court." Michael Hartmann, an international prosecutor serving in Kosovo, said he believes the ruling applied only to Vuckovic's case. "I agree with the ruling of the Supreme Court, but my interpretation is that it has to do with this specific case," he said. "One cannot interpret the ruling to be broader than the case at issue."
VRN
U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman April 7, 1999
Statement By James P. Rubin, Spokesman
Responsibility of Individual Yugoslav Army and Ministry of Internal Affairs Commanders
for Crimes Committed By Forces Under Their Command in Kosovo
The United States wants to send a clear message to the following named commanders of the Yugoslav
Army (VJ) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), as well as all other commanders of those
forces, that they are on notice that VJ and MUP forces are committing war crimes and crimes against
humanity in Kosovo. Under international law and Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), commanders can be indicted, prosecuted and, if found
guilty, imprisoned -- not only for crimes they themselves commit but also for failing to prevent crimes
from occurring or for failure to prosecute those who commit crimes.
(Abridgment of April 6 remarks to Brookings Institution)
(Following is an abridged version of Secretary Albright's remarks on April 6, 1999 at the Brookings
Institution in Washington, D.C.)
NATO and Kosovo By Madeleine Albright U.S. Secretary of State
NATO is responding to a real post-Cold War threat to its interests and values. We are doing so in a
political and security environment that differs dramatically from the past. We are seeing, every day, the
importance of military forces that are mobile, flexible, precise, and capable of operating together well.
By acting on behalf of justice and peace in Kosovo, we are reaffirming NATO's core purpose as a
defender of democracy, stability, and basic human decency on European soil.
Certainly, we are saddened and outraged by the terrible human suffering we see: the long lines of
refugees, the cries for loved ones missing or lost, the cold-blooded butchery. But let us be clear about
what is at stake and where the responsibility for this agony resides. As President Clinton has
repeatedly urged, we need to consider the map. Kosovo is a small part of a region with large historic
importance and a vital role to play in Europe's future.
This region is a major artery between Europe and Asia and the Middle East. Its stability directly
affects the security of our Greek and Turkish allies to the south and our new allies, Hungary, Poland
and the Czech Republic, to the north. Kosovo, itself, is surrounded by small and struggling
democracies that can be overwhelmed by the flood of refugees Milosevic is creating.
Kosovo is part of an area, the southeast corner of Europe, where World War I began, major battles in
World War II were fought -- and where the worst fighting in Europe since Hitler's surrender occurred
in this decade. Today, this region is the critical missing piece in the puzzle of a Europe whole and free.
That vision of a united and democratic Europe is critical to our own security. It cannot be fulfilled if
this part of the continent remains divided and wracked by conflict.
Make no mistake. The atrocities committed by Serb forces in Kosovo were not the result of NATO
bombing; they were the reason NATO had to act. It was Milosevic a decade ago who stripped the
Kosovo Albanians of the autonomy to which they were entitled; who launched last spring a campaign
of brutal repression; who violated the cease-fire negotiated last October; whose security forces have
committed continuing acts of barbarism; and who refused to join the leaders of Kosovo in signing the
balanced and just settlement negotiated at Rambouillet.
As a result of all this, the NATO of the 21st century is being tested now -- before the new century
even begins. We are determined to pass that test. We are resolute because it is in our interests and
because it is right to stop the ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the other
indicators of genocide that we see.
Transcript: James Rubin on CNN's Early Edition
April 30, 1999
(Serb forces are using rape as warfare says Jamie Rubin) (920)
Washington -- There is growing evidence that the Serb forces are using rape as warfare, says State
Department Spokesman James Rubin.
During an interview April 30 on Cable Network News' "Early Edition" program, Rubin cited a number
of eyewitness accounts now under review by investigators from the United States and the War Crimes
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
He said the Clinton Administration is convinced that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is
"personally responsible" for the policies of his forces who have conducted "these terrible war crimes
and crimes against humanity."
Good catch, except for the fact that I don't believe that these yutzes were 'fooled'; the corporate media (which says volumes in and of itself) are merely a mouthpiece for the corporate government. As for the Congress...it has shown its 'true colors' when it failed to impeach but certainly didn't fail to allow Clintoon to carry out his blatantly illegal bombing 'mission'. As far as the Pentagon is concerned, what are they anymore than LockheedMartinBoeing employee understudies. In addition to burning off all those munitions for their future bosses (they hope), if the military industrial corporate structure can't accomodate them, MPRI may well be interested.
They have to go along with it, because it calls into question the whole NWO concept of meddling in countries on the other side of the world. If they admit that the genocide was a fraud, then they admit that the NWO not only has no reason to exist, it has a reason to be disestablished. And then their credibility all goes away.
When will Clinton and Blair be brought to justice? That's the real question.
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