Posted on 05/29/2002 6:56:06 PM PDT by Spar
UN Lawyer Turns Over Hijacker Info
Wed May 29, 4:06 PM ET
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor has turned over information about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers to the United States, France and the Netherlands, the U.N. spokesman said Wednesday.
The cooperation between the United Nations (news - web sites) and other countries, especially the United States, has raised concerns that Washington may be exerting undue influence on the world body.
But U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the United Nations should cooperate in the fight against terrorism — just as its 189 members were asked to do by the Security Council and the General Assembly after Sept. 11.
"The United Nations considers that it too has an obligation to assist countries, particularly if a state has been the target of terror activities," he said.
The war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said last October that information concerning people "with connections to terrorist groups," primarily in Bosnia, was provided to Pierre Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes.
On Wednesday, Eckhard confirmed for the first time that the information included material related to "one of the named terrorists said to have been on one of the hijacked aircraft" on Sept. 11. Eckhard refused to name the hijacker but said the information was also shared with the French and Dutch governments.
The United States is clearly interested in any information the United Nations can provide.
"Since Sept. 11, we've had discussions with various U.N. officials on how we can improve the international effort to fight terrorism," a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But some U.N. officials contend the United States has exerted too much power.
Madeline Rees, the head of the U.N. human rights office in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, asked for an investigation in January into the way the United States pressured Bosnian officials to turn over six Algerian terror suspects. She suggested that the move damaged the very legal system Washington was trying to build in postwar Bosnia.
"The international community had definitely played a role in this unlawful handover," she said Wednesday.
Following the terrorist attacks on the United States, Del Ponte was approached by the U.S. Embassy in The Hague (news - web sites), Netherlands and asked for information in identifying those responsible, Eckhard said.
"The office of the prosecutor did in fact have some information in relation to one of the named terrorists said to have been on one of the hijacked aircraft," he said. An electronic version of some of the information was then given to Prosper as well as French and Dutch officials, Eckhard said.
Florence Hartmann, the spokeswoman for Del Ponte, said U.N. investigators may have had information about some Muslim fighters who stayed on in Bosnia after the civil war ended in 1995.
"There were some documents that could be linked" to the hunt for terrorists that were handed over, she said Wednesday.
EDITORS: Associated Press writers George Jahn and Aida Cerkez-Robinson contributed to this report.
Since we disproportionately fund that nest of vipers, it's only fair that we get our money's worth...
Wed May 29, 3:33 PM ET
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - The chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor has turned over information about one of the Sept. 11 hijackers to the United States, France and the Netherlands, the U.N. spokesman said Wednesday.
The prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said last October that she gave information concerning people "with connections to terrorist groups," primarily in Bosnia, to Pierre Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes.
But U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard confirmed for the first time that the information included material "in relation to one of the named terrorists said to have been on one of the hijacked aircraft" on Sept. 11, and that it was also supplied to the French and Dutch governments.
The cooperation between the United Nations (news - web sites) and other countries, especially the United States, has raised concerns that Washington may be exerting undue influence on the world body.
But Eckhard said the United Nations should cooperate in the fight against terrorism — just as all 189 member states in the organization have been called on to cooperate by the Security Council and the General Assembly since Sept. 11.
"The United Nations considers that it, too, has an obligation to assist countries, particularly if a state has been the target of terror activities," he said.
The United States is clearly interested in any information the United Nations can provide.
"Since Sept. 11, we've had discussions with various U.N. officials on how we can improve the international effort to fight terrorism," a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some U.N. officials contend the United States has exerted too much power.
Madeline Rees, the head of the U.N. human rights office in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, asked for an investigation in January of the way the United States pressured Bosnian officials to turn over six Algerian terrorism suspects. She suggested the action had damaged the legal system Washington was trying to build in postwar Bosnia.
"The international community had definitely played a role in this unlawful handover," she said Wednesday.
Following the attacks in New York and Washington, which killed more than 3,000 people, Del Ponte was approached by the U.S. Embassy in The Hague (news - web sites), Netherlands — where the tribunal for prosecuting war crimes in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda is based — and asked for information in identifying those responsible, Eckhard said.
"The office of the prosecutor did in fact have some information in relation to one of the named terrorists said to have been on one of the hijacked aircraft," Eckhard said, refusing to disclose the hijacker's identity.
In The Hague on Oct. 9, the prosecutor gave an electronic version of the information to Prosper, Eckhard said. "An identical copy of the same material was supplied to the French and the Dutch governments as well following requests from them to the prosecutor."
After Del Ponte's meeting with Prosper, she told a news conference she gave him information concerning "people who were staying in Bosnia in connection with terrorist groups."
In August, just weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, the Yugoslav tribunal unsealed an indictment against three Muslim generals held responsible for war crimes allegedly committed by volunteer foreign fighters under their command, mostly from Islamic countries. They were accused of murdering hundreds of civilians and committing other atrocities.
Many volunteers, described as mujahedeen or holy warriors, were believed to be veterans of the campaign against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan (news - web sites) that ended in 1989.
Florence Hartmann, the spokeswoman for Del Ponte, said at the time that U.N. investigators may have had information about some volunteers who stayed on in Bosnia after the war ended in 1995.
Hartmann said handing over documents was not unusual, citing the example of how Del Ponte provided Belgrade authorities with information about former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites)'s financial dealings as part of an investigation that led to indictments against him for war crimes.
___
Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria, and Aida Cerkez-Robinson in Sarajevo, Bosnia, contributed to this report.
Huh?? what exactly is that suppose to mean
Yup!! And that is the Clinton originated scandal known as BIN LADEN GATE
Terrorist Suspects' Families Protest in Bosnia [Chanting ``God is great'']
U.S. Accused of Undermining Bosnians "Uncle Sam urinating on Bosnia's constitution"
Just ask one of them who flew the planes into the world trade center....TO A MAN OR WOMAN they will say, " THE JEWS DID IT...muslims would NEVER do that!"
They are real hard cases.
I wonder how true that statement really is. I mean, did the spokesman actually say that? With a straight face?
Aren't these the same folks that Maddie "The Troll" Halfbright keeps defending??
Unless that nation is Isreal.
There's really no surprise here, except that it took this long for it to come out.
To: guru
where is bin laden these days?
2 Posted on 11/10/1999 13:27:07 PST by eniapmot
The whole structure of "postwar Bosnia" is itself ILLEGITIMATE!!!! The muslim entity in Bosnia was itself set up EXPLICTLY as a beach-head for the islamic conquest of Europe. That includes serving as a sanctuary and support system for jihadists like al Qaeda!!!
If we are serious about ending terrorist and subversive activity in "Bosnia", we must be ready to end muslim "Bosnia" as we know it!!! This is despite the screams of the muslim-shill "human rightsers", and the New World Order uber-"judges" like the witch Del Ponte and all her sub-witches!
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