URGENT MESSAGE TO NATIONAL COMMITTEES, PROGRESSIVE PARTIES
AND ORGANIZATIONS AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
Sloboda (Freedom) Association /
International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic
The "tribunal" at The Hague has received an outrageous "motion" from Carla del
Ponte, demanding that President Milosevic should be silenced by imposing to him
defense counsels against his will. So the message of NATO justice is that
President Milosevic should either die or shut up!
The "tribunal" is hiding from media dozens of your appeals, motions, petitions!
Only Carla can be heard! And the final "decision" of the "tribunal" can be made
already tomorrow! So please, continue sending them your thoughts. And, as much
as possible, address the public and media.
LIFE OF PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC, TRUTH ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA AND FREEDOM OF SERBIAN
PEOPLE HAVE TO BE PROTECTED! WE DEMAND THAT PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC SHOULD BE
IMMEDIATELY ALLOWED TO OBTAIN SPECIALIZED MEDICAL THERAPY AND A PERIOD OF
RECOVERY IN BELGRADE UNDER SUPERVISION OF PHYSICIANS WHO FOLLOWED HIS HEALTH FOR
YEARS. AFTER THAT HE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE HIS BATTLE FOR TRUTH AT THE
HAGUE OUTSIDE OF PRISON. HE ALREADY STATED THAT FROM THAT BATTLE HE WOULD NEVER
FLEE!
Belgrade, November 11, 2002
SLOBODA - ICDSM
=== Here is how to address them... ===
Dear friends,
The political trial at The Hague is adjourned for whole this week since
deterioration of President Milosevic's health. President Milosevic is treated as
a prisoner of war in a Nazi detention camp.
Please read carefully the appeals below. It is ESSENTIAL that you act NOW!
Please send your demands to the "tribunal". Ask your lawyers and medical doctors
to do the same. Address the UN Security Council! Write to your congressmen and
Members of Parliament. Perform any other public action.
On behalf of SLOBODA (Freedom) Association
Vladimir Krsljanin
tel. +381 63 8862 301 fax +381 11 3282 491
On Thursday, October 31, evening, President Slobodan Milosevic suffered one of
the sudden high increases of blood pressure, characteristic for his illness
(malignant hypertension + angina pectoris). After that he felt so sick, that he
couldn't attend the "trial" next morning.
SUCH AN EVENT CAN CAUSE HIS DEATH!
President Slobodan Milosevic, national leader of Serbia and Yugoslavia and hero
of resistance to USA/NATO murderous war machinery is being killed at The Hague
by dungeon prison conditions, nine months of this perverted political trial, has
brought mountains of papers, lack of fresh air, food, rest, physical activity,
meetings with family and friends, any facilities to prepare his extraordinary
court room battle. He is being killed also by total absence of medical care!
Here are the comments of the executioner "judge" May, according to Reuters:
``He has complained of exhaustion and is being seen by a doctor this morning and
a report will be obtained,'' presiding judge Richard May told the U.N. court in
Milosevic's absence.
``In the light of the state of the accused's health and the length and
complexity of the case, the trial chamber is concerned about completion of the
trial,'' said May, one of three judges hearing the case.
``Therefore we wish to have submission from the parties on the future conduct of
the case in order to ensure its expeditious conclusion. We wish to have those
submissions within seven days,'' he told prosecutors and court officials.
Let these seven days be days of
public fight for life of President Milosevic!
President Milosevic has to be allowed to get specialized medical treatment in
Belgrade, until full recovery, by doctors who took care about his health for
years.
Perform every possible action!
Write to NATO puppet court ("International Criminal Tribunal for Former
Yugoslavia", "ICTY", fax +31 70 512 8637) and raise Hell!
UN Security Council is responsible for the works (and even for the crimes) of
the "tribunal". Here is how you can reach them:
Permanent Mission of the
Peoples' Republic of China
(UN SC President for November 2002)
Address: 350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016
Telephone: 212-655-6100
Fax: 212-634-7626
E-mail:
chinamission_un@fmprc.gov.cn
Permanent Representative and Ambassador:
Wang Yingfan
Tel: 212-655-6191
Fax: 212-481-2998
Lawyers are invited to write to the "ICTY President" Claude Jorda and "President
of Trial Chamber III" Richard May, as well as to their friends "Amici Curiae"
Steven Kay and Branislav Tapuskovic (using the same fax) and to tell them how
they see "the future conduct of the case"!
SLOBODA (Freedom) - Yugoslav Committee for the defense of Slobodan Milosevic
wrote to "ICTY" the following:
Mr. Claude Jorda, President
Mr. Richard May, President
of the Trial Chamber III
ICTY
The Hague
The Netherlands
The actual deterioration of the health of Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, long time
President of the Republic of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is
a direct and dramatic consequence of the way the process has been conducted and
of the fact that you have neglected the recommendations of the physicians
appointed by ICTY in order to determine the state of Mr. President's health.
Even after of numerous warnings that, considering the state of health of
President Milosevic, detention conditions and rhythm and conduct of the process
can cause his death, you still continue to conduct your political process in the
same way. We
remain you and warn you once again that eminent Yugoslav cardiologists have
concluded in their objective and impartial expertise, which got consent of the
physicians appointed by you, that the way this political process has been
conducted represent a threat to the life of President Milosevic.
In spite the claim that ICTY is an international court of UN, you in severest
way violate the Resolutions and documents of the UN General Assembly, related to
health of persons in custody.
The first principle of the Resolution 3794 on the principles of medical ethics,
adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 18, 1982, establishes an
obligation to protect prisoners or detainees from torture and other cruel,
inhumane or humiliating sanctions or behavior. The same Resolution obliges you
to secure the medical treatment of the same quality and based on same standards
as for the persons who are not in prison or in detention. But in violation to
that, you have not provided President Milosevic with medical therapy nor even
with medical care of the same quality and based on same standards as for persons
who are not in detention. This way you also violate the Article 6 of the Codex
of behavior of persons responsible for application of the Law, adopted by UN
General Assembly on December 17, 1979.
In addition to violation of the mentioned Resolutions, you also violate your own
Statute, namely its Article 21, point 4b, which obliges you to provide every
defendant with appropriate time and facilities for preparation of his defense.
The astonishing rhythm of this political process, purpose of which is not
determination of the truth, but total endangering of the health of President
Milosevic, leads us to a conclusion that the fatal outcome is your intention.
Experience with other persons in detention who faced dramatic deterioration of
heath or even loss of life, is also obliging you to decide to allow Slobodan
Milosevic to obtain medical therapy and recovery in Belgrade by medical
specialists who followed his health condition for years, due to existence of
special circumstances and to resume the process after the improvement of his
health.
We warn you that it is your obligation to harmonize your Rules and practices
with all UN documents on human rights protection, as well as with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Belgrade, November 02, 2002
President of the Freedom Association -
Yugoslav Committee for the Defense of Slobodan Milosevic
Bogoljub Bjelica
And here is an information about the President Milosevic's treatment at The
Hague:
ICTY Responsible for life and health of President Milosevic
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The
Hague is directly endangering the life and basic human rights of President
Slobodan Milosevic.
The long-term president of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
founder and chairman of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic is
held in the ICTY's detention unit under conditions that could rightly be
considered torture. President Milosevic' cell is small, without access to
natural air, and has a low level of overall sanitation. He can only use the
public telephone, and pays for all his calls. He has been forced to attend the
trial every weekday for the past ninemonths (though with a recess in August).
His workday begins around 7 AM. He endures humiliating procedures during
transport from the detention unit to ICTY chambersand back. The trial takes
place between 9 AM and 4:30 PM. During the lunch break, he is confined to the
ICTY basement, and can only eat a sandwich. He is back at the detention unit by
6 PM, and then he must choose between dinner or a short walk in fresh air.
Thereafter, till late at night, he prepares for the next day of the trial.
For the remainder of prosecution's case, which is scheduled to end in May 2003,
he has to review over 100.000 pages of text and over 600 videotapes submitted by
the prosecution. The length of the trial and the amount of materials he has
received are irrelevant to the indictment, and their primary purpose is to wear
out President Milosevic. His legal assistant cannot visit him on weekends.
Unlike other prisoners, who are allowed to see their families every day, and
even unsupervised, Mr. Milosevic can see his family only once a month, for 2-3
days, and always in under supervision. All other visits to President Milosevic
are subject to exceptional restrictions as well.
President Milosevic suffers from malignant hypertension and
ischemicalmyocardiopathy (angina pectoris). Psychological and physical exertions
to which he is subjected, combined with poor living conditions, can easily lead
to a heart attack, stroke, even sudden death. Even so, the President not only
lack specialized medical care, he lacks any medical care at all. After numerous
appeals and requests from Belgrade, and after his full medical files have been
sent to the ICTY, the trial chamber approved a medical check-up. This happened
only once, on July 11, 2002, and was performed by Dutch general practitioners
approved by the ICTY. The physicians nonetheless confirmed that the President's
living and working conditions represent a risk to his life and health, and that
it would be necessary to reduce the exertions to which he was subjected, and
provide a check-up and care by a cardiologist. The trial chamber considered
their report and recommendations on July 25 and August 26, 2002, and concluded
that they should not be implemented to the letter, but "in spirit".
However, to the present day, no cardiologist has been allowed to examine
President Milosevic, while the trial - previously adjourned by 2PM - has again
been extended to 4:30 PM every day.
All of this indicates that the trial is but an organized attempt to murder
President Milosevic. Only his release, followed by medical care and recuperation
in Belgrade under supervision of specialists who have treated and monitored his
health for years, as well as his ability to defend himself as a free man in the
later on continued process, could remove further risks to President Milosevic's
life and secure the elementary equality of the trial.
Beograd, 31 October 2002.