DUTCH WAR CRIMINALS CONCERNING THE WAR AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA ABOUT TO MAKE THEIR FORCED ENTRY INTO COURTROOM!

IMMUNITY AND IMPUNITY FOR LEADERS OF NATO'S WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA ARE COMING TO AN END!

FORMER DUTCH POLITICAL LEADERS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF THE NETHERLANDS IN NATO'S WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA BOUND TO ACCOUNT IN COURT FOR THEIR ACTIONS!

FORMER DUTCH TOP POLITICIANS PRIME MINISTER KOK, MINISTER OF DEFENCE DE GRAVE, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS VAN AARTSEN AND CHAIR OF PARLIAMENT VAN NIEUWENHOVEN SENTENCED TO APPEAR IN COURT IN PERSON, IN ORDER TO GIVE TESTIMONY TO THE LEGALITY OF THE DUTCH PARTICIPATION IN WAR ACTS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA!

On the eve of NATO's war of aggression against Yugoslavia at the beginning of 1999 the newly established Dutch organisation the Permanent Commission with respect to western war crimes (PC) sent out a solemn statement to all leading politicians in the Dutch administration and in Dutch parliament in person, holding that, if they would dare to realize their criminal aspirations and would wage a war of aggression against Yugoslavia, efforts to bring them, in person, into courtroom would continue till the very end, no matter how long it would take.

Since if they would make themselves war criminals, they would never be able again to remove this mark for the rest of their lifes.

It took five years. Five years of fierce legal combat on behalf of various groups of Yugoslav victims of NATO's aggression and in close co-operation with these victims to pave the way for this first goal: to force this former political top to appear in court in person. In order to account for their war crimes.

Now the Yugoslav victims of two of the most serious war crimes committed during this war of aggression against Yugoslavia, the cowardly nocturnal bombardment of the RTS-studio in Belgrade and the dreadful clusterbomb attacks on Nis, view the outcome of these legal undertakings: those leading Dutch politicians, who openly praised these horrible war crimes, committed in concerted NATO actions, eventually are bound to appear in court and to give account for these actions.

6 March 2003 the Hague Court of Appeal delivered a verdict stating that former Prime Minister Kok, former Minister of Defence de Grave, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Van Aartsen and the former Chair of Parliament Van Nieuwenhoven should give evidence with respect to the following question:

Two years earlier the Amsterdam Court of Appeal had already wiped the floor with the pretexts hold by the Dutch administration and the majority of the Dutch parliament in a concerted and deliberate travesty of justice that NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia should be considered legitimate, since "Security Council Resolution 474 was sufficiently justifying recourse to military force against Yugoslavia".

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal rejected this pseudo-juridical reasoning unambiguously and pointed out that the State of the Netherlands seems to have violated the prohibition of force under international law and that Kok, Van Aartsen and de Grave seem to be responsible for this.

That exposure took place in legal undertakings by other groups of Yugoslav victims of NATO's aggression, ending up in the verdict by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in the case Dedovic c.s. v. Kok, Van Aartsen and de Grave.

Nearly a year long the Hague District Court, that always rabidly has resisted the possibility that former members of the Netherlands government and MP's migth be forced to appear in court for their role in the war against Yugoslavia, succeeded to delay the performance of these hearings, ordered by the Court of Appeal.

But eventually, after the District Court itself had been threatened with summary proceedings against its clear acts of sabotage, the court decided to back down and fixed a date for this hearings: January 26th 2004.

The testimonies will take the whole day.

Kok, Van Aartsen and de Grave meanwhile announced that they will comply with the order of the Hague Court of Appeal and that they will appear. Van Nieuwenhoven, however, strongly refuses to subdue herself to interrogations in court.

And immediately we see the Hague District Court manoeuvring to support her in this refusal.

So at the moment a new legal battle is rising in order to force also Van Nieuwenhoven to comply with the unambiguous order by the Court of Appeal and with her legal duty to appear in court.

A battle she certainly will loose!

Important questions, among countless others, to be answered by Kok, Van Aartsen, de Grave and Van Nieuwenhoven during the hearings are the question whether there has been a warning by NATO before the bombardment of the RTS-studio and the question why Dutch war planes employed clusterbombs on a huge scale and why they didn't stop with that earlier than after the catastrophic clusterbomb bombardment on Nis.

The forced appearance in court of Kok, Van Aartsen, de Grave and Van Nieuwenhoven in person reflects the prominent principle with respect to war crimes: the principle of personal responsibility and liability.

A principle firmly established since the Nuremberg trials, recorded as:

"Crimes against international law are committed by man, not by abstract entities, and only by punishing indiviuals who commit such crimes the provisions of international law [can] be enforced."

(Annual Digest, 13 (1946), p. 221)

The forced appearance of the four leading western politicians and war crimes suspects in court is a step of extraordinary and historic importance.

So this certainly is a milestone in history!

The so-called Yugoslavia Tribunal has always carefully avoided to prosecute the western perpetrators of NATO's war of aggression and the countless war crimes committed during this war against Yugoslavia.

And already by this position alone this pseudo-court exposes itself clearly as no more than an extension of the U.S. foreign policy, only serving as an instrument to establish the CNN-thruth about the dissolution of Yugoslavia and to distract the attention of NATO's aggression and massive war crimes committed against Yugoslavia.

Like the former president of Yugoslavia Milosevic is evidencing, day after day.

The PC will frame this historic event with a manifestation in front of the Hall of Justice in the Hague.

The PC calls upon organisations, political parties, human rights bodies and committee's all over the world which resisted NATO's war of aggression to support this manifestation and to send messages of solidarity.

The PC also appeals to all people anywhere who have the opportunity to be present at January 26th, 2004, to take part in this manifestation.

The PC especially calls up also Dutch political parties, organisations and individuals, opposed to the war of aggression against Yugoslavia and outraged about the seeming immunity and impudity of western war criminals to mobilize their supporters and invites them to take part in the organisation of this manifestation.

In order to make this manifestation an event!

EDITORIAL NOTE FROM WWW.SLOBODAN-MILOSEVIC.ORG:

I spoke with the Dutch lawyer Nico Steijnen today. He is the lead attorney in these proceedings. Our conversation was very informative. He explained to me how these legal proceedings came about, and what new revelations have come to light regarding the Dutch roll in NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia. This website will post an article in the coming days pertaining to, and including excerpts of, my conversation with Mr. Steijnen.

Mr. Nico Steijnen is a real unsung hero in the legal defense of Slobodan Milosevic. Mr. Steijnen was appointed by President Milosevic to represent him before the Dutch and European Courts. Mr. Steijnen continues to stand by President Milosevic in spite of the shameful attacks that are waged against him by the so-called "ICTY."