Début du message transféré :
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:13:28 +0000
From: Human Rights Watch <hrwatchnyc@igc.org>
To: hrw-news@igc.topica.com
Subject: Milosevic Arrest Breaks Ground on International Justice
Milosevic Arrest Breaks Ground on International Justice
Victory for War's Victims Hailed
(New York, June 28, 2001) Slobodan Milosevic's transfer to the United
Nations war crimes tribunal is a great triumph for the victims of war
crimes in the former Yugoslavia and will help solidify the emerging
system of international justice, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said the prosecution of a former head of state before
an international tribunal would create a groundbreaking precedent in
international law.
"This is a great day for the victims of war in the former Yugoslavia,"
said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International
Justice Program.
Serbian authorities today surrendered Milosevic to representatives of
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The
former Yugoslav president had been in a Belgrade prison since his arrest
on April 1 on domestic corruption charges.
"Some people have argued that sending Milosevic to The Hague would
derail the democratic transition underway in Belgrade," said Dicker. "On
the contrary, this is a victory for the rule of law in Serbia."
The surrender of Milosevic makes clear that no leader accused of crimes
against humanity is beyond the reach of international justice, Human
Rights Watch said.
Today's transfer appears to enjoy the support of most members of the
government in Belgrade and a majority of the public. The latest polls
indicate that 48 percent of respondents support cooperation with the
tribunal, while only 36 percent oppose it. While mounting international
pressure in recent weeks contributed to this change of heart, it also
appears to stem from an increasing willingness by the Serbian people to
come to terms with the legacy of the Milosevic era, Human Rights Watch
said. Recent discoveries of mass graves of Kosovo Albanians, near Belgrade
and in other parts of Serbia, contributed to the change.
On May 24, 1999, the tribunal indicted Milosevic, along with four other
senior officials and officers, for war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed by Yugoslav and Serbian troops under their command in
Kosovo in early 1999. The crimes include the slaughter of hundreds of
ethnic Albanians, forcible deportations of hundreds of thousands of
people, and persecution based on racial, religious, and political
identification.
"The surrender of Milosevic creates a positive momentum for the arrest
and surrender of other indictees," Dicker said. He urged NATO troops in
Bosnia and Herzegovina to arrest all indictees still at large in that
country, including Radovan Karadzic, the wartime leader of the Bosnian
Serbs, and Gen. Ratko Mladic, the wartime military leader.
It is believed that twenty-six indictees currently live in Republika
Srpska, which is a part of Bosnia, and eleven more live in Serbia.
Yugoslav authorities have recently submitted to a district court in
Belgrade a demand for surrender to the tribunal of three former Yugoslav
army officers.
Human Rights Watch urged the Yugoslav authorities to surrender the
remaining indictees to the war crimes tribunal.
Milosevic Arrest: Justice Imperative (HRW Campaign Page, last updated
June 28, 2001) at http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/serbia/index.htm
Memorandum On Charges Against Indictees Currently Living in Serbia (HRW
Memorandum, April 1, 2001) at
http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/icty-bck-0401.htm
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