[NYC-L] Re: [ALBANIAN] The trial of Milosovic

[Imer Berisha]

Dear Mr. Connan, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Pack and other members of the list,

First of all my apologies for sending an empty e-mail two days ago, I wrote 
something about Milosevich trial, but somehow it was lost. As I think this 
issue is important I will try to repeat what I said in the posting that did 
not reach members of the list.

Few issues have come to surface that are pertinent to the possible trial of 
the “butcher of the Balkans” as some have referred to Milosevich.

It is all to good to be politically correct but as I am not a politician, 
not a member of any political party and, do not aspire for any political 
position at all, I believe I can afford the luxury of saying the truth and 
probably risk being politically incorrect.

1.	The place of trial. There is no doubt in my mind that he should be tried 
at The Hague.  The crimes that Milosevic has been indicted for are crimes 
within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the 
former Yugoslavia in The Hague.  Yugoslav authorities are simply buying time 
from the West claiming that this issue is not that important, they have 
other things to deal with. The truth is they do not want to initiate 
proceedings against him for crimes committed in Bosnia and Kosova at all, be 
it in Serbia or in any other place.  Aware that they must do something they 
are organizing a “mock” trial, pretending that he is being tried in Serbia.  
International law has priority over national law and there is no need for 
any other law to transfer Milosevic to The Hague as this is not an 
indictment from another country i.e. this is not an extradition case between 
two countries. The crimes that he has been accused of are universally 
recognized crimes and under the jurisdiction of the ICT.

2.	No retroactivity of legal provisions –Yes this is the rule, but as for 
any other rule, there are exceptions.  Milosevich knew that he was 
committing crimes, and he did everything possible to hide them, among other 
things by incinerating bodies of executed Albanians, and spreading mass 
graves sites all over Kosova (more than 500). After all he is a lawyer, and 
he is not excused of not knowing the law. In relation to the retroactivity 
issue if this principle would have applied strictly the Nuremberg trial will 
not have happened. At the time when Justice Robert H. Jackson was papering 
for the Nuremberg trial many around him were skeptic, even within US 
government. It has succeeded and has become part of international law. 
Nuremberg trial showed the need for individuals to be tried. Their defense 
was: there ca be no punishment for crimes without a pre-existing law. Of 
course this was rejected b y the Court.

3.	Syndrome of denial.  Another very important phenomenon is the “syndrome 
of denial” that is present among many Serbs, let alone government.  What has 
happened in Kosova, atrocities and massacres committed are not acknowledged. 
Why? This the point where political “correctness” collides with the truth.  
It was not only Hitler responsible for the killing of millions and million 
of Jewish and other people. Yes, he was at the top of the pyramid, but there 
were millions of Germans that supported him and were ready to die for his 
“vision” of future Germany.  Without a broad support he could not have 
started his killing machinery against humanity.  After the war, because of 
“political correctness” and in hope of changing the attitudes of German 
people, only a small group of persons was prosecuted.  In return German 
people have acknowledged (the majority of them) that horrible crimes were 
committed by the Nazi Germany on their behalf.  The difference between 
German people and Serbian people/and their governments/ is that Serbian 
people do not acknowledge what has happened, the pain inflicted to other 
human beings around Serbia, by their government with the participation of 
many of them.

4.	What is at stake?  The problem was never and is still not only Milosevic, 
and Europeans know that very well, but also they must be politically 
correct, because their people did not suffer from Serbian forces and they 
are politicians.  The problem was and still is, Milosevic on the heads and 
minds of so many Serbs, today at the beginning of 21 century.  It might not 
be politically correct but it is true that
      MILOSEVIC DID NOT LOOSE ELECTIONS FOR WHAT HE DID!

      MIOSVIC LOST ELECTIONS BECAUSE HE DID NOT FINISH WHAT HE
      STARTED!

      He ruled for 13 years because Serb people gave their votes to him, 
even after wars
      and atrocities that were being committed by Serbian Army, disguised as 
Yugoslav
solders.  So at this point the majority of Serbs voted in favor of 
atrocities and discrimination that went on in Kosova e.g. for ten years.  
Therefore Milosevic lost elections because Serb people, same individuals 
(majority) that voted for him, were furious because he could not accomplish 
his “horseshoe” plan in Kosova to drive ethnic Albanians from the region and 
settle refugees from Croatia there. Serb voters were angry at him because he 
presented his defeat as a victory, and brought NATO inside Kosova and in the 
border with Serbia.  Unfortunately Milosevic did not loose elections because 
Serb voters came to acknowledge that what was done in their name was wrong, 
it has to be condemned and admitted, and Serbian government should apologize 
to Albanian people and Boshnjak people, for atrocities committed against 
them by Serbia.  Hence Milosevic trial is not a trial of an individual it is 
a trial of an entire policy and criminal and intolerant attitude of many 
Serbs that still have against neighboring people Albanians in particular. 
Serb people (again unfortunately the majority) cannot come to terms with the 
fact that Albanians inevitably will be equal with them and Serb rule over 
Kosova has been lost forever (no matter what the final status of Kosova will 
be).  Milosevic trial is, and has to be a trial of  “Milosevichism” 
(unfortunately) in the heads and minds of many Serbs.  It is not impossible 
for this negative attitude to change, but Kostunica is not the one that 
wants to make those changes, similar to Montenegrin government. Kostunica 
does not differ from Milosevic in his aims and ideas. He is a nationalist as 
Milosevic.

5.	Kostunica
      The only difference between him and Milosevic is that he knows that 
Serbian military muscle cannot do anything to NATO forces and he is trying 
to give as less as possible in order to achieve as much as possible in 
relations with the West.I even think that he has promised Milosevic not to 
transfer him to The Hague. It is up to International community to “help” 
Serb people to realize their dead end road and truly change. Therefore 
Milosevich’s trial at The Hague is of paramount
importance, especially at the time that Albanians are buying their loved 
ones at the Kosova/Serbia border from Serbian prisons.  This has being going 
for very long time, and as the shame. At the same time Kostunica gets green 
light for financial aid from US. (there are still more 400 Albanians 
prisoners in Serbia!) Unfortunately they have become only numbers in the 
notes of different governmental officials involved in Kosova for the only 
reason they speak Albanian and have no government of their own to care for 
them.


Regards,

Imer Berisha


________________________________________________________________________
>From: Christopher Fisher <cfisher at MAILBAG.COM>
>Reply-To: cfisher at mailbag.com
>To: ALBANIAN at LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU
>Subject: Re: [ALBANIAN] The trial of Milosovic
>Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 15:39:50 -0500
>
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>  >>>>>    Albanians in Macedonia Crisis Center (AMCC) <<<<<<<<
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>
>Tom,
>
>I agree with you that *how* he comes to trial isn't important, but *why*
>is.  If Serbia tries him simply for crimes against the state, then he
>may go to prison, even be executed, but we, Albanians and friends alike,
>will be the losers.  Why?  Because he *MUST* be put on trial for
>Genocide; in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosova.  And the Serbs *MUST, MUST*
>come to realize what the Germans did after Nuremberg-that they, or at
>least all of them that supported him, and went "rah-rah" over his
>attempt to unleash the "final solutions" to the Bosnian and Albanian
>"questions", are on trial there too, in a sense.  A stake needs to be
>driven straight through the heart of racist Serb nationalism, and it's
>first stike will not happen until Milosevic is on trial before the War
>Crimes Tribunal, and the Serbs will no longer be able to pull their
>denial games any longer.
>
>All the Best,
>
>Chris
>
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