Milosevic trial judge resigning | Globe and Mail

[Ediacara]

Milosevic trial judge resigning

By ALAN FREEMAN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

The Hague — Concern is growing that the war-crimes trial of former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic, the most important case of its kind against a head of state, is in serious trouble with the resignation of the top judge in the case and Mr. Milosevic's continuing bouts of illness.

"It's a disaster for the tribunal," said Michael Byers, a professor of international law at Duke University who has followed the case. "The prospect of this ever coming to a close with Milosevic being subject to a decision as to his innocence or guilt has just about disappeared."

Richard May, the British judge who presided over the three-judge panel hearing the case from its start two years ago, announced over the weekend that he is resigning effective May 31 because of ill health. Details of his ailment were not disclosed, but the 65-year-old judge has not appeared before the court since late January and is reported to be seriously ill.

More at the Globe and Mail

[radwriter0555]

1. The case against Milosevic was bogus to begin with....

he's innocent. Completely and totally innocent.

[mobuto]

2. Of course he is

I'm sure he had no knowledge of the genocide and ethnic cleansing that his people carried out in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Why would he? He was only the President...

[Devils Advocate NZ]

3. What genocide?

Are you trying to tell me that under 3000 deaths in two years is genocide? What about 10,000 in two months as happened in Iraq?

What about half a MILLION deaths in 10 years? Is that genocide? If so, why is Clinton not in the Hague?

[Moderator]

4. Kick!

:dem:

[Dirk39]

5. Cathrin Schütz interviews Canadian lawyer Tiphaine Dickson

Cathrin Schütz interviews Canadian lawyer Tiphaine Dickson

"Q: Late Sunday, the President of the ICTY, Theodor Meron, announced the resignation of Richard May of the United Kingdom, the presiding judge in the Milosevic trial. Officially, the resignation is due to the ill health of judge May. What was your first take on these developments?

Tiphaine Dickson: This is a spectacular development-- only days before the end of the presentation of the prosecution's evidence-- which has gone on for two years already. This resignation demonstrates that the length and complexity of this process, not to mention the hundreds of witnesses, 30,000 pages of transcripts, 500 videotapes, hundreds of audiotapes, and huge quantity of other exhibits cannot be adequately handled, let alone be meaningfully understood, by a person in ill health. It is unfortunate that Slobodan Milosevic-- whose health concerns similarly reduce his capacity properly to analyse and challenge the voluminous record generated so far-- has not been treated with the same deference accorded to Richard May. Much has been made in the mainstream press about President Milosevic's illness "wasting the court's time", yet Richard May's undisclosed health problems are not treated with contempt, but rather with compassion and concern. Slobodan Milosevic cannot resign from the ICTY for health reasons, and on the contrary, he has confronted this process while struggling against a life-threatening illness, despite being denied provisional release or specialized medical care to treat his condition.

Q: In recent days, the international press reported that the genocide charge has not been proven.

Dickson: The press' assessment of the quality of evidence presented so far is accurate to the extent that the evidence presented by the ICTY prosecutor has been anemic, rife with hearsay, opinion, speculation and irrelevancies. It is evident that counts should be dismissed, and in my opinion, the prosecutor has not succeeded in presenting a coherent or compelling case, in accordance with the standards of criminal justice."
more:
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/DIC402A.html

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[David__77]

6. I do not support this tribunal.

Yugoslavia was the victim of a concerted campaign aimed at dismembering and destroying that country. Outsiders stoked reactionary nationalism in order to open the way for NATO expansion--just my viewpoint.

Of course, I also opposed the war against Yugoslavia in 1999.