Trial of 3 Croat generals to open in may

[Strengthandhonour]

Trial of 3 Croat generals to open in may
AP

January 17, 2007


THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Three Croat generals charged with orchestrating a deadly scorched-earth campaign to drive Serbs out of part of southern Croatia will go on trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in May, the U.N. court said Wednesday.

Gen. Ante Gotovina and two other generals, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, have pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to the campaign known as Operation Storm that swept thousands of Serbs out of the Krajina region of southern Croatia between July and November 1995.

Gotovina and the other suspects are regarded by many Croatians as war heroes for retaking land seized by rebel Serbs in 1991.

But prosecutors at The Hague-based court say the campaign was premeditated ethnic cleansing, led by then-President Franjo Tudjman, that left at least 150 Serbs dead. Tudjman died in 1999.

The indictment alleged that Croat forces killed civilians, including the elderly, women and invalids.

"Persons were observed being shot at point-blank range and killed execution-style, and many persons had to look on while family members were killed," it alleged.

The suspects face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted of crimes including murder, persecution, inhumane treatment and plunder.

At a hearing last month, Gotovina's defense attorney, Gregory Kehoe, said he would not be ready for trial until September at the earliest.

"This is an enormously important case for Gen. Gotovina ... with enormous ramifications for the rest of his life," he said.

But judge Bakone Moloto said in an order Wednesday that he considered arguments for waiting until September to start the trial "unconvincing" and added that the court had an obligation to "ensure that a trial is fair and expeditious."

Moloto set May 7 as the date for prosecutors to present their opening statement. Prosecutors have estimated that the trial will take about a year.

Gotovina was arrested more than a year ago on the Canary Islands and remains in custody. Cermak and Markac surrendered voluntarily to the court in March 2004 and have been released to await their trial.

source: My Way News - Trial of 3 Croat Generals to Open in May

[Kernunnos]

Bakone Molto record. South african negro. Surely entitled to judge european matters, non biased against a white general as well as against white Europe. Biographical Note Judge Bakone Justice MOLOTO

[Marcus Marulus]

Very few people understand what kind of monstrosity this kangaroo court, the Hague tribunal, represents. The precedent has been set: from now on the occult world power can bring to trial anyone they dislike, any statesman, general or whatsoever.

[Strengthandhonour]

Promotheus,
Can you share anything about the 3 Croat generals and the view towards them in Croatia?

[Tennyson]

Originally Posted by Breha

Bakone Molto record. South african negro. Surely entitled to judge european matters, non biased against a white general as well as against white Europe. Biographical Note Judge Bakone Justice MOLOTO

What a disgrace. Those people deserve to be judged in a fair trial, not in a Negro minstrel farce.

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Strengthandhonour

Promotheus,
Can you share anything about the 3 Croat generals and the view towards them in Croatia?

They are considered heroes of the independence war (1991-1995), fought against the Serbian/Yugoslav forces of occupation, but the political elite does not care about it. Their only concern is to fulfill all demands of the European Union and USA.

Their "crimes" are quite ridiculous: the tribunal doesn't even accuses them of ordering alleged atrocities, but they are accused of the so-called "command responsability", ie. they are accounted responsible of any kind of thing that happened on the area of their command, even if they did not know what was happening ("they should have known", says the prosecutor).

Of course, I don't approve any kind of atrocities and killing innocents and civilians, I don't think even a defensive war can be an excuse for that. But processes like this are plainly ridiculous, led by an "international court" that pretends to embody universal justice.

It would be preferable all culprits of eventual war crimes to reamain unpunished (including Serbian war criminals), to the present situation, where (at least de jure) sovereign nations are obliged to bow before an illegitimate "international" tribunal.