Belgrade protest demands release of Milosevic
By John Catalinotto
Efforts to win the release of former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic from his prison in The Hague have increased
since early November, when dangers to his health became
apparent. They include a demonstration of thousands in Belgrade
on Nov. 19.
Milosevic faces charges for alleged war crimes during NATO's
wars on the Balkans. Defending himself since the trial opened
last February, the former Yugoslav leader has often been able
to turn the tables on NATO. What began as a show trial against
Milosevic has been virtually ignored by the establishment media
since his self-defense has been so convincing.
Milosevic, who has heart and high blood pressure problems,
has endured life in a small cell with little chance for
exercise or decent food as he prepares for daylong court
sessions with the minimum of legal assistance. On top of this
constant threat to his health, doctors of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia gave him improper
medicine earlier in November, according to the Nov. 22 NRC
Handelsblad, a Dutch newspaper.
Called on only a few days' notice, the Nov. 19 protest was
on the occasion of a meeting of United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan with representatives of the current Yugoslav
government. According to spokespeople for SLOBODA (Freedom),
the group calling the action with the support of the Socialist
Party of Serbia, the nationalists and other patriotic parties,
more than 10,000 people took part.
Protesters in this "Liberty for Slobo" rally included the
Serbian nationalist Vojislav Seselj, who is running in the
election for the Serbian presidency against Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica. Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic, and others
from his family were also present. Other speakers included a
famous basketball player, a bishop, a professor of medicine and
several well-known writers.
Supporters of Milosevic also demonstrated against NATO in
Prague with others protesting the eastward expansion of the
aggressive military pact.
The committee asks that messages demanding proper medical
care for Milosevic and his release from prison be sent to:
Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
OHCHR-UNOG, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland; fax 4122 917 9022; or email tb-petitions@ohchr.org.
Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe to WW by Email: wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Donate to
support pro-labor, anti-war news.
Email
this article
Printable
page