Continues to resist kangaroo court
Concern grows for Milosevic's health
By John Catalinotto
Is former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's life in
danger? On Oct. 31, Milosevic had a sudden increase of high
blood pressure that often comes with his illness--malignant
hypertension plus angina pectoris.
Since then, the proceeding in the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague,
Netherlands, have been postponed.
Milosevic's supporters pointed out in a statement soon after
that "such an event can cause his death." The Serb official who
led Yugoslavia during the aggression on that country by the
U.S./NATO war machine has been defending himself against
spurious war-crimes charges in the court set up by NATO since
last February.
Since the trial began in mid-February, Milosevic has managed
to turn the case around on NATO, exposing the criminal actions
of the U.S. and its European allies, first for plotting to
bring about the war and destruction of Yugoslavia, and then for
bombing the civilian infrastructure and killing thousands of
Yugoslav civilians. He has been so successful that the
imperialist media has chosen to ignore what at first was
designed to be a show trial of the Yugoslav leader.
The Hague authorities are holding him under onerous
conditions. His cell is small, without access to natural air.
He attends the trial every weekday between 9 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., and is confined to the ICTY basement during the lunch
break, where he can eat only a sandwich. He goes through
humiliating searches when in transit. Back in detention by 6
p.m., he must choose between dinner and a short walk in fresh
air, then must prepare until late at night for the next day of
trial.
The former president faces mountains of papers to review
without facilities to prepare his extraordinary courtroom
battle. He also has absolutely no medical care. By the end of
the prosecution's case, which is scheduled to conclude in May
2003, he has to review over 100,000 pages of text and over 600
videotapes submitted by the prosecution.
Milosevic's supporters in Serbia and worldwide are using a
seven-day hiatus proclaimed by the court to campaign to get him
specialized medical treatment in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. They
want him seen by doctors who have taken care of his health for
years, until his full recovery.
They ask that people send faxes to the ICTY at
31-70-512-8637 and demand this treatment. Lawyers are invited
to fax ICTY President Claude Jorda and President of Trial
Chamber III Richard May at the same number.
Reprinted from the Nov. 14, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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