Interview on Canadian Radio with James Bissett – 27th September 2004.

THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL: CHARGES AGAINST MILOSEVIC PURE FANTASY

[Excerpts from the interview with the former Canadian Ambassador to
Yugoslavia, James Bissett, September 27, 2004]

Stalled by reluctant witnesses and an uncooperative defendant, judges in
Slobodan Milosevic’s war crimes trial adjourned the proceedings for a
month Wednesday (15. September 2004) to give the former Yugoslav
president’s court-appointed lawyers time to prepare their case. At least
20 of Milosevic’s witnesses, including high-level foreign politicians,
have refused to show up since the court limited Milosevic’s ability to
mount his own defense. Milosevic faces 66 counts of war crimes for his
alleged criminal role in atrocities committed during the violent breakup
of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Those are very serious charges
with potential consequences for the whole Serbian nation.

Mr. James Bissett, former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia is one of
foreign politicians who refused to go to The Hague to testify. His
refusal to testify has prompted the media at home and abroad to ask him
to explain why he made this decision?

One of the fundamental principles of law is that if you are accused of
something that you have right to defend yourself. That is enshrined in
law and has been for many centuries. It is one of the core principles of
the law. Even the Constitution of the Tribunal itself makes it clear
that all of the defendants have right to defend themselves if they
choose to do so, including Mr. Milosevic.

Yet the Tribunal has now decided to take that right away from him. This
decision served to confirm my early suspicions that the Tribunal was
really a political court. It was the final straw that convinced me I did
not want to be a witness at the trial. It was my own decision. I was
surprised, but pleased, to see that most of the other witnesses agreed
not to appear.

Judges citing medical reports that Milosevic was unfit to take charge of
his defense. Is this right?

Anyone who reads Tribunal’s transcripts will see that Milosevic is more
than able to defend himself. His cross examinations have destroyed many
of the witnesses who have come before him. I think the Tribunal is using
health reasons simple as an excuse to prevent him from defending
himself. [The prosecution] came up with this fantasy theory that he,
Karadzic and the Serb leader in Croatia entered into criminal conspiracy
to ethnically cleanse all non-Serbs out of Bosnia and Croatia. This is
pure fantasy. The prosecution is having a very difficult time of proving
all this. It is pretty clear that they got to try to keep him off the
stand. If he is on the stand, he is going to destroy their arguments.

You have always been a defender of the rule of law and you believed in
the UN charters. Given what we have seen so far at The Hague, have you
changed you mind about the UN court and the justice the UN is capable to
administer?

I am afraid to have to say yes. From the outset the legitimacy of the
Tribunal has been in question. The UN Security Council established it
yet there is nothing in the United Nations Charter that gives the
Security Council the authority to establish a Tribunal or Court.
Nevertheless the Tribunal did get the blessing of the UN Security
Council and the UN Secretary General. Therefore one could argue that
despite its dubious origin it has taken on a quasi- legal position. Mr.
Milosevic has been accused of some of the most serious crimes since the
Nazi leaders were on trial at Nuremberg. It was therefore incumbent upon
Tribunal to get it right. By that I mean – to ensure there was fairness,
to ensure there was a presumption of innocence on the part of the
accused and to follow the other basic principles of law. This the
Tribunal has not done.

We also know that the Tribunal was financed by George Soros and by some
of the Arab states. This in itself calls into question the impartiality
of the Tribunal. The court has been dominated and managed by the United
States. It is in the interests of the USA to continue the pretence that
Milosevic is solely responsible for everything that went wrong in the
former Yugoslavia. I am convinced that the Tribunal was established to
make Mlosevic and the Serbs guilty of all the crimes committed in the
Balkans. His guilt is essential if the Germans and the Americans who
played such a critical role in causing much of the bloodshed and the
violence in the Balkans are to be let off the hook.

What is the biggest misconception of the war in the former Yugoslavia
that people in the West have?

The US led NATO powers have done a masterful job through manipulation of
the popular media of blaming the Serbs and Milosevic for everything that
happened since the breakup of Yugoslavia. They have been able to
convince the people in the West that Milosevic and the Serbs not only
broke up Yugoslavia, but also are responsible for all the killings and
ethnic cleansing. This is a very scary thing. It shows how easy public
opinion can be manipulated. That is why it is important for the truth to
come out.

Already we see that people have forgotten Kosovo. It is no longer a
subject of interest to the media. Over 2000 Serbs have been murdered in
Kosovo since NATO and the UN took over and not one person has been
charged. Almost all the non-Albanian population has been forced to leave
Kosovo. Yet, not a word of complaint about ethnic cleansing. Albanians
have burned or blasted down over 150 Christian churches, some of them
treasures from the 12th and 13th centuries. Not a word of protest from
Christian leaders in the USA and Canada. How can this be explained?

We are dealing here with double standard and the manipulation of western
public opinion. It is shocking and frightening. This is why the Tribunal
in The Hague must be discredited because if it is not – its files and
testimonies will form an important part of the historical record.
Unfortunately it seems obvious that Milosevic’s guilt has already been
ordained by the Americans. And they represent as we know the most
powerful nation in the world.

***

Mr. James Bissett was Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia in 1992.

BOBA BOROJEVIC, producer

Monday’s Encounter on CKCU 93.1FM

Ottawa, Canada