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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Nov. 14, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
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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.

- END -

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Milosevic needs heart treatment, life in danger, brother says

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (AFP) - Slobodan Milosevic has only months to live and can only be saved if he is urgently sent to hospital for heart treatment, the former Yugoslav president's brother said Monday.
Borislav Milosevic, the former Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow, said he spoke by telephone last week with his brother, on trial for war crimes in The Hague, and is worried about his survival.
"He is on the verge of having a heart attack," Borislav told AFP by telephone. "He constantly suffers from high blood pressure. If he is not treated, a fatal result is inevitable."
He added that his brother should be treated for a short time in Belgrade, and that the trial in The Hague could resume once Milosevic was again in stable health. "After he is cured, this process can resume."
Judges trying Milosevic, 61, have voiced concern that the trial might not be completed, after the former Yugoslav president's poor health again forced a delay in the proceedings.
His trial has been interrupted four times since it began in February because of ill health.
Doctors who carried out a full medical check-up in July confirmed he had high blood pressure and ran the risk of a heart attack.
The court tried to reduce the workload on Milosevic after the last health warning but even with the time limits imposed on it the case will take years to complete.
The prosecution has until May 2003 to present its case. Milosevic will have until at least mid-2004 for his defense, which he is conducting himself.
zak

Letter sent to the Permanent Mission of PR China to UN

Dear Mr. Security Council President

We wish to bring to your attention the inhumane conditions being imposed
on former President Slobodav Milosevic at the US-sponsored and financed
International Tribunal.

President Milosevic's health is precarious at best. He has been given
insufficient time to prepare his case, insufficient time to rest. The
case against him is going poorly and the treatment accorded him is cruel
and unfair.

We urge you to bring this issue before the UN and ask that the punitive
and unjust "court" be obliged to give Mr. Milosevic decent treatment,
more rest, shorter sessions, more opportunity for fresh air and food,
and--most important--all the medical care that he needs.

As of now, his poor health is being ignored or dismissed out of hand by
the court.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Michael Parenti, Ph.D., Berkeley, California, USA
Christian Parenti, Ph.D., New York, NY, USA
Lauren Coodley, M.A., Napa, California, USA
Peggy Karp, Albany, California, USA

02.03.2002

FAIRNESS FOR MR. MILOSEVIC

Your Honour,

We, the panellists of the colloquium "The ´Milosevic Case´ - The
International Criminal Jurisdiction and the New Wars of the Great Powers",
held today in Berlin, regret that Mr. Milosevic is severely restricted in
his basic legal right as a defendant to unhampered consultation with
advisors of his choice and freedom to defend his case also through
communication with the media. Our colloquium took place in the City Hall of
the Schoeneberg District of Berlin and was attended by approximately 200
people.
We urge you to grant Mr. Milosevic´s request to be released in order to
continue to prepare his defence under minimal conditions of fairness.

Respectfully

· Rolf Becker, Actor, Hamburg
· Klaus Hartmann, President of the World Union of Freethinkers, Offenbach
· Ralph Hartmann, Former ambassador to Yugoslavia, author of three books on
the destruction of Yugoslavia, Berlin
· Gert Julius, Berlin City District Counsellor, Schoeneberg District
· Peter Koch, Attorney at Law, Heidelberg
· Norman Paech, Professor of international law, Hamburg School of Economics
and Politics, Hamburg
· Klaus von Raussendorff, Publicist, Bonn
· Eberhard Schultz, Attorney at Law, Bremen

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