Milosevic's health deteriorates
Inadequate medical care is causing Sobodan Milosevic's health to deteriorate
Sloboda/Freedom Association – Yugoslav Committee for the Release of Slobodan Milosevic warns the public at home and abroad that the state of health of President Slobodan Milosevic is continuously getting worse, due to the dangerous and malicious disrespect of the international standards of the human right protection by the illegal tribunal at The Hague.
President Milosevic is triumphant in his struggle for truth in the process without a precedent in history, in spite he faces everyday burden exceeding the human abilities as well as the inhuman prison conditions. And it lasts more than two years already. Few specialist medical examinations and analyses have undoubtedly proven that the conditions he faces are a dangerous factor of cardiovascular risk. But the tribunal refuses even to secure regular check-ups of the President’s health condition.
Sloboda/Freedom Association demands that President Milosevic should be at least provided with the necessary examinations and recuperation in his own country and to be allowed to continue his participation in the process from freedom. That would be the only way to protect his life and health.
Belgrade, July 30, 2003
NOTE: Since last Friday, President Milosevic has kidney pains. On Friday, the court session started with delay, since he was waiting to get a pill against pain. This week, there was no trial. Tribunal’s doctors have been examining him today. Results are still expected.
President Milosevic was examined by the specialists’ medical team from Belgrade in February. On that occasion, Belgrade doctors agreed with their Dutch colleagues appointed by the tribunal that President Milosevic needs regular health monitoring, including specialists’ examination at least once in a month. Since then, there were no specialists’ examinations. In June, Sloboda demanded in strongest terms that Belgrade medical team goes to The Hague again, referring to the February agreement. This demand was sent to the person in charge, tribunal’s Registrar and to all “judges” of the “Trial Chamber III”. Until now, Sloboda got no response from the tribunal. When we were urging a response by phone, persons from the Registry replied that for another visit of Belgrade doctors, according to the tribunal’s “Rules”, ‘a written request of the accused is needed’. Now we are facing another dramatic turn in President Milosevic’s health due to another tribunal’s deliberate disregard of the medical conclusions. And President Milosevic is not willing to ask his inquisitors for anything.
Sloboda calls upon the national committees, jurists and medical doctors to react. Address the tribunal and UN Security Council members (find their contacts at http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_members.html )
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When light of truth or light of public attention falls on the illegal tribunal’s building made of immoral and criminal ‘right of might’, the building starts to be ruined.
Look at the two excerpts from today’s tribunal’s weekly press briefing (last before the three weeks summer recess). First, about the President Milosevic’s health:
Asked for more information concerning Milosevic’s health, [spokesman for Registry and Chambers Jim] Landale replied that he could not really go much further than what Judge May had said in court this morning during the administrative session, which was that the Trial Chamber understood that Milosevic was suffering from problems with his blood pressure and that was the reason he was not able to attend court this week and why the trial would now adjourn until 25 August 2003. He could not go further than that, he concluded.
A journalist stated that everyone had become used to interruptions of the Milosevic trial due to reasons of blood pressure, flu or exhaustion, but that Milosevic, during the public hearing on Friday, had mentioned that he had asked for a pain killer and that it was the first time he did so. Asked whether this indicated that there was a new ailment, or new symptoms, Landale replied that he would not go any further than what Judge May had said in court today. He added that it was not for him to disclose confidential medical information and that he would not do so.
And second, about Carla del Ponte:
Asked what the position of the Prosecutor was concerning recommendations made by the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, not to extend her mandate as Prosecutor of the ICTR, [spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor Florence] Hartmann replied that the next step, following the recommendation of the Secretary-General, was for the Security Council to issue a resolution. It was up to the Security Council to decide on such matters. She concluded that the Prosecutor would make no comment until a decision had been made.
According to a journalist, Carla Del Ponte had told a Swiss newspaper
a few days ago that if her mandate for the ICTR was not extended, she
would not stay at the ICTY. Hartmann replied that she had no further comment
to make on this issue except that she was waiting to see what the Security
Council decided. She would comment after that, but not at the moment as
it was too early.
.Why should such a
person keep any post in UN?