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WE GOT THEM! - RTS PROCEEDINGS
Jan Philemon - 03.01.2004 16:14
On January 26th Kok, Van Aartsen, de Grave and van Nieuwenhoven shall make their forced entry in the Hague courtroom. They shall be forced to give testimony about the Dutchrole in the bombardments on the RTS in Belgrade and the clusterbomb attacks on Nis.
This will be the first time in history, after the Nuremberg Trials, western war criminals will be forced to appear in court. In order to account for their behaviour.
This is truely a good start of the new year!
We would like to ask you, your political party, your organisation or committee to pass on this message as much as possible, to join our manifestation on January 26th in the Hague and to send us messages of solidarity.
The content of this message will be sent to you by e-mail on request.
 E-Mail: sagitar@hetnet.nl
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| Read more about: Agenda anti-fascisme / racisme europa vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten wereldcrisis | | supplements | | | some supplements were deleted from this article, see policy | | rare uitnodiging | campagne tegen clusterbommen - 05.01.2004 12:02
ik vind het goed dat mensen uitnodigen voor een protest, of manifestatie of wat dan ook.
maar dit is toch wel erg vaag.
Come to our manifestation on the 26th.
Where?
What time?
what's the name of your organisation?
| | more info by e-mail | fwd. - 05.01.2004 12:22
Three years after the cluster bombs on Nis
Exactly three years after the crushing cluster bomb strike on downtown Nis, this website ran publishing. The initiators will in a short term start to claim damages and compensations for the many civil victims.
Just around mid day on 7, May 1999 the controversial cluster bombs [1] fell down near the market and the hospital. At least fourteen people died immediately. Thirty others were terribly wounded by the fragments which without certain goals flew around in the air.
A Nato spokesman stated that the cluster bombs were aimed at Nis airfield. Amnesty International documented the reality in the report Collateral damage or unlawful killing? Violations of the laws of war by Nato during operation Allied Force.
Cluster bombs are very controversial. Dutch F16 fighters also dropped these weapons of mass destructions from very high levels as was confirmed by the Ministery of Defense in The Hague. Dutch politicians and military, F16 fighters included, will be heard in an examanination in court by lawyer Nico Steijnen.
In March the Campaign against Trade in Arms, in Amsterdam, disclosed that the Dutch bank ABN Amro is the new owner of the British cluster bomb producer Insys.
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On the eve of NATO's war of aggression against Yugoslavia at the
beginning of 1999 the newly established Dutch organisation the
Permanent Commission with respect to western war crimes (PC) sent out
a solemn statement to all leading politicians in the Dutch
administration and in Dutch parliament in person, holding that, if
they would dare to realize their criminal aspirations and would wage
a war of aggression against Yugoslavia, efforts to bring them, in
person, into courtroom would continue till the very end, no matter
how long it would take.
Since if they would make themselves war criminals, they would never
be able again to remove this mark for the rest of their lifes.
It took five years. Five years of fierce legal combat on behalf of
various groups of Yugoslav victims of NATO's aggression and in close
co-operation with these victims to pave the way for this first goal:
to force this former political top to appear in court in person. In
order to account for their war crimes.
Now the Yugoslav victims of two of the most serious war crimes
committed during this war of aggression against Yugoslavia, the
cowardly nocturnal bombardment of the RTS-studio in Belgrade and the
dreadful clusterbomb attacks on Nis, view the outcome of these legal
undertakings: those leading Dutch politicians, who openly praised
these horrible war crimes, committed in concerted NATO actions,
eventually are bound to appear in court and to give account for these
actions.
6 March 2003 the Hague Court of Appeal delivered a verdict stating
that former Prime Minister Kok, former Minister of Defence de Grave,
former Minister of Foreign Affairs Van Aartsen and the former Chair
of Parliament Van Nieuwenhoven should give evidence with respect to
the following question:
"Are violated, with respect to the bombardment of the RTS-studio in
Belgrade and the clusterbomb attacks on Nis, principles and norms of
international humanitarian law for which the State of the Netherlands
might be hold responsible ?"
Two years earlier the Amsterdam Court of Appeal had already wiped the
floor with the pretexts hold by the Dutch administration and the
majority of the Dutch parliament in a concerted and deliberate
travesty of justice that NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia should
be considered legitimate, since "Security Council Resolution 474 was
sufficiently justifying recourse to military force against
Yugoslavia".
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal rejected this pseudo-juridical
reasoning unambiguously and pointed out that the State of the
Netherlands seems to have violated the prohibition of force under
international law and that Kok, Van Aartsen and de Grave seem to be
responsible for this.
That exposure took place in legal undertakings by other groups of
Yugoslav victims of NATO's aggression, ending up in the verdict by
the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in the case Dedovic c.s. v. Kok, Van
Aartsen and de Grave.
Nearly a year long the Hague District Court, that always rabidly has
resisted the possibility that former members of the Netherlands
government and MP's migth be forced to appear in court for their role
in the war against Yugoslavia, succeeded to delay the performance of
these hearings, ordered by the Court of Appeal.
But eventually, after the District Court itself had been threatened
with summary proceedings against its clear acts of sabotage, the
court decided to back down and fixed a date for this hearings:
January 26th 2004.
The testimonies will take the whole day.
Kok, Van Aartsen and de Grave meanwhile announced that they will
comply with the order of the Hague Court of Appeal and that they will
appear. Van Nieuwenhoven, however, strongly refuses to subdue herself
to interrogations in court.
And immediately we see the Hague District Court manoeuvring to
support her in this refusal.
So at the moment a new legal battle is rising in order to force also
Van Nieuwenhoven to comply with the unambiguous order by the Court of
Appeal and with her legal duty to appear in court.
A battle she certainly will loose!
Important questions, among countless others, to be answered by Kok,
Van Aartsen, de Grave and Van Nieuwenhoven during the hearings are
the question whether there has been a warning by NATO before the
bombardment of the RTS-studio and the question why Dutch war planes
employed clusterbombs on a huge scale and why they didn't stop with
that earlier than after the catastrophic clusterbomb bombardment on
Nis.
The forced appearance in court of Kok, Van Aartsen, de Grave and Van
Nieuwenhoven in person reflects the prominent principle with respect
to war crimes: the principle of personal responsibility and liability.
A principle firmly established since the Nuremberg trials, recorded
as:
"Crimes against international law are committed by man, not by
abstract entities, and only by punishing indiviuals who commit such
crimes the provisions of international law [can] be enforced."
(Annual Digest, 13 (1946), p. 221)
The forced appearance of the four leading western politicians and war
crimes suspects in court is a step of extraordinary and historic
importance.
Never before in history, since the Nuremberg Trials against leading
Nazi's, any Western political leader ever has been called to account
in person standing before a court.
So this certainly is a milestone in history!
The so-called Yugoslavia Tribunal has always carefully avoided to
prosecute the western perpetrators of NATO's war of aggression and
the countless war crimes committed during this war against Yugoslavia.
And already by this position alone this pseudo-court exposes itself
clearly as no more than an extension of the U.S. foreign policy, only
serving as an instrument to establish the CNN-thruth about the
dissolution of Yugoslavia and to distract the attention of NATO's
aggression and massive war crimes committed against Yugoslavia.
Like the former president of Yugoslavia Milosevic is evidencing, day
after day.
The PC will frame this historic event with a manifestation in front
of the Hall of Justice in the Hague.
The PC calls upon organisations, political parties, human rights
bodies and committee's all over the world which resisted NATO's war
of aggression to support this manifestation and to send messages of
solidarity.
The PC also appeals to all people anywhere who have the opportunity
to be present at January 26th, 2004, to take part in this
manifestation.
The PC especially calls up also Dutch political parties,
organisations and individuals, opposed to the war of aggression
against Yugoslavia and outraged about the seeming immunity and
impudity of western war criminals to mobilize their supporters and
invites them to take part in the organisation of this manifestation.
In order to make this manifestation an event!
JOIN THIS MANIFESTATION ! IN ORDER TO GIVE THOSE LEADING DUTCH
POLITICIANS AND WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS A WARM WELCOME AT THE MOMENT THEY
SHALL HAVE TO MARCH INTO THE PLACE WHERE THEY BELONG: THE COURT
BUILDING.
Place: Hall of Justice, Prins Clausweg 60, the Hague (directly behind
the Central Station). Date: 26 January 2004. Time: the whole day
starting from 9.30 h.
1 January 2004
Permanent Commission with respect to western war crimes (PC)
 http://www.natosued.org/menu/contact.html
http://www.natosued.org (in preparation)
received by targets:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/targets-news/
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