Упрощенная HTML-версия
Author : E. Guskova
Head, Center for the Modern Balkan Crisis Studies, Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Doctor of Sciences (History);
LATE IN THE 20TH CENTURY, the future of
the peoples of Yugoslavia no longer belonged to
them: it was planned in other countries by top bu-
reaucrats and numerous old and new international
structures. The lessons to be learned will keep busy
many generations of historians and politicians.
The international organizations and certain coun-
tries aspired to manage the crisis, keep it under con-
trol and channel it in the desired, even if biased and
prejudiced, direction. This can be described as one
of the central elements of international efforts. The "decision-making enforcement" methods
were tailored to fit the above.
Russian academics and experts, however, doubt the ICTY legitimacy. Prof. Alexander Mezyaev
from Kazan, for example, believes that the creation and activities of an international legal struc-
ture which defies the norms of acting international law cannot be accepted as legal.
The academic community has gathered a vast body of evidence which present the Tribunal as
biased and far from independent in its decisions; its judges, investigators and prosecutors as
highly partial. This is obvious in the way the trial is organized, the way the accused, witnesses
and experts are treated.
The ICTY denies the accused the right to defend themselves in person; it assigns defense coun-
sels; trials in absentia are not rare; presumption of innocence looks non-existent together with
the principle of equality of arms in particular when sentencing; prohibition of retroactive ap-
plication of law and the principle of judiciary independence and impartiality and legality of the
sentences are ignored. Prof. Mezyaev has described this as the worst violations of law by the
ICTY.
Overwhelming evidence presented at the Conference proved beyond doubt that the Tribunal
doctored statistics and accepted unverified and inaccurate demographic-statistical constructs
to arrive at the desired and preconceived conclusions.
The ICTY is not interested in the crimes perpetrated by Muslims, Croats, Albanians, etc. It pro-
ceeds from the assumption that the Serbs started all wars and that they were guilty of all, or
nearly all, war crimes while the others were fighting with kid gloves.
If Serbia and Montenegro are found guilty they will have to pay contribution to the other re-
publics. Another consequence is even worse: for many years the Serbs will be regarded as a
criminal nation while the international organizations and NATO will confirm the legality of
sanctions, blockade and bombing.
The Secret of Polichinelle
http://interaffairs.ru