Nicholas Klinsman - Very good comment to Jesse. I agree wholeheartedly.
(Kate, 14 April 2008 12:33)
I agree too, everyone knows in their heart that the KLA were no angels but the real monsters were the Yugoslav army that Slobo sent down to Kosovo. In my opinion, that army was responsible for the creation of the KLA, but I am 100% the murdering of Kosovo Serbs.
Kosovo must guarantee the safety of all it's minorities, Serbia must accept Kosovo as a neighbor. This is the only way forward. Kosovo has already put the guarantee in it's draft constitution which will be active in June, With Nato, UNMIK & Eulex active in Kosovo there will be people that make sure that the promise is kept. All that's left is for Serbia to accept Kosovo as a neighbor, and enter the EU. This isn't complicated. The Serbs & Albanians are blowing it out of proportion.
This - if true, and I think it is - is the worst in this whole, sorry affair:
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large. Many of the charges in the indictment, which seemed strong and rather clear-cut, had been based on witness testimony, which during the trial itself was conspicuously absent."
It is a failure for the Kosovo government, UNMIK, KFOR and for everyone living in Kosovo to allow and accept a situation where witnesses fear to speak up.
I see the same kind of fear here in Denmark, where witnesses all too often develop a sudden memory loss when it comes to criminal cases involving motorcycle gangs and drugs.
Intimidation against witnesses should carry the highest possible consequences. Many months, if not years of imprisonment.
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large."
Since these crimes were committed on Serbian territory, Serbia should call for the extradition of these men to Beograd for a fair trial. An environment should also be created for the protection of all witness, a sort of witness protection program.
Should justice be denied, a special force should be dispatched in the spirit of munich to either apprehend/ or liquidate these criminals wherever they may reside.
Pristina must understand that they are subject to the laws of Serbia.
The judgment was inevitable, given the evidentiary record created by the trial.
I do not know how much of the trial you watched on the video feed from the ICTY or how much of the transcript you read, but the prosecution's trial performance was hugely incompetent--bumbling and unfocused. Watching it made any lawyer, like me, cringe.
Emmerson's trial performance on behalf of Haradinaj, on the other hand was superb. Any lawyer watching him would be inspired.
To argue that the trial chamber did anything other than what the rule of law required on the record is nonsense.
I wasn't going to comment at all, as it is after all about Tribunal, an institution that doesn't deserve any comments. But, I can't help myself.
"On so many levels and for so many reasons, the whole process has been a travesty of justice and a stain on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."
Stain? Black spot on otherwise clean record?
One could start about Djukic's stay in Hague where he was tortured by FBI (how did they get an access?) and denied medical treatment for cancer, just to be released few days before death. Released after being held in Hague prison for more then six months, without charges ever being laid, as it was obvoius that this general was a logistc officer, never in command of any combat units, and never in position to order any war crimes to begin with (unless supplying uniforms to Bosnian Serb soldiers was also a war crime).
One could go on and on.
"-The ICTY, totally contravening its standard restrictions on the actions and movements of indictees given provisional release while awaiting trial, permitted Haradinaj to engage in limited political activity. This again showed a double standard in treatment. No other indictee has ever been given anything similar. A Croatian indictee on provisional release (Mladen Markač) was abruptly ordered back to The Hague merely for going hunting. "
This is a best example of double standard that you could find?
Croat was ordered back for going hunting, while Haradinaj was allowed to re-enter politics while waiting for a trial?
How about this.
Vojislav ŠeŠelj, remember him?
The guy who called Milosevic a greatest traitor in Serbian history when he signed Dayton agreement? President of Radical Party of Serbia back at the turn of the century when Radicals had 6 seats in Serbian Parliament?
He surrendered himself to Hague Tribunal as soon as indictment wasa issued, back in 2003.
Since it bacame obvious that trial isn't going to start anytime soon, he asked for provisional release (normally granted to those who surrendered themselves voluntarilly). He was refused and spent more then 4 years in jail just waiting for the trial (that started in Nov 2007).
Need more of it?
No, mr. Montgomery. Stain is a spot on othewise clear surface. With so many black spots it's called spotted design, not a stain.
And ones more I'm amazed for ability of Albanians to take everything their beloved leaders say for granted.
That's how we ended up with the story about Kosovo that goes like this.
"Ones upon a time Kosovo where Albanians lived and having nothing better to do they built Serbian monasteries, and opened Serbian schools for their children. When they were having a break from naming their settlements with Serbian names, and going around writting cyrillic, that is.
Then in 1912 Serbs came (who were never more then 10% of population) and occupied Kosovo. From that moment on there was nothing but oppression for Albanians in Serbia/Yugoslavia.
Story about Albanian human or political rights was short. They never had any, whatsoever.
Then Milosevic came to power and took those rights away..."
@Valon If the Serbian govt or people wanted to wipe out the Albanian ethnicity in Kosovo they could have done it already after the first Balkan war, WWI, or anytime during the early 90's. Let's move the dialogue past this nonsense ok.
If Ramush Haradinaj were really innocent, there wouldn't have been any problems with witness intimidation. An innocent man would want everybody to testify and tell the truth.
The indictment against Haradinaj was flawed from the beginning. He got off because he wasn't indicted for command responsibility. Unlike most ICTY defendants, he was not held accountable for the crimes of his subordinates.
If you read the judgement, you'll see that the judges found that people under his command committed war crimes, but because command responsibility was not identified as a mode of criminal liability in the indictment Haradinaj got off.
The Judges can not convict a defendant for anything that isn't specifically set-out by the prosecution in the indictment, and that is why Haradinaj got off.
It is clear to anybody who reads the judgement that this verdict does not vindicate the KLA. Haradinaj is a free man because the prosecution did a bad job of writing the indictment and explaining Haradinaj's criminal liability. Because of their incompetence a dangerous man was set free.
Nicholas, good comment rebutting Jesse's revisionist ideas. Though there's one more thing that needs to be added: since when Jesse has Montgomery been "pro-Serb"? Many of his articles are highly critical of Serb activity, and spout the same rhetoric of the US State Department. This article, like most of his articles, raises a number of good points, but leaves some of the conclusions up for debate. If Montgomery doesn't share your opinion of Haradinaj as a modern day hero, may I remind you that 99% of the world doesn't adhere to Albanian groupthink?
Still, the one thing I found most interesting is this idea that actually convicting Haradinaj would cause an uproar in Kosovo. Hello? Isn't that what KFOR is there for? To keep law and order? So the Albanians riot because their glorified war criminal is sent to jail. A little display of force, an enforced curfew, and the same resolve to squash unrest by Serbs should be applied to Albanians to bring everyone back into line. What we have now is the Albanian OJ Simpson who can return to normal life at the cost of the last shreds of credibility of the ICTY. Finding and extradicting Mladic and Karadzic will now be doubly hard, if not outright impossible, especially if May 11 produces an SRS victory.
And Valon, please don't dirty the memory of Martin Luther King by even remotely comparing him to Haradinaj. Such a comparison is an absolute insult to all Americans regardless of color or ethnicity and it shows your limited comprehension of history.
Montgomery,
Why don't you ask the tough questions like when is the Hague going to open an investigation into witness tampering, murder and organized crimes in regards to this case? This would fall under RICO in the US.
You claim finding evidence is hard because it’s a "guerilla war", yet no real efforts were made to force those in a position of power within the KLA to cooperate.
The solution is simple. Ban all members of the KLA from a politics until full cooperation is achieved. At this point the "burden of proof" is on them to show they truly want the Multi-Ethnic Kosovo they claim to desire. If crimes against Serbs are left unpunished, there can be no protection for the minorities or justice for the victims.
If this decision is left standing, then the ONLY option is the partition of Kosovo to protect the Serbs living there, or to finish ethnically cleansing the remaining Serbs. Either way, it means War.
Anyone else find the timing of the Judgment a little odd? Why now? Are they trying to push the Serbs in Kosovo to pick up arms? Do the Western Nations really want another war in the Balkans? Things are slipping fast, and this issue has the potential to destroy the EU as we know it.
Then again a weak EU is most certainly in the interests of the USA. The US can not afford to have a strong France and Germany opposing our plans for the War On Terror and The New Worl Order where the US is the ONLY Global Super Power.
A divided and weak EU is the one thing the US, Russia & China can all agree on.
Freedom Fries anyone?
"when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. (jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)"
Jesse, surely you must be joking. Montgomery's comments are generally highly offensive and one sided against Serbians. His comments make my blood boil and this article is no exception. Even in this article he's playing the role of apologist for the Hague. Clearly Haradinaj crimes were so shocking even to him, that he couldn't bring himself to support what happened completely. He still tries to justify it by making excuses about lack of evidence and the difficulty of obtaining it, instead of pointing the finger at who is responsible for the lack of evidence and the murdered/intimidated witnesses.
Montgomery and Del Ponte Pro-Serb? Ha ha ha ha ha ha…
"According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities."
HRW, a very respectable Human Rights Organization, that can not be accused of being Pro-Serb, has recently called for investigations into allegations that Serbs were victims in an organ stealing ring headed up by the KLA with Albanian involvement. I don't seem to recall HRW referring to this as fighting back to defend "families, villages and communities".
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price."
You sound like those crazy Serb and Croat nationalists who worship Milosevic and Tudjman. A lot of people claim Milosevic was innocent too, and to be honest, I read the transcripts, the case against him wasn't very strong either. However, even if he had been found not guilty, I would never support him or his insane policies that brought the country to ruin. Seems to me Haradinaj was well rewarded with wealth and fame for his exploits, I'm having trouble seeing what his sacrifice was and what "high price" he paid.
Of course in your reality Jesse, everything is nicely black and white, good guys and bad guys, and no one ever did anything wrong to the Serbs. I suppose you'd claim the same thing in regards to what happened to the Serbs in WWII? Albanians and Croats were just defending villages? Strange your "allies" the Italians would engage in fire fights with your people to stop you from "defending" your villages against the Serbs.
Jesse, I'm truly sorry for whatever happened to those you cared about in Kosovo and what they suffered. What you have to understand is that we Serbs are human beings too, and we suffered as well in EXACTLY the same proportions. Until you can see the other side as human beings, then there is no hope and no future.
Its easy to point the finger at others, what takes great strength and courage is to look inside one's self and judge yourself as you do others.
Do you Jesse, have the strength to do this? Many brave and intellegent Albanians here have condemned the crimes committed against Serbs and acknowledged us as human WITHOUT giving up their dreams of an independent Kosovo or forgetting the past. To those Albanians, I salute you and once again as always, I am deeply sorry for what your people suffered.
In the years gone by there were victors and vanquished. The victors did as they pleased. They seized territory, exacted tributes, brought in colonial administration or settlers, changed the religion or the nationality of the vanquished etc. And the vanquished had the only option to keep resisisting in one way or another or trying to get accustomed to the rule of the victors. Now we claim to be civilized people and declare the war to be a crime! So those who start it are presumed to be criminals and the International community sometimes decides that it is worthwhile to fight the criminals. The vanquished are to be tried as common criminals. But when we talk of lawbrakers, we must thing of a law. Ant the concept of a law presumes justice for all.
The wars of former Yugoslavia were so complex that it is NOT posible to set appart clearly hawks from doves, culprits from victims! Were the Slovenians in their right to desasociate themselves from Yugoslavia, or did Yugoslavia simple seased to exist? If Yugoslavia simply disappeared, did the sovereignity immediately passed to the republics? Or perhaps to the subjets of the federation. The Serbs of Krajna and Bosnia, as well as the Kosovo Albanians rebelled. Was there rebelion justified? Perhaps there was a difference. The Serbs in Croatia rebelled simply because they did not want to live in imdependent Croatia and because they remembered repressions form a different age, when Croatia again proclaimed itself "independent".But may be in their eye, being yugoslav citizens and all of a sudden finding themselves in a different country, was for them reasonable enough to rebel! And if there are some international laws regarding warfare between countries, is there international law regarding guerilla wars.
Ignorance about the law has never been an excuse for breaking it. But in a case, where there are apparantly no LAWS, it is quite unwise to judge persons for breaking them. Especially whe it International community is trying to heal the wounds.
Ramush Haradinaj turned him self in becaus he was confident(inocent). He killed soldiers, and yes many Serbs fleed Kosovo because it was a war-zone after all but many Albanians fleed as well. Why will the Serbian leaders who are being accused of international war crimes not surrender? Ramush Haradinaj is a hero, he stood up to a government with the intention of wiping out his ethnicity. He proved his innocents to the world. He is the Martin Luther King of our time.
There is, and has only ever been, one consequence accredited any level of importance by those involved with the Hague Tribunal: their obscene and unjustifiable salaries. Their only legacy is their own profit from the situation. They have achieved nothing else. I am sure they will beg to differ.
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him".
(jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)
Wake up Jesse, your love of Kosovo i Metohija has clouded your sense of reasoning. Unlike most people writing on here I have been in Kosovo, I have lived there and I have been privvy to extremely sensetive material which without going into detail would shock most Albanians about their 'leaders' roles over the last 25 years.
Too many Albanians suffered during Milosevic, but so did Serbs. I feel sorrow for all of them. That's the difference between me and you.
You justify Serbian deaths as examples of Albanians defending themselves, and you also glorify men like Haradinaj. That makes you an accomplice.
Consider some facts. For example over 100,000 Serbs were forced to flee after the Serbian army withdrew from Kosovo and have never returned. This is also happening to the Gorani not because of war, but because they're not Albanian. This cleansing was hardly an act of defending oneself. Most of it has occured after the NATO occupation.
Worse yet, several thousand Serbs disappeared after the war. Most of these were ordinary citizens not soldiers. This was not an act of war, but murder.
Also, consider all the monasteries and churches that were burned to the ground by marauding Albanians as recently as March 2004. This was not done because Albanians were defending themselves but rather to erase the existence of Serbian culture in Kosovo.
Thaci and Haradinaj are using politics to escape justice, but politics will change and then justice will catch up with them and their accomplices either in this world or the next.
The way the west and mainly the U.S. managed the whole Kosovo affair is, although full of double standards and secret agendas, to any one with half a brain “unsurprising beyond a reasonable doubt”. Just like the latest of good old Monty’s so called unbiased opinions is “too little, too late, beyond a reasonable doubt”.
Then again, you don’t always have to be reasonable to achieve your goals, you just have to have the biggest air force.
None of us need worry though since most things come full circle and every dog has his day...
Beyond any reasonable facts
I have read your analysis and comment that target the states of former Yugoslavia from quit some time now. On many levels I am impressed with you objectivity and knowledge
Of this region. I share your views on many subjects, but when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. The sad part is they will never accept you. You should know that by now. It also obvious that what you know about Kosovo you have learned in Belgrade mostly from Serbian sources.
Your blog about Haradinaj is no exception. You statements like “everybody knows” and “everybody agrees” is in line with Serbian political reality that is far cry from the logical thinking of democratic world.
Kosovar Albanians fought a war for survival against a veteran Serbian Army, paramilitary and Serbian population that has committed major crimes and massacres, by then, in Croatia and Bosnia. Even though they know the monster they were fighting against, commanders like Limaj, Thaci, Haradinaj etc. fought a clean war trying to defend defenseless population. The wounds that Serbs sustained in Kosovo are consistent with the ones Bosnia and Croatia. According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities.
Del Pontes attempt to equalize Serbian crimes with other ethnic groups is despicable and appalling. Her new book shows what a mockery she makes with her unfounded suspicions. Her attempt to criminalize Kosovo’s fight for survival has failed in front of world justice .There is cries from her own country to remove her from her ambassador’s position.
Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him.
You forgot to mention the CIA involvements William Montgomery and the German secret service your other friends in the west also the cover up and the washing of hands. I'm sure they have huge files on Ramush Haradinaj every thing is selective what comes out and what is not to see the light of day anymore. You be the west friend everything will be overlooked will keep it all in the mafia family double cross that would be different story like playing with the Iranians.
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him".
(jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)
Wake up Jesse, your love of Kosovo i Metohija has clouded your sense of reasoning. Unlike most people writing on here I have been in Kosovo, I have lived there and I have been privvy to extremely sensetive material which without going into detail would shock most Albanians about their 'leaders' roles over the last 25 years.
Too many Albanians suffered during Milosevic, but so did Serbs. I feel sorrow for all of them. That's the difference between me and you.
You justify Serbian deaths as examples of Albanians defending themselves, and you also glorify men like Haradinaj. That makes you an accomplice.
Consider some facts. For example over 100,000 Serbs were forced to flee after the Serbian army withdrew from Kosovo and have never returned. This is also happening to the Gorani not because of war, but because they're not Albanian. This cleansing was hardly an act of defending oneself. Most of it has occured after the NATO occupation.
Worse yet, several thousand Serbs disappeared after the war. Most of these were ordinary citizens not soldiers. This was not an act of war, but murder.
Also, consider all the monasteries and churches that were burned to the ground by marauding Albanians as recently as March 2004. This was not done because Albanians were defending themselves but rather to erase the existence of Serbian culture in Kosovo.
Thaci and Haradinaj are using politics to escape justice, but politics will change and then justice will catch up with them and their accomplices either in this world or the next.
You forgot to mention the CIA involvements William Montgomery and the German secret service your other friends in the west also the cover up and the washing of hands. I'm sure they have huge files on Ramush Haradinaj every thing is selective what comes out and what is not to see the light of day anymore. You be the west friend everything will be overlooked will keep it all in the mafia family double cross that would be different story like playing with the Iranians.
The way the west and mainly the U.S. managed the whole Kosovo affair is, although full of double standards and secret agendas, to any one with half a brain “unsurprising beyond a reasonable doubt”. Just like the latest of good old Monty’s so called unbiased opinions is “too little, too late, beyond a reasonable doubt”.
Then again, you don’t always have to be reasonable to achieve your goals, you just have to have the biggest air force.
None of us need worry though since most things come full circle and every dog has his day...
Nicholas, good comment rebutting Jesse's revisionist ideas. Though there's one more thing that needs to be added: since when Jesse has Montgomery been "pro-Serb"? Many of his articles are highly critical of Serb activity, and spout the same rhetoric of the US State Department. This article, like most of his articles, raises a number of good points, but leaves some of the conclusions up for debate. If Montgomery doesn't share your opinion of Haradinaj as a modern day hero, may I remind you that 99% of the world doesn't adhere to Albanian groupthink?
Still, the one thing I found most interesting is this idea that actually convicting Haradinaj would cause an uproar in Kosovo. Hello? Isn't that what KFOR is there for? To keep law and order? So the Albanians riot because their glorified war criminal is sent to jail. A little display of force, an enforced curfew, and the same resolve to squash unrest by Serbs should be applied to Albanians to bring everyone back into line. What we have now is the Albanian OJ Simpson who can return to normal life at the cost of the last shreds of credibility of the ICTY. Finding and extradicting Mladic and Karadzic will now be doubly hard, if not outright impossible, especially if May 11 produces an SRS victory.
And Valon, please don't dirty the memory of Martin Luther King by even remotely comparing him to Haradinaj. Such a comparison is an absolute insult to all Americans regardless of color or ethnicity and it shows your limited comprehension of history.
If Ramush Haradinaj were really innocent, there wouldn't have been any problems with witness intimidation. An innocent man would want everybody to testify and tell the truth.
The indictment against Haradinaj was flawed from the beginning. He got off because he wasn't indicted for command responsibility. Unlike most ICTY defendants, he was not held accountable for the crimes of his subordinates.
If you read the judgement, you'll see that the judges found that people under his command committed war crimes, but because command responsibility was not identified as a mode of criminal liability in the indictment Haradinaj got off.
The Judges can not convict a defendant for anything that isn't specifically set-out by the prosecution in the indictment, and that is why Haradinaj got off.
It is clear to anybody who reads the judgement that this verdict does not vindicate the KLA. Haradinaj is a free man because the prosecution did a bad job of writing the indictment and explaining Haradinaj's criminal liability. Because of their incompetence a dangerous man was set free.
This - if true, and I think it is - is the worst in this whole, sorry affair:
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large. Many of the charges in the indictment, which seemed strong and rather clear-cut, had been based on witness testimony, which during the trial itself was conspicuously absent."
It is a failure for the Kosovo government, UNMIK, KFOR and for everyone living in Kosovo to allow and accept a situation where witnesses fear to speak up.
I see the same kind of fear here in Denmark, where witnesses all too often develop a sudden memory loss when it comes to criminal cases involving motorcycle gangs and drugs.
Intimidation against witnesses should carry the highest possible consequences. Many months, if not years of imprisonment.
I wasn't going to comment at all, as it is after all about Tribunal, an institution that doesn't deserve any comments. But, I can't help myself.
"On so many levels and for so many reasons, the whole process has been a travesty of justice and a stain on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."
Stain? Black spot on otherwise clean record?
One could start about Djukic's stay in Hague where he was tortured by FBI (how did they get an access?) and denied medical treatment for cancer, just to be released few days before death. Released after being held in Hague prison for more then six months, without charges ever being laid, as it was obvoius that this general was a logistc officer, never in command of any combat units, and never in position to order any war crimes to begin with (unless supplying uniforms to Bosnian Serb soldiers was also a war crime).
One could go on and on.
"-The ICTY, totally contravening its standard restrictions on the actions and movements of indictees given provisional release while awaiting trial, permitted Haradinaj to engage in limited political activity. This again showed a double standard in treatment. No other indictee has ever been given anything similar. A Croatian indictee on provisional release (Mladen Markač) was abruptly ordered back to The Hague merely for going hunting. "
This is a best example of double standard that you could find?
Croat was ordered back for going hunting, while Haradinaj was allowed to re-enter politics while waiting for a trial?
How about this.
Vojislav ŠeŠelj, remember him?
The guy who called Milosevic a greatest traitor in Serbian history when he signed Dayton agreement? President of Radical Party of Serbia back at the turn of the century when Radicals had 6 seats in Serbian Parliament?
He surrendered himself to Hague Tribunal as soon as indictment wasa issued, back in 2003.
Since it bacame obvious that trial isn't going to start anytime soon, he asked for provisional release (normally granted to those who surrendered themselves voluntarilly). He was refused and spent more then 4 years in jail just waiting for the trial (that started in Nov 2007).
Need more of it?
No, mr. Montgomery. Stain is a spot on othewise clear surface. With so many black spots it's called spotted design, not a stain.
And ones more I'm amazed for ability of Albanians to take everything their beloved leaders say for granted.
That's how we ended up with the story about Kosovo that goes like this.
"Ones upon a time Kosovo where Albanians lived and having nothing better to do they built Serbian monasteries, and opened Serbian schools for their children. When they were having a break from naming their settlements with Serbian names, and going around writting cyrillic, that is.
Then in 1912 Serbs came (who were never more then 10% of population) and occupied Kosovo. From that moment on there was nothing but oppression for Albanians in Serbia/Yugoslavia.
Story about Albanian human or political rights was short. They never had any, whatsoever.
Then Milosevic came to power and took those rights away..."
Montgomery,
Why don't you ask the tough questions like when is the Hague going to open an investigation into witness tampering, murder and organized crimes in regards to this case? This would fall under RICO in the US.
You claim finding evidence is hard because it’s a "guerilla war", yet no real efforts were made to force those in a position of power within the KLA to cooperate.
The solution is simple. Ban all members of the KLA from a politics until full cooperation is achieved. At this point the "burden of proof" is on them to show they truly want the Multi-Ethnic Kosovo they claim to desire. If crimes against Serbs are left unpunished, there can be no protection for the minorities or justice for the victims.
If this decision is left standing, then the ONLY option is the partition of Kosovo to protect the Serbs living there, or to finish ethnically cleansing the remaining Serbs. Either way, it means War.
Anyone else find the timing of the Judgment a little odd? Why now? Are they trying to push the Serbs in Kosovo to pick up arms? Do the Western Nations really want another war in the Balkans? Things are slipping fast, and this issue has the potential to destroy the EU as we know it.
Then again a weak EU is most certainly in the interests of the USA. The US can not afford to have a strong France and Germany opposing our plans for the War On Terror and The New Worl Order where the US is the ONLY Global Super Power.
A divided and weak EU is the one thing the US, Russia & China can all agree on.
Freedom Fries anyone?
"when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. (jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)"
Jesse, surely you must be joking. Montgomery's comments are generally highly offensive and one sided against Serbians. His comments make my blood boil and this article is no exception. Even in this article he's playing the role of apologist for the Hague. Clearly Haradinaj crimes were so shocking even to him, that he couldn't bring himself to support what happened completely. He still tries to justify it by making excuses about lack of evidence and the difficulty of obtaining it, instead of pointing the finger at who is responsible for the lack of evidence and the murdered/intimidated witnesses.
Montgomery and Del Ponte Pro-Serb? Ha ha ha ha ha ha…
"According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities."
HRW, a very respectable Human Rights Organization, that can not be accused of being Pro-Serb, has recently called for investigations into allegations that Serbs were victims in an organ stealing ring headed up by the KLA with Albanian involvement. I don't seem to recall HRW referring to this as fighting back to defend "families, villages and communities".
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price."
You sound like those crazy Serb and Croat nationalists who worship Milosevic and Tudjman. A lot of people claim Milosevic was innocent too, and to be honest, I read the transcripts, the case against him wasn't very strong either. However, even if he had been found not guilty, I would never support him or his insane policies that brought the country to ruin. Seems to me Haradinaj was well rewarded with wealth and fame for his exploits, I'm having trouble seeing what his sacrifice was and what "high price" he paid.
Of course in your reality Jesse, everything is nicely black and white, good guys and bad guys, and no one ever did anything wrong to the Serbs. I suppose you'd claim the same thing in regards to what happened to the Serbs in WWII? Albanians and Croats were just defending villages? Strange your "allies" the Italians would engage in fire fights with your people to stop you from "defending" your villages against the Serbs.
Jesse, I'm truly sorry for whatever happened to those you cared about in Kosovo and what they suffered. What you have to understand is that we Serbs are human beings too, and we suffered as well in EXACTLY the same proportions. Until you can see the other side as human beings, then there is no hope and no future.
Its easy to point the finger at others, what takes great strength and courage is to look inside one's self and judge yourself as you do others.
Do you Jesse, have the strength to do this? Many brave and intellegent Albanians here have condemned the crimes committed against Serbs and acknowledged us as human WITHOUT giving up their dreams of an independent Kosovo or forgetting the past. To those Albanians, I salute you and once again as always, I am deeply sorry for what your people suffered.
Beyond any reasonable facts
I have read your analysis and comment that target the states of former Yugoslavia from quit some time now. On many levels I am impressed with you objectivity and knowledge
Of this region. I share your views on many subjects, but when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. The sad part is they will never accept you. You should know that by now. It also obvious that what you know about Kosovo you have learned in Belgrade mostly from Serbian sources.
Your blog about Haradinaj is no exception. You statements like “everybody knows” and “everybody agrees” is in line with Serbian political reality that is far cry from the logical thinking of democratic world.
Kosovar Albanians fought a war for survival against a veteran Serbian Army, paramilitary and Serbian population that has committed major crimes and massacres, by then, in Croatia and Bosnia. Even though they know the monster they were fighting against, commanders like Limaj, Thaci, Haradinaj etc. fought a clean war trying to defend defenseless population. The wounds that Serbs sustained in Kosovo are consistent with the ones Bosnia and Croatia. According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities.
Del Pontes attempt to equalize Serbian crimes with other ethnic groups is despicable and appalling. Her new book shows what a mockery she makes with her unfounded suspicions. Her attempt to criminalize Kosovo’s fight for survival has failed in front of world justice .There is cries from her own country to remove her from her ambassador’s position.
Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him.
There is, and has only ever been, one consequence accredited any level of importance by those involved with the Hague Tribunal: their obscene and unjustifiable salaries. Their only legacy is their own profit from the situation. They have achieved nothing else. I am sure they will beg to differ.
@Valon If the Serbian govt or people wanted to wipe out the Albanian ethnicity in Kosovo they could have done it already after the first Balkan war, WWI, or anytime during the early 90's. Let's move the dialogue past this nonsense ok.
The judgment was inevitable, given the evidentiary record created by the trial.
I do not know how much of the trial you watched on the video feed from the ICTY or how much of the transcript you read, but the prosecution's trial performance was hugely incompetent--bumbling and unfocused. Watching it made any lawyer, like me, cringe.
Emmerson's trial performance on behalf of Haradinaj, on the other hand was superb. Any lawyer watching him would be inspired.
To argue that the trial chamber did anything other than what the rule of law required on the record is nonsense.
In the years gone by there were victors and vanquished. The victors did as they pleased. They seized territory, exacted tributes, brought in colonial administration or settlers, changed the religion or the nationality of the vanquished etc. And the vanquished had the only option to keep resisisting in one way or another or trying to get accustomed to the rule of the victors. Now we claim to be civilized people and declare the war to be a crime! So those who start it are presumed to be criminals and the International community sometimes decides that it is worthwhile to fight the criminals. The vanquished are to be tried as common criminals. But when we talk of lawbrakers, we must thing of a law. Ant the concept of a law presumes justice for all.
The wars of former Yugoslavia were so complex that it is NOT posible to set appart clearly hawks from doves, culprits from victims! Were the Slovenians in their right to desasociate themselves from Yugoslavia, or did Yugoslavia simple seased to exist? If Yugoslavia simply disappeared, did the sovereignity immediately passed to the republics? Or perhaps to the subjets of the federation. The Serbs of Krajna and Bosnia, as well as the Kosovo Albanians rebelled. Was there rebelion justified? Perhaps there was a difference. The Serbs in Croatia rebelled simply because they did not want to live in imdependent Croatia and because they remembered repressions form a different age, when Croatia again proclaimed itself "independent".But may be in their eye, being yugoslav citizens and all of a sudden finding themselves in a different country, was for them reasonable enough to rebel! And if there are some international laws regarding warfare between countries, is there international law regarding guerilla wars.
Ignorance about the law has never been an excuse for breaking it. But in a case, where there are apparantly no LAWS, it is quite unwise to judge persons for breaking them. Especially whe it International community is trying to heal the wounds.
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large."
Since these crimes were committed on Serbian territory, Serbia should call for the extradition of these men to Beograd for a fair trial. An environment should also be created for the protection of all witness, a sort of witness protection program.
Should justice be denied, a special force should be dispatched in the spirit of munich to either apprehend/ or liquidate these criminals wherever they may reside.
Pristina must understand that they are subject to the laws of Serbia.
Ramush Haradinaj turned him self in becaus he was confident(inocent). He killed soldiers, and yes many Serbs fleed Kosovo because it was a war-zone after all but many Albanians fleed as well. Why will the Serbian leaders who are being accused of international war crimes not surrender? Ramush Haradinaj is a hero, he stood up to a government with the intention of wiping out his ethnicity. He proved his innocents to the world. He is the Martin Luther King of our time.
Kosovo must guarantee the safety of all it's minorities, Serbia must accept Kosovo as a neighbor. This is the only way forward. Kosovo has already put the guarantee in it's draft constitution which will be active in June, With Nato, UNMIK & Eulex active in Kosovo there will be people that make sure that the promise is kept. All that's left is for Serbia to accept Kosovo as a neighbor, and enter the EU. This isn't complicated. The Serbs & Albanians are blowing it out of proportion.
Nicholas Klinsman - Very good comment to Jesse. I agree wholeheartedly.
(Kate, 14 April 2008 12:33)
I agree too, everyone knows in their heart that the KLA were no angels but the real monsters were the Yugoslav army that Slobo sent down to Kosovo. In my opinion, that army was responsible for the creation of the KLA, but I am 100% the murdering of Kosovo Serbs.
Beyond any reasonable facts
I have read your analysis and comment that target the states of former Yugoslavia from quit some time now. On many levels I am impressed with you objectivity and knowledge
Of this region. I share your views on many subjects, but when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. The sad part is they will never accept you. You should know that by now. It also obvious that what you know about Kosovo you have learned in Belgrade mostly from Serbian sources.
Your blog about Haradinaj is no exception. You statements like “everybody knows” and “everybody agrees” is in line with Serbian political reality that is far cry from the logical thinking of democratic world.
Kosovar Albanians fought a war for survival against a veteran Serbian Army, paramilitary and Serbian population that has committed major crimes and massacres, by then, in Croatia and Bosnia. Even though they know the monster they were fighting against, commanders like Limaj, Thaci, Haradinaj etc. fought a clean war trying to defend defenseless population. The wounds that Serbs sustained in Kosovo are consistent with the ones Bosnia and Croatia. According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities.
Del Pontes attempt to equalize Serbian crimes with other ethnic groups is despicable and appalling. Her new book shows what a mockery she makes with her unfounded suspicions. Her attempt to criminalize Kosovo’s fight for survival has failed in front of world justice .There is cries from her own country to remove her from her ambassador’s position.
Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him.
Ramush Haradinaj turned him self in becaus he was confident(inocent). He killed soldiers, and yes many Serbs fleed Kosovo because it was a war-zone after all but many Albanians fleed as well. Why will the Serbian leaders who are being accused of international war crimes not surrender? Ramush Haradinaj is a hero, he stood up to a government with the intention of wiping out his ethnicity. He proved his innocents to the world. He is the Martin Luther King of our time.
Too many Albanians suffered during Milosevic, but so did Serbs. I feel sorrow for all of them. That's the difference between me and you.
You justify Serbian deaths as examples of Albanians defending themselves, and you also glorify men like Haradinaj. That makes you an accomplice.
Consider some facts. For example over 100,000 Serbs were forced to flee after the Serbian army withdrew from Kosovo and have never returned. This is also happening to the Gorani not because of war, but because they're not Albanian. This cleansing was hardly an act of defending oneself. Most of it has occured after the NATO occupation.
Worse yet, several thousand Serbs disappeared after the war. Most of these were ordinary citizens not soldiers. This was not an act of war, but murder.
Also, consider all the monasteries and churches that were burned to the ground by marauding Albanians as recently as March 2004. This was not done because Albanians were defending themselves but rather to erase the existence of Serbian culture in Kosovo.
Thaci and Haradinaj are using politics to escape justice, but politics will change and then justice will catch up with them and their accomplices either in this world or the next.
Kosovo must guarantee the safety of all it's minorities, Serbia must accept Kosovo as a neighbor. This is the only way forward. Kosovo has already put the guarantee in it's draft constitution which will be active in June, With Nato, UNMIK & Eulex active in Kosovo there will be people that make sure that the promise is kept. All that's left is for Serbia to accept Kosovo as a neighbor, and enter the EU. This isn't complicated. The Serbs & Albanians are blowing it out of proportion.
Nicholas Klinsman - Very good comment to Jesse. I agree wholeheartedly.
(Kate, 14 April 2008 12:33)
I agree too, everyone knows in their heart that the KLA were no angels but the real monsters were the Yugoslav army that Slobo sent down to Kosovo. In my opinion, that army was responsible for the creation of the KLA, but I am 100% the murdering of Kosovo Serbs.
You forgot to mention the CIA involvements William Montgomery and the German secret service your other friends in the west also the cover up and the washing of hands. I'm sure they have huge files on Ramush Haradinaj every thing is selective what comes out and what is not to see the light of day anymore. You be the west friend everything will be overlooked will keep it all in the mafia family double cross that would be different story like playing with the Iranians.
The way the west and mainly the U.S. managed the whole Kosovo affair is, although full of double standards and secret agendas, to any one with half a brain “unsurprising beyond a reasonable doubt”. Just like the latest of good old Monty’s so called unbiased opinions is “too little, too late, beyond a reasonable doubt”.
Then again, you don’t always have to be reasonable to achieve your goals, you just have to have the biggest air force.
None of us need worry though since most things come full circle and every dog has his day...
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price. In spite of all this, he has never lost his commitment to make Kosovo a safe and prosperous place for everybody who lives there. Balkan needs more leaders like him".
(jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)
Wake up Jesse, your love of Kosovo i Metohija has clouded your sense of reasoning. Unlike most people writing on here I have been in Kosovo, I have lived there and I have been privvy to extremely sensetive material which without going into detail would shock most Albanians about their 'leaders' roles over the last 25 years.
There is, and has only ever been, one consequence accredited any level of importance by those involved with the Hague Tribunal: their obscene and unjustifiable salaries. Their only legacy is their own profit from the situation. They have achieved nothing else. I am sure they will beg to differ.
In the years gone by there were victors and vanquished. The victors did as they pleased. They seized territory, exacted tributes, brought in colonial administration or settlers, changed the religion or the nationality of the vanquished etc. And the vanquished had the only option to keep resisisting in one way or another or trying to get accustomed to the rule of the victors. Now we claim to be civilized people and declare the war to be a crime! So those who start it are presumed to be criminals and the International community sometimes decides that it is worthwhile to fight the criminals. The vanquished are to be tried as common criminals. But when we talk of lawbrakers, we must thing of a law. Ant the concept of a law presumes justice for all.
The wars of former Yugoslavia were so complex that it is NOT posible to set appart clearly hawks from doves, culprits from victims! Were the Slovenians in their right to desasociate themselves from Yugoslavia, or did Yugoslavia simple seased to exist? If Yugoslavia simply disappeared, did the sovereignity immediately passed to the republics? Or perhaps to the subjets of the federation. The Serbs of Krajna and Bosnia, as well as the Kosovo Albanians rebelled. Was there rebelion justified? Perhaps there was a difference. The Serbs in Croatia rebelled simply because they did not want to live in imdependent Croatia and because they remembered repressions form a different age, when Croatia again proclaimed itself "independent".But may be in their eye, being yugoslav citizens and all of a sudden finding themselves in a different country, was for them reasonable enough to rebel! And if there are some international laws regarding warfare between countries, is there international law regarding guerilla wars.
Ignorance about the law has never been an excuse for breaking it. But in a case, where there are apparantly no LAWS, it is quite unwise to judge persons for breaking them. Especially whe it International community is trying to heal the wounds.
Montgomery,
Why don't you ask the tough questions like when is the Hague going to open an investigation into witness tampering, murder and organized crimes in regards to this case? This would fall under RICO in the US.
You claim finding evidence is hard because it’s a "guerilla war", yet no real efforts were made to force those in a position of power within the KLA to cooperate.
The solution is simple. Ban all members of the KLA from a politics until full cooperation is achieved. At this point the "burden of proof" is on them to show they truly want the Multi-Ethnic Kosovo they claim to desire. If crimes against Serbs are left unpunished, there can be no protection for the minorities or justice for the victims.
If this decision is left standing, then the ONLY option is the partition of Kosovo to protect the Serbs living there, or to finish ethnically cleansing the remaining Serbs. Either way, it means War.
Anyone else find the timing of the Judgment a little odd? Why now? Are they trying to push the Serbs in Kosovo to pick up arms? Do the Western Nations really want another war in the Balkans? Things are slipping fast, and this issue has the potential to destroy the EU as we know it.
Then again a weak EU is most certainly in the interests of the USA. The US can not afford to have a strong France and Germany opposing our plans for the War On Terror and The New Worl Order where the US is the ONLY Global Super Power.
A divided and weak EU is the one thing the US, Russia & China can all agree on.
Freedom Fries anyone?
"when it comes to Serbs you have a weak spot in your heart, you are almost blind. I don’t know what your connection with Serbs is.
I presume it is of romantic nature. Any nation would love to have you on their side but you chose Serbs. (jesse, 14 April 2008 00:53)"
Jesse, surely you must be joking. Montgomery's comments are generally highly offensive and one sided against Serbians. His comments make my blood boil and this article is no exception. Even in this article he's playing the role of apologist for the Hague. Clearly Haradinaj crimes were so shocking even to him, that he couldn't bring himself to support what happened completely. He still tries to justify it by making excuses about lack of evidence and the difficulty of obtaining it, instead of pointing the finger at who is responsible for the lack of evidence and the murdered/intimidated witnesses.
Montgomery and Del Ponte Pro-Serb? Ha ha ha ha ha ha…
"According to reputed human rights organizations, victims of Serbian terror fought back to defend their families, villages and communities."
HRW, a very respectable Human Rights Organization, that can not be accused of being Pro-Serb, has recently called for investigations into allegations that Serbs were victims in an organ stealing ring headed up by the KLA with Albanian involvement. I don't seem to recall HRW referring to this as fighting back to defend "families, villages and communities".
"Haradinaj is good man who did the right thing and paid the e very high price."
You sound like those crazy Serb and Croat nationalists who worship Milosevic and Tudjman. A lot of people claim Milosevic was innocent too, and to be honest, I read the transcripts, the case against him wasn't very strong either. However, even if he had been found not guilty, I would never support him or his insane policies that brought the country to ruin. Seems to me Haradinaj was well rewarded with wealth and fame for his exploits, I'm having trouble seeing what his sacrifice was and what "high price" he paid.
Of course in your reality Jesse, everything is nicely black and white, good guys and bad guys, and no one ever did anything wrong to the Serbs. I suppose you'd claim the same thing in regards to what happened to the Serbs in WWII? Albanians and Croats were just defending villages? Strange your "allies" the Italians would engage in fire fights with your people to stop you from "defending" your villages against the Serbs.
Jesse, I'm truly sorry for whatever happened to those you cared about in Kosovo and what they suffered. What you have to understand is that we Serbs are human beings too, and we suffered as well in EXACTLY the same proportions. Until you can see the other side as human beings, then there is no hope and no future.
Its easy to point the finger at others, what takes great strength and courage is to look inside one's self and judge yourself as you do others.
Do you Jesse, have the strength to do this? Many brave and intellegent Albanians here have condemned the crimes committed against Serbs and acknowledged us as human WITHOUT giving up their dreams of an independent Kosovo or forgetting the past. To those Albanians, I salute you and once again as always, I am deeply sorry for what your people suffered.
Nicholas, good comment rebutting Jesse's revisionist ideas. Though there's one more thing that needs to be added: since when Jesse has Montgomery been "pro-Serb"? Many of his articles are highly critical of Serb activity, and spout the same rhetoric of the US State Department. This article, like most of his articles, raises a number of good points, but leaves some of the conclusions up for debate. If Montgomery doesn't share your opinion of Haradinaj as a modern day hero, may I remind you that 99% of the world doesn't adhere to Albanian groupthink?
Still, the one thing I found most interesting is this idea that actually convicting Haradinaj would cause an uproar in Kosovo. Hello? Isn't that what KFOR is there for? To keep law and order? So the Albanians riot because their glorified war criminal is sent to jail. A little display of force, an enforced curfew, and the same resolve to squash unrest by Serbs should be applied to Albanians to bring everyone back into line. What we have now is the Albanian OJ Simpson who can return to normal life at the cost of the last shreds of credibility of the ICTY. Finding and extradicting Mladic and Karadzic will now be doubly hard, if not outright impossible, especially if May 11 produces an SRS victory.
And Valon, please don't dirty the memory of Martin Luther King by even remotely comparing him to Haradinaj. Such a comparison is an absolute insult to all Americans regardless of color or ethnicity and it shows your limited comprehension of history.
If Ramush Haradinaj were really innocent, there wouldn't have been any problems with witness intimidation. An innocent man would want everybody to testify and tell the truth.
The indictment against Haradinaj was flawed from the beginning. He got off because he wasn't indicted for command responsibility. Unlike most ICTY defendants, he was not held accountable for the crimes of his subordinates.
If you read the judgement, you'll see that the judges found that people under his command committed war crimes, but because command responsibility was not identified as a mode of criminal liability in the indictment Haradinaj got off.
The Judges can not convict a defendant for anything that isn't specifically set-out by the prosecution in the indictment, and that is why Haradinaj got off.
It is clear to anybody who reads the judgement that this verdict does not vindicate the KLA. Haradinaj is a free man because the prosecution did a bad job of writing the indictment and explaining Haradinaj's criminal liability. Because of their incompetence a dangerous man was set free.
@Valon If the Serbian govt or people wanted to wipe out the Albanian ethnicity in Kosovo they could have done it already after the first Balkan war, WWI, or anytime during the early 90's. Let's move the dialogue past this nonsense ok.
I wasn't going to comment at all, as it is after all about Tribunal, an institution that doesn't deserve any comments. But, I can't help myself.
"On so many levels and for so many reasons, the whole process has been a travesty of justice and a stain on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."
Stain? Black spot on otherwise clean record?
One could start about Djukic's stay in Hague where he was tortured by FBI (how did they get an access?) and denied medical treatment for cancer, just to be released few days before death. Released after being held in Hague prison for more then six months, without charges ever being laid, as it was obvoius that this general was a logistc officer, never in command of any combat units, and never in position to order any war crimes to begin with (unless supplying uniforms to Bosnian Serb soldiers was also a war crime).
One could go on and on.
"-The ICTY, totally contravening its standard restrictions on the actions and movements of indictees given provisional release while awaiting trial, permitted Haradinaj to engage in limited political activity. This again showed a double standard in treatment. No other indictee has ever been given anything similar. A Croatian indictee on provisional release (Mladen Markač) was abruptly ordered back to The Hague merely for going hunting. "
This is a best example of double standard that you could find?
Croat was ordered back for going hunting, while Haradinaj was allowed to re-enter politics while waiting for a trial?
How about this.
Vojislav ŠeŠelj, remember him?
The guy who called Milosevic a greatest traitor in Serbian history when he signed Dayton agreement? President of Radical Party of Serbia back at the turn of the century when Radicals had 6 seats in Serbian Parliament?
He surrendered himself to Hague Tribunal as soon as indictment wasa issued, back in 2003.
Since it bacame obvious that trial isn't going to start anytime soon, he asked for provisional release (normally granted to those who surrendered themselves voluntarilly). He was refused and spent more then 4 years in jail just waiting for the trial (that started in Nov 2007).
Need more of it?
No, mr. Montgomery. Stain is a spot on othewise clear surface. With so many black spots it's called spotted design, not a stain.
And ones more I'm amazed for ability of Albanians to take everything their beloved leaders say for granted.
That's how we ended up with the story about Kosovo that goes like this.
"Ones upon a time Kosovo where Albanians lived and having nothing better to do they built Serbian monasteries, and opened Serbian schools for their children. When they were having a break from naming their settlements with Serbian names, and going around writting cyrillic, that is.
Then in 1912 Serbs came (who were never more then 10% of population) and occupied Kosovo. From that moment on there was nothing but oppression for Albanians in Serbia/Yugoslavia.
Story about Albanian human or political rights was short. They never had any, whatsoever.
Then Milosevic came to power and took those rights away..."
The judgment was inevitable, given the evidentiary record created by the trial.
I do not know how much of the trial you watched on the video feed from the ICTY or how much of the transcript you read, but the prosecution's trial performance was hugely incompetent--bumbling and unfocused. Watching it made any lawyer, like me, cringe.
Emmerson's trial performance on behalf of Haradinaj, on the other hand was superb. Any lawyer watching him would be inspired.
To argue that the trial chamber did anything other than what the rule of law required on the record is nonsense.
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large."
Since these crimes were committed on Serbian territory, Serbia should call for the extradition of these men to Beograd for a fair trial. An environment should also be created for the protection of all witness, a sort of witness protection program.
Should justice be denied, a special force should be dispatched in the spirit of munich to either apprehend/ or liquidate these criminals wherever they may reside.
Pristina must understand that they are subject to the laws of Serbia.
This - if true, and I think it is - is the worst in this whole, sorry affair:
"While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large. Many of the charges in the indictment, which seemed strong and rather clear-cut, had been based on witness testimony, which during the trial itself was conspicuously absent."
It is a failure for the Kosovo government, UNMIK, KFOR and for everyone living in Kosovo to allow and accept a situation where witnesses fear to speak up.
I see the same kind of fear here in Denmark, where witnesses all too often develop a sudden memory loss when it comes to criminal cases involving motorcycle gangs and drugs.
Intimidation against witnesses should carry the highest possible consequences. Many months, if not years of imprisonment.
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