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Co-editors: Seán Mac Mathúna • John Heathcote
Consulting editor: Themistocles Hoetis
Field Correspondent: Allen Hougland

E-mail: editors@fantompowa.net

War crimes charges for the Hague tribunal against NATO leaders
Michael Mandel and others

Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark indicts NATO leaders

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: The prosecutor of the trial against Slobodan Milosevic, Milan Milutinovic, Nikola Sainovic, Dragoljub Ojdanic and Vlajko Stojilkovic.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: The prosecutor of the trial against Radovan Karadzic and Genaral Ratko Mladic

Application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (Croatia vs Yugoslavia)

Application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Yugoslavia)

Accused of war crimes: the British Prime Minister Tony Blair

WAR CRIMES CHARGES FOR THE HAGUE AGAINST THE NATO LEADERS - ONE OF THE INDICTMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

NOTICE OF THE EXISTENCE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE TRIBUNAL;

REQUEST THAT THE PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATE NAMED INDIVIDUALS FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND PREPARE INDICTMENTS AGAINST THEM PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 18.1 AND 18.4 OF THE TRIBUNAL STATUTE.

TO:

Madam Justice Louise Arbour, Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Churchillplein 1, 2501 EW, The Hague, Netherlands.

AND TO:

  • President William J. Clinton, Madeleine Albright and William S. Cohen (United States of America)
  • Prime Minister Tony Blair, Robin Cook and George Robertson (United Kingdom)
  • Javier Solana, Jamie Shea, Wesley K. Clark, Harold W. German, Konrad Freytag. D.J.G. Wilby, Fabrizio Maltinti, Giuseppe Marani and Daniel P. Leaf (NATO)
  • Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Lloyd Axworthy and Arthur Eggleton (Canada)
  • Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, E. Derycke and J.-P. Poncelet (Belgium)
  • President Vaclav Havel, J. Kavan and V. Vetchy (Czech Republic)
  • Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, N.H. Petersen and H. Haekkerup (Denmark)
  • President Jacques Chirac, Lionel Jospin, H. Védrine and Alain Richard (France)
  • Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, J. Fischer and R. Scharping (Germany)
  • Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, G. Papandreou and A. Tsohatzopoulos (Greece)
  • Prime Minister Viktor Orban, J. Martonyi and J. Szabo (Hungary)
  • Prime Minister David Oddsson, H. Asgrimsson and G. Palsson (Iceland)
  • Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, L. Dini and C. Scognamiglio (Italy)
  • Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, J. Poos and Alex Bodry (Luxembourg )
  • Prime Minister Willem Kok, J. van Aartsen and F.H.G. de Grave (The Netherlands)
  • Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, K. Vollebæk and D.J. Fjærvoll (Norway)
  • Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, B. Geremek and J. Onyszkiewicz (Poland)
  • Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, J.J. Matos da Gama and V. Simão (Portugal)
  • Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, A. Matutes and E. Serra Rexach (Spain)
  • Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, I. Cem and H. S. Turk (Turkey)

FROM:

  • Professor Michael Mandel, Professor W. Neil Brooks, Professor Judith A. Fudge, Professor H. J. Glasbeek, Professor Reuben A. Hasson and Sil Salvaterra, Barrister and Solicitor, Community Legal Aid Services Programme, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
  • David Jacobs and Brian Shell, Barristers and Solicitors, Shell, Jacobs Lawyers 672 Dupont Street, Suite 401 Toronto, Ontario Canada M6G 1Z6
  • Christopher Black, Barrister and Solicitor, 121 Nymark Avenue, Toronto, Ontario Canada M2J 2H3
  • John Philpot, Barrister and Solicitor, Alariel Legault Beachemin Paquin Jobin Brisson & Philpot 1259 rue Berri suite 1000 Montréal, Québec Canada H2L 4C7
  • Fred Stasiuk, Barrister and Solicitor, 296 Mill Road, Unit B6 Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9G 4X8
  • Professor Peter Rosenthal, Barrister and Solicitor, Mathematics Department, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Canada
  • Professor Roberto Bergalli, Departament de Dret Penal i Ciences Penals Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 684 E-08034 Barcelona, Spain
  • The American Association of Jurists: Alejandro Teitelbaum, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. 80 Quai Gillet 69004 Lyon, France
  • Alvaro Ramirez Gonzalez, President, Del Porton Oriental de la UCA 1 y media cuadra arriba Apdo Postal 3348 Managua, Nicaragua
  • Vanessa Ramos, Secretary General 200 Mercer Street 4E New York, NY 10012
  • Beinusz Szmukler, President, Consultative Council, Peru 971 8 piso, B 1068 Buenos Aires, Argentina

IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

RE: William J. Clinton, Madeleine Albright, William S. Cohen, Tony Blair, Robin Cook, George Robertson, Javier Solana, Jamie Shea, Wesley K. Clark, Harold W. German, Konrad Freytag. D.J.G. Wilby, Fabrizio Maltinti, Giuseppe Marani, Daniel P. Leaf, Jean Chrétien, Lloyd Axworthy, Arthur Eggleton, Jean-Luc Dehaene, E. Derycke, J.-P. Poncelet, Vaclav Havel, J. Kavan, V. Vetchy, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, N.H. Petersen, H. Haekkerup, Jacques Chirac, Lionel Jospin, H. Védrine, Alain Richard, Gerhard Schröder, J. Fischer, R. Scharping, Kostas Simitis, G. Papandreou, A. Tsohatzopoulos, Viktor Orban, J. Martonyi, J. Szabo, David Oddsson, H. Asgrimsson, G. Palsson, Massimo D'Alema, L. Dini, C. Scognamiglio, Jean-Claude Juncker, J. Poos, Alex Bodry, Willem Kok, J. van Aartsen, F.H.G. de Grave, Kjell Magne Bondevik, K. Vollebæk, D.J. Fjærvoll, Jerzy Buzek, B. Geremek, J. Onyszkiewicz, Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, J.J. Matos da Gama, V. Simão, Jose Maria Aznar, A. Matutes, E. Serra Rexach, Bulent Ecevit, I. Cem and H. S. Turk.

NOTICE OF THE EXISTENCE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE TRIBUNAL;

REQUEST THAT THE PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATE NAMED INDIVIDUALS FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND PREPARE INDICTMENTS AGAINST THEM PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 18.1 AND 18.4 OF THE TRIBUNAL STATUTE.

WHEREAS the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 was established by the UN Security Council with "the power to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991 in accordance with the provisions of" its Statute (Article 1);

AND WHEREAS by Article 2 of the said Statute, the Tribunal has the power "to prosecute persons committing or ordering to be committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention" including the following:

(a) wilful killing;

(c) wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health;

(d) extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

AND WHEREAS by Article 3 of the said Statute, "the International Tribunal shall have the power to prosecute persons violating the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) employment of poisonous weapons or other weapons to cause unnecessary suffering;

(b) wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;

(c) attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings;

(d) seizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and science.

AND WHEREAS by Article 6 of the said Statute "the International Tribunal shall have jurisdiction over natural persons pursuant to the provisions of the present Statute;"

AND WHEREAS Article 7 of the said Statute provides for individual criminal responsibility thus:

1. A person who planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of a crime referred to in articles 2 to 5 of the present Statute, shall be individually responsible for the crime.

2. The official position of any accused person, whether as Head of State or Government or as a responsible Government official, shall not relieve such person of criminal responsibility or mitigate punishment.

3. The fact that any of the acts referred to in articles 2 to 5 of the present Statute was committed by a subordinate does not relieve his superior of criminal responsibility if he knew or had reason to know that the subordinate was about to commit such acts or had done so and the superior failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.

4. The fact that an accused person acted pursuant to an order of a Government or of a superior shall not relieve him of criminal responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the International Tribunal determines that justice so requires.

AND WHEREAS Article 8 of the said Statute provides that the territorial and temporal jurisdiction of the Tribunal "shall extend to the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including its land surface, airspace and territorial waters. The temporal jurisdiction of the International Tribunal shall extend to a period beginning on 1 January 1991;"

AND WHEREAS by Article 9 of the said Statute "the International Tribunal and national courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute persons for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991" but the International Tribunal "shall have primacy over national courts;"

AND WHEREAS Article 18 of the said Statute provides inter alia that:

1. The Prosecutor shall initiate investigations ex-officio or on the basis of information obtained from any source, particularly from Governments, United Nations organs, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The Prosecutor shall assess the information received or obtained and decide whether there is sufficient basis to proceed.

2. The Prosecutor shall have the power to question suspects, victims and witnesses, to collect evidence and to conduct on-site investigations. In carrying out these tasks, the Prosecutor may, as appropriate, seek the assistance of the State authorities concerned.

4. Upon a determination that a prima facie case exists, the Prosecutor shall prepare an indictment containing a concise statement of the facts and the crime or crimes with which the accused is charged under the Statute. The indictment shall be transmitted to a judge of the Trial Chamber.

AND WHEREAS the President of the Tribunal, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, in a press release of April 8, 1999, urged that:

All States and organisations in possession of information pertaining to the alleged commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal should make such information available without delay to the Prosecutor.

AND WHEREAS on April 30 in Geneva the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson in a speech to the Commission cited a letter from the Prosecutor in which the Prosecutor stated: The actions of individuals belonging to Serb forces, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), or NATO may come under scrutiny, if it appears that serious violations of international humanitarian law have occurred.

AND WHEREAS High Commissioner Robinson also stated in her speech:

In the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, large numbers of civilians have incontestably been killed, civilian installations targeted on the grounds that they are or could be of military application and NATO remains sole judge of what is or is not acceptable to bomb. In this situation, the principle of proportionality must be adhered to by those carrying out the bombing campaign. It surely must be right to ask those carrying out the bombing campaign to weigh the consequences of their campaign for civilians in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

AND WHEREAS NATO has carried out between 5,000 and 10,000 bombing missions over the territories of the former Yugoslavia since March 24, 1999;

AND WHEREAS NATO leaders have openly admitted targeting civilian infrastructure as well as military targets;

AND WHEREAS the list of targets has included fuel depots, oil refineries, government offices, power stations and communications links, such as roads, tunnels, bridges and railway links, including those not inside the region of, or in the vicinity of, Kosovo;

AND WHEREAS in addition to these deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and objects, there have been a great number of attacks which have caused direct physical harm and death to civilians;

AND WHEREAS it appears that these bombing missions have directly caused the death of approximately 1,000 civilian men, women and children and serious injury to 4,500 more;

AND WHEREAS instances of this nature include the 12 April bombing of a train travelling from Belgrade to Ristovac as it crossed the bridge spanning the Yuzhna Morava river at the Grdelica gorge, killing at least 10 passengers and wounding 16; the 15 April bombing of a refugee convoy in four separate locations along a 12 mile stretch of the road that runs from Prizren to Djakovica, killing approximately 74 people; the 23 April bombing of Serbian Television editorial offices, killing approximately 15 people; the 27 April bombing of a residential district in Surdulica, killing 16 people including 12 children; and the May 1 bombing of a bus on the Luzan bridge in Kosovo killing at least 34 people including 15 children;

AND WHEREAS, though the above-named NATO leaders have claimed that these incidents were accidents, they have also admitted that they were an inevitable result of their bombing strategy, a strategy which they appear to have continued unmodified and even to have intensified throughout these incidents;

AND WHEREAS there is ample evidence in the public statements of NATO leaders that these attacks on civilian targets are part of a deliberate attempt to terrorize the population to turn it against its leadership;

AND WHEREAS the NATO bombing has done an estimated $100 billion dollars in property damage and completely destroyed or seriously damaged dozens of bridges, railways and railway stations, major roads, airports, including civilian airports, hospitals and health care centres, television transmitters, medieval monasteries and religious shrines, cultural-historical monuments and museums, hundreds of schools, faculties and facilities for students and children, thousands of dwellings and civilian industrial and agricultural facilities;

AND WHEREAS refineries and warehouses storing liquid raw materials and chemicals have been hit causing environmental contamination and exposing the civilian population to the emission of poisonous gases;

AND WHEREAS the NATO bombings have also made use of weapons banned by international convention, including cruise missiles utilizing depleted uranium highly toxic to human beings;

AND WHEREAS credible detailed reports of the civilian death and destruction inflicted by the NATO bombing are attached as an Annex to this Notice;

AND WHEREAS THEREFORE there is abundant evidence that many instances of serious violations of international humanitarian law within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal have been committed by NATO forces in the attack on Yugoslavia commencing March 24 and continuing to this day;

AND WHEREAS this evidence is readily available to the Prosecutor in eyewitness, videotaped, televised and publicly broadcast reports, in press reports and on the Internet, and in the evidence presented by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in its current complaint against the NATO countries before the International Court of Justice;

AND WHEREAS all of the above-named persons, Heads of State and Government of the 19 NATO countries, their Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Defence, and officials and military leaders of NATO, have admitted publicly to having agreed upon and ordered these actions, being fully aware of their nature and effects;

AND WHEREAS the above-named persons have acted in open violation of the United Nations Charter, which provides in so far as is relevant:

Article 2 3 All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. 4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

Article 33 1 The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. Article 37 1. Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33 fail to settle it by the means indicated in that Article, they shall refer it to the Security Council. 2. If the Security Council deems that the continuance of the dispute is in fact likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, it shall decide whether to take action under Article 36 or to recommend such terms of settlement as it may consider appropriate.

Article 39 The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Article 41 The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

Article 42 Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate, it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.

Article 51 AND WHEREAS the NATO bombing has done an estimated $100 billion dollars in property damage and completely destroyed or seriously damaged dozens of bridges, railways and railway stations, major roads, airports, including civilian airports, hospitals and health care centres, television transmitters, medieval monasteries and religious shrines, cultural-historical monuments and museums, hundreds of schools, faculties and facilities for students and children, thousands of dwellings and civilian industrial and agricultural facilities;

AND WHEREAS refineries and warehouses storing liquid raw materials and chemicals have been hit causing environmental contamination and exposing the civilian population to the emission of poisonous gases;

AND WHEREAS the NATO bombings have also made use of weapons banned by international convention, including cruise missiles utilizing depleted uranium highly toxic to human beings;

AND WHEREAS credible detailed reports of the civilian death and destruction inflicted by the NATO bombing are attached as an Annex to this Notice;

AND WHEREAS THEREFORE there is abundant evidence that many instances of serious violations of international humanitarian law within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal have been committed by NATO forces in the attack on Yugoslavia commencing March 24 and continuing to this day;

AND WHEREAS this evidence is readily available to the Prosecutor in eyewitness, videotaped, televised and publicly broadcast reports, in press reports and on the Internet, and in the evidence presented by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in its current complaint against the NATO countries before the International Court of Justice;

AND WHEREAS all of the above-named persons, Heads of State and Government of the 19 NATO countries, their Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Defence, and officials and military leaders of NATO, have admitted publicly to having agreed upon and ordered these actions, being fully aware of their nature and effects;

AND WHEREAS the above-named persons have acted in open violation of the United Nations Charter, which provides in so far as is relevant:

Article 2 3 All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. 4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security;

AND WHEREAS the International Court of Justice has stated in ruling against United States intervention in Nicaragua:

In any event, while the United States might form its own appraisal of the situation as to respect for human rights in Nicaragua, the use of force could not be the appropriate method to monitor or ensure such respect. With regard to the steps actually taken, the protection of human rights, a strictly humanitarian objective, cannot be compatible with de mining of ports, the destruction of oil installations, or again with de training, arming and equipping of the contras.

(CASE CONCERNING THE MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN AND AGAINST NICARAGUA (NICARAGUA v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) (MERITS) Judgment of 27 June 1986, I.C.J. Reports, 1986, p.134-135, paragraphs 267 and 268)

AND WHEREAS the above-named persons, Heads of State and Government of the 19 NATO countries, their Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Defence, and officials and military leaders of NATO have acted in open violation of the NATO Treaty which provides in so far as is relevant:

Article 1 The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

Article 7 This Treaty does not affect, and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations under the Charter of the Parties which are members of the United Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security;

AND WHEREAS the above-named persons have acted in open violation of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977, which provides as follows:

CHARGES FOR THE HAGUE AGAINST THE NATO LEADERS - ONE OF THE INDICTMENTS Part 2

Art 51. - Protection of the civilian population

1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules of international law, shall be observed in all circumstances.

2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.

3. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this section, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.

4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are: (a) those which are not directed at a specific military objective; (b) those which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or (c) those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by this Protocol; and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.

5. Among others, the following types of attacks are to be considered as indiscriminate: (a) an attack by bombardment by any methods or means which treats as a single military objective a number of clearly separated and distinct military objectives located in a city, town, village or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians or civilian objects; and (b) an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

Article 79. Measures or protection for journalists 1. Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians within the meaning of Article 50, paragraph 1.

Article 85 Repression of breaches of this Protocol

3. In addition to the grave breaches defined in Article 11, the following acts shall be regarded as grave breaches of this Protocol, when committed wilfully, in violation of the relevant provisions of this Protocol, and causing death or serious injury to body or health: (a) making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack; (b) launching an indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population or civilian objects in the knowledge that such attack will cause excessive loss of life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as defined in Article 57, paragraph 2 (a)(iii);

5. Without prejudice to the application of the Conventions and of this Protocol, grave breaches of these instruments shall be regarded as war crimes.

 

AND WHEREAS the above-named persons have acted in open violation of the Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, as adopted by the General Assembly of the united Nations (1950), which provide in so far as is relevant:

Principle III The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible Government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.

Principle IV The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.

Principle VI The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace: (i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances; (ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i). (b) War crimes: Violations of the laws or customs of war include, but are not limited to, murder wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.

Principle VII Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law;

THEREFORE we respectfully request that the Prosecutor immediately investigate and indict for serious crimes against international humanitarian law:

THE FOLLOWING HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT, MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND MINISTERS OF DEFENCE OF THE NATO COUNTRIES:

William J. Clinton, Madeleine Albright, William S. Cohen (United States of America), Tony Blair, Robin Cook, George Robertson (United Kingdom), Jean Chrétien, Lloyd Axworthy, Arthur Eggleton (Canada), Jean-Luc Dehaene, E. Derycke, J.-P. Poncelet (Belgium), Vaclav Havel, J. Kavan, V. Vetchy (Czech Republic), Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, N.H. Petersen, H. Haekkerup (Denmark), Jacques Chirac, Lionel Jospin, H. Védrine, Alain Richard (France), Gerhard Schröder, J. Fischer, R. Scharping (Germany), Kostas Simitis, G. Papandreou, A. Tsohatzopoulos (Greece), Viktor Orban, J. Martonyi, J. Szabo (Hungary), David Oddsson, H. Asgrimsson, G. Palsson (Iceland), Massimo D'Alema, L. Dini, C. Scognamiglio (Italy), Jean-Claude Juncker, J. Poos, Alex Bodry (Luxembourg), Willem Kok, J. van Aartsen, F.H.G. de Grave (Netherlands), Kjell Magne Bondevik, K. Vollebæk, D.J. Fjærvoll (Norway), Jerzy Buzek, B. Geremek, J. Onyszkiewicz (Poland), Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, J.J. Matos da Gama, V. Simão (Portugal), Jose Maria Aznar, A. Matutes, E. Serra Rexach (Spain), Bulent Ecevit, I. Cem and H. S. Turk (Turkey);

AND THE FOLLOWING OFFICIALS AND MILITARY LEADERS OF NATO: Javier Solana, Jamie Shea, Wesley K. Clark, Harold W. German, Konrad Freytag, D.J.G. Wilby, Fabrizio Maltinti, Giuseppe Marani and Daniel P. Leaf;

AND WHOEVER ELSE shall be determined by the Prosecutor's investigations to have committed crimes in the NATO attack on Yugoslavia commencing March 24, 1999.

Respectfully submitted, this 6th day of May, 1999

Michael Mandel (Professor) for W. Neil Brooks, Judith A. Fudge, H. J. Glasbeek, Reuben A. Hasson (Professors)

Sil Salvaterra, David Jacobs, Brian Shell, Christopher Black, John Philpot (Barristers and Solicitors)

Peter Rosenthal (Professor, Barrister and Solicitor)

Roberto Bergalli (Professor)

Alejandro Teitelbaum, Alvaro Ramirez Gonzalez, Vanessa Ramos, Beinusz Szmukler (American Association of Jurists)

The Yugoslav government has extensively documented war crimes carried out in the former Yugoslav republics and other crimes against humanity carried out in Kosovo since the arrival of the KFOR forces. This can be seen at FEDERAL REBULIC OF YUGOSLAVIA: COMMITTEE FOR COMPILING DATA ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

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