Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic Acquitted As 1 of 6 Acquitted of War Crimes Read more About the Retarded Judicial Logic of the ICTY By Jill Starr

Either the ICTY has a strong case against these men, or not; you cannot have your cake and eat it too at the Hague (morally speaking).

It is utterly oxymoran for the ICTY to officially acquit former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic as not guilty, but continue accusations against his five inferior Serbian officials such as, Nikola Šainović for the same offenses in Kosovo.

The ICTY claims Nikola as being “one of the closest and most trusted associates of [Slobodan] Milošević,” the former FRY President and “one of the most crucial members of that common [joint criminal] enterprise was a powerful official in the FRY Government, who not only relayed information to Milošević and conveyed Milošević’s instructions to those in Kosovo, but also had a great deal of influence over events in the province and was empowered to make decisions,” Judge Bonomy read.

THIS LEGAL ARGUMENT IS ONE OF TE MOST RIDICULOUS I HAVE EVER READ WHILE STUDYING PREVENTING INTERNATONAL WAR CRIMES AT NYU WITH FORMER U.S. NUREMBERG PROSECUTOR AND MY FORMER PROFESSOR, BENJAMIN FERENCZ.

I am morally shocked (but not surprised) the Obama administration and Richard Holbrook is not taking decisive action ensuring Dr Karadzic receives a fair trial at the Hague as this ideal is core to the high minded moral legalism of democratic liberal states such the UK and US.

The ICTY previously stated (although those legal articles seemed to disappear lately) that Milutinovic neither gave nor possessed knowledge of any ‘genocide’ during the Kosovo War ( this is wherefore he was acquitted).

THEREFORE, IF HE HAD NO CONNECTION TO ANY GENOCIDE AND WAS SERBIA’S FORMER PRESIDENT, THE OTHER 5 MEN SEEN ABOVE OUGHT TO BE ALSO ACQUITTED BECAUSE IT IS VERY REASONABLE TO BELIEVE THEY ALSO POSSESSED NO KNOWLEDGE OF ANY ‘GENOCIDE’ IF INDEED ANY TOOK PLACE AT ALL.

As a personal eye witness observer of this case in so many relevant aspects, I have personal reasons for geuinely believing Dr Radovan Karadzic neither possessed knowledge, nor, gave any orders to commit war crimes in Srebrenica or elsewhere, including genocide.

I have reasons to believe this is true.

I read the charges against Nikola Sainovic have been downgraded and I am pleased with this and believe this is the correct move.

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Former Serbian president
Milan Milutinovic among six acquitted of war crimes
(0)
Februar 26, 2009, 17:56

The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal acquitted former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic of crimes committed against ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo conflict in the 1990s. He was among six accused of forcibly deporting around 800,00 civilians and murdering hundreds in Kosovo in 1999. All six had pleaded not guilty.
Former Serbian president milutinovic acquitted of war crimes
Picture: AFP

The six accused were: (from top-L) general Nebojsa Pavkovic, Serbian ex-president Milan Milutinovic, Serbian general Dragoljub Ojdanic, (From bottom-L) Serbian general Sreten Lukic, former Serbian prime minister Nikola Sainovic and Serbian general Vladimir Lazarevic.
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Former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic was acquitted on Thursday by the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal of crimes committed against ethnic Albanians during the violent break-up of the Balkans in the 1990s.

Milutinovic and five co-accused went on trial on July 2006 charged with the forcible deportation of about 800,000 civilians and the murder of hundreds of civilians by Serb forces in Kosovo in 1999.
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* MIlan Milutinovic
* Kosovo
* Serbia
* Yugoslavia
* Serb Forces
* Acquittal
* Hague
* Netherlands

“The trial chamber finds you not guilty of counts one to five of the indictment,” Judge Iain Bonomy said in the court’s ruling, and ordered him released from detention.

All six defendants pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity including murder, deportation and one charge of war crimes.

Here are some details about the former Serbian president:

POLITICAL ROLE:

– Milutinovic was elected president of Serbia in 1997, succeeding Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic became president of the Yugoslav federation, continuing to dominate Belgrade politics, and Milutinovic had relatively little influence.

– He led the Yugoslav government’s negotiating group in the French town of Rambouillet at talks over Kosovo in 1999, which ended in an impasse and led to the 78-day NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the withdrawal of Serb forces.

INDICTMENT:

– According to the indictment, Milutinovic had personal responsibility as president of Serbia and had at least formal control of Serb forces.

– He was accused of deportation, murder as a crime against humanity, murder as a violation of laws and customs of war and other inhumane acts during the war in Kosovo. This included the persecution of ethnic Albanians, the forcible deportation of about 800,000 civilians and the murders of hundreds.

BIOGRAPHY:

– Born in Dec. 1942, in Belgrade, Milutinovic received a degree in law from Belgrade University. His government posts included that of foreign minister of the former Yugoslavia.