|
Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing. It is merely
a summary.
ICTY Weekly
Press Briefing
Date: 26 May 1999
Time: 11:30 a.m.
REGISTRY AND
CHAMBERS
Today, Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following
announcements:
On 21 May 1999,
Trial Chamber I (Judges Jorda (Presiding), Shahabudeen and Rodrigues), ordered:
General Enver
Hadzihasanovic, Commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina
at the relevant time, to appear before the Trial Chamber on 23 June 1999;
General Milivoje
Petkovic, Commander of the Main Staff of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO)
at the relevant time, to appear before the Trial Chamber on 23 June 1999;
Colonel Asim Koricic,
Commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina at
the relevant time, to appear before the Trial Chamber on 15 June 1999;
Colonel Amir Kubura,
Commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina at
the relevant time, to appear before the Trial Chamber on 18 June 1999; and
Colonel Serif
Patkovic, Commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina
at the relevant time, to appear before the Trial Chamber on 22 June 1999.
Each of the five
separate Orders details specific issues to be addressed in the respective witness'
testimony and outlines the procedure for that deposition. None of the witnesses
have requested protective measures.
Eight Orders have
now been issued further to the Trial Chamber's Decision of 25 March 1999 (see
ICTY Press Release No. 393 of 6 April 1999). General Philippe Morillon, Mr.
Jean-Pierre Thebault and Colonel Robert Stewart have also been ordered to testify
before the Trial Chamber (see Update Nos. 77 and 78).
OFFICE OF THE
PROSECUTOR
Paul Risley, Spokesman
for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), announced that he had spent Monday and
Tuesday in Albania and that the Tribunals presence was continuing in Albania
and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) with the support of the
two Governments. The investigators continued to interview and collect information.
Of particular interest was information from men crossing the border who had
been in detention, he said.
QUESTIONS:
Asked about
the political pressures to indict Milosevic, Risley said that the Tribunal
was an organ of the Security Council and its power was derived from the UN
charter. No one had the power to influence or challenge the authority of the
Tribunal other than through the Security Council, he said.
Asked to comment
on a quote attributed to him from Albania yesterday in which he said there
was evidence of war crimes and human rights abuses, Risley replied that the
investigations were at a very early stage but that the investigators were
overwhelmed with information. There was evidence of war crimes on a massive
scale and the challenge for the investigators was where to focus, he said.
Asked whether
there were concerns that evidence was being destroyed, Risley replied that
there were very strong concerns and in the event of an international agreement
the Tribunal must gain access immediately. The Tribunal had support from a
number of countries who had agreed to give teams of investigators and forensic
experts if an international force was allowed in, he said.
Asked which
countries had agreed to this, Risley said that he would not specify, but that
the Tribunal had received an enthusiastic response.
Asked whether
the teams would work under the direction of the OTP, Risley replied that coordination
would need working out.
Asked whether
the teams would collect information for their own purposes and then hand it
over, Risley answered that this had yet to be worked out, but that he was
confident that an arrangement acceptable to the Tribunal could be reached.
Asked if assurances
been given that the Tribunal would gain access to Kosovo in the absence of
a peace agreement, Risley replied that Justice Arbour had had high level discussions
with NATO and other military leaders regarding access for Tribunal investigators,
although it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the discussions directly,
he said.
Asked whether
OTP officials would make up a part of any national team, Risley replied that
some form of liaison role would have to be worked out. In legal terms the
Tribunal had primacy, he added.
Asked about
the numbers currently on the Kosovo investigations and to what extent this
was affecting other investigations, Risley replied that the investigations
were putting a big strain on the investigators but that they felt they were
meeting the challenge. Kosovo investigations were taking much time but more
funding had been requested, he said.
Asked if OTP
would direct operations carried out by national investigation teams, Risley
replied that the crime scene would most likely be controlled by OTP and the
teams controlled by their own national governments, although this was all
speculative at the moment, he said.
Asked for more
information on the orders issued in the Blaskic case, Landale replied that
answers had not been received from General Milivoje Petkovic, Colonel Asim
Koricic or Colonel Serif Patkovic. General Enver Hadzihasanovic and Colonel
Amir Kubura had confirmed their attendance, he said.
*****
|
