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 DAlema, 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.
TO:
Madam Justice Louise Arbour,
Prosecutor,
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,
Churchillplein 1, 2501 EW,
The Hague,
Netherlands.
AND TO:
William J. Clinton, Madeleine
Albright and William S. Cohen,
C/o William J. Clinton
President
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20500
United States of America
Tony Blair, Robin Cook and
George Robertson,
C/o Rt. Hon. Tony Blair
Prime Minister
10 Downing St.
SW1A 2AA London
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,
C/o Javier Solana, Secretary General
NATO
NATO Headquarters,
1110 Brussels,
Belgium
Jean Chrétien, Lloyd Axworthy and Arthur Eggleton,
C/o Jean Chretien, M.P.
Prime Minister
House of Commons, PO Box 1103
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Canada
Jean-Luc Dehaene, E. Derycke and J.-P. Poncelet,
C/o M. Jean-Luc Dehaene
Premier Ministre
rue de la Loi 16
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Vaclav Havel, J. Kavan and V. Vetchy,
C/o Vaclav Havel President
Office of the President of the C.R. Hrad (Castle)
119 08 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, N.H. Petersen and H. Haekkerup,
C/o Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Prime Minister
Prime Ministers Office
Christiansborg, Prins Jorgens Gaard 11
DK-1218 Copenhagen
Denmark
Jacques Chirac, Lionel
Jospin, H. Védrine and Alain Richard,
C/o M. Jacques Chirac
President de la Republique
Palais de lElysee
55 et 57, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore
75008 Paris
France
Gerhard Schröder, J. Fischer and R. Scharping,
C/o Gerhard Schoeder
Chancellor
Adenauerallee 141
PA: Briefpost, PLZ 53106
53113 Bonn
Germany
Kostas Simitis, G. Papandreou and A. Tsohatzopoulos,
C/o Kostas Simitis
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Greek Parliament Bldg., Constitution Square
Athens
Greece
Viktor Orban, J. Martonyi and J. Szabo,
C/oViktor Orban
Prime Minister
Kossuth Lajos ter 1-3
1055 Budapest, Budapest fovaros
Hungary
David Oddsson, H. Asgrimsson and G. Palsson,
C/o David Oddsson
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Stjornarradshusinu
150 Reykjavik
Iceland
Massimo DAlema, L. Dini and C. Scognamiglio,
C/o Massimo DAlema
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri (Prime Minister)
Piazza Colonna, 370
00187 Rome
Italy
Jean-Claude Juncker, J. Poos
and Alex Bodry,
C/o Jean-Claude Juncker
Prime Minister
Ministere dEtat
4, rue de la Congregation
L-2910 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Willem Kok, J. van Aartsen and F.H.G. de Grave,
C/o Willem Kok
Prime Minister
Binnenhof 20, 2513 AA
Postbus 20001, 2500 EA
The Hague
Netherlands
Kjell Magne Bondevik, K. Vollebæk and D.J. Fjærvoll,
C/o Kjell Magne Bondevik
Prime Minister
Akersgt. 42, blokk H
P.O. Box 8001 Dep
N-0030 Oslo
Norway
Jerzy Buzek, B. Geremek and J. Onyszkiewicz,
C/o Jerzy Buzek
Prime Minister
Prime Ministers Office
al. Ujazdowskie 1/3
00-583 Warsaw
Poland
Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, J.J. Matos da Gama and V.
Simão,
C/o Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres
Prime Minister
Gabinete do Primeiro-Ministro
Lisboa
Portugal
Jose Maria Aznar, A. Matutes
and E. Serra Rexach,
C/o Excmo. Sr. Jose Maria Aznar
Presidente del Gobierno
Complejo de la Edf. Semillas
28071
Spain
Bulent Ecevit, I. Cem and H. S. Turk,
C/o Bulent Ecevit
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
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 DAlema, 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;
© 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;
© 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 ¼ 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 bomb¼In 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
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 WHEREASthe 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:
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
© 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.
Art 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 DAlema, 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 Prosecutors 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"
Michael Mandel (Professor)
for
W. Neil Brooks (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)
ANNEX: CIVILIAN DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
The following are two reports from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (a designated source of information under Article 18.1 of the Stature of the Tribunal): 1) NATO Crimes Against Civilians and Civilian Infrastructure in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY - www.mfa.gov.yu/Bilteni/Engleski/si290499_1-e.html); and 2) Civilian Victims and Devastation in NATO Aggression on Yugoslavia (SERBIAINFO - www.serbia-info.com/news/1999-04/23/11210.html)
NATO CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS AND CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA (April 29, 1999)
The NATO criminal aggression represents the most flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations since the inception of the world Organization, a violation of the Helsinki Final Act and the undermining of the very foundations of the international legal order. At the same time, this aggression is a crime against peace, stability and humanity.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has warned on time the United Nations Security Council of a possible aggression, and during the aggression itself it requested that it be immediately halted and most strongly condemned. Had this legitimate request of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia been met, enormous human sufferings and destruction would have been avoided. The most illustrative examples are given below.
KILLING AND PLIGHT OF
THE CIVILIANS During the last thirty-six days of NATO
aggression, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been exposed
to extensive civilian destruction, unprecedented in modern
history of the world. NATO aggressors have focused their attacks
primarily on civilian targets, directly threatening the lives and
fundamental human rights of the entire population of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. By bombing relentlessly the cities, towns
and villages throughout Yugoslavia, the NATO aggressor has killed
so far, in nine hundred attacks, more than a thousand civilians,
including a great number of children.
Over five thousand people sustained injuries, many of whom will
remain crippled for life. At the same time, several thousand
private homes and flats have been ruined, mostly in Belgrade,
Nis, Cuprija, Aleksinac, Pristina, etc. We shall present the most
tragic instances of the killings and plight of the innocent
civilian population. Fifty-five passengers were killed and
twenty-six injured in an international passenger train on the
Belgrade-Thessaloniki line. More than four hundred civilians were
killed by NATO bombs in Kosmet: in the centre of Pristina, in
Djakovica, Prizren, Kosovo Polje, Urosevac, Kosovska Mitrovica,
in refugee camps in Orahovac and Srbica, Vitina, etc. Thirteen
civilians were killed and twenty-five wounded in an attack on
Kursumlija.
Twelve civilians were killed and forty wounded in the bombing of Aleksinac. Sixteen RTS workers were killed and seventeen wounded in the bombing of the headquarters of this biggest Radio and Television outlets in the FRY. Unfortunately, the final number of victims has not been established yet since more victims have remained buried in the rubble.
In Pancevo, Cacak, Vranje and Nis the number of casualties has been increasing each day.
KILLING OF CHILDREN
Children are the most
vulnerable category of the population, innocent and defenceless
which suffer in particular due to the
barbaric bombing of NATO aircraft, which is illustrated by the
following examples:
The killing of seven children in Srbica from cluster bombs;
The killing of five children from the Kodza family in the village
of Doganovici near Urosevac on 24 April 1999 as a result of the
delayed effect of bombs (Edon, aged 3, Fisnik, aged 9, Osman,
aged 13, Burim, aged 14 and Vajdet, aged 15. Six other children
were also injured in the same incident, two of them were
seriously wounded. The killing of a three-year old Milica Rakic
in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica;
The killing of six children in the refugee centre in Djakovica
and 19 children in the refugee column on the Prizren-Djakovica
road;
The death of a child in Kosovo Polje; The killing of five years
old girl Arta Lugic while her brothers Neron and Egzon and her
sister Arijeta were seriously wounded in Lipljane;
The killing of nine children in Kursumlija; The killing of two
children in Aleksinac, as well as other numerous examples.
Children are most often victims of the sprinkle cluster bombs
with delayed effect. The death toll on children would have been
even more tragic, had the missile struck the biggest Maternity
Hospital in Belgrade (It exploded some thirty metres away from
the Hospital).
KILLING AND PLIGHT OF
REFUGEES
Particularly tragic is the fate of refugees, who
convinced that they should not believe the propaganda ploys on
the alleged "ethnic cleansing" decided to return to
their homes. Legitimate authorities of the FRY encourage them
every day to do so and guarantee their safety. On the occasion of
a return of a large group of refugees, on 14 April, on the
Djakovica-Prizren road, NATO aircraft killed 75 citizens of the
FRY and wounded 111. The attack of NATO aircraft was
systematically prepared and lasted for three hours. In this way,
NATO has in the most brutal way "demonstrated" that the
story of "humanitarian catastrophe" suits it only if it
fits in the legitimate aggression on the FRY, as well as that
innocent civilians are constantly taken advantage of for NATO
interests in the Balkans.
In addition, NATO bombed several refugee camps in which Serbs
expelled from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were
accommodated (Djakovica, Pristina, Kursumlija, etc). Several
dozens of refugees were killed, mostly children and the frail,
ruthlessly ending their tragedy which came about in the wake of
the break-up of Yugoslavia.
BOMBING OF SURDULICA
The aggressors war planes bombed at noon, on 27 April
1999, the residential area of the town of Surdulica. On that
occasion 16 citizens were killed (including 12 children), while
several dozen were wounded out of which twenty persons remained
in hospital for further medical treatment. Hundreds of houses
were raised to the ground or damaged. Special teams are still
clearing up the debris so that it is not possible at the moment
to estimate the real proportions of this notorious crime.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
ON PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA SLOBODAN
MILOSEVIC
An assassination attempt on the President of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia on 22 April 1999 represents an organised terrorist
act without precedent in the history of modern Europe. This is
not only a crime against a Head of a sovereign State, but
primarily an attack on the democratically expressed will of a
people and thus against the foundations of the democratic values
of the civilisation. Although the residence of the President of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was targeted, this attack has
also a symbolic meaning as if the targets had been the homes of
all Yugoslav citizens. This crime has caused abhorrence and
condemnation by international public. However, it is
incomprehensible that the United Nations Security Council has
remained silent and failed to condemn this terrorist act or the
killings of civilians and children.
CRIME AGAINST THE
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The destruction of more than ten private radio and television
stations, two dozen TV transmitters, as well as the bombing of
the Radio and Television of Serbia building on 23 April 1999
represents the biggest aggression against freedom of thought and
a disgrace to the civilization at the threshold of a third
millennium.
Transmitters at Iriski venac, Krnjaca, Mt Cer, Bukulja, Tornik,
Crni vrh, Jasetrebac, Ovcar, Grmija and others were destroyed, so
that the transmitter infrastructure at the entire territory of
Serbia was severely damaged. Two times in six days the studios
and transmitter located at the business centre "Usce"
which housed TV stations: BK TV, Pink, Kosava and SOS Channel, as
well as several other radio stations were bombed. Transmitter of
the TV station Palma was bombed and destroyed on 28 April 1999.
The satellite station "Yugoslavia" in the village of
Prilike near Ivanjica was severely damaged.
BOMBING OF THE
BUILDING OF THE RADIO AND TELEVISION OF SERBIA
The building was demolished taking a heavy toll during the
bombing of the largest Radio and TV company in the Balkans with
7000 employees and the state-of-the-art infrastructure which was
made available to hundreds of foreign correspondence. The aim of
this crime, in which 16 RTS workers were killed and 19 wounded,
was more than obvious: to suppress the right to a different
opinion and its being publicly expressed with a view to pursuing
further war-mongering manipulation with the world public.
Clearly, the intention of NATO aggressors is to prevent the world
public from learning the extensive scope of their crimes and to
impose on the world their totalitarian and single-minded
perception. Many newspapers in the world and renowned journalists
have already raised their voice against the propaganda
fabrications of the NATO aggressors.
For all champions of the freedom of speech and for all people
committed to the right to freedom of expression, this destructive
act represents the last warning alarm before NATO generals take
control over the aggressors media.
DESTRUCTION OF VITAL
YUGOSLAV ECONOMIC FACILITIES
According to the assessment of experts from Western countries,
the damage done to date by NATO air strikes is well in excess of
one hundred billion US dollars. By the destruction of factories,
business capacities and production facilities, more than half a
million people have lost their jobs and over two million of them
remained without any kind of income. Destroyed are the industrial
complexes in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Nis, Pancevo, Cacak,
Kraljevo, Valjevo, Pristina, Vranje, Kursumlija, Krusevac, Kula,
Gnjilane, Sremska Mitrovica and in other towns and cities. The
petrochemical industry of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has
been totally destroyed, as well as the largest Yugoslav factory
of artificial fertilisers.
Private entrepreneurs are a particular target of NATO aggression and the most glaring example of it is the destruction of the "Usce" business centre in Novi Beograd which was hit on 21 and 27 April 1999. That was one of the biggest business centres in the Balkans, which housed more than a hundred newly established private firms in full business expansion, foreign representative offices, seven private Radio and TV stations and one of the most modern poli-clinics in the FRY. The building of this business centre is also one of the landmarks of modern Belgrade.
DESTRUCTION OF
BRIDGES
On the false pretext of "neutralizing the military power of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", the NATO aggressor
started systematic destruction of the major Yugoslav road and
rail traffic routes. About 20 bridges have been totally
demolished so far and a few dozen of them have been damaged.
Also, several dozen major and local roads, airports, railway
tracks, railway stations, etc. have been destroyed. All ruined
facilities were part of costly capital investments, into which
the resources and the efforts of several generations of Yugoslav
citizens were pooled. All the facilities are strategic part of
the European traffic infrastructure, and some of them are of
historical and cultural importance ("The Wailing Bridge
" in Novi Sad, on which the Fascists killed several thousand
Jews in the Second World War). About 30 bridges have been
destroyed including those at the strategic European E-75
corridor. By the destruction of the bridges on the Danube river
the aggressors have blocked the entire river navigation at this
traffic artery of the greatest importance for European economy
and the shortest link between the Northern and Mediterranean sea
(The Rhein-Mein-Danube route). Thus, the European shipping
companies suffer each day the damage of over 20 million DM.
Examples: Sloboda Bridge, Wailing Bridge, Zezelj Bridge and the
bridge in Beska (all in the city of Novi Sad), several bridges on
the Ibar primary road and on the major railway lines.
ENVIRONMENTAL
DISASTER
Concurrently with the humanitarian, NATO strikes have caused an
environmental catastrophe which is endangering not only the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but also the neighbouring
countries and the entire European continent. Ecology does not
recognize boundaries. The NATO aggressor is thus teetering on the
brink of another Chernobyl in the heart of Europe. The
destruction of petrochemical installations, the warehouses
storing semi-processed and finished products of the chemical
industry have already caused significant adverse effects on the
health of the population of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the neighbouring countries. During some of the air strikes it
was pure luck that an environmental catastrophe was not provoked
spreading all over Europe. The aggressors attacks did not
spare even huge forests, tourist centres and the national parks
on the mountains of Serbia (Kopaonik, Zlatibor, Divcibare, Tara,
Prokletije, Sara, Fruska Gora). The ozone layer was depleted by
the exhaust gases. The Black Sea, Aegean and the Adriatic basins,
practically the entire Mediterranean, are threatened by
environmental pollution. Examples: Nitrogen factory in Pancevo,
the oil refineries in Pancevo and Novi Sad, the chemical company
"Prva iskra" in Baric and others.
HOSPITALS AND HEALTH
INSTITUTIONS
The aggressors bombings, calculated to provoke the greatest
possible confusion and panic among innocent people, have damaged
many clinical and hospital centres, inflicting not only great
material damage to property (destruction of buildings and
expensive medical equipment), but also causing new health
problems and intensifying psychological traumas among the sick
people. The destruction of all the three bridges in Novi Sad
totally cut off and left, without the supply of water, the
largest Yugoslav centre for the treatment of cardiovascular
diseases, to which several million people gravitate. The
Maternity Hospital in Belgrade, and the biggest hospital in the
Balkans (Military Medical Academy Hospital - VMA), and the
Orthopaedic hospital of Banjica, the hospitals in Cuprija and
Aleksinac, as well as the medical centres in Pristina and in many
other towns were damaged.
DESTRUCTION OF
PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS, SCHOOLS
AND UNIVERSITIES
Since the outset of the aggression, NATO has put a stop to the
education of close to one million pupils and students in
Yugoslavia. Over three hundred facilities built for the education
and upbringing of children and young people of all ages were
destroyed. This will inevitably be reflected on the development
and social integration of young people. Hard hit are university
centre in Nis (Machine Engineering, Civil Engineering,
Electronical, Technical, Law and Economics faculties), in
Pristina (Agricultural and Machine Engineering faculty) and Novi
Sad (Faculty of Philosophy).
DESTRUCTION OF WORLD
CULTURAL HERITAGE ON THE SOIL OF THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA
Kosovo and Metohija in particular, but also the entire territory
of the FR of Yugoslavia, is a treasury of European culture and
civilization since ancient times. By violating all international
conventions on the protection of civilization and its heritage,
and in the pursuit of the spirit of aggressive nihilism and new
barbarity, more than 50 monasteries and churches have been
severelydamaged thus far, as well as a couple of dozen of other
cultural and historic monuments, some under UNESCO protection.
Severe damage was caused to the monastery of the Patriarchate of
Pec (12th century), Zica (13th century),
Decani and Gracanica (14th century, under UNSECO
protection), medieval towns of Zvecan (13th century)
and Smederevo (15th century), Petrovaradin fortress
(18th century), seventeen monasteries on Fruska Gora
(15-18th century) and many other priceless historical
monuments. The bombs have even destroyed many cemeteries all
across Yugoslavia.
USE OF PROHIBITED
WEAPONS
In NATO attacks, the state-of-the-art weapons have been
used, but also those prohibited under international conventions,
such as cluster bombs and slow activating bombs. In a month-long
attacks on civilian and other facilities in Serbia, NATO aircraft
fired more than 3,500 missiles, including 60 containers with
14,400 cluster bombs. As many as 3,600 cluster bombs were used in
the attacks against towns in Kosmet - Pristina, Urosevac,
Djakovica, Prizren etc, and many other places and facilities in
Serbia. Before the attacks, radio locators were dropped from the
aircraft, found in the vicinity of many civilian and business
facilities in Serbia.
CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN
NATO AND TERRORISTS OF THE SO-CALLED "KLA"
While before the onset of the aggression Albanian terrorists
counted on NATO aircraft as air support to their armed groups,
now arming, equipping and transport of Albanians living in the
USA and other western countries is under way, for actions in the
FRY, with a view to making armed formations from them to serve as
ground troops of the "Alliance". Albanian terrorists
are being trained and armed in the camps in northern Albania - in
Tropoje, Kukes and Bajram Curri (they are trained by British, US
and Turkish commandos), and then illegally infiltrated into
Kosovo and Metohija. Such activity, in direct violation of the
resolutions of Security Council, has been particularly stepped up
in April when concrete plans for ground invasion against the FRY
started to be hatched. So far, several hundred terrorists have
been transported from the USA to Albania. Plans are made to
equip, arm and train for coordinated actions with NATO, around
6,000 Albanians. According to western sources, Albanian
terrorists represent the main source of intelligence for NATO, of
military character or those aimed at spreading propaganda against
our country.
At the moment it is difficult to perceive and evaluate all the
humanitarian, economic, environmental, health and other
consequences of the NATO criminal aggression against the FR of
Yugoslavia. The greatest victim of the aggression is the entire
Yugoslav people and its material and cultural resources. At the
same time, the violation of the Charter of the United Nations,
the NATO has created a precedent which may a cast a shadow over
the future of all peoples and sovereign States. The cause for
concern is all the grater because, by combining pressure and
promises, NATO is drawing an increasing number of countries into
its aggression against the FR of Yugoslavia, which will have
long-term negative consequences on the future relations and
co-operation between all Southeast European countries. Attempts
by NATO to justify its brutal aggression by an alleged care for
the refugees may bring about an irreversible degradation of the
United Nations and involve this highest international forum in
the crime against a country which is one of its founding members.
CIVILIAN VICTIMS AND
DEVASTATION IN NATO AGGRESSION ON YUGOSLAVIA (April 23, 1999)
OVERVIEW OF DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN TARGETS ON THE TERRITORY OF
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AS A RESULT OF BARBARIC AND
CRIMINAL AGGRESSION BY NATO, FROM 24 MARCH TO 19 APRIL 1999
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
From the onset of NATO aggression against our country up to 19
April 1999, the North Atlantic Alliance made over 7,000 criminal
attacks against the territory of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. 700 warplanes, of which 530 combat planes, were used;
more than 2000 cruise missiles were launched and over 6,000 tons
of explosives were dropped.
About 500 civilians were killed and more than 4,000 sustained
serious injuries e.g.: in Kursumlija: 13 dead and 25 wounded;
in Pancevo: 2 dead and 4 wounded;
in Cacak: one dead and 7 wounded;
in Kragujevac: over 120 workers were wounded during an attack on
the car factory "Zastava";
in Vranje: two dead and 23 wounded;
in Aleksinac: 12 dead and more than 40 wounded;
in Nagavac village, Orahovac municipality: 11 dead and 5 wounded;
in Pristina: 10 dead and 8 wounded;
Grdelicka gorge: 55 killed and 16 wounded;
attack on two refugee columns, with four cruise missiles, on the
Djakovica-Prizren road: 75 killed and 100 wounded, of whom 26
critically;
in the village of Srbica: 10 killed, among whom 7 children;
Belgrade suburb of Batajnica: a three year old girl was
killed,and
five civilians wounded.
Three million children are endangered in our country as a result
of war and bombardment by NATO criminals.
After these barbarian attacks hundreds of thousands citizens have
been exposed to poisonous gasses which can have a lasting
consequences on the health of the entire population and the
environment.
After the demolition of the Petrovaradin bridge, Novi Sad and
Petrovaradin were cut of water supply (600 000 citizens) since
the main and city pipeline was constructed into the bridge. About
one million citizens in our country are short of water supply due
to the bombardment of NATO aggressors.
About 500 000 workers became jobless due to the total destruction
of industrial facilities all around the country. Two million
citizens have no means for living and cannot ensure the minimum
for existence.
Overall material damage is enormous. Preliminary estimates
indicate that barbaric air strikes of the neo-fascist NATO
alliance, since the beginning of the unprovoked aggression on the
SR of Yugoslavia,on industrial, commercial and civil facilities
and structures throughout our peace-loving country, have incurred
damages in excess of 10 billion dollars. In the territory of the
northern province of Vojvodine alone, damages have been estimated
in excess of 3,5 billion dollars.
TRAFFIC
The road and railway networks, especially road and rail bridges,
most of which were destroyed or damaged beyond repair, suffered
extensive destruction. The targets of attacks were such
communications as:
1. BRIDGES (11 DESTROYED AND 13 DAMAGED):
1.The Varadin Bridge over the Danube was destroyed (on 1 April
1999);
2.The "Sloboda" (Freedom) Bridge over the Danube was
destroyed (on 4 April 1999);
3.The "Mladosti" (Youth) Bridge over the Danube,
connecting Backa Palanka with Ilok, was damaged (on 4 April
1999);
4.The new railway bridge over the Danube connecting Bogojevo and
Erdut was damaged (on 5 April 1999);
5.The road bridge over the Danube, connecting Bogojevo with Erdut
was damaged (on 5 April 1999);
6.The bridge over the Danube along the Beograd-Novi Sad road,
near Beska, Indjija municipality, was damaged (on 1 April 1999);
7.The road bridge along the Magura Belacevac road, 15 kilometres
from Pristina, suffered extensive damage;
8.The "Zezeljov" Bridge in Novi Sad was damaged (on 5
April 1999);
9.The bridge over the Ibar river, Biljanovac municipality, was
damaged (on 5 - 13 April 1999);
10.The bridge over the Vrbacka river near Jezgrovic was destroyed
(on 5 April 1999);
11.The "Lozno" railway bridge near Usce was destroyed
(on 5 April 1999);
12.The road bridge on the road leading to Brvenik, near Usce, was
destroyed (on 5 April 1999);
13.The bridge along the Nis-Pristina primary road, near
Kursumlija,suffered extensive damage (on 5 April 1999);
14.The bridge near Zubin Potok was destroyed (on 5 April 1999);
15.The Grdelica gorge railway bridge was damaged (on 12 April
1999);
16.The road bridge over the Kosanica river near Kursumlija was
damaged (on 13 April 1999);
17.The old bridge on the river Rasina in the town of Krusevac
(12-13 April 1999);
18.The Krusevac-Pojate bridge on the river Zapadna Morava, at the
village of Jasika, was destroyed (on 13 April 1999);
19.The railway bridge on the river Lim, between Priboj and
Prijepolje, near hydroelectric power station Bistrica was
destroyed(on 15 April 1999);
20.The road bridge on the river Toplica, on the Nis-Pristina road
near the town of Kursumlija, was heavily damaged (14 and 19 April
1999);
21.The bridge on the river Ibar, at the village of Biljanovac
near Raska, sustained heavy damages (15.04.1999.);
22.The bridge between Smederevo and Kovin has been destroyed (16
April 1999);
23.The railway bridge on the river Kostajnica, near Kursumlija,
has sustained heavy damages and is out of service (18.04.1999.);
24.The bridge on the river Kosanica, at the village of Selo
Visoko,has sustained heavy damages and is out of service
(18.04.1999.);
2. RAILWAYS RAILWAY
STATIONS (12):
1.The Kraljevo - Kosovo Polje rail, near Ibarska Slatina;
2.The Belgrade - Bar rail, due to the destruction of the railway
track near the village of Strbce and destruction of the bridge on
the river Lim, between Priboj and Prijepolje;
3.The Kursumlija - Prokuplje rail, near Pepeljevac village;
4.The Kraljevo - Kosovo Polje rail, near Ibarska Slatina;
5.The Nis - Pristina rail, near Kursumlija;
6."Sarpelj" tunnel, near Jerinje village, 15 km north
of Leposavic towards Raska, was destroyed;
7.Railway station in Kraljevo (Bogutovac);
8.Railway station in Kosovo Polje;
9.The Belgrade - Thessaloniki rail, due to the destruction of the
bridge in the Grdelica gorge;
10.Railway station in the town of Biljanovac;
11.Railway track and overpass (Josinacka Banja) near the town
of Biljanovac;
12.Railway track Kursumlija - Podujevo, due to damages on the
railway bridge at Kursumlija;
3. ROADS AND
TRANSPORTERS (6 MAJOR ROADS):
1.Ibarska primary road, due to damages to the bridge on the Ibar
river, Biljanovac municipality, and destruction of the road
between Pozega and Cacak;
2.Belgrade-Zagreb highway, near Stari Banovci;
3.Traffic suspended on the Kosovska Mitrovica-Ribarici section of
the Adriatic highway due to the destruction of the bridge over
the Vrbacka river;
4."Jedinstvo" bus station in Vranje sustained extensive
damage;
5."Kosmet Prevoz" transporter in Gnjilane (a hangar
full of new buses);
6.Kraljevo-Raska primary road;
7.Bus station in Pristina;
8.Traffic has been suspended on the Krusevac-Pojate road due to
the destruction of the bridge on the Zapadna Morava, in the
village of Jasika;
9.Traffic has been suspended on the Nis-Pristina road, due to the
fact that the bridge on the river Toplica, near the town of
Kursumlija, has sustained heavy damage;
4. AIRPORTS (7):
"Slatina" in Pristina; "Batajnica" and
"Surcin" in Belgrade; Nis
airport; "Ponikve" in Uzice; "Golubovac" in
Podgorica, "Ladjevci"
airport near Kraljevo; agricultural and sports airfield in
Sombor.
ECONOMIC AND CIVILIAN
TARGETS, PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
The air strikes have so far destroyed or damaged all
over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia several thousand economic
facilities and dwellings. In the Leskovac region alone, over
3,500 industrial facilities and dwellings were either destroyed
or damaged.
The devastation of NATO forces was particularly manifest in
Pristina, Novi Sad, Aleksinac, Djakovica, Prokuplje, Gracanica,
Cuprija, etc. Housing blocks on the outskirts of Belgrade -
Kijevo Knecevac, Batajnica, Jakovo, Borca, as well as the area
around Pancevo, were under attack.
1. INDUSTRY AND
TRADE:
The NATO aggressors attacks targeted the factories
and industrial facilities which directly cater for the needs of
the population, among which are:
1."Lola Utva" agricultural aircraft factory in Pancevo;
2."Galenika" drug factory in Belgrade;
3."Zdravlje" pharmaceutical plant in Leskovac;
4."Sloboda" white goods factory in Cacak;
5."Din" tobacco industry in Nis;
6."Elektronska industrija" factory in Nis;
7."Div" cigarette factory in Vranje;
8.Tubes factory in Urosevac;
9."Jastrebac" machine industry in Nis;
10."Milan Blagojevic" chemical plant in Lucani;
11.Plastics factory in Pristina;
12."Binacka Morava" hydro construction company in
Gnjilane;
13."Nova Jugoslavija" printers in Vranje;
14.Facilities of the "Beograd" rail company in Nis;
15.Over 250 commercial and crafts shops in Djakovica were
destroyed;
16."Dijana" shoe factory in Sremska Mitrovica;
17."Zastava" car factory in Kragujevac;
18."14 Oktobar" machine factory in Krusevac;
19.Cotton yarn factory in PriStina;
20."Krusik" holding corporation in Valjevo;
21."Ciklonizacija" in Novi Sad;
22."Tehnogas" in Novi Sad;
23."Novograp" in Novi Sad;
24."Gumins" in Novi Sad;
25."Albus" in Novi Sad;
26."Petar Drapsin" in Novi Sad;
27."Motins" in Novi Sad;
28."Izolacija" in Novi Sad;
29."Novokabel" in Novi Sad;
30."Istra" fittings factory in Kula;
31.The port of Bogojevo;
32.Industrial complex "Dvadeset Prvi Maj" in Rakovica;
33.Machine building plant "Industrija Motora Rakovica"
in Rakovica;
34.Factory "Jugostroj" in Pancevo;
35.Factory "Frigostroj" in Pancevo;
36.Surface coal mine "Belacevac";
2. REFINERIES AND WAREHOUSES
Refineries and warehouses storing liquid raw materials
and chemicals intended for the oil and chemical industry, were
hit in Pancevo, Novi Sad, Sombor and elsewhere, causing large
contamination of soil and the air:
1.Fuel storage in Lipovica, which caused a great fire in the
Lipovica forest (on 26 March 1999);
2.Oil Refinery in Pancevo - totally demolished (4-16 April 1999);
3."Jugopetrol" installations in Smederevo (on 4-13
April 1999);
4."Jugopetrol" storage in Sombor (on 7 April 1999);
5."Beopetrol" storages in Belgrade and Bogutovac (on 4
April 1999);
6."Beopetrol" fuel storage in Pristina (on 7 April
1999);
7.Fuel storage of the boiler plant in Novi Beograd (on 4 April
1999);
8.Thermo electric power station/boiler plant in Novi Sad (on 5
April1999);
9.Oil Refinery in Novi Sad, storage of bitumen (5 and 6 April
1999);
10.Fuel storage "Naftagas promet" which is located 10
km from Sombor(5 April 1999);
11.Naftagas warehouse between Conoplje and Kljaicevo (Sombor);
12.Jugopetrol warehouse in Pristina (on 12 April 1999);
13.Jugopetrol petrol station in Pristina ( on 13 April 1999);
14.Petrochemical industry "DP HIP PETROHEMIJA" in
Pancevo totally demolished (14-15 April 1999);
15.Fertilizer plant "DP HIP AZOTARA" in Pancevo -
totally destroyed (14-15 April 1999);
16.Chemical plant "Prva Iskra" in Baric - destruction
of the production line (19 April 1999);
3. AGRICULTURE:
1.PIK "Kopaonik" in Kursumlija;
2.PIK "Mladost" in Gnjilane;
3.Agricultural Complex "Malizgan" in Dolac;
4.Agricultural Complex "Djuro Strugar" in Kula;
5.In forest fires caused by NATO cruise missiles and bombs over
250 hectares of forests have been burned down;
6.Several thousand hectares of fertile land, many rivers, lakes
and underground waters have been polluted due to the spillage of
petrochemical substances, oil spills and slicks;
4. HOSPITALS AND
HEALTH CARE CENTRES (16):
NATO aviation also targeted many hospitals and
health-care institutions, which have been partially damaged or
totally
destroyed, including:
Hospital and Medical Centre in the territory in Leskovac;
Hospital and Poly-clinic in Nis;
Gerontological Centre in Leskovac;
General Hospital in Djakovica;
City Hospital in Novi Sad;
Gynaecological Hospital and Maternity Ward of the Clinical Centre
in Belgrade;
Neuropsychiatric Ward "Dr. Laza Lazarevic" and Central
Pharmacy of the Emergency Centre in Belgrade;
Army Medical Academy in Belgrade;
Medical Centre and Ambulance Centre in Aleksinac;
"Sveti Sava" hospital in Belgrade;
Medical Centre in Kraljevo;
Dispensary on Mount Zlatibor;
Health Care Centre in Rakovica;
5. SCHOOLS (MORE THAN 190 FACILITIES)
Over 190 schools, faculties and facilities for students
and children were damaged or destroyed (over 20 faculties, 6
collages, 40 secondary and 80 elementary schools, 6 student
dormitories), including:
Elementary schools "16. oktobar" and "Vladimir
Rolovic" in Belgrade;
Day-care centre in settlement Petlovo Brdo in Belgrade;
Two secondary schools in the territory of Nis;
Elementary schools "Toza Markovic", "Djordje
Natosevic", "Veljko
Vlahovic", "Sangaj" and "Djuro Danicic"
and a day-care centre "Duga" in Novi Sad and creches in
Visarionova Street and in the neighbourhood of Sangaj; Traffic
School Centre, Faculty of Philosophy;
Four elementary schools and a Medical high school in the
territory of Leskovac;
Elementary school in Lucane, as well as a larger number of
educationfacilities in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija;
Faculties of Law and Economics and elementary school "Radoje
Domanovic" in Nis;
Elementary schools in Kraljevo and the villages of Cvetka, Aketa
and Ladjevci;
In Sombor: elementary schools "Ivo Lola Ribar",
"A. Mrazovic", "N. Vukicevic" and
"Nikola Tesla" in Kljajicevo;
School centre in Kula;
Elementary school and Engineering secondary school centre in
Rakovica;
6. PUBLIC AND HOUSING
FACILITIES (TENS OF THOUSANDS)
Severe damage to the facilities of the Republican and
Federal
Ministry of the Interior in Belgrade (3 April 1999),
Damage to the building of the Institute for Security of the
Ministry of the Interior in Banjica (3 April 1999);
Severe damage to the TV RTS studio in Pristina;
Heavy damage to Hydro-Meteorological Station (Bukulja, near
Arandjelovac);
Post Office in Pristina destroyed (7 April 1999);
Refugee centre in Pristina destroyed (7 April 1999);
"Tornik" ski resort on Mount Zlatibor (on 8 April
1999);
"Divcibare" mountain resort (on 11 April 1999);
"Baciste" Hotel on Mount Kopaonik (on 12 April 1999);
City power plant in the town of Krusevac (12-13 April 1999);
Meteorological Station on Mount Kopaonik damaged (on 13 April
1999);
Four libraries in Rakovica sustained heavy damage: "Radoje
Dakic",
"Isidora Sekulic", "Milos Crnjanski" and
"Dusan Matic";
Refugee camp "7 juli" in Paracin has sustained heavy
damage;
Office building of the Provincial Executive Council of Vojvodina,
Novi Sad;
Several thousand housing facilities damaged or destroyed,
privatelyor State owned, across Yugoslavia - most striking
examples being housing blocks in downtown Aleksinac and those
near Post Office in Pristina.
7. INFRASTRUCTURE:
Electrical Power Supply in Batajnica (26 March 1999);
Damage to water supply system in Zemun (5 April 1999);
Damage to a power station in Bogutovac (10 April 1999);
Telephone lines cut off in Bogutovac (10 April 1999);
Damage to a power station in Pristina (12 April 1999);
Damage to Bistrica hydroelectric power station in Polinje (13
April 1999);
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TV TRANSMITTERS (17):
1.Jastrebac (Prokuplje)
2.Gucevo (Loznica)
3.Cot (Fruska Gora)
4.Grmija (Pristina)
5.Bogutovac (Pristina)
6.TV transmitter on Mt Goles (Pristina)
7.Mokra Gora (Pristina)
8.Kutlovac (Stari Trg)
9."Cigota" (Uzice)
10."Tornik" (Uzice)
11.Transmitter on Crni Vrh (Jagodina)
12.Satellite station (in Prilike near Ivanjica)
13.TV masts and transmitters (Novi Sad)
14.TV transmitter on Mt Ovcara (Cacak)
15.TV transmitter in Kijevo (Belgrade)
16.TV transmitter on Mt Cer
17.Communications relay on Mt Jagodnji (Krupanj)
CULTURAL-HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND RELIGIOUS SHRINES
MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES AND RELIGIOUS SHRINES (16):
1.Monastery Gracanica from 14th century (24 March - 6
April 1999);
2.Monastery Rakovica from 17th century (29 March
1999);
3.Patriarchate of Pec (1 April 1999);
4.Church in Jelasnica near Surdulica (4 April 1999);
5.Monastery of the Church of St. Juraj (built in 1714) in
Petrovaradin (1 April 1999);
6.Monastery of Holy Mother (12th century) at the
estuary of the Kosanica in the Toplica - territory of
municipality of Kursumlija (4 April 1999);
7.Monastery of St. Nicholas (12th century) in the
territory of the municipality of Kursumlija (4 April 1999);
8.Monastery of St. Archangel Gabriel in Zemun (5 April 1999);
9.Roman Catholic Church St. Antonio in Djakovica (29 March 1999);
10.Orthodox cemetery in Gnjilane (30 March 1999);
11.Monuments destroyed in Bogutovac (8 April 1999);
12."Kadinjaca" memorial complex (8 April 1999);
13.Vojlovica monastery near Pancevo (12 April 1999);
14.Hopovo monastery, iconostasis damaged (12 April 1999);
15.Orthodox Christian cemetery in Pristina (12 April 1999);
16.Monastery church St, Archangel Michael in Rakovica (16 April
1999);
CULTURAL-HISTORICAL
MONUMENTS AND MUSEUMS (8):
1.Severe damage to the roof structure of the Fortress of
Petrovaradin (1 April 1999);
2.Heavy damage to "Tabacki bridge", four centuries old,
in Djakovica(5 April 1999);
3.Substantial damage to the building in Stara Carsija (Old
street) in Djakovica (5 April 1999);
4.Destroyed archives housed in one of the Government buildings in
Belgrade (3 April 1999);
5.Memorial complex in Gucevo (Loznica);
6.Memorial complex "Sumarice" in Kragujevac;
7.Vojvodina Museum in Novi Sad;
8.Old Military Barracks in Kragujevac - under the protection of
the state (16 April 1999); Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
FR Yugoslavia