At
UN,
Brammertz
Blames All
Bosnia for
Foca Prison
Break, Rwandan
Responses
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 7 --
When
prosecutor
Serge
Brammertz
spoke
Wednesday at
the UN, far
fewer
journalists
covered him
than when he
was with the
Special
Tribunal on
Lebanon. At
this this
point, the
International
Criminal
Tribunal for
the former
Yugoslavia is
not
perceives as
being as
newsy.
But
Brammertz in
his statement
to the
Security
Council said
of Bosnia -
Herzogovina
that "the case
of Radovan
Stankovic is
symptomatic of
broader
problems... He
escaped from
prison in Foca
more than four
years ago,
yet very
little has
been done to
return him to
custody. We
struggle
to understand
why the
authorities in
Bosnia and
Herzogovina
appear
unconcerned."
Balkan
sources
point out that
just as Bosnia
has a three
way presidency
that at
times
paralyzes its
decision
making on such
matters as
Palestine's
application to
join the UN,
it is also
divided
ethnically on
the
ground.
"Consider
where Foca
is," a source
said
rhetorically.
"So why did
Brammertz
condemn the
country as a
whole?"
This
split in
Bosnia has
led, for
example, to
trips to Banja
Luca by
Israeli
foreign
minister
Avigdor
Lieberman, and
a little
noticed letter
from
the Serbian
third of the
government
attacking a
statement
given in
the Security
Council. So
Council
members know
about the
split: why
did Brammertz
ignore it?
(Note:
Council
members may
know of the
split in
Bosnia; French
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
also put in
his testimony
a reference to
the jail
break from
Foca. But he
did not blame
Bosnia as a
whole.)
When Brammertz
emerged from
the Council,
Inner City
Press asked
him. Brammertz
said that
Stankowitz
probably
shouldn't have
been sent to a
prison in
Foca, that it
may have been
"easy" for him
to escape.
Croatia's
Permanent
Representative
spoke late and
criticized and
"refused"
Brammertz
statement that
Croatian
officials
"glorify
illegal
war-time
conduct and
question the
impartiality
of the ICTY's
judgements."
Questioning is
allowed, isn't
it?
Inner City
Press asked
Brammertz. He
said that for
a prime
minister at a
political
rally to greet
a person
convicted, and
for people to
question the
qualificiations
of particular
ICTY staffers
is not
acceptable.
Asked by a
Serbian
journalist
about Serbia
joining the
EU, he said
the Tribunal's
preconditions
have been met;
"if there are
other"
preconditions,
that's another
issue. He
declined to
speak about
Kosovo.
Regarding
Rwanda,
Inner City
Press on
December 6
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
Inner
City
Press: there
was a Rwandan
journalist,
Charles
Ingabire, who
was
killed in
Kampala about
a week ago,
and there are
many human
rights
groups saying
that it should
be
investigated.
Some people
feel that
it has to do
with things
that he was
writing about
his native
country, is
the UN aware
of this case,
do they join
this call that
it should be
investigated?
I know that
generally
there is a
line
that
journalists
should be free
to do their
work, but this
is a
particular
case that
seems to be
raising a lot
of issues in
the Great
Lakes region,
and I wonder
if you have a
comment on it.
(c) UN Photo
Brammertz
and Jallow,
Foca and Charles
Ingabire not
shown
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I’d have to
check. But
certainly the
point that you
made
is absolutely
right.
Journalists do
need to be
able to carry
out
their work
without fear
of persecution
of whatever
kind. That’s
obviously an
underlying
principle. I
obviously will
check with
UNESCO and
others to see
if they have
anything
further on
that.
More
than 24 hours
later, Nesirky
had not
provided any
comment.
Meanwhile two
diplomats
entering the
Security
Council to
listen to the
Rwanda
Tribunal
statements,
when asked by
Inner City
Press about
the case, said
that Charles
Ingabire "was
hardly known
before he was
killed, just
Google him"
and even
suggested that
government
opponents
might
have done it.
That's
adding insult
to... murder.
Watch this
site.
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