Work of the Hague tribunal in Racak case criticized

BERLINER ZEITUNG ^ | 2004-01-17 | Markus Bickel

[DTA]

Berliner Zeitung, Saturday, January 17, 2004

No interest in fallen Serbs Work of the Hague tribunal in Racak case criticized
Markus Bickel

SARAJEVO/HELSINKI, January - Finnish pathologist Helena Ranta has expressed lack of comprehension regarding the work of the UN's Hague tribunal in the case of the so-called massacre of Racak.

In an interview with "Berliner Zeitung", the head of the forensic team sent by the EU to investigate occurrences in the Kosovo village of Racak in January, 1999, criticized that indications of serious fighting between Serbian soldiers and Albanian fighters on the night of 15th to 16th of January, 1999, in the Racak area had been inadequately pursued.

The tragedy in the Kosovo village exactly five years ago in which more than 40 Albanians died was used by Western politicians to convince the public of the necessity of the approaching NATO attack on Yugoslavia. U.S. diplomat William Walker played a central role. The chief of OSCE's Kosovo mission immediately accused the Serbs of having summarily executed 45 unarmed Albanian civilians in Racak. The Serbian side rejected this view and spoke about UCK fighters fallen in battle.

Photos not published

Ranta said she knows that "KLA fighters were buried near to Racak" at that time. "I had already gotten information proving that there several Serbian soldiers were also shot. Unfortunately, we will probably never find out the exact number of the Serbs that fell on that night." The question needs to be asked "why the Tribunal is not interested in this number." Ranta criticized that the indictment against the Yugoslav ex-president Milosevic in the Racak case largely follows the version of events put forward by Walker. "If ambassador Walker says that there has been a massacre in Racak, that statement has no legal effect. Even at that time I expressed that the OSCE observers had forgotten all the steps one usually expects by way of protection of the scene: its isolation, the exclusion of unauthorized persons as well as gathering of evidence." Ranta demanded the publishing of the pictures of two other photographers in addition to the OSCE photos of the scene which were also taken a few hours before the arrival of the OSCE observers.

The pictures showed "that at least one of the bodies was later moved. This body did not appear in the OSCE pictures."

Left in a lurch

During the days before beginning of the NATO attacks on Yugoslavia it was clear "that a whole series of governments had an interest in a version of Racak events which held only the Serbian side responsible," said Ranta. "However, I could not provide them with this version." She had gotten her instructions from the German diplomat, Ambassador Pauls, the representative of the German EU presidency of that time, who asked her to prepare a written tatement.

"Afterwards I had to show this individual statement to William Walker, who was obviously far from enthusiastic when he read it." Nevertheless, she agreed to participate in the important news conference on March 17, 1999. "On that occasion, I sat together with the German ambassador in Belgrade, Gruber, and a Finnish diplomat on the stage. I hoped that both men would support me." Unfortunately, that was not the case. "Instead, I had the feeling of having been left in a lurch," said Ranta. As a the result of this news conference dominated by Walker, most media considered the version of a Serbian massacre over Albanian civilians confirmed. Few days later the NATO air attacks on Yugoslavia began.

[DTA]

>>>>>> Go primary source. Read Dr. Ranta's transcript linked above. Read the statements of the people who were there. Some are at the ICTY web-site and Human Rights Watch has collected interviews from survivors; some of their quotes are in the first report at this link.<<<<<

Primary sources are indeed of paramoput importance. ,

According to HRW there were 400 Kosovo Albanian villagers in Racak village during January 15 1999 incident. According to primary sources, all 45 dead were unarmed civilians, inhabitants of Racak village.

[President Bill Clinton, press conference, 2/19/99]

" We should remember what happened in the village of Racak back in January -- innocent men, women, and children taken from their homes to a gully, forced to kneel in the dirt, sprayed with gunfire -- not because of anything they had done, but because of who they were."

And who they were indeed?

Balkan is the social environment where people know everything about their neighbors, even in the cities, let alone in small villages.

According to the ICTY indictment dated May 27 1999, the approximate age is unknown for 23 of 45 dead

That is 50 %

Not exact D.O.B but approximate age in years is NOT known.

How come if 23 dead were indeed "innocent men, women, and children taken from their homes", civilians from Racak?

How come their relatives and other 400 villagers did not know even their APPROXIMATE age?

This flaw in the plot of The Racak Massacre Hoax was not apparent to the writer of the script, most likely someone born and raised in North America.

But it is obvious flaw to anyone with the knowledge of the South East Europe customs.

This flaw remains on public record and can not be erased. Mark502inf, thanks again for providing the links.

[joan]

The fighting between the entrenched KLA, who had a base in Racak, and the Serb police started in the morning, January 15, and went on until 3:00 p.m. that afternoon, when the OSCE asked for a ceasefire. The Serbs then cleared out within an hour or two. Reporters, cameramen, and OSCE observers, who were near the scene filming and watching the battle, entered Racak around that time to look for atrocities and speak with the few villagers (most had left by the time the Serbs were able to overcome KLA fighting around noon). Not one report of atrocity was observed or heard by the OSCE teams, film crews, or reporters that day. Neither did any of the villagers or KLA mention or point to the atrocity site, which was in a ditch on a hill not far from the KLA's base, and would have been in their firing range. Only the following day, January 16, at around 9:00 a.m. did armed KLA bring reporters to the ditch with the bodies. The KLA had, since late afternoon January 15 until the next morning to set up the scene and place the bodies that no one had discovered or mentioned the day before when Serbs police had left Racak.

[moroz]

Ranta’s testimony is indeed quite interesting and you should read it.



22 Q. So the categorisation of the circumstances of death is not

23 possible based on a forensic analysis. Is this what you said? Did I

24 understand you correctly?

25 A. The categorisation of manner of death as defined by the World

Page 17774

1 Health Organisation is not possible.



24 Q. But at the beginning of that same page, it says Dr. Helena Ranta,

25 chief pathologist: "Racak was a KLA stronghold at the time. I am

Page 17755

1 convinced there is enough information to suggest that there was fighting

2 between the Serbian army and the KLA in the village. [In English] There

3 is absolutely no doubt about that. I was also told, and was able to read

4 reports that KLA fighters were killed that day."

5 [Interpretation] And that's what you yourself said.

6 A. Yes, I have said that.



Q. is Milosevic and A. is Ranta;

There are to many unanswered questions here.
How many people were killed? I found following numbers 37, 40, 45, and 51.
How many of them were terrorists killed in fighting? According to report from Hague, many.
How many of killed were actually villagers from Racak? We do not know.
Why is so hard to find names, ages and other data on alleged victims?
Who moved bodies of killed?
Why we didn’t have international investigation to establish facts?
Why EU was so fast to condemn Serbs before Ranta even looked at one body?
Why there is no mention in indictment against Milosevic that Racak was a KLA-stronghold and was used (as Srebrenica) to launch many attacks against Serb forces? This is list of weapons confiscated by Serbs from “unarmed civilians”
“one 12.7 mm Browning heavy artillery piece, two other hand-held artillery pieces, 36 automatic rifles, two sniper rifles, numerous rounds of ammunition, numerous hand grenades, radio transmitters”
In indictment there is no mention that operation at Racak was part of a larger operation including the villages of Belince and Malopoljce. Why?
Is Milosevic guilty if some civilians were killed by accident in fighting between government forces and terrorist? HRW claims:
“According to M.B., who was hiding in his home, Bajram Mehmeti and his daughter Hanumshahe were killed by a grenade early in the morning of January 15 as they were running through the center of the village.”
Can we with certainty, said they were civilians?
According to some reports this two were armed. And so on and so forth.

[greenwolf]

According to the ICTY indictment dated May 27 1999, the approximate age is unknown for 23 of 45 dead...

As far as I know, every single one of these stories of "Serb atrocities" which anybody has ever checked out has turned out to be fabricated BS.

The people accusing Milosevic and other Serbs of atrocities are Slick Clinton, Madeline Albright, George Soros, and related NWO types. What more does anybody need to know to comprehend what's going on here?

[getoffmylawn]

Racak bump.

[A. Pole]

Even Joseph Goebbels would be ashamed to tell a lie that grandiose.

I start to suspect that Goebbels was less dishonest than anti-Serbian haters.

[Wraith]

Wonder what happened to hoplite? Ranta was a controlled entity that was put on a lurch? A body moved. What happened to the 11 KLA fighters that were removed from the scene by the KLA, the 16 hours the KLA controlled the scene at Racak, the KVM patrol (one of two) that was stopped by the KLA from entering Racak during the so called dirty dead by the Serbs. RANTA sheds light on the politics of perception and public opinion. Imagine that hoplite or is it Mark10whatever? Having been there and have met some of the players, One of Walkers OSCE European boys said during the the so called incident "Albanians will be killing Albanians".....Imagine that! 45 people killed for an excuse to take a road trip into mother Serbia at the cost of 45 human beings..... RACAK is a hoax!

[ehoxha]

The KLA commander at Racak testified at the ICTY that he gangpressed some 40 villagers into fighting that day.

The KLA went into the village and rounded up 'volunteers' at gunpoint.

One can only imagined what happened to these poor villagers.

Racak was a anti-KLA village

[ehoxha]

Ranta the forensic dentist must be miffed that her "consultant" contract from the ICTY was canceled.

[Hoplite]

This changes nothing as far as what happened to the villagers the Serbs rounded up and murdered by the Serb paramilitaries, Wraith. The fighting between the KLA and the Serbs around Racak was addressed by numerous witnesses as part of the prosecution's case.

It's a non-story, just like your imaginary Albanian friend and his stories of KLA roadblocks stopping OSCE monitors from getting into Racak that fateful day.

[Wraith]

The crack you are smoking seems to be taking a toll. Stop living in a past perception of reality. You forget that in any court case their is the other side of which you make the classical error of pronouncing judgment before the other side has been heard. Are you exposing your bias to the world of FR Hoplite? Racak was a manipulated scene so take another suck on the pipe and go back to la la land because your credability is somewhat not here........ As I had posted one of Walkers underlings said while the Racak scene was being manipulated "Albanians will be killing Albanians" and the dude was from the OSCE command and control element. Ranta was a tool manipulated by the powers to be who wanted the public to be exposed to a certain perception of which the result was the signed marching orders for NATO. Congratulations Hoplite you support the deaths of 45 human beings for the sake of stratigic positioning and you know what I am talking about. Its OK they were those other people so who cares right? Think about it... You call the my source factious well blow it out of your ears because you are nothing but an opinion who was never there........ FR knows this and you remain nothing but a sourceless opinion...Ranta was in a lurch....

[joan]

As I had posted one of Walkers underlings said while the Racak scene was being manipulated "Albanians will be killing Albanians" and the dude was from the OSCE command and control element.

It's people like him who should be testifying at the Hague.

[Hoplite]

The 'proof' of manipulation was never anything more than disinformation fed out by Milosevic's domestic news media and then parrotted by various nitwits who either couldn't be bothered to check the facts, or had a vested interest in perpetuating the lies.

Ranta's testimony laid to rest any claims of manipulation, Wraith - the men in the ditch were shot where they were found, and the bullet holes in their clothes matched up with the bullet wounds on their bodies.

It's over Wraith, and no attempts at creative writing on the part of Berliner Zeitung, who Ranta had taken to task for inaccurate reporting in their earlier efforts at spinning Racak, or continued efforts at clouding the issue on your, or anybody else's part, is going to change that.

you support the deaths of 45 human beings for the sake of stratigic positioning

No Wraith - I support holding those who murdered those men accountable, whereas you look to exculpate the guilty through lies and distortions.

So what's your vested interst here, Wraith? Is it the simple fact that you've invested so much time and effort furthering Milosevic's lies that you cannot change course without looking the fool?

Bummer dude - you should have put more thought into which side of the issue you were going to plant your feet - they may not have wound up in your mouth that way.

[Wraith]

Hoplite your stupidity never ceases to amaze me not to mention your very naive narrow minded view of the world that seems to end at the 200 mile limit of the US.. If the little room you are in had a window you would be to confused to know what to do with it. Maybe try lifting the shades open the window and give your brain the oxygen it so badly needs but knowing you the effort is to much. You could take some of that retirement cash, empty the pee bag and catch that bus to the big city and who knows what you would find……possibly reality?

[Hoplite]

Sadly, Wraith, the contents of your spleen are more tedious than anything else these days - they used to have a certain droll quality about them, but, alas, they are merely so much dreck as of late.

[Wraith]

I love slagging you. And your response I will take as a compliment Boo Boo.

[Wraith]

I love slagging you. And your response I will take as a compliment Boo Boo.

[Wraith]

Thanks for the heads up Mr. Lawn Long time no hear. Should be an interesting year....

[wonders]

Well, we all know my opinon on Racak. Apparently, my opinion and Dr. Ranta's don't differ.

"...Even at that time I expressed that the OSCE observers had forgotten all the steps one usually expects by way of protection of the scene: its isolation, the exclusion of unauthorized persons as well as gathering of evidence."

As I've said before, I was appalled the first time I saw that picture of Walker stomping all over the "crime scene" and practically trampling on the bodies. (See Incorrigible's #14 to refresh your memory, if needed.)

Whether or not one believes Racak was a hoax, one must ask: Were we right to intervene in Kosovo? Right or wrong, we grabbed the Tar-Baby.

[wonders]

Did you translate this yourself? If so, you did a good job of it! Thank you!