Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
03THEHAGUE3027 | 2003-12-09 06:00:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy The Hague |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. |
C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 003027 |
1. (C) Summary: The President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Theodor Meron, told embassy legal officers that he would report to the UN Security Council Belgrade's noncooperation by 0900 EST on Tuesday, December 9, if indictee Pavle Strugar fails to return to The Hague for his trial, scheduled to begin on Wednesday December 10. Meron said that the failure of Serbia and Montenegro's Government (SAM) to effect Strugar's surrender would have grave consequences for the ICTY's willingness to grant provisional release to Serb indictees in the future. End summary. 2. (C) Meron, who alerted Embassy legal officers to his serious concerns about Strugar's efforts to avoid return to The Hague last Friday (ref A), firmly rejected any procedure short of Strugar complying with the ICTY trial chamber's order that he return to The Hague for trial immediately. Meron said that the SAM ambassador to The Hague had explained to him last Friday a process according to which a Belgrade court would order Strugar's transfer, but that Strugar would have the ability to appeal. (The procedure was described similarly in ref B.) Meron told the SAM Ambassador that any such process, especially the right of Strugar to appeal, was "completely unacceptable." In a conversation with emboff, he added that it would be as if an accused out on bail in the United States were allowed to appeal his apprehension to the marshal when called to trial. He explained that the original decision in 2001 to grant Strugar provisional release was premised on both a commitment from the accused to return immediately to The Hague when the trial would so require it and from the Government to guarantee his transfer. Strugar's failure reflects poorly enough on the accused, who, Meron mused, may simply be hoping that he can drag out an appeal and see whether this month's elections give him a government less likely to meet its commitments to the Tribunal. According to Meron, it reflects even worse on Belgrade which guaranteed Strugar's return and whose credibility with respect to any future requests depends on its ability to deliver on such assurances. 3. (C) As a result, Meron plans to send a formal letter to the United Nations Security Council not later than 0900 EST on Tuesday, December 9, detailing the noncompliance of the SAM with the order of the Tribunal that Strugar return for trial. He conceded that if Strugar were en route to The Hague or if the SAM were to guarantee that Strugar's departure was imminent (i.e., within twenty four hours), he would hold off on such a letter. He would, he said, be firm that SAM had to meet the commitments which formed an essential part of the ICTY's agreement to Strugar's provisional release. Meron added that such noncooperation, which has caused the postponement of the trial's start date, undermines the ICTY's ability to do its work efficiently and therefore compromises its ability to meet the completion strategy goals. 4. (C) Comment: A failure by SAM to effect Strugar's transfer to The Hague will have a seriously negative impact on future provisional release considerations, by both the Office of the Prosecutor and the Chambers, involving Belgrade. Meron is firm that that this transfer must happen imminently to avoid a report of noncompliance to the SC and we do not expect him to blink. End comment. SOBEL |