by Polly Mann, WAMM

Recently, WAMM members Sarah Standefer, Patty Guerrero, and I, attended the Independent Commission of Inquiry Investigating U.S./NATO War Crimes Against the People of Yugoslavia in New York.

This tribunal was called by Ramsey Clark, of the International Action Center, to try for war crimes all governments responsible for the bombing of Yugoslavia. It also tried, among others, the following individuals: the U.S. President, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the President of France, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the NATO Supreme Commander.

Judges and witnesses for the tribunal were prominent citizens with special knowledge about the war. They came from Europe, Asia, Central America, and the U.S.

It is rare for there to be a tribunal unrelated to governments, or a government coalition such as the UN. However, there is precedent for it. British philosopher and author, Bertrand Russell, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, organized a people's tribunal which tried the U.S. government for its role in the war.

Crimes detailed at the New York tribunal included the killing and injuring of a defenseless population throughout Yugoslavia; imposition of sanctions that are a crime against humanity; destruction of the peacemaking role of the United Nations; use of depleted uranium, cluster bombs, and other prohibited weapons; use and control of international media to create and maintain support for the U.S. assault and to demonize Yugoslavia, Slavs, Serbs, and Muslims as genocidal murderers; and attempts to establish U.S. domination and control of Yugoslavia to exploit its people and resources.

In an ordinary criminal case, attorneys of the accused present evidence favorable to their client. At this tribunal, no such evidence was submitted. While this might seem unfair, the mainstream corporate media have (almost totally and without question) supported NATO actions. They have reduced the conflict to a contest of good versus evil with evil represented by the Serbs and NATO the avenging angel. There was, therefore, no need for the defendants' case to be made as this had already been done, again and again, by the U.S. and European media.

During the war the simplistic black-and-white media presentation of the conflict obscured the history of U.S. participation in the conflict. A year before any hint of Yugoslavia's breakup, the U.S. (without any prior warning) cut off all aid and loans to Yugoslavia. The U.S. required that elections be held in all six states of Yugoslavia before such relief would be resumed. The U.S., however, permitted funds to be funneled to right wing nationalist parties. A year later, the Council of Europe followed suit.

While the media during the Vietnam War were "on the scene," NATO controlled and severely limited media access in Yugoslavia. Thus, controversial interviews, videotapes, and photographs were rare and background material was usually provided by NATO.

Information furnished the public in lieu of journalists' reports often emanated from public relations firms. James Harff, director of a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm, describes the firm's "modus operandi": "Our work is not to verify information. Our work is to accelerate the circulation of information favorable to us . . . We were able to present a simple story of good guys and bad guys which would hereafter play itself . . . We are not paid to moralize."

The defendants at the New York tribunal were found guilty. The judges' strongest indictment, however, was against NATO itself, calling for it to be abolished, and stating that it "has proved itself, beyond any doubt, to be an instrument of aggression for the dominant, colonizing powers, particularly the United States."

War Crimes Tribunal Resources

For more information about the International War Crimes Tribunal held in New York in June:

International Action Center
39 W. 14th St., #206
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6646 (phone)
212-633-2889 (fax)
iacenter@iacenter.org
www.iacenter.org

For text of the testimony offered at the related Twin Cities hearing of the International War Crimes Tribunal last March, call the WAMM office at 612-827-5364, or see the following Web sites:

www.circlevision.org

www.iacenter.org