CIRCUS MAXIMUS

Imagine, if you will, a schoolyard about noontime for lunch recess. Many kids are walking around, telling jokes, even making their interest known to that special boy or a girl they like. A lot of things happen in a schoolyard – even an occasional fight.

Take it a step further and have two equal size kids agree to a fist fight, and they set some rules according to what they saw on TV. Now one kid starts to win and the other one who’s now being beaten says: Free style wrestling starts now! That’s a pretty accurate image of the Hague tribunal. Now that Milosevic is scoring major points and after the prosecution has failed to bring the clear advantage in its part, Milosevic is scoring by the dozen. So what do they do? They change the rules, they belittle the defendant, they take away his rights to defend himself, they limit his scope of questioning, they throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Just like the schoolyard fight, it becomes a free style wrestling with no holds barred. While the powers behind this kangaroo court were planning their victory before day 1 took place they failed to take into account a small instance called TRUTH. Milosevic may, or may not be guilty of this and that, but the court process has now been compromised beyond recovery. Regardless of this court’s verdict it will never hold any authority or respect in years to come. The Dreyfuss court of 1894 France has achieved similar infamy and this court has outdone the French. The old Roman Circus Maximus would have been too small to stage all the unusual animals that paraded through this court.

Only two days ago one of the judges (Robinson) advised the defendant that his witnesses direct testimony resembles "a tea on the veranda" type of a chat. In the mildest way this was thoroughly belittling of the defendant by the court, unless the court intends to rile up the defendant and get him "out-of-tracks" - in which case the potential impartiality of the court becomes self evident. Pretty shameful no matter how you look at it.