To Whom It May Concern:
It has recently come to my attention that the Croatian World Congress (CWC) has demanded that former President Clinton be prosecuted for war crimes relating to ?Operation Storm?.
According to the Washington Times (July 8, 2002), ?The Croatian World Congress?said it believes neither Gen. Gotovina nor Clinton administration officials are guilty of war crimes. However, it said that if Mrs. Del Ponte insists on prosecuting Gen. Gotovina, then American officials should be prosecuted in the interests of "evenhanded justice" because they played a pivotal role in aiding the general's campaign in Operation Storm.?
I believe that the CWC is committing an act of egregious international recklessness by making this demand. In a climate of American unilateralism?especially in light of recent events surrounding the International Criminal Court?the CWC is merely adding fuel to the fire. You are simply giving the United States an excuse to continue its unilateral behavior and resist any international agreements.
Forgive me for saying this, but the states of the former Yugoslavia lost the trust of the world when its citizens began various campaigns of ?ethnic cleansing?. For this reason international courts were set up to prosecute those most culpable for these crimes. These courts were set up to show that the rule of law remains strong even in the face of governmental wickedness. If you attempt to manipulate these courts to prosecute Clinton, you will only lead the world further away from the rule of law. You know as well as I that the U.S. will do everything to destroy the courts before it allows Clinton to be prosecuted.
Pride is one of the greatest of human failings. Do not let your own pride destroy our hope for a global court system. I am sorry that Gen. Gotovina is being prosecuted. I know nothing about the man. But if he deserves protection or support?rally to his cause. If he is guilty?let the courts try him. Do no attack the honor of the court system just to prove a political point by indicting Clinton. ?Even-handed justice? will not be attained by prosecuting the innocent.
Thank you for you kind consideration,
Derek
Director,
www.dailybruin.ucla.edu
Daily Bruin Editorial Board
UCLA, Los Angeles
THEIR REPLY:
Dear Mr. L:
Thank you very much for your email corespondence. While we are in agreement on the need for enforcement of international law, we cannot agree with the underlying premise of your argument, which appears to be that innocent individuals that come from countries who have "lost the trust of the world" should be sacrificed for the "greater good" of establishing the ICC, while individuals from the United States who were involved in the same activity should be "covered up" in order to protect that same "greater good."
The fact is that Operation Storm was a joint Croatian-U.S. operation. This fact was well known to Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. Her press spokeswoman, Florence Hartmann, even wrote a book in 1999 in which she calls the United States the "godfathers" of Operation Storm and that the Operation was planned by U.S. generals. Yet she persisted in indicting Croatian General Ante Gotovina, not only with full knowledge of U.S. involvement but also with full knowledge that General Gotovina is innocent of the charges which she has brought against him.
Accordingly, your claim that the Croatian World Congress is committing an "egregious act of international recklessness" is misplaced. The true act of "egregious international recklessness" was committed by the person vested under international law with the power to make the decisions regarding when to bring (and not bring) indictments: Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. The fact that Mrs. Del Ponte decided to bring an indictment against General Gotovina despite the fact that it was not well grounded in fact and despite the fact that she knew that the U.S. was intimately involved in the Operation is the true "egregious act of international recklessness." Accordingly, we would suggest that you also contact Mrs. Del Ponte's office and explain that it is she who has "given the United States an excuse to continue its unilateral behavior and resist any international agreements."
We trust that you will agree with us that any system of international justice must include fool-proof safeguards to ensure that the innocent are not convicted. The Croatian World Congress believes strongly that General Gotovina is innocent and that his indictment is an affront to international justice. No human being (even those that come from countries who have "lost the trust of the world") deserves to be sacrificed on the altar of "international justice."
We will always stand to protect the innocent.
Sincerely,
Croatian World Congress