Thursday, September 30, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 7
World
New war crimes prosecutor to keep focus on Milosevic
The Associated Press
THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal's
new chief prosecutor said yesterday she would keep the U.N. court's focus on suspected atrocities in Kosovo.
In a statement issued by the tribunal, Carla del Ponte said the court would keep gathering evidence against
Milosevic: Was indicted by the tribunal in May.
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and others suspected of atrocities in the province. A member of her
She reiterated the position of her
predecessor, Louise Arbour, that the court had the authority and jurisdiction to gather information against Milosevic, his political associates and others.
The tribunal indicted Milosevic and four top advisers in May for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 18-month Kosovo conflict. It has not ruled out the possibility that other charges, including genocide, could be brought against the five.
bloodhughes Thousands of ethnic Albanians were killed by Serb forces during Milosevic's crackdown. After NATO bombing forced the Serb troops to withdraw, ethnic Albanians began revenge attacks against Serbs, who are a minority in the province.
in the province "The primary focus ... must be the investigation and prosecution of the five leaders of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, who have already been indicted," the statement said.
Del Ponte — a former Swiss federal prosecutor who took over from Arbour this month — said the tribunal would assist in possible cases of human rights abuses or sexual crimes in Kosovo.
She added, however, that the tribunal will rely on national criminal courts established under U.N. authority to prosecute most suspects locally. That will leave The Hague to concentrate on more senior suspects.
in a recent example, tribunal investigators gave local authorities information used to arrest nine Serbs last weekend for alleged crimes against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. All nine will be tried by local officials.
China stifles protest at Tiananmen
military forces to the
Within seconds, uniformed police
tried yanking the protesters to their
feet by pulling on their arms. When
BELIING—Suspected members of an outlawed group protested yesterday by meditating cross-legged in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, until police quickly pounced on them and dragged them away.
Defying the intense security in the square ahead of celebrations tomorrow that will mark 50 years of Communist Party rule, four to five people in their 20s or 30s sat down cross-legged on the pavement and adopted a meditation pose typical of the Falun Gong group, which China's communist leaders banned in July.
Police pried open manholes Tuesday along the Avenue of Eternal Peace that transects Beijing, apparently checking for bombs, and sealed them with shiny new pad-
Police have imposed intense security in Beijing to prevent disruptions to a giant parade and other celebrations tomorrow that will mark the 50th anniversary of the Oct.1,1949, founding of the People's Republic of China.
The Associated Press
the protesters refused to stand, police dragged them away to a nearby pedestrian underpass.
Communist Party wary of disruptions to 50th anniversary
foam in a creek.
A uniformed guard quickly went to talk to the man. Two uniformed police officers and another in plainclothes then walked him off the square.
About two hours later, a lone man in his 20s also began doing Falun Gong-type meditation exercises on the square, standing with his feet apart and eyes closed, arms raised to form a circle.
Tomorrow, 500,000 people, including soldiers displaying some of China's most modern military hardware, will parade down the avenue to Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city.
Falun Gong, whose followers numbered from 2 million to 70 million by varying government accounts, preaches a blend of slow-motion meditative exercises and ideas borrowed from Buddhism and Taoism that believers say promote health and morality.
locks.
the government ban on Falun Gong came after thousands of followers surrounded the Chinese leaders' Beijing compound in April in a silent day-long protest against official harassment of the group.
In the run up to the anniversary, police rounded up street children, beggars, prostitutes and others deemed undesirable. Thousands of migrants were expelled.
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