[L-I] Ranta: ICTY indictment based on the Walker's statement with no legal value

No interest on Serb victims

Markus Bickel, Berliner Zeitung, January 17, 2004

Finnish pathologist Helena Ranta said the work of the Hague tribunal
regarding the so-called Racak massacre was incomprehensible. The former head
of the forensic team the European Union sent to the Kosovo-Albanian
village of Racak in January 1999 to investigate the events there, in a
conversation with Berliner Zeitung, criticized the UN tribunal for not
following up the evidence that there was heavy fighting between Serb
soldiers and the Kosovo-Albanian fighters during the night of January
15-16, 1999 in the Racak-region.

Western politicians used the tragedy in the village of Racak, where 40
Albanians died exactely 5 years ago, to prove to the public that the
upcoming NATO attack on Yugoslavia was necessary.

US diplomat William Walker played the leading role. The chief of the
OSCE mission in Kosovo immediately accused the Serbs of having killed 45
unarmed Albanian civilians at close range in Racak. The Serbian side
rejected this interpretation und spoke instead about KLA soldiers killed
in battle.

Pictures not published

She knew, that at that time "KLA-fighters were buried around Racak,"
said Ranta. "At that time I received information that proved that
several Serb soldiers had been killed as well. Unfortunately, we will
never know the exact number of Serb soldiers that died that night." It
would be appropriate "to ask the tribunal why they are not interested in
that number."

Ranta criticized the indictment against former Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic in the case of Racak for mostly following the Walker
version. "When Ambassador Walker said that there was a massacre at
Racak, this statement had no legal value. I declared at that time that
the OSCE-observers forgot to take all steps necessary to secure a crime
scene: isolating the area, refusing admission to all
unauthorized persons and colletinig all material evidence.

Ranta demanded that in addition to the OSCE pictures the tribunal also
use the pictures taken by two additional photographers, shot several
hours prior to the arrival of OCSE-observers.

The pictures show "that at least one of the bodies was moved afterwards
â?" that body is not seen on OSCE-pictures."

Left in the lurch

In the days prior to the NATO-attack on Yugoslavia it was clear "that a
bunch of governments were interested in a version of Racak that blamed
only the Serb side," said Ranta. "But I could not provide this version."
Her instructions came from the German diplomat Pauls. The representative
of the then-German EU-presidency asked for a written statement.
"Afterwards, I had to show these personal statements to William Walker,
who was obviously not amused when he read it." Still, she agreed to take
part in the important press conference on March 17, 1999. "At that
(conference), I was sitting with the German ambassador to Belgrade,
Gruber, and a Finnish diplomat on the podium. I hoped that those
gentlemen would support me." But that was not the case. "I rather had
the feeling that I was left in the lurch," said Ranta.

As a result of the Walker dominated press-conference most of the media
accepted the version of a Serb massacre of Albanian civilians as proven.
A few days later the NATO-airattacks on Yugoslavia began.

(Translated from German by C.Schuetz & J.Catalinotto)


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