ICTY Press Briefing - 16 June 1999

Please note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing. It is merely a summary.

ICTY Weekly Press Briefing
Date: 16 June 1999
Time: 11:30 a.m.

REGISTRY AND CHAMBERS
Today, Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following announcements:

In the Celebici case, Landzo’s second motion to preserve and provide evidence has been granted in part. This referred to his defence counsel’s assertion that the Presiding Judge had been asleep during substantial portions of the trial.

In the Krstic case, a memorandum has been filed pursuant to the Trial Chamber’s 6 May 1999 Decision on the Defence preliminary motion on the form of the indictment.

Finally in the Simic case, the opening day of the trial has been postponed pending the outcome of outstanding motions from Stevan Todorovic and Miroslav Tadic. The trial was due to start next Tuesday, 22 June 1999.

OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR
Mr. Graham Blewitt, the Deputy Prosecutor, made no opening remarks and agreed to answer questions.

QUESTIONS:

Asked whether the investigation teams were in Kosovo and if not when they were planning to go, Blewitt replied that a few staff were already in Kosovo making preparations for the forensic investigators. KFOR’s delay in setting up their headquarters had delayed the Tribunal, he said. KFOR had offered logistical support for the teams in the form of shelter and catering and this was essential for the teams who might be based in the area for some weeks. He then said that countries who had offered teams had been asked to standby. Once the headquarters were established and sites had been made safe by KFOR then the teams would go. The delays both worked to the Tribunal’s advantage and disadvantage, in that the extra time meant more time to assemble teams, but at the same time the delay also meant returning refugees might reach crime sites before the Tribunal, he said.

Asked whether the teams on standby could move into the region at short notice, Blewitt replied that most national forensic teams were currently on stand by in their own countries, although some elements of those teams were in the region.

Asked how many people the Tribunal were sending to the region, Blewitt answered that the number changed on a daily basis, but that there were currently approximately 40 on people on standby.

Asked how many there might eventually be, Blewitt replied that the Tribunal had permission from the Secretary-General to take on up to 300 staff who would be expert staff on mission for the Tribunal.

Asked about last week when 12 sites for investigation had been mentioned and asked whether more had been added, Blewitt replied that there were more than 12 sites, but that he could not comment on how many. He added that, as anticipated, new sites were being uncovered all the time which were being assessed as they were brought to the Tribunal’s attention. Some sites might warrent new investigations although the Tribunal had a limited ability to do so.

Asked whether any forensic teams had visited sites yet, Blewitt answered that some investigators had been, but that it would be wrong to say that investigations had begun. They were there undertaking preliminary tasks, he added.

Asked about the British investigator Mr Gowan, Blewitt replied that Mr Gowan had been appointed by the British Government as a liaison officer between the ICTY and the British Government. He was in the region with a British forensic expert who would lead the British team, he said.

Asked which countries had agreed so far to send teams, Blewitt replied that there were negotiations in progress with many countries, but those who had already agreed included France, UK, USA, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

Asked how many people would comprise a full team, Blewitt said there was no set number, but they had originally planned for 20-25 which would include logistical people and explosives experts among others. However, it seemed less likely now that they would need teams that big now, more likely that teams would comprise of eight to 12 people, he said. He went on to say that each site might require different compositions of teams although there were core elements such as police who were expert in photographing scenes of crimes. The Tribunal hoped to have 12 teams with 14 as a maximum, he said.

Asked how the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) could prevent mistaken identification and mistaken arrests, Blewitt replied that before an arrest was made consultation took place between the OTP and the arresting organisation in order to establish identification. This might mean witnesses would identify pictures of the accused, he said.

Asked what the time frame for the investigations would be, Blewitt replied that they had to finish by the onset of winter before surface evidence such as bullet casing and bone fragments could perish or be disturbed. Exhumations, he said, were not an immediate priority.

Asked whether the Tribunal had received full support from the forces in Kosovo, Blewitt replied that KFOR had been prepared to do whatever they could.

Asked whether the number of investigators offered so far meant that the Tribunal had got less support than anticipated, Blewitt explained that this was not the case as the teams were not now to be as large as had at first been anticipated.

Asked when the teams would go in, Blewitt replied that the teams were ready to move on KFOR’s indication. This could be as soon as 24 hours but not more than 48 hours.

Asked whether TV crews at sites and refugees returning was a problem for the Tribunal, Blewitt replied that it was a problem as it potentially made it difficult to maintain credibility of evidence retrieved from these sites.

Asked generally what the expectations were of Tribunal now, Blewitt replied that the Tribunal would do what it was mandated to do, although the scale of the work might mean that the Tribunal could not investigate them all. Blewitt went on to say that that did not mean that perpertrators would not be brought to justice, but it would take time. The indictment of Milosevic and others could contribute to an eventual government and if the new government was a democratic one then they would have to work hard to be accepted by the international community. To do this they would have to undertake investigations themselves and take responsibility, he said. The whole process could take years but the Tribunal was taking a lead, he added.

Asked what other arrangements the Tribunal could make in the event of teams not being able to investigate, Blewitt answered that cooperation could be established with other organisations such as the Red Cross, OSCE and KFOR or by the use of observers.

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