TO THE YUGOSLAV AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC

My struggle here is about the truth and freedom. The whole planet knows that.

This illegal court undergoes its everyday fiasco. And it happens in their own half-time. In the half time when their false prosecution and false witnesses appear. It lasts the second year already. They are afraid even to think how my half time will look like, when I will speak and when my witnesses will speak.

Against me they have applied all the means of the political, media, psychological and physical pressure. WITH NO SUCCESS.

Now they have started the brutal persecution using the vicious lies. That persecution is also physical and is followed by a media campaign.

And the whole public sees that the perpetrators of the crimes whom they have arrested are the very same ones who were praised by the actual regime for they’re “contribution” to the October 5^th coup. The very same ones who were, with covered faces, jumping into yard of my residence, the ones who arrested and kidnapped me for their account.

They have launched a brutal persecution of my wife and my son only because of me. Because they can’t brake me. Because I am a moral winner in any case.  Because the truth is on my side.

Due to that persecution I haven’t seen my son for three years already and since recently I can’t see my wife. It is their real goal to block all my contacts. For that right nobody here is not, nor can be deprived. That’s exactly why they decided to deprive me in such a dishonest way.

I demand stop of the persecution of my wife and of my son since it is purely politically motivated against my struggle and in favor of justification of the crime against Yugoslavia and its citizens.

 The Hague, April 23^rd, 2003

 Slobodan Milosevic

The above letter has been presented to the public at today’s press conference of SLOBODA in Belgrade.

At the conference, our two comrades, recently released from detention - member of SLOBODA Uros Suvakovic and former Yugoslav minister of information Goran Matic appeared and explained in detail their prison experience (26 days in solitary confinement, with no walk, in total incommunicado) and shown written decisions on their detention, stating that they were detained “since the suspicion that they might, if remain free, threaten  the security of other citizens and the security of the Republic”.

As a guest of the press conference, Dr John Laughland, on behalf of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group, counted preliminary conclusions of their delegation after the visit to Serbia and contacts with all sides of the political spectrum here: State of emergency was unnecessary, its provisions (some of which are continued to be applied on the basis of the changes in legislation even after the State of Emergency was formally lifted) violate the basic human and citizens rights and standards of democracy and rule of law, its obvious political misuses produce the greatest concern.

Vladimir Krsljanin, foreign relations assistant to President Milosevic and member of SLOBODA underlined the case of the SLOBODA Chairman Bogoljub Bjelica. Mr. Bjelica appeared to be a symbol of political persecution in Serbia today and first victim of the “new legislation”. His detention has been prolonged for another 15 days on the “grounds” the he might posses “the information of importance for investigation” – unprecedented in civilized world form of mistreatment of “potential witnesses”.

Krsljanin repeated the estimate about the criminal responsibility of the Hague prosecution and of its sponsors for the present state in Serbia. He announced that SLOBODA will use all legal and political means in the struggle to stop the persecution of President Milosevic, his family and associates, to free Bogoljub Bjelica and to return freedom, law, democracy and dignity to Serbia.