FINNISH PATHOLOGIST SAYS ICTY IGNORED EVIDENCE OF SERB TROOPS KILLED IN RACAK
Tanjug - January 18, 2004

Helsinki, 18 January: Finnish forensic expert Helena Ranta has criticized the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for failing to sufficiently investigate indications that heavy fighting had taken place in the night of January 15-16 1999 in the Racak village in Kosovo-Metohija between Serb forces and Kosovo Liberation Army.

KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army, UCK in Albanian) fighters were buried in the vicinity of Racak, Ranta said in an interview to the week-end issue of Berliner Zeitung, adding that she had received evidence at the time that several Serb soldiers had been killed there too. Unfortunately, the exact number of Serbs killed that night will now never be known, she said.

Ranta, who had been appointed by the European Union head of the forensic team in charge of investigating the developments in Racak in January 1999, criticized the ICTY for showing no interest in the Serbs killed there.

Berliner Zeitung notes that the Racak incident had been used by western politicians for convincing the public of the need for NATO air strikes on the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which ensued in March that same year.

Source: Tanjug news agency, Belgrade, in English 1745 gmt 18 Jan 04

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