LONG DAYS OF WAITING

Arrested leaders of the SDA begin and then discontinue their hunger strike

Summary:

Although almost the entire leadership of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) of Montenegro was arrested way back towards the end of January on charges of threatening integrity of the FRY and preparing forceful secession of Sandzak, the public prosecutor failed to raise charges until today. Having waited for 160 days and after numerous promises that the proceedings would finally be instituted, nine out of the 26 arrested decided to go on hunger strike. After the attorneys of the arrested got firm guarantees that the charges will be raised in the beginning of August, leaders of the SDA interrupted their strike. How the state manipulated the Law in order to drag out the case. The attorneys believe that this is a political process. The protest of intellectuals of Sandzak who are accusing the administration that its ultimate aim is to "cleanse" the territory of the Muslims. According to certain assessments, by elimination of SDA leaders, the authorities in Belgrade and Podgorica wish to avoid negotiations about the status of Sandzak.

Charges have still not been brought against the arrested members of the Party of Democratic Action for Montenegro, although more than five months has elapsed since they have been arrested. As a form of protest against the stalling of proceedings, eight out of 26 arrested SDA members began a hunger strike on 29 and 30 June, in an attempt to finally set in motion the court proceedings.

Harun Hadzic, the President of the SDA for Montenegro, Rifat Veskeovic, the former member of the Republican Parliament, as well as Sefket Brkovic, Isad Skenderovic, Omer Omerovic, Avdo Cigulin, Sabahet Spahic and Rizah Burnazovic, the district leaders of this Party refused to take not only prison food for two days but also the food brought to them by their families.When the other detainees decided to join the strikers, their lawyers talked them out of it and convicned the strikers to stop refusing to take food.

Just as a reminder, at the end of January, the Montenegro police arrested almost the complete ledership of the SDA for Montenegro, as well as all the Party officials at the communal level. According to the official statement of the police, all of them were detained, "because of the grounded suspicion that they committed a criminal act of threatening the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia", by organizing "military and para-military armed formations for the purpose of creating preconditions for the territorial cessesion, through forceful means and with the use of force, of part of the territory of Montenegro". In a special television programme, broadcasted on the same day,the arrested men were shown with visible bruises while digging up the weapons they had hidden: two machine guns, nine Kalashinykovs, two rocket launchers, two guns, one "Scorpio" and some explosives and ammunition.

Although it could be assumed, according to this "special" broadcast, repeated on TV on a number of occasions, that sufficient evidence existed for the public prosecutor to bring charges - that did not happen. Months go by but charges are not pressed. Some say that charges cannot be brought on the basis of a poorly directed police film and statements of the detainees given under severe physical and mental torture. The indictment, according to them, must be grounded on the law and valid evidence. Others, on the other hand, believe that the evidence is in no way controversial, but that the process is being stalled on purpose due to a political assessement of the "right moment" for the beginning of the trial.

Investigatiron completed - the trial pending

According to their attorneys, the investigation in the case of the the arrested members of the SDA has practically been completed in April of this year, supporting their statement by the fact that since then not one new investigation action has been undertaken. However, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the police are prolonging, by way of well known process abuses, the investigation procedure and are thereby streching, with the help of the investigating judge, their detention up the maximum limit provided by law, which is six months from the time of arrest - Ranko Vukotic the defence attorney for most of the accused said.

• It can be said with absolute certainty that the entire process is in violation of the law - Vukotic continues - particularly the preliminary activities, namely, the police procedure. I have in mind violations that begin with the apprehension of the accused by the police, their treatment, which can be characterized as torture according to international conventions and to the Costitution, to the denial of all the rights of the counsel of the defence, and the fact that the detainees have been interrogated on only one occasion. Two months after the arrest, the investigation was pratically completed - Vukotic claims categorically.

But unfortunately, the prosecutor in Bijelo Polje does not share Vukotic's view. Namely, at his request dated June 1, 1994, the investigating judge of the High Court in Bijelo Polje, Branislav Joksimovic, brought a decision on the extension of the investigation to yet 12 more individuals on to the gounded suspicion that in the " period from April 1991 they attempted, in Bijelo Polje and in other towns, to secede by using force and in violation of the Constitution, part of the SFY territory with a view to creating an independent state,. so called Sandzak... by forming military units and other formations...organize the transfer and training of a large number individuals in the Turkish Army, organize and train units for terroristic actions" - which automatically meant that the investigation relating to the arrested members of the SDA was not completed, namely, that their detention was being prolonged.

Considering that all the newly-accused were out of reach of the law enforcement officers because they were abroad, we asked Mr. Vukotic the meaning of such an indictment?

• It means stalling for time, since this request for expanding the investigation means bringing charges against another 12 individuals who are on the run. Everything is premeditated to justify the detention up to the ultimate limit envisaged by law. After all, from the very first interrogations they had the names of those whom they are accusing now. Therefore, they did not press charges against them at that time in order to keep them sanding by and then do precisely what they have done now."

The four attorneys defending the accused lodged an appeal with the High Court in Biljelo Polje requesting the abolition of custody and pointing out that the decision on the prolongation of their detention was brought on the basis of an extremely arbitrary and suferficial approach to the case, without taking into consideration a series of relevant facts for the proceedings, as well as for bringing a valid decision on their further custody. They claimed "that for some time now the investigation procedure has been at a standstill, that the official documents were circulatiang from the court to the public prosecutor and back, while the accused were still in prison."

However, the investigating judge in way of answer refused their request for the abolition of the custody. The judge explained his decision by saying, among other things, "that the setting free of the accused would disturb the citizens."

In their repeated response, the attorneys indicated that the only thing that could really disturb the citizens was the behaviour of the law enforcement bodies, their public statements and television broadcasts, made, according to the accused after they have been most brutally tortured. "The braodcasting of the "evidence" in the news programmes on television and in special broadcasts with flawlessly edited footage, and with the unlawfull torture of the detainees with whom the weapons were found in front of the cameras and with police comments on "facts" and legal qualifications and behaviour of the accused had precisely the intention of preparing the public, of presenting the accused as criminals for the criminal deeds of which any sentences was too lenient.

After that, understandably, the conclusion was imposed that the unfounded keeping in custody, as a completely irrelevant, marginal issue. According to them, such men, as they were presented to the public, are without scruples and to them everyting was permitted. Such police scenarios are nothing new, tahey have been tested and seen on numerous occasions. It is only natural for the public to be disturbed after that, and every citizen of average moral integrity and intelligence will certainly become alarmed at the behaviour of the police, the gross, unnacceptable unlawfulness and violation of rights and freedoms of individuals..." - the attorneys states in their response to the prosecutor's letter.

Protests

After that the hunger strike began, but as already mentioned, it was discontinued at the suggestion of the attorneys.

• The accused began a hunger strike because charges have not been brought against them although more than pet months has passed since their apprehension and the investigation activites terminated a long time ago
• Vukotic points out and adds - We the counsel of the defence on the other hand, have decided to ask them to discontinue the hunger strike, since among other things, the investigating judge, Mr. Koksimovic told one of the attorneys, Mr. Muric that the investigation, at least as far as he was concerned, was completed that he had submitted to the prosecutor the necessary documents and that charges would be brought against the accused within fifteen days. Meaning, Vukotic said, that if he holds true to his word, the trial could begin at the beginning of August.

Nevertheless, the detainess evidently not convinced that the charges would be pressed as promised, told their attorneys that they would began a hunger strike again. Last month the families of the accused came to Podgovorica to protest because charges have still not been brought against them and requested the beginning of the trial at long last. On that occassion they asked to be received by the President of Montenegro, Mr. Momir Bulatovic, but were informed by his cabinet that he was absent. They also visited the office of the Public Prosecutor of Montengro, Mr. Vladmir Cusovic, but his secretary told them that he was too busy to see them.

A few days ago 40 independent Sandzak intellectuals sent an appeal to the public of Montenegro ad Serbia, and to the Presidents of the two Republics, Mr. Milosevic and Mr. Bulatovic. In the appeal, they emphasized, inter alia, "that the arrest of the SDA members served as an excuse for making mass arrests and torturing Muslims with the clear goal which has already been put in practice, namely, to cleanse Sandzak of Muslims, after the Bosnian model." They also asked for all the "detainess to be let out of prison, since they have been arrested in violation of legal principles and to allow them to defend themselves from freedom with the full respect of legal normes."

By prolonging the bringing of charges, the public prosecutor gave reason to suspect that the whole affair was a political manipulation, i.e., a political case. "Evidently is it a political case, that is, politics - attorney Vukovic points out. It all began with a legal process against the people of Novi Pazar, who were accused of wanting to create a independent state of Sandzak. It would appear somewhat illogical to create the independent state of Sandzak, without the participation of those Muslims living in the part of Sandzak that territorially belongs to Montenegro. Therefore, it was one of tahe reasons for accusing the Montenegro Muslims on those grounds.

There are many of those who indicate as the main argument against the arrested men from Montenegro the fact that at one time they organized a referendum on the special status of Sandzak, forgetting on purpose that the President of Montenegro, Momir Bulatovic, pardoned them on that account - the well known attorney from Podgovorica concludes.

Vukotic also points out that he will come out with other details which indicate that a political process was at stake at the trial.

What ever the case may be, precisely because the pressing of charges against the arrested members of the SDA for Montenegro has been stalled for so long, the claim that it is a political process and that their arrest was aimed at pacifying the Serbian nationalist wing in the ruling DSP before the Congress of this Party which took place in February has speical weight. Some analysists of the political scene here also indicate that by excluding the Muslims as a people from the Yugoslav Constitution and by removing the leadership of the SDA from the political arena, there is no one left to take part in the negotiatioans on the status of Sandzak and Muslim people in Serbia and Montenegro in general.

Since, by eliminating them, the Serbian-Montenegrin authorities have opened wide the door for the definite solution of this issue - at their own discretion.

Seki RADONCIC