Plea for the Indictment and Prosecution of US/NATO War Criminals

Colin S. Cavell
University of Massachusetts
Department of Political Science
Thompson Tower
Box 37520
Amherst, MA  01003-7520

May 22, 1999

Madam Justice Louise Arbour
Chief Prosecutor
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 
Churchillplein 1, 2501 EW, 
The Hague, 
Netherlands

RE:  Plea for the Indictment and Prosecution of US/NATO War Criminals

Dear Madam Justice Arbour:

Pursuant to Article 18 of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former 
Yugoslavia statute which provides inter alia that, "The Prosecutor shall initiate 
investigations ex-officio or on the basis of information obtained from any 
source..," I urge you to indict and prosecute the leaders of the 19
countries which comprise the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
and, in particular, William J. Clinton, Madeleine Albright, William S.
Cohen, Tony Blair, Robin Cook, George Robertson, Javier Solana, Jamie
Shea, and Wesley K. Clark, for their willful violation of international
law, US national law, and the NATO Charter itself (viz. UN Charter, Ch. I,
Arts. 2.3, 2.4, Ch. VI, Art. 37.1, Ch. VII, Art. 51; Articles 51 and 52 of
the 1980 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties; violation of the
Helsinki Accords Final Act of 1975 which guarantees the territorial
frontiers of the states of Europe; the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 
(amended 1995) of the United Kingdom which specifically states that "civilians 
shall not be the object of attack" (Schedule 5, Article 52.1) and that "civilians 
shall enjoy protection unless they take a direct part in hostilities" (Schedule 
6, Article 13.3); violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of 
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; the Vienna Convention for the 
Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985, UNEP), the Montreal Protocol on Substances 
that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987, UNEP), and the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (1992); the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the Pact of Paris, 
of 1928; the jurisprudence elaborated at and the precedent set by the Nuremberg 
Tribunal against war crimes; violation of the 1944 Convention on International 
Civil Aviation; the US Constitution, Article 1, section 8, clause 11; and the 
April 4, 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, Arts. 1, 5, and 6) in their heinous campaign 
of military bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which commenced on 
March 24, 1999 and continues to this day, without UN sanction or mandate of 
international law or the norms which comprise international law.  

This lawless campaign of bombing by the United States government and its
NATO allies has included acts of willful killing, willful infliction of
pain, torment, and terror upon the civilian, noncombatant, population of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the indiscriminate bombing of
hospitals, bridges, railroads, refugee convoys, diplomatic residencies,
foreign embassies, etc. resulting in the death of many noncombatant
civilians, the willful infliction of fear, foreboding, and terror upon the
civilian population both within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as well
amongst the civilian population in neighboring states, given the instances
of so-called "mistaken" bombardments from the same US/NATO forces which
have strayed into Bulgaria, Albania, etc.

As a citizen and resident of the United States of America, I am appalled
that this abominable bombing campaign, like the one waged upon the
Republic of Iraq for the last eight years, is being carried out in my
name, in violation of Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, and
in violation of the norms and provisions of international law.

I urge you to act upon this request with all diligence given the tragic
loss of life, property, and violation of law resulting from this criminal
US/NATO action.

As well, please advise me, periodically, on the progress of your
investigation in this regard.

Regards,


Colin S. Cavell