A lobby group of people of good will who stand for justice, defence of liberty and democratic and constitutional principles in Australia which by law are set out...
Lobi Organizacija Srbi za Istinu i Pravdu Australija u poşlednjh 6 meseci intenzivno radi sa advokatima na priprimanju materijala za Federalni sud Australije.
Djordje Bubalo
Dr. Marko Marinkovic
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dr. Mark Marinkovic,OAM
On 19 January 2006 Daniel Snedden was arrested and imprisoned at the discretion of the Minister(s)of the former Howard government who received an extradition request from Croatia for his questioning for alleged ‘war crimes’.
It is important to note, that as a former belligerent country, Croatia cannot under it’s written agreement with the ICTY (International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) charge Daniel with war crimes, he was investigated twice by that body and found to be of ‘no interest’. Instead, they created a ‘loop hole’ by issuing arrest warrants for alleged crimes committed during the war and thus the Extradition Act takes over (which is used for day-to-day criminal acts and operates on a ‘no evidence’ rule). Hence, the country requesting the extradition is not obligated to provide any evidence supporting the alleged crimes.
Даниел Снеден (Драган Васиљковић) ухапшен је 19. јануара 2006. и смештен у затвор по нахођењу минис-тра(тара) бивше Хауардове владе која је од Републике Хрватске примила захтев за изручење ради “испитивања“ у вези наводних „ратних злочина“. Важно је напоменути да Република Хрватска, на основу потписаног Уговора са Међународним судом за ратне злочине на просторима бивше Југославије, (ICTY - International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), као једна од страна у сукобу, не може оптужити Даниела за ратне злочине. Ово међународно тело у два наврата водило је истрагу и нашло да у његовом случају суд „није заинтересован“. Због тога, нађена је „рупа у закону“ и уместо за ратне злочине издана је потерница за наводне злочине (почињене у току рата) како би Уговор о изручивању ступио на снагу (а који се примењује у случајевима уобичајених кривичних дела и за који нису потребни докази о кривици). Дакле, земља која тражи изручење није у обавези да обезбеди било какве доказе о наводним злочинима као потпору Захтеву за изручење.
Pre dve godine, u novembru i decembru 2005, Dragan Vasiljkovic je stupio u kontakst sa predstavnicima srpske zajednice u Sidneju , otpocinjuci citavu seruju aktivnosti, od obavestavanja do organizovanja susreta i informativnih tribina, u zelji da okupi Srbe u borbi za isinu u okviru takozvanog “ Medijskog rata” ubrzo nakon izlazenja dezinformativnog novinskog clanka u novini “The Australian” kojim je Dragan Vasiljkovic, a i Srbi , kao narod, predstavljen vulgarno laznim optuzbama. Dragan je odlucio da pravdu potrazi legalnim putem u australjiskom sudu. Ubrzo zatim tuzitelj postaje osumnjceni, odjednom se desila poternica iz Hrvatske i zahtev za Draganovo izrucenje kao ratnog zlocinca. Samo zahvaljujuci munjevitim akcijama nekoliko eminentnih ljudi srpske zajednice u Sidneju , na celu sa advokatom Djordjom Dracom, Djordjom Bubalom i Zikom Mijicem, Dragan je ostao u Australiji, ali u zatvoru. Od tada je prepusten milosti odnosno, ne milosti sada australijskih sudskih organa koji evo vec dve godine ne donose oslobadjajucu odluku, niti imaju dovoljno pravnih argumenata da Dragana Vasiljkovica izruce u Hrvatsku i time mu potpisu smrtnu presudu.
Sve je to bio pocetak organizovanja grupe ljudi koji su se tog momenta nasli u blizini Kapetana Dragana, reseni da urade sto se uraditi moze da se zastiti covek i istina, da se potrazi pravda i da se na sudu dobije satisfakcija za sve nepravde nanete Draganu i citravoj srpskoj zajednici.
Tokom protekle dve godine u kom periodu Lobi grupa Srbi za pravdu i demokratiju, aktivno radi, animirane su mnogobrojne srpske organizacije i Crkveno Skolske Opstine u Australiji. Ovom prilikom zelimo da uputimo zahvalnost pre svega CSO u Monavale, zatim CSO Sv Georgije u Kabramati , SCO Sv Lazar iz Blektauna , SCO Lazarica u Aleksandriji, zatim srpskim klubovima koji su zajednickim piknikom obezbedili znacajnu sumu novca za rad pravnog tima, to su SNO iz Kenli Vala, zatim SNC iz Boniriga, SKC iz Hokston Parka. Takodje, Centar iz Boniriga je uprilicio i samostalni piknik u cuilju prikupljanja humanitarnih donacija, a isto su uradili i nasi sugradjani, clanovi SKC iz Hokston Parka. Humanitarne veceri suorganizovale i dve ustanove iz Melburna …., zatim srpski klub u Kopapidi, u Pertu i Adelaidu. Humanitarna sredstva su cak stizala i iz drzava Aeverne Amerike, i iz Evrope, sto pokazuje da je ova Lobi organizacija stekla identitet i kredibilitet u svim delovima sveta gde zive Srbi koji zele koliko mogu da pomognu borbu za pravdu i sprecavanje ekstradicije Kapetana Dragana.
U svim ovim humanitarno nacionalnim akcijama prikupljena je solidna suma novca koja je depozitovana na racun pravnog tima. Kad kazemo solidna suma, rec je o oko $ 300.000.00, to je novac koji su odvojili nasi ljudi kji veruju u Kapetana Dragana, koji veruju u rad Lobi Grupe i koji veruju da Srbi moraju ici do kraja kako bi svojim potomcima obezbedili pravedno mesto i cist obarz u australisjkoj zajednici.
No, ono sto je mozda jos vaznije od sume koja je prikupljena, a vazno je reci da toliko nije ranije prikupljeno ni jednim drugim povodom, svaki dolar dobijen za ovu namenu, otisao je pravo u fond za odbranu Dragana Vasiljkovica. Ni jedan dolar nije potrosen niti izgubljen kao trosak organizacije, ni jedan dolar od prilozenih para nije potrosen na organizovanje niti putne troskove niti bilo sta slicno. Cak su pojedini clanovi Organizacije izdvajali iz svog dzepa i placali putovanja po Australiji da bi obezbedili uspesno odrzavanje humanitarnih veceri sirom australijakih gradova. Takodje su ljudi odvajali citave mesece od svog privatnog posla i zivota da bi osigurali sve sto je neophodno pravnom timu kako bi se doslo do pozitivnih rezultata. Pre svega to su Dr Marko Marinkovic i Zoja Kliri, George Bubalo i Zika Mijic bez cijih zalaganja sve sto je uradjeno, zapravao nebi bilo moguce. Sve ovo govori o tome da su protekle dve godine bile veoma uspesne i da je utemeljena osnova za rad i zivot PRVE POLITICKO – HUMANITARNE SRPSKE LOBI ORGANIZACIJE na petom kontinentu.
Zelimo takodje da Vas obavestimo da je Lobi grupa pravno registrovana sa svim legalnim okvirima ove drzave.
Sve do sada ostvareno pokazuje da Srbi zajedno zaista mogu da iznedre ozbiljne i velike akcije na ponos i podsticaj citavoj naciji.
Ovom prilikom zelimo da vas upoznamo sa nekoliko detalja koji obelezavaju Lobi grupu, to su pre svega
1. Odbrana i promocija ljudskih prava, mi smo pre svega humanitarna organizacija
2. Obezbedjivanje podrske organizacijama i pojedincima u borbi za ljudska prava i slobodu
3. Obezbedjivanje pravne, socijalne i finansijske pomoci u predhodno navedenim situacijama
4. Saradnja sa svim slicnim organizacijama u Australiji i u svetu
5. Uspostavljanje najboljih odnosa sa australijskom i svetskom zajednicom
6. Da se obezbedi humanitarni fond za bilo koje legalne potrebe koje Lobi grupa koordinira
S obzirom da legalna borba za oslobadjanje Kapetana Dragana jos uvek traje i da je to proces koji Srbi australije ne smeju izgubiti, niti dozvoliti da gradjanin Australije samo zato sto je srpskog porekla , bude izrucen Hrvatskoj, u kojoj nema pravednog suda za Srbe, na svima nama je velika odgovornost da svim raspolozivim snagama pomazemo pravni tim . Ovom prilikom jos jednom se upucuje poziv svim organizacijama i CSO da se u svojim mogucnostima i dalje angazujete i uprilicite humanitarne veceri, piknik, nedeljne ruckove ili bilo koju manifestaciju , kao deo nase sveukupne srpske akcije za pravdu.. Jedino tako mozemo ostvariti zeljeni cilj. Od vas ocekujemo da organizujete sakupljanje materijalnih donacija, ali istovremeno i da okupite ljude dobre volje koji svojim znanjem i iskustvom mogu da
doprinesu okupljanju i koordiniranju akcija i tako obezbedeo veoma vaznu organizacionu pomoc.
Predsednik Lobi grupe je tokom protekle dve godine bio George Bubalo, zamenik Dr Marko Marinkovic, administrator Zoja Kliri, sekretar Branka Dutina , blagajnik je bio Sinisa Cupac, nakon njegovog odlaska u Srbiju, ovaj posao je preuzeo Zika Mijic..
Ovu priliku zelimo da iskoristimo i da se zahvalimu timu ljudi sa internet stranice www.krajinaforce.com na organizovanju i azuriranju internet stranica www.medijskirat.com (stranica Kapetana Dragana) i www.serbsforjustice.com (nasa zvanicna stranica gde mozete naci sve informacije o Lobi grupi i aktuelnostima).
During the last few years concern has been expressed over the long term incarceration overseas of Mr David Hicks. Mr Rudd, the newly elected PM stated clearly and courageously many months ago that irrespective of his possible guilt or innocence, his long term of imprisonment and possible arrest without charges or indictment in Guantanamo Bay was unjust. It seems that the then foreign Minister Downer agreed with him, however reluctantly. We feel that the overwhelming majority of Australians agreed with this view. During these developments not too distant from Kirrabilli House, an Australian and Serbian citizen protected by the Geneva Conventions has suffered imprisonment, deprivation and legal obfuscation for almost 2 years in NSW gaols. He has never been charged with any crime. He was subject to a Croatian warrant under his Serbian name Dragan Vasiljkovic. The warren for his extradition to Croatia has been inspired by political motives and that can be proven.
Mr Snedden a name that Mr Vasiljkovic adopted legally by deed poll years ago in Australia (but never used by the authorities here) has been held in Parklea prison for almost 2 years. Neither the media nor the government has seemed to notice his long term imprisonment without charges, even at their “back door”, while the Hicks case, with obvious parallels to Mr Sneddens’ situation has been “resolved”, amid high media and political interest. Justice calls for a fair and considered examination of Mr Snedden’s case more than David Hicks.
The background of Mr Snedden’s case is as follows:
Mr Daniel Snedden an Australian citizen (born Dragan Vasiljkovic of Serbian background) was arrested on 19 January 2006 (in Sydney, Liverpool) on the warrant that was issued in Perth (on request of the Croatian government) without knowledge of the allegations against him nor evidence in support of the warrant.
After he was imprisoned it was then notified that he was sought as a Serbian military commander by Croatia for allegations of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. However, no evidence has been provided by Croatia to support the allegations and Mr Snedden has been denied the right to prove his innocence although he can do so. Mr Snedden is a protected person by the 1949 Geneva Conventions on war and it is a criminal offence under our law and international law to imprison him for this long a period (of 23 months).
Issues of concern:
1 Mr Snedden’s imprisonment is now illegal under the Criminal Code Act.
2 The Commonwealth had advised the Courts that there was no extradition treaty that would apply in Mr Snedden’s case and that the Extradition Act applies to him. This is false. As the entire allegation relates to Geneva war crimes, The Extradition Act does not apply to Mr Snedden. The Geneva Convention and the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) that was created by the United Nations deal with cases of allegations of war crimes alleged to have been committed on the territories of the Former Yugoslavia. Thus, The Geneva Conventions are an extradition treaty and its crimes are excluded from the operation of the Extradition Act. Mr Snedden is entitled to a jury trial in Australia but cannot be charged as there is no evidence.
3 On the other hand, The ICTY is not interested in him and will never be interested in him. In 2003 Mr Snedden went to The Hague, ICTY, where he was a witness in the Milosevic case, not to war crimes but on the nature of the armed conflict in the Krajina region. The ICTY prosecutor declared that Mr Snedden (Vasiljkovic) was “not a person of interest” and whilst Mr Snedden was offered immunity, he declined the offer as he was confident that he had not transgressed against the accepted customs of law contained within the Geneva Conventions and that there could be no legally justifiable finding against him in this regard.
4 Australia prosecutes Geneva war crimes suspects here in Australia and these prosecutions are carried out before a jury. For such a process to commence the existence of prima facie evidence to charge and hold him is essential.
5 As Mr Snedden is a protected person (by Geneva Conventions), Mr Snedden’s rights under the Geneva Conventions have been denied. He is denied Geneva justice in breach of the Rome Statute and is precluded from proving his innocence by the legislation used in this case and the “no evidence” rule meant that Croatia did not have to produce evidence for its political allegations against Mr Snedden.
6 The extradition of Mr Snedden, a former Serbian military commander to a belligerent nation, without evidence and without the right to contradict allegations made against him is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention and a crime.
7 If the Extradition Act was properly considered in Mr Snedden’s case then, a check for sufficient evidence of an alleged crime should have been carried out prior to allowing the arrest to proceed in his case. It should have been realised very early that Australia does not extradite for Geneva war crimes but prosecutes no matter where the crime occurred if it has custody of the person. This is how it protects its own civil and military leaders.
8 In Mr Snedden’s case, there is no evidence that the then responsible Minister Mr Ellison discharged his responsibilities appropriately with respect to determining whether a valid extradition objection existed (as required by the Extradition Act) prior to allowing the process for issue of the arrest warrant to proceed (eg. the written statement of the ICTY Prosecutor that Mr Snedden was not a person of interest).
9 As the claim that there was no relevant extradition treaty was incorrect, Australia breached its obligations under the Geneva Conventions by keeping Mr Snedden in prison.
10 Mr Snedden’s case is a political move by the Croatian government to offset the prosecution of Mr Gotovina (an accused Croatian military commander indicted by the ICTY). There were no outstanding allegations against Mr Snedden until Mr Gotovina was located by the ICTY after being on the run for over four years. The arrest warrant for Mr Snedden was issued when Mr Gotovina was apprehended to the ICTY.
11 Mr Snedden’s arrest followed the appearance of an article (in the Australian newspaper) defaming Mr Snedden as a war criminal. (This case has been heard and Mr Snedden’s claim has been upheld as defamatory pending hearing of a defence).
12 Croatian laws referred to in the request for Mr Snedden had transformed the Geneva Conventions on the laws for prisoners of war and civilians into Croatian law and the process used by Croatia has breached those conventions and the ICTY transfer principles to obtain a “backdoor extradition”. This places Australia in a position of breaching these conventions and principles if it proceeded with the arrest. The Geneva Conventions have been breached by Australia and Croatia and serious violation by their officials are crimes which are to be referred to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor under the Rome Statute (as prescribed by the Rome Statute that Australia signed on 1 July 2002). Australia is under an international obligation to investigate and prosecute cases where war crimes are committed by public officials. To imprison or transfer a person on war crime allegations without evidence and take away their right to prove innocence when acting on behalf of a belligerent party to the same war is a war crime.
13 The current Extradition Act (in the above case) shows that the Act may give licence to a foreign State to imprison any person on Australian soil. If this is so, then it is a preposterous position as it creates a situation of gross infringement of our sovereignty. The only check Australian officials can make on a request for arrest by an extradition country is whether the penalty in the law in the foreign warrant is not less than 12 months imprisonment or death.
14 Mr Snedden has been kept in prison without any evidence and charge for the last 23 months. He can prove his innocence independently of his denials but is not allowed to do so. He was imprisoned originally without anyone knowing the allegations against him even the magistrate who ordered it.
15 It should also be noted that Mr Snedden established the largest and most successful fund for war victims of all nationalities in the civil war and at the time was a person of high integrity and prominence in Serbia.
16 As a consequence of the above mishandling of Mr Snedden’s case, Mr Snedden has every right to press charges under 268.76 of the Criminal Code Act against the Australian officials responsible due to a failure of the Australian authorities to follow the prescriptions of the Geneva Conventions. Since the Croatian allegations against him have been processed for extradition without evidence and in denial of the right to prove innocence there are further crimes under the relevant Australian laws: section 268.76, including sections 268.31, 268.32, 268.33 and 268.52 of the Criminal Code Act where section 268.32 makes it a war crime to transfer him to Croatia (See Attachment).
Conclusion
The above case shows an inept and very superficial approach taken by the previous Government Ministers and our officials. It demonstrates the grave abuse of due process which has led to the arrest and incarceration of an Australian who finds himself in an Australian jail without charge, without the existence of evidence that he has committed an offence, without the ability to defend himself against the allegations made against him, denied access to the rights under the conventions he should have had accorded to him, and without the ready access to the legal representation of his choice. This case is a far worse scandal than the Solon matter and is more unjust than the David Hicks case. Mr Snedden is imprisoned here, not in Guantanamo Bay. To avoid the embarrassment (that may occur) to our government and remedy the case, the following should and may be considered:
Recommendation
1 This case demands an inquiry to be initiated immediately. The inquiry should investigate the full range of serious breaches and shortcomings in the handling of this case. It should be undertaken by duly qualified and independent personnel. Current Commonwealth lawyers attached to the case need to be removed as they may have responsibility for his imprisonment and cannot be independent. Such an inquiry, should be undertaken by personnel chosen by the International Criminal Court (to which we, Australia are a signatory) to enable the full and proper investigation required of any acts and omissions made by both Australian and Croatian officials.
2 In the meantime, Mr Snedden should be released
3 The government lawyers responsible for Mr Snedden’s arrest and imprisonment are not objective and should be removed from the case for the purposes of an inquiry. It is strongly suspected that the lawyers who gave the wrong advice that there was no treaty and that Mr Snedden could be extradited to Croatia are still running the case against him and opposing his release to protect themselves against the consequences of their earlier mistakes. Thus, they should be suspended.
4 All documents should be lodged with the inquiry to see the extent of political interference in his case.
5 A full review of the Extradition Act to remove its anomalies in relation to the imprisonment of persons on Australian soil purely on the basis of a penalty in a foreign law under a warrant given by a foreign country.
6 It is expected from the new government to act promptly and judiciously to remedy this case and avoid embarrassment at all costs. It is also expected that Mr Rudd will stand by the principles he expressed during the controversy over the return to Australia of David Hicks.
Serbs for Justice Australia 13.12.2007
Tokom proteklog perioda pojedini clanovi organizacije “ Srbi za pravdu i demokratiju” obavili su niz znacajnih kontakata i razgovora sa predstavnicima Politickih partija australije. Istovremeno, odrzano je nekoliko sudskih parnica, i konacna odluka o eventualnom pustanju Dragana Vasiljkovica na slobodu, i moguce obezbedjivanje da se ovaj covek, nakon dve godine lezanja u zatvoru, najzad brani sa slobode, bice doneta u sredu, 12.decembra .2007. Bilo bi pravedno i fantasticno da se za nekoliko dana okonca boravak u zatvoru coveku za koga ne postoji ni trunke dokaza o optuzbama za ratne zlocine za koje ga tereti hrvtasko tuzilastvo i hrvatska drzava. Bilo bi pravedno da se ovom coveku vrati sloboda i ljudska prava zagarantovana u demokratskoj drzavi kao sto je Australija.
No, ako se to i ne desi ove srede, 12, decembra, pravna i ljudska borba za pravdu se nastavlja, ne samo za Dragana Vasiljkovica, nego za sve ljude koji su potencijalni zatvorenici drzave Hrvatske.
Jos jednom je Draganov prijatelj iz Amerike, gospodin Stiv Plater boravio u Sidneju, posetio Dragana u zatvoru i sastao se sa clanovima Lobi organizacije, razgovarajuci i davajuci podrsku ovoj teskoj i dugoj borbi ljudi za slobodu, pravdu i istinu. U svom obracanju, gospodin Stiv je posebno naglasio da je ovo zapravo veoma znacajna borba srpske zajednice Australije, pa i u svetu, koja se mora dobiti, kako bi se zaustavio progon Srba, koji su vec jednom prognani sa svojih ognjista, a danas su ponovo na raznim poternicama gde im se preti procesima i zatvorima od drzave u cijem pravnom sistemu nema pravde za Srbe.
Tokom proteklog perioda ostvareni su kontakti i sa vodecim politickim licnostima dve vodece politicke australijske partije, i sto je ohrabrujuce, dobijeni su odgovori od strane licnosti iz politickog zivota, koji su na poslednim izborima postali vodeca partija. Aktivnosti u ovom smeru ce se nastaviti i dalje, kako bi se obavestila nadlezna ministarstva za pravdu, sta se sve dogodilo pre hapsenja, i tokom dvogodisnjeg boravka u zatvoru Dragana Vasiljkovica. Istovremeno se trazi nacin da se sve ovo na najpovoljniji nacin predstavi i australijim medijima, pa tako i celokupnoj australijskoj zajednici.
Takodje, pravni tim i dalje radi na konacnom Draganovom oslobadjanju. Naime, moguce je da i odluka sudije koja ce biti izrecena 12 decembra, bude negativna za gopodina Vasiljkovica, sto ce zapravo znaciti nastavak i pripremu za sledeca rocista koja ce uslediti tokom prve polovine sledece godine. Svakako, za sve ove aktivnosti je neophodna podrska citave srpske zajednice u Australiji, ali i sire, od matice Srbije, pa do svih onih mesta na svetu gde su se smestili Srbi nakon egzodusa tokom devedesetih godina.
U nadi da ce se pravnom borbom u demokratskoj drzavi doci do pravde, pozivaju se svi ljudi da ucestvuju u akcijama koje ce se u narednim mesecima organizovati kako bi se i dalje obezbedila finansijska podrska pravnom timu koji se bori za pravednu presudu Draganu Vasiljkovicu, a tako i za pravdu za sve Srbe, kao i za sve ostale gradjane Australije.
Srbi za Pravdu i Demokratiju - Australija - Serbs for Justice and Democracy- Australia
