The MICC World Times

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The shift in perception
OVERVIEW
Through the week of trials in Krzyzowa
The MICC Court convicts two war criminals
Malala makes an impact
PHOTO NEWS - Press conference uncovers attempts to corrupt judges
Meeting of cultures
The World is online
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the situation”, said member of the prosecution Taskin Ahmed. However, the
defence member Rodrigo Besteiro explained: “I don´t think there were any
controversial arguments, it was just
a misunderstanding. We never said
that”.
Flick keeps the profits
and walks free
Author: Sofia Tavares
F
riedrich Flick was found not guilty
by the MICC Court, on Wednesday
at 5 p.m. The audience at the Court
was surprised by the verdict, since the
peruasive public opinion is that Flick
deserves to be convicted.
“It was hard. We read everything very
carefully in the short time that we had.
Then, we started to discuss what were
the strongest points and the weakest points of both team’s arguments
and we came to this conclusion”, said
the member of the panel of judges,
Aylén Rubinstein. In the verdict, the
judges concluded that the crime of
enslavement took place in Mr. Flick’s
factories. Whether the accused was
aware of what was happening in the
factories or not, the judges found that
the prosecution’s arguments proved
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused knew about the enslavement.
However, the defense persuaded the
judges that the responsibility lay with
Mr. Flick may have had no control over
his factories, but the defense was definitely in full control over this trial, since
he was able to keep the profits from
the enslavement of the workforce that
everyone at the Court agrees took
place.
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The prosecution tried to prove that
Georges Ruggiu is guilty of incitement
to commit genocide, based on Article 6 (a) and (b) and the article 25(3)
(e) of the Rome Statute. Members of
the prosecution asked the MICC Court
for a punishment of 20 years of imprisonment. The prosecution stayed
confident after the trial that the judges will convict Ruggiu as stated by the
member of the prosecution Nang Lao
Wannsi after the trial: “The defense
team arguments are good and they are
strong. In my opinion, this case is really
genocide but they are saying that this
is just political violence that he committed because he didn’t know that it
was genocide. This is the main difference between the prosecutors and the
defense”.
The defense team pleaded not guilty,
but offered an alternative sentence of
no more than 10 years of imprisonment if Ruggiu is convicted . This statement shows that the defense team
saw this as a hard case to win, that it
would be hard to prove that he was
Ruggiu is back on air
the Nazi government and not with Mr.
Flick, proving that he was not the one
in effective control of his factories.
Friedrich Flick was accused of having
committed enslavement as a crime
against humanity pursuant to Article
7(1) (c) and Article 28(b) of the Rome
Statute. Prosecution asked for a sentence of 17 years in prison and demanded the forfeiture of his property ac-
quired between 1940 and 1945, and a
fine of 100 million Euros.
During the trial the prosecution and
the defence team put a lot of emphasis on whether Flick was aware of the
situation in his factory. “I believe that
my arguments were reasonable. The
prosecution had previously researched
the situation and believes it is unlikely
that Flick was completely unaware of
A different kind of example
Author: Sofia Tavares
Countess Freya von Moltke and her husband Count Helmuth James Graf von Moltke were the original owners of Krzyzowa
estate, where we were staying at during the MICC project. They were members of the Kreisau Circle, an anti-Nazi resistant group that operated during World War II. This group gathered around a common goal to put an end to the atrocities
committed by Hitler and his supporters. All members of the Kreisau Circle believed that they needed to plan ahead for
Germany’s future once Hitler is removed from power and the Nazi Party is destroyed. Members of the group worked to inform the Western Allies, especially the United Kingdom, about political conditions within the Third Reich. The Circle’s main
focus was to plan and propose a peacetime government for Germany. Majority of the members envisioned post-Hitler
Germany as a federal state with a weak central government based on small self-governing communities, so as to avoid
a manipulation of the whole of society. The long meetings and discussions at Krzyzowa produced the idea of a German
society based on Christian values, and some of the members wanted to restore the German monarchy in order to prevent
another dictatorship.
In 1945, the Nazi government executed Helmuth James Graf von Moltke for treason. After her husband died, Countess
Freya von Moltke continued the work of the Kreisau Circle by transforming the former von Moltke estate in Krzyzowa into
a place used to promote German-Polish and European mutual understanding. Poland and Germany invested 30 million DM
in renovating the venue. It opened in 1998 as the Internationale Jugendbegegnungsstätte Kreisau (Kreisau International
Youth Center).
Freya von Moltke died in Norwich, Vermont, on 1st of January 2010, at the age of 98.
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but there were some things missing”,
said defense team member Ana Mangarida Neves.
Authors: Ashton Coltman and Eaint
Kabyar Latt
G
eorges Ruggiu was acquitted on
the charge of incitement of Genocide the day before yesterday
at the MICC court at 18:45 p.m.
“I think that the prosecution team
made some good points but there
was a lot of repetition. Also, they were
strictly following the case material and
I noticed that they copied most of it in
their arguments. This is not what they
should do, they should think about
what they read and they should write it
themselves. But congratulations to all
of them because they did a good job,
Conversation with an expert on Rwanda Maid Konjhodžić
Authors: Jana Gorjanec, Ashton Coltman and Eaint Kabyar Latt
1. Was the political system after the genocide effective?
“I presume it has been effective. This is the standard process in terms of transitional justice; a lot of things need to be
changed. In Rwanda constitutionally people are not allowed to be called Tutsi and Hutu anymore, they are just referred
to as Rwandan now even though a lot of people still retain their ethnical presence, as they still feel like a part of a certain
group but this is not spoken about in public. This question has raised a lot of traction internationally, so some scientists
even tried to find genealogical similarities between the two ethnical groups in order to prove that they are not that different from each other.”
2. In your opinion, why do you think the international community waited so long to react to the genocide?
“The international community unfortunately has a tendency to react slowly because of its nature, because a lot of coun
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commission of the crime of genocide.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison
and the forfeiture of all the earnings
that the accused has generated through his songs.
‘’ If i had a chance to go over my arguments again I would take away
the fact that we said he was aware
of the fact that he had people following the airing of his songs ‘’,
said the prosecutor Buka Gubevu.
not guilty for inciting genocide.
The defense argued that the accused
was not aware of the possible ethnic
nature of the conflict in Rwanda, whereas the prosecution tried to prove
that the perpetrator was aware of the
conflict in Rwanda, due to the fact that
he had a close relationship with the
Hutus before and after he had moved
to Rwanda. The prosecution added
that Ruggiu had also been living in the
country for a long time and due to the
fact that he had daily visits and explorations to Kigali, where the genocide
took place.
However, Ruggiu was set free of all
charges. The Judges concluded that Ruggiu was manipulated to believe that it
was a political conflict and when made
aware of the genocide he was threatened and pressured into continuing the
radio broadcasts. The judges stated
that the accused became aware that
the genocide was planned only after
some months he spent in the detention facilities in Rwanda. However, the
judges admitted it was not an easy task
to come to a consensus on the verdict.
“Each judge at first disagreed and had
several questions about the case, after
a while we finally came to an agreement”, said the member of the panel
of judges Opio Edwin Benjamin.
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Bikindi will be writing
songs in prison
Author: Jana Gorjanec
S
imon Bikindi was found guilty,
yesterday at 17:00h at the MICC
Court in Krzyzowa.Bikindi was accused of having aided, abetted and assisted to the commission or attempted
The prosecution accused Simon Bikindi of aiding, abetting and otherwise assisting the crime of genocide,
as stated in the Article 25(3)(c) of
the Rome Statute. They asked the
panel of judges to sentence him to
20 years of imprisonment and to forfeiture all earnings that the accused
has generated through his songs.
The defense pleaded not guilty stating that he could not be held responsible for these crimes since songs
had been written 7 years before the
massacre. The defense felt that they
have proven Bikindi’s innocence, as
stated by the member of defense
team Victoria Aloowo, after the trial:
“I believe what I said during the trial
was enough, because I clearly pointed out the fact that Simon Bikindi
didn’t send out any messages of war,
because his songs are open for interpretation and the prosecution did not
specify anywhere that Bikindi told the
Hutus to go out and kill the Tutsis’’.
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tries have to agree on a certain solution or action in order for something to be done. However, because of different interests and problems individual countries have, sometimes this consensus is really hard to reach. Unfortunately, that means
that societies struck by conflict tend to suffer because the help comes in very late.”
3. How was the conflict resolved?
“The conflict ended with the invasion of the RPF forces, which represented the Tutsis in exile, who came from the northern
part of the country into the capital city of Kigali. Once they reached the capital the genocide has ended. As a consequence
there was a major exile of Hutus who have decided to escape to Burundi because they were afraid of the retaliation of the
RPF and the Tutsi army. After the armed conflict stopped, the society underwent the process of transitional justice, with
mixed results, but one of the conclusive results was the establishment of the ICTR – The International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda which addressed the conflict that happened.”
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Erdemovic is guilty
Author: Johanne Balslev
D
razen Erdemovic was found guilty
by the MICC Court of murdering
between 10 and 100 Bosnian
muslim men at the Srebrenica Massacre on the 16thof July in 1995, yesterday at 04:30 p.m. He was sentenced to
six years in prison.
The prosecution accused Erdemovic of
committing crime against humanity by
the article 7(1) (a) of the Rome Statute
and asked for a sentence of 12 years
in prison. “Erdemovic was already an
experienced soldier at the time of the
crime discussed. He had the gun and he
pulled the trigger, instead of him protecting the civilians, which is a crime
according to article 33 of the Rome
Statute”, said the representative of the
prosecutors Stevens Tumvshabe.
The defense pleaded not guilty and
were very pleased with their performance right after the trial, as stated
by member of the defense team Jarah
Fluxman: “Well, we proved that Erdemovic was under duress, presenting
the three conditions for that, which is
that there was an imminent threat,
that he acted reasonably and that he
did not intend to cause more harm
than he could have avoided. He can’t
be held guilty according to the Rome
Statute”.
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System in Bosnia and Herzegovina today
Conversation with a legal expert from Bosnia and Herzegovina Maida Omerćehajić
Author: Johanne Balslev
What does the system in Bosnia and Herzegovina do to secure a good relation between the three ethnic
groups in the country?
The constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in the
country. There are also mechanisms in different levels of government to secure the political relations between
the groups. For example, there is a mechanism for the protection of the “vital national interest”, which can be
invoked by any of the three groups in order to protect their political interest.
So this mechanism exists to prevent a conflict or even another war to start again?
This mechanism is mainly being used in the process of making decisions and passing laws in different levels of
government, so in a way the mechanism is there to ensure that a group can protect itself within the system and
stop a law or a decision that is against the interests of the group.
In your opinion, is the system optimal or could it be better?
It has many challenges. Beside the three constituent groups of Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, there are other
groups in the country who are being discriminated and excluded, since the constitution does not recognize
any minorities – anyone not belonging to one of the groups is considered as “the Others”. The country has a
three-member Presidency, and only citizens that belong to these three groups can be elected. This means that
minorities do not have the right to be elected as members of the Presidency, or representatives in the House of
Peoples. I definitely think the system could be improved.
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Lessons from Malala
Author: Jana Gorjanec
Genre: Documentary
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Stars: Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin
Yousafzai, Toor Pekai Yousafzai
Released: 2015 (Germany)
On the 25th of May, a small group of
the MICC participants gathered in the
Majowa room at 3 p.m, two days ago,
to watch the screening of the film “He
Named Me Malala”. The group got together for a relaxing but very inspirational viewing that followed a busy day
of trials.
Malala’s story is one of great courage
showed by a girl who felt she had to
make a difference. The plot of the
movie looks at the events leading up
to the Taliban’s attack on a Pakistani
schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, who was
one of the girls who continued to go
to school despite the Taliban ban on
female education. It also follows the
aftermath of being shot by the Taliban,
including her speech at the United Nations. The movie closely examines her
relationship with her father who was
her biggest support in the attempt to
speak up against the unjust system imposed on girls in Pakistan.
Malala was named after an Afghanistan girl who led the Afghanistan army
into victory against the British. Many of
her father’s characteristics can be seen
in the way she holds herself, because
he was a teacher, who encouraged his
students to speak against bad customs
and behaviors that are thought to be
set in stone. Despite her being one of
JUDGE
COURT
Poland – Sedzia
Poland – Sad
Argentina – Juez
Argentina – Gorte
Germany – Richter
Germany –Gericht
The Netherlands – Rechter
The Netherlands – Recht
Croatia – Sudac
Croatia –Sud
Uganda – Angelkop
Uganda – Kot
South Africa – Regter
South Africa – Hof
Myanmar – Tayartugyi
Myanmar –Tayar
Portugal – Juiz
Portugal –Tribunal
Bangladesh – Bicharok
Bangladesh –Adalot
Vietnam – Thân Phán
Vietnam –PhiênItôa
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the most influential girls, or I would
rather say women in the world, we can
still see her childlike spirit and curiosity. This is especially shown when she
is watching the Minions movie, and
the next second she is talking on the
phone arranging an interview with a
news organization.
She did not want to be oppressed in
any way, and she wanted the same
thing for all the girls in the world. After
being shot by the Taliban soldier, she
fell into a coma, but even after waking
up, she continued speaking up even
more for the injustices occurring all
around the world. The one thing that
stuck with me the most was when she
was asked whether she hates the Taliban. Her answer was no, because she
believes with all her heart she wasn’t
shot by a person, but rather by an ideology. I would like to conclude this article with my favorite quote from the
movie that Malala shared with us: “It is
better to live like a lion for 1 day, than
to live like a slave for 100 years”.
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Impressions
Authors: Jana Gorjanec and Johane Belslav
During the evenings of the 23th and 24th of May, the MICC
group gathered to talk about the war crimes in Syria with
Mohamed Ab Yonus, and with Maja Nenadović to reflect on
our experiences of conflict and thoughts on war in general. We asked our participants what were their impressions
regarding the personal stories they heard during the talks
with Maja and Mohamed.
Bas van den Heuvel – The Netherlands
‘’ I have my own opinion about war and the people who
have personal things with the war and that made me think
about how hard it is for the people who are living in countries where war is going on.’’
Aleksandra Kochman– Poland
‘’Many of the participants survived a war and their parents
were involved in a war, which my parents weren’t and it
makes the war more realistic. War is not just a thing from
the history books but it can happen to all of us. And I can
see now that people who survived the war are just like
everybody else, and participate in the same world as I do.’’
The MICC DictonarY
Vanessa Ritte – Germany
‘’The talks about war were very sad, and I think we have
to change something about it. Wars are still going on in so
many countries around the world. Here at the MICC, I met
a lot of people with different cultures and I think we have
to do something about it together.’’
Tin Terlević – Croatia
‘’ Well I’m much more aware of the consequences of war,
not only the soldiers are killed but a lot of civilians too. I
see that people usually don’t consider the consequences
and how it will affect the civilian population in a certain
country affected by war.’’
Aweri Timothy Okooi - Uganda
‘’ I happened to learn a lot, because I learned it is really
good to be a human rights activist. I have to stand for the
people and express their views, especially express the voices of the displaced people.’’
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stripped of your freedoms and your home.’’
PHOTO NEWS
The MICC Court Press Conference
Milagre Lang – South Africa
‘’ It really brought to life the fact that war is something
so recent and so present and not something we can just
forget. Also, that war isn’t something that I just dealt with
or that I saw, there was so many different variations of the
war stories in the world and it was quite incredible to hear
them.’’
Gum Ja La – Myanmar
‘’ Yes, at first I used to think the war is just going on in my
country, and now I went through the experience abroad
and I can see that even developed countries have problems and conflicts. For me this was a good opportunity to
meet people from other continents and see that they don’t
have the same problems as me but they still have some
problems.’’
Ana Margarida Duarte Neves – Portugal
‘’ I think sometimes we have a very romanticized idea of
what war and conflict is, because we don’t really know
how it is to feel that kind of trapped feeling of being
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Mashaekh Hassan – Bangladesh
‘’ Well, the things I heard by talking to Maja and Mohamed, it’s something I heard before, so it hadn’t changed
my view on the world. I just got a conformation of what I
already thought.’’
Dung Dang – Vietnam
‘’After hearing the talk with Maja and Mohamed, I realized
that I’ve been very lucky to grow up in an environment
that was safe. Also, I think it’s really terrible that some
countries are still at war and something should be done
about that.’’
Sol Ailen Oddone - Argentina
‘’ For me it is very different to study a war in school than to
listen to the stories about war from your friends and family
because it affects you in an emotional way. You see the
world as more cruel. However, if you just study it than it is
just too theoretical.’’
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The MICC World is online
HIGHLIGHTS
See you @MICC World 2016
Eiant Kabyar Latt
Sofia Tavares
Johanne Balslev
THE PRESS TEAM
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
By Imran Shah Mhammad
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Ashton Koltman
Jana Gorjanec
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