Display:
Your first link doesn't work, damn Euronews doesn't seem to archive articles. But here is it from swissinfo:

Del Ponte book promotion vetoed

Switzerland's ambassador to Argentina, Carla Del Ponte, has been told by the Swiss foreign ministry she cannot promote a new book.

The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague was asked to return to Buenos Aires before a scheduled presentation in Milan on Sunday.

The foreign ministry said there were statements in "The Hunt: Me and War Criminals", written with New York Times reporter Chuck Sudetic, that were incompatible with Del Ponte's status as an official government representative.

From your second link:

Religious Intelligence - News - Serbs 'were killed and their organs were sold'

According to Del Ponte's new book, The Hunt: Me and War Crimes, it is claimed that both the former chief prosecutor and her team of investigators were informed that 300 Serbs were abducted and taken to prison camps in northern Albania where the younger ones were picked out, killed and then had their organs removed for trafficking in various parts of Europe.

That sounds like dozens killed & organ-harvested out of 300. So one of Doug M's points of doubt may be based on a misinterpretation in repeated translation and re-reporting. (For the record, I myself had one doubt that Doug didn't have: 300 'sets' of organs suddenly appearing on the black market seem too much to go unnoticed.)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 04:04:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I suppose I should pick up a copy and read the incriminating passage. I'm wary of Del Ponte bashing. Given the circumstances, she did what she could.
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 05:20:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, 300 sets of organs is a lot, but whether this is noticed or not depends on the demand. In 2003 there was a waiting list for kidney transplants of 40.000 people - only in Europe. One would have to be able to monitor the price of contraband kidneys in the market to make a decision one way or another.

Anyway the IHT article linked in the diary mentions explicitly in its intro paragraph dozens of cases:

Serbia's war crimes prosecutor is looking into reports that dozens of Serbs captured by rebels during the war in Kosovo were killed so their organs could be trafficked, the prosecutor's office said Friday.

BTW there is no doubt in my mind that in the Serbian folklore inevitably coming out of this, the 300 number will stick. Again we'll have to wait for the book.

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake

by talos (mihalis at gmail dot com) on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 07:11:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password
Occasional Series