SEIA21

=Chapter 21=
==Silent enim inter arma: Tribunals==
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Unity City
North America, Terra
Sol Star System
Republic of the Sphere
3079
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[....Opening: The Prosecution]
Colonel Jerry Haskins was a tall, dignified looking man of african descent, he kept his head shaved smooth and clean, his accent was clipped and precise, with a deep and compelling voice that reverberated like the tones of a well-tuned pipe organ. His uniform was that recently adopted by Stone's Lament as a standard for the incoming Republic Armed Forces, and any signs of his original national origin were somewhat concealed.  
"Going back to the 21st Century, the tradition of the Law of Armed conflict provides four criteria. This is present in the doctrines of every civilized nation in the Inner Sphere, as well as being at least recognized by the Clans of Kerensky.  I guess you can call it the default moral code underlying every professional soldier, a common moral code."
He folded his hands, "There are of course, historic violations of this.  We'll get to that in due course, but for the observers in the court. I think it's necessary to outline what those four criteria are, both to inform the Panel, and to inform the public."
"The first is the principle of Military necessity.  The use of armed force to attain military objectives is accepted in armed conflicts as lawful, but it must be balanced by a principle of humanity. That innocent life and human dignity must be accounted for when planning, or executing a military operation.  Only military objectives are legitimate objectives."
He paused, "The first thing, then, is to answer the question of whether Geneva was a military objective, and then, whether appropriate force was used to achieve it if it was."
He Halted.  "That is the first principle I will demonstrate was violated...but it does not stop there.  The Second principle, is tied to the first; that Civilian and Military objectives are different, that it is illegitimate and unlawful to target civilians, civilian objects, or non-combatants with the same forces used to achieve military objectives.  We have prior cases I will cite in the war crimes trials carried out against Clan Smoke Jaguar personnel."
He began to pace, "The Third, can be perhaps the gravest violation carried out by The Defendant, Commander Ngo.  Reprisal is prohibited. Reciprocity, the conduct of a war crime in a sanctioned manner in response to another war crime, is generally considered to be prohibited.  I will show that the strike on Geneva was a strike based not on military necessity, but upon long standing pursuit of Vengeance for past events.  Worse, it is misplaced vengeance, aggravating the seriousness of the violation and crime."
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"And we come to the Fourth.  That all parties be treated with equal justice, winner or loser, military or civilian.  This was also not done here, and I will demonstrate that it was not done.  An injustice, that cost the lives of twelve million civilians and destroyed a cultural landmark that is the heritage of all of humanity, was done by the defendant, Commander Elizabeth Ngo. For once, we have the ability in this court room to assure that Justice is put right."
He turned his face to the cameras as he said it, then, turned to face the panel of the Jury.  "We are making history here. Future generations  will look to this court, and they will either praise your wisdom, or curse your short-sightedness, for what is decided within these walls.  Thank you."
He turned to sit.
"The Defense may present their Opening Argument." ordered Khan McKenna
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