See also the "more links" section at the bottom of this message!
===*===
International Committee to Defend
Slobodan Milosevic www.icdsm.org
The URL for this article is:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/intense.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive no more than one article per
day.
=======================================
INTENSE STRUGGLE AT THE HAGUE, Friday
8 March
Reprinted from Yugoslav newspaper, Blic
[Our thanks to Robert S. Rodvik for
this article]
[Posted 11 March 2002]
=======================================
Blic, Belgrade | March 9, 2002
The Hague (Tanjug) - The continuation
of the latest roundof hearings, which
commenced yesterday, suffered many
interruptions by JudgeRichard May
today.
At one point, the Judge intervened and
warned the witness, as well as the
defendant, "This is not a political
manifestation but a trial".
Mr. Milosevic cross-examined Sabit
Kadriu, who claimed the Serbs did not flee
Albanian violence but were "searching
for a better life" outside of Kosovo &
Metohia and that they were "selling
their farms and estates to Albanians
at steep prices". The witness claimed
that he had no knowledge as to how many
Serbs had fled the province and that
the "regime" in Belgrade caused and
then manipulated this situation.
Mr. Milosevic told the court that
Albanian separatists persistently
refused the Government's proposal for the
return of Albanian professors and students
to state schools, while the witness
claimed that, every September, when the
school year traditionally starts, the
Serbian government" prevented the
Albanians" from enrolling.
Countering the witness' claim that the
"Serbian regime organized the return
of the expelled Serbs back to Kosovo &
Metohia in order to change the
demographics", Mr. Milosevic said that
of all the expelled Serbs, only 5,000
returned to their homes, which is, as
Mr. Milosevic said, less than 1% of
the total number of Serbs who have been
forced out of the province. The
prosecution witness also claimed that
there were no - and are no - mujahedins
in Kosovo &Metohia. Mr. Milosevic then
showed the FBI document, dated
December 2001, which clearly indicated
that Al-Qaida had been active in
Kosovo & Metohia.
Kadriu said that "he knew nothing"
about the killings of four policemen
in the village of Chirez on March 3,
1998, which, as Mr. Milosevic said,
was the result of a firefight between the
Police and the KLA. The Ahmeti family
lost their lives in this confrontation,
which the witness claimed was a
"massacre of unarmed civilians".
In reference to the witness' claim of
a massacre of the Gerxhaliu family in
May 1999, Mr. Miloshevich said that
the investigating judge went to the
scene immediately after the incident and
made a report. The witness characterized
this as an "obstruction" on the part
of the "Serb forces" and claimed that
such things "always occurred" and that
"the Serbian police always called the
court investigators after they
committed crimes."
The defendant then told the court
about the murder of Rexhepi Bairami, an
activist and a member of the LDK, the
party headed by Ibrahim Rugova, who was
killed in Vuchitrn "on the orders of
the local KLA commander". Kadriu then
said that "he never heard of any Bairami".
Mr. Milosevic then mentioned the fact
that, in 1998 alone, 327 loyalist
Albanians had been murdered, to which
the witness replied that he" did not
believe there were any loyalist
Albanians" in Kosovo & Metohia. Mr.
Milosevic, in turn, cited Faik
Jashari, a member of the Interim Executive
Council of Kosovo & Metohia, who had
reported that, after the war, some
30,000 Albanians fled to central
Serbia together with the expelled
Kosovo & Metohia Serbs.
Kadriu described the KLA as a
liberation army and stood his ground, claiming
the army and the police "conducted an
offensive against 27 Albanian villages
on Mt. Chichevitsa and murdered 200
civilians and one member of the KLA".
Mr. Milosevic then cited Kadriu, who
had said earlier that "Adem Jashari was
killed when he ran out of ammo", and
asked the witness how he could talk of
a "massacre of civilians" when the
police first asked Jashari to come out and
give himself up, then gave him 2 hours
to consider the offer - "during which
a number of people had left the
compound" - and that soon after, "a
hail of bullets, fired from dozens of
automatic rifles" came from the house
toward the police, to which the police
responded in self-defence and, as a
consequence, killed 60 people inside
the Jashari compound.
At this point Judge Robinson jumped in
and remarked that Kadriu wasn't
present at the scene. Kadriu then said
that he saw "bodies of dead women,
children and elderly people", that the
action against the Jashari compound
"lasted three days", and that it
served to paint a "false picture" in
the media.
Mr. Milosevic then cited British
Foreign Office reports, dating from early
1999 (1) , which revealed that there
had been no political persecution of
Albanians, but rather a confrontation
with "military opponents" - the KLA -
who controlled parts of Kosovo & Metohia.
The witness then said that, in 1999,
the "Serbian forces had killed 15,000
and expelled 1,000,000 Albanian
civilians". (2)
Mr. Milosevic responded by asking the
witness about the kidnappings and
killings of Serbs, the KLA detention
centres in the village of Likovats, as
well as the makeshift prison in the
basement of a general store in Vuchitrn.
The witness responded, saying such
prisons "did not exist", and he also
denied any killings and kidnappings by
the KLA. (3)
The witness denied Mr. Milosevic's
claim that literally all citizens of
Serbian nationality from 39 out of the
45 villages in the Vuchitrn
Municipality had been ethnically
cleansed and had their houses burned
down, saying there "may have been" some
"revenge attacks against the Serbs who
committed war crimes."
Alleging that all the Serbs who once
lived in the town of Vuchitrn are war
criminals, Kadriu acknowledged that
there were no more Serbs in that town,
and that they fled "of their own free
will because they committed war
crimes." Branislav Tapushkovich, one
of the amici curiae, reacted, drawing
the court's attention to the
contradictions in Kadriu's testimony.
Mr. Milosevic protested the court's
decision to limit the time for
cross-examination and asked that the
cross-examination be continued, which
was rejected by Judge May. As a
result, the trial will continue on
Monday with fresh testimonies from new
witnesses.
As the hearing was drawing to a close,
the security officers in the courtroom
asked Mr. Milosevic's legal advisors
from Belgrade to leave the room. They
had been warned not to "gesticulate
and communicate" with Mr. Milosevic. They
later returned to the courtroom. - END
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive a few articles a week.
==========================
FURTHER READING
==========================
1) This is probably a reference to a
group of documents in which the German
Foreign Office and also the German
Federal Courts assessed the request,
by Kosovo ethnic Albanians, for asylum.
To rule on these claims, the German
officials assessed the conflict that
raged from February 1998 to march 1999
in Kosovo and ruled that there had
been no targeting of ethnic Albanians, but
rather a conflict between secessionist
and government forces. These documents
can be read at
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/german/Germany.html
2) Concerning Western/KLA claims that
"the Serbs" expelled hundreds of
thousands of Albanians during the NATO
bombing, see the interview with Kosovo
historian Cedomir Prlincevic, formerly
the chief archivist in Pristina. For
the full interview, entitled, "Why
Albanians Fled During NATO Bombing," go to
http://www.tenc.net/interviews/keys.htm
Or read the shortened version,
entitled, "WHAT'S BEHIND KLA STRATEGY
IN THE BALKANS?" which can be read at
http://www.tenc.net/interviews/strategy.htm
3) For anymore familiar with what
happened in Kosovo following NATO's
takeover, the claims, made by the
"prosecution's" KLA witnesses, that
the KLA didn't institute a reign of terror,
are simply ludicrous. To get some sense
of the extent of racist terror - and
sheer gangsterism, including towards
ordinary ethnic Albanians - since NATO
installed the KLA in power, see
"Concentration Camps and
Gangster/Terrorism in Kosovo" at
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/reporter.htm
This article documents both the terror
against Serbs, and the day to day
gangsterism now rampant in the
province. It includes the following gem. In a
NY Times article, explaining why the
KLA has been seizing profitable
businesses at gunpoint, a NY Times
story quoted a KLA 'government' source
as follows:
"[KLA leader] Mr. Thaci's appointees
said that such confiscations, especially
of state-owned buildings, were part of
their effort to determine property
ownership. They also defended the
decision to begin collecting money
from businesses, a practice many shop
owners have labeled 'extortion.'" --
Quoted in "Concentration Camps and
Gangster/Terrorism in Kosovo" at
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/reporter.htm
How can one write satirical fiction
when this is the "news"?
4) Dr. Kosta Cavoski, a distinguished
Yugoslav legal scholar, has written a
mind-boggling four-part series.
In 'The War Crimes Tribunal vs. Gen.
Djordje Djukic' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-1.htm
and 'The Mistreatment of Col. Aleksa
Krsmanovic' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-2.htm
Professor Cavoski deals
with the torture and physical
destruction of Serbian 'defendants'.
In 'Illegal Origins' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-3.htm
Professor Cavoski analyzes the
Tribunal's legal rationale, or lack of same.
In 'Learning from the Inquisition' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-4.htm
Professor Cavoski
describes the practices of the
Tribunal, which thoroughly violate
what we would consider natural legal
guarantees.
5) 'Why is NATO Decimating the Balkans
and Trying to Force Milosevic to
Surrender?'
By Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser
6) 'How Madeline Albright Ordered The
Hague 'Tribunal' To 'Indict'
Milosevic' at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/lovie.htm
7) 'Official Statements Prove Hague
'Tribunal' Belongs to NATO,'
by Jared Israel at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/belongs.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive a few articles a week.
The Defense of Milosevic - and the
Truth - Needs Your Help!
NATO has billions of dollars and the
media to spread lies. We have the truth,
supported by hundreds of millions of
people. To develop legal, educational,
parliamentary and other work, our
Committee needs donations, large or small,
from those who want to get the truth
to the people.
Here is how you can help:
* Contribute via credit card by
calling our Dutch or U.S. offices:
Dutch office: 31 20 6151122
US office: 1 617 916-1705
* Donate over the internet via PayPal at:
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=icdsm%40aol.com
PayPal accepts VISA and MasterCard
* Or mail a check to: ICDSM
831 Beacon St., #295
Newton Centre, MA 02459 (USA)
Thank you!
http://www.icdsm.org
===*===
MORE LINKS:
> http://www.antiwar.com/orig/jatras8.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, March 7, 2002
The Case of the Invisible Trial, or 'Where's the Beef?'
by Stella L. Jatras
> http://www.icdsm.org/more/westernciv.htm
or
> http://www.nypress.com/15/10/taki/2.cfm
The New York Press
March 6, 2002
Top Drawer - The Bunker
George Szamuely
Milosevic's Trial
> http://hague.bard.edu/video.html
The URL of the RealVideo Archive of the Milosevic "trial"
(with English translation)
===*===
International Committee to Defend
Slobodan Milosevic www.icdsm.org
The URL for this article is:
http://www.icdsm.org/more/intense.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive no more than one article per
day.
=======================================
INTENSE STRUGGLE AT THE HAGUE, Friday
8 March
Reprinted from Yugoslav newspaper, Blic
[Our thanks to Robert S. Rodvik for
this article]
[Posted 11 March 2002]
=======================================
Blic, Belgrade | March 9, 2002
The Hague (Tanjug) - The continuation
of the latest roundof hearings, which
commenced yesterday, suffered many
interruptions by JudgeRichard May
today.
At one point, the Judge intervened and
warned the witness, as well as the
defendant, "This is not a political
manifestation but a trial".
Mr. Milosevic cross-examined Sabit
Kadriu, who claimed the Serbs did not flee
Albanian violence but were "searching
for a better life" outside of Kosovo &
Metohia and that they were "selling
their farms and estates to Albanians
at steep prices". The witness claimed
that he had no knowledge as to how many
Serbs had fled the province and that
the "regime" in Belgrade caused and
then manipulated this situation.
Mr. Milosevic told the court that
Albanian separatists persistently
refused the Government's proposal for the
return of Albanian professors and students
to state schools, while the witness
claimed that, every September, when the
school year traditionally starts, the
Serbian government" prevented the
Albanians" from enrolling.
Countering the witness' claim that the
"Serbian regime organized the return
of the expelled Serbs back to Kosovo &
Metohia in order to change the
demographics", Mr. Milosevic said that
of all the expelled Serbs, only 5,000
returned to their homes, which is, as
Mr. Milosevic said, less than 1% of
the total number of Serbs who have been
forced out of the province. The
prosecution witness also claimed that
there were no - and are no - mujahedins
in Kosovo &Metohia. Mr. Milosevic then
showed the FBI document, dated
December 2001, which clearly indicated
that Al-Qaida had been active in
Kosovo & Metohia.
Kadriu said that "he knew nothing"
about the killings of four policemen
in the village of Chirez on March 3,
1998, which, as Mr. Milosevic said,
was the result of a firefight between the
Police and the KLA. The Ahmeti family
lost their lives in this confrontation,
which the witness claimed was a
"massacre of unarmed civilians".
In reference to the witness' claim of
a massacre of the Gerxhaliu family in
May 1999, Mr. Miloshevich said that
the investigating judge went to the
scene immediately after the incident and
made a report. The witness characterized
this as an "obstruction" on the part
of the "Serb forces" and claimed that
such things "always occurred" and that
"the Serbian police always called the
court investigators after they
committed crimes."
The defendant then told the court
about the murder of Rexhepi Bairami, an
activist and a member of the LDK, the
party headed by Ibrahim Rugova, who was
killed in Vuchitrn "on the orders of
the local KLA commander". Kadriu then
said that "he never heard of any Bairami".
Mr. Milosevic then mentioned the fact
that, in 1998 alone, 327 loyalist
Albanians had been murdered, to which
the witness replied that he" did not
believe there were any loyalist
Albanians" in Kosovo & Metohia. Mr.
Milosevic, in turn, cited Faik
Jashari, a member of the Interim Executive
Council of Kosovo & Metohia, who had
reported that, after the war, some
30,000 Albanians fled to central
Serbia together with the expelled
Kosovo & Metohia Serbs.
Kadriu described the KLA as a
liberation army and stood his ground, claiming
the army and the police "conducted an
offensive against 27 Albanian villages
on Mt. Chichevitsa and murdered 200
civilians and one member of the KLA".
Mr. Milosevic then cited Kadriu, who
had said earlier that "Adem Jashari was
killed when he ran out of ammo", and
asked the witness how he could talk of
a "massacre of civilians" when the
police first asked Jashari to come out and
give himself up, then gave him 2 hours
to consider the offer - "during which
a number of people had left the
compound" - and that soon after, "a
hail of bullets, fired from dozens of
automatic rifles" came from the house
toward the police, to which the police
responded in self-defence and, as a
consequence, killed 60 people inside
the Jashari compound.
At this point Judge Robinson jumped in
and remarked that Kadriu wasn't
present at the scene. Kadriu then said
that he saw "bodies of dead women,
children and elderly people", that the
action against the Jashari compound
"lasted three days", and that it
served to paint a "false picture" in
the media.
Mr. Milosevic then cited British
Foreign Office reports, dating from early
1999 (1) , which revealed that there
had been no political persecution of
Albanians, but rather a confrontation
with "military opponents" - the KLA -
who controlled parts of Kosovo & Metohia.
The witness then said that, in 1999,
the "Serbian forces had killed 15,000
and expelled 1,000,000 Albanian
civilians". (2)
Mr. Milosevic responded by asking the
witness about the kidnappings and
killings of Serbs, the KLA detention
centres in the village of Likovats, as
well as the makeshift prison in the
basement of a general store in Vuchitrn.
The witness responded, saying such
prisons "did not exist", and he also
denied any killings and kidnappings by
the KLA. (3)
The witness denied Mr. Milosevic's
claim that literally all citizens of
Serbian nationality from 39 out of the
45 villages in the Vuchitrn
Municipality had been ethnically
cleansed and had their houses burned
down, saying there "may have been" some
"revenge attacks against the Serbs who
committed war crimes."
Alleging that all the Serbs who once
lived in the town of Vuchitrn are war
criminals, Kadriu acknowledged that
there were no more Serbs in that town,
and that they fled "of their own free
will because they committed war
crimes." Branislav Tapushkovich, one
of the amici curiae, reacted, drawing
the court's attention to the
contradictions in Kadriu's testimony.
Mr. Milosevic protested the court's
decision to limit the time for
cross-examination and asked that the
cross-examination be continued, which
was rejected by Judge May. As a
result, the trial will continue on
Monday with fresh testimonies from new
witnesses.
As the hearing was drawing to a close,
the security officers in the courtroom
asked Mr. Milosevic's legal advisors
from Belgrade to leave the room. They
had been warned not to "gesticulate
and communicate" with Mr. Milosevic. They
later returned to the courtroom. - END
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive a few articles a week.
==========================
FURTHER READING
==========================
1) This is probably a reference to a
group of documents in which the German
Foreign Office and also the German
Federal Courts assessed the request,
by Kosovo ethnic Albanians, for asylum.
To rule on these claims, the German
officials assessed the conflict that
raged from February 1998 to march 1999
in Kosovo and ruled that there had
been no targeting of ethnic Albanians, but
rather a conflict between secessionist
and government forces. These documents
can be read at
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/german/Germany.html
2) Concerning Western/KLA claims that
"the Serbs" expelled hundreds of
thousands of Albanians during the NATO
bombing, see the interview with Kosovo
historian Cedomir Prlincevic, formerly
the chief archivist in Pristina. For
the full interview, entitled, "Why
Albanians Fled During NATO Bombing," go to
http://www.tenc.net/interviews/keys.htm
Or read the shortened version,
entitled, "WHAT'S BEHIND KLA STRATEGY
IN THE BALKANS?" which can be read at
http://www.tenc.net/interviews/strategy.htm
3) For anymore familiar with what
happened in Kosovo following NATO's
takeover, the claims, made by the
"prosecution's" KLA witnesses, that
the KLA didn't institute a reign of terror,
are simply ludicrous. To get some sense
of the extent of racist terror - and
sheer gangsterism, including towards
ordinary ethnic Albanians - since NATO
installed the KLA in power, see
"Concentration Camps and
Gangster/Terrorism in Kosovo" at
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/reporter.htm
This article documents both the terror
against Serbs, and the day to day
gangsterism now rampant in the
province. It includes the following gem. In a
NY Times article, explaining why the
KLA has been seizing profitable
businesses at gunpoint, a NY Times
story quoted a KLA 'government' source
as follows:
"[KLA leader] Mr. Thaci's appointees
said that such confiscations, especially
of state-owned buildings, were part of
their effort to determine property
ownership. They also defended the
decision to begin collecting money
from businesses, a practice many shop
owners have labeled 'extortion.'" --
Quoted in "Concentration Camps and
Gangster/Terrorism in Kosovo" at
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/reporter.htm
How can one write satirical fiction
when this is the "news"?
4) Dr. Kosta Cavoski, a distinguished
Yugoslav legal scholar, has written a
mind-boggling four-part series.
In 'The War Crimes Tribunal vs. Gen.
Djordje Djukic' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-1.htm
and 'The Mistreatment of Col. Aleksa
Krsmanovic' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-2.htm
Professor Cavoski deals
with the torture and physical
destruction of Serbian 'defendants'.
In 'Illegal Origins' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-3.htm
Professor Cavoski analyzes the
Tribunal's legal rationale, or lack of same.
In 'Learning from the Inquisition' at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/cavoski/c-4.htm
Professor Cavoski
describes the practices of the
Tribunal, which thoroughly violate
what we would consider natural legal
guarantees.
5) 'Why is NATO Decimating the Balkans
and Trying to Force Milosevic to
Surrender?'
By Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser
6) 'How Madeline Albright Ordered The
Hague 'Tribunal' To 'Indict'
Milosevic' at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/lovie.htm
7) 'Official Statements Prove Hague
'Tribunal' Belongs to NATO,'
by Jared Israel at
http://www.icdsm.org/more/belongs.htm
Subscribe to the ICDSM email list at
http://www.icdsm.org/maillist.htm
Receive a few articles a week.
The Defense of Milosevic - and the
Truth - Needs Your Help!
NATO has billions of dollars and the
media to spread lies. We have the truth,
supported by hundreds of millions of
people. To develop legal, educational,
parliamentary and other work, our
Committee needs donations, large or small,
from those who want to get the truth
to the people.
Here is how you can help:
* Contribute via credit card by
calling our Dutch or U.S. offices:
Dutch office: 31 20 6151122
US office: 1 617 916-1705
* Donate over the internet via PayPal at:
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=icdsm%40aol.com
PayPal accepts VISA and MasterCard
* Or mail a check to: ICDSM
831 Beacon St., #295
Newton Centre, MA 02459 (USA)
Thank you!
http://www.icdsm.org
===*===
MORE LINKS:
> http://www.antiwar.com/orig/jatras8.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, March 7, 2002
The Case of the Invisible Trial, or 'Where's the Beef?'
by Stella L. Jatras
> http://www.icdsm.org/more/westernciv.htm
or
> http://www.nypress.com/15/10/taki/2.cfm
The New York Press
March 6, 2002
Top Drawer - The Bunker
George Szamuely
Milosevic's Trial
> http://hague.bard.edu/video.html
The URL of the RealVideo Archive of the Milosevic "trial"
(with English translation)