Milosevic Claims Anti-Terror Defense
Published Oct 29, 2001
London (CNSNews.com) - Former Yugoslav President Slobodon Milosevic claimed Monday that he was defending his country from terrorists when he committed alleged war crimes over an eight-year period.
Milosevic faced judges from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, Netherlands, for a third time Monday. At the hearing, prosecutors revealed new and amended charges against him for crimes in Croatia and the breakaway province of Kosovo.
"I have been indicted because I defended my people legally and with legitimate means on the basis of the right to self-defense that every nation has," Milosevic told the court. "I had the honour to defend my nation ... from terrorism."
The most recent indictments charge that Milosevic was responsible for mass sexual assault, the forcible deportation of 800,000 of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and the murder of 600 more. Prosecutors also accuse Milosevic of driving out non-Serbs from Croatia starting in 1991.
U.N. prosecutors said that next week the former president would face an even more serious charge - genocide, for his role in the Bosnian conflict.
Milosevic was leader of Serbia, Yugoslavia's largest constituent republic, during the country's breakup in the early 90s. He presided over a series of bloody civil wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The decade of violence in the Balkans culminated in 78 days of NATO airstrikes against Serbia in 1999, leading to semi-autonomy for Kosovo and the removal of Milosevic from the Serbian presidency last year. He was later arrested by Serbian authorities and was given up to the war crimes tribunal four months ago.
As he has during his two previous hearings before the tribunal, on Monday Milosevic went on long diatribes accusing the court of being illegitimate and politically motivated. He also complained that he was facing a barrage of allegations.
"The truth cannot be sunk by any flood of false accusations," he told the court.
Milosevic has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the tribunal and protested the appointment of three defense lawyers as "friends of the court" assigned to protect his interests. He has also refused to enter a plea to any of the charges against him, forcing the judges to lodged pleas of "not guilty" on his behalf.
Michail Wladimiroff, a Dutch attorney assigned by the court, argued that the ICTY has no jurisdiction over Milosevic's case. Wladimiroff asked for a ruling on jurisdiction from the United Nations World Court, a permanent tribunal that normally decides disputes between U.N. member states.
ICTY judges said they would consider the argument.
British lawyer Steven Kay asked the court to review Milosevic's claims that the tribunal is prejudiced. Milosevic's lawyers also argued that international law cast doubt over whether former heads of state could be put on trial.
Tribunal prosecutor Carla Del Ponte told the court the case should move forward despite Milosevic's objections.
"People don't want to understand that this tribunal was established by the international community explicitly to put an end to the impunity of powerful people, the heads of state," Del Ponte said. "Outside the tribunal there are thousands of victims who are demanding justice."
Milosevic faced judges from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, Netherlands, for a third time Monday. At the hearing, prosecutors revealed new and amended charges against him for crimes in Croatia and the breakaway province of Kosovo.
"I have been indicted because I defended my people legally and with legitimate means on the basis of the right to self-defense that every nation has," Milosevic told the court. "I had the honour to defend my nation ... from terrorism."
The most recent indictments charge that Milosevic was responsible for mass sexual assault, the forcible deportation of 800,000 of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and the murder of 600 more. Prosecutors also accuse Milosevic of driving out non-Serbs from Croatia starting in 1991.
U.N. prosecutors said that next week the former president would face an even more serious charge - genocide, for his role in the Bosnian conflict.
Milosevic was leader of Serbia, Yugoslavia's largest constituent republic, during the country's breakup in the early 90s. He presided over a series of bloody civil wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The decade of violence in the Balkans culminated in 78 days of NATO airstrikes against Serbia in 1999, leading to semi-autonomy for Kosovo and the removal of Milosevic from the Serbian presidency last year. He was later arrested by Serbian authorities and was given up to the war crimes tribunal four months ago.
As he has during his two previous hearings before the tribunal, on Monday Milosevic went on long diatribes accusing the court of being illegitimate and politically motivated. He also complained that he was facing a barrage of allegations.
"The truth cannot be sunk by any flood of false accusations," he told the court.
Milosevic has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the tribunal and protested the appointment of three defense lawyers as "friends of the court" assigned to protect his interests. He has also refused to enter a plea to any of the charges against him, forcing the judges to lodged pleas of "not guilty" on his behalf.
Michail Wladimiroff, a Dutch attorney assigned by the court, argued that the ICTY has no jurisdiction over Milosevic's case. Wladimiroff asked for a ruling on jurisdiction from the United Nations World Court, a permanent tribunal that normally decides disputes between U.N. member states.
ICTY judges said they would consider the argument.
British lawyer Steven Kay asked the court to review Milosevic's claims that the tribunal is prejudiced. Milosevic's lawyers also argued that international law cast doubt over whether former heads of state could be put on trial.
Tribunal prosecutor Carla Del Ponte told the court the case should move forward despite Milosevic's objections.
"People don't want to understand that this tribunal was established by the international community explicitly to put an end to the impunity of powerful people, the heads of state," Del Ponte said. "Outside the tribunal there are thousands of victims who are demanding justice."
Originally published October 29, 2001.
