Milosevic trial begins, prosecution accuses ex-president of ‘medieval savagery’

By Dusan Stojanovic

Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A U.N. prosecutor, opening the landmark trial of Slobodan Milosevic, accused the former Yugoslav leader Tuesday of presiding over “medieval savagery” for his alleged role in three Balkan wars that killed thousands of people and displaced more than a million others.

Milosevic looked calm and glanced around the courtroom as the U.N. tribunal opened the proceedings by reading the case number: IT0254T.

The trial against the former Yugoslav president for alleged atrocities during the breakup of Yugoslavia is Europe’s most important war crimes case since the Nuremberg proceedings against Nazi Germany’s leaders after World War II.

Milosevic, 60, is the first head of state indicted for war crimes while in office. He could be sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted of any of the 66 specific charges contained in three indictments, one each for the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. The trial is likely to take two years.

He was expected to give a lengthy opening statement on Wednesday, arguing that the trial is inherently unfair, and that the tribunal is illegal and biased, his legal advisers said.

Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said Milosevic was responsible for a campaign that introduced the phrase “ethnic cleansing to common use in our language. Some of the incidents revealed an almost medieval savagery and a calculated cruelty that went far beyond the bounds of legitimate warfare.”

His case, she said, would be a powerful demonstration that “no one is above the law or beyond the reach of international justice.”

Del Ponte said Milosevic “pursued his ambition at the price of unspeakable suffering imposed on those who opposed him or represented a threat to his personal strategy of power.”

All his actions were “in the service of his quest for power,” she said, as Milosevic scribbled notes. He occasionally glanced and nodded at supporters among the packed public gallery behind a wall of bulletproof glass.

After years of gathering testimony and months of trial preparation, the Swiss prosecutor said “today, as never before, we see international justice in action,” and noted the paramount place the case would have in history.

Milosevic has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court, berating it as an instrument of his enemies, whom he identified as the NATO alliance. He claims his actions as Yugoslavia’s leader were to defend his country against terrorism and preserve its unity.

Milosevic, who studied law but never practiced, has refused to appoint defense lawyers and will speak for himself.

Legal experts said the case would be complex, with the prosecution obliged to draw a direct link between Milosevic and the crimes committed by Serb forces against other ethnic groups in his disintegrating country.

Starting with Kosovo and continuing with Croatia and Bosnia, deputy prosecutor Geoffrey Nice told the tribunal that Milosevic had command responsibility for the action of Serb troops and must be found guilty if it can be shown that he failed to prevent crimes he knew were happening.

“The evidence will show that the accused had a central role in the joint criminal enterprise” to create a Greater Serbia, Nice said. “He had a fundamental role in planning, organization, financing support and execution of the plan.”

The prosecution played a recorded intercept of a conversation between Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic discussing the fight against Bosnian Muslims. The tape was intended to prove Milosevic’s support for the Bosnian Serbs who ostensibly were independent, but it also disclosed the involvement of western intelligence services and their cooperation with the court.

“Did he know what was happening? Of course he did,” Nice said, pointing to reports that reached the president’s office and the international news coverage of the war.

“Why did he not stop these things that were occurring?” Nice said. “He did not confront his victims. He had these crimes committed for him by others.”

The prosecution screened television footage of Milosevic’s rise to power, whipping up Serb nationalism and directing Serb anger against other groups. “Nobody will be allowed to beat you,” he told angry Kosovo Serbs in 1987, in a speech that launched him on the national scene.

Vladimir Krsljanin, a member of Milosevic’s Socialist Party monitoring the trial, said the prosecution portrayed “an absurd picture of Milosevic’s career and placed totally outside the historic context. It’s a desperate attempt to prove what is unprovable.”

Del Ponte said Milosevic was on trial for his individual actions. “No state or organization is on trial here today,” she said, anticipating Milosevic’s defense that the trial was directed against the Serb nation.

She said her task was to “allow the voice of the victims to be heard.”

“This trial will make history, and we would do well to approach our task in the light of history,” Del Ponte said.

Among the dozens of witnesses Del Ponte intended to call is Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova and the former U.S. head of a Kosovo peacekeeping mission, William Walker. Many others were to appear as protected witnesses whose identities will not be disclosed.

The Milosevic case is the culmination of years of investigation since the Yugoslav tribunal was set up by the United Nations in 1993 to try those responsible for the collapse of the Balkans.

Prosecutors say he was behind a systematic plan to create a larger Serb state through the forced expulsion and murder of non-Serbs.

The most serious charge against Milosevic, who ruled Yugoslavia for 13 years, is for genocide for the murder of thousands of Muslims in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995. The general in command of that operation, Radislav Krstic, was convicted last year of genocide and sentenced to 46 years imprisonment.

The trial’s opening phase, which may last four months, will focus on murder charges of hundreds of Kosovo Albanians by Serbian security forces and the expulsion of some 800,000 people from their homes in 1998-99.

The case is being closely watched around the world as people look for ways to bring to justice powerful leaders, including people such as accused terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Jasmine Donahue talks about being a place for people leave messages when looking for family members, friends or loved ones on the street on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett extends deadline for homeless service facing closure

Hope ‘N Wellness must now comply with city zoning laws by April 30. The organization is “grateful,” its owner said, but still hopes for a permanent solution.

New Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce CEO CEO Wendy Poischbeg speaks at a kick off event on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Everett Rising’: Wednesday’s chamber luncheon to showcase a new era of growth.

The Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce is beginning its efforts… Continue reading

The Edmonds School District building on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds School District faces estimated $8.5 million deficit

The shortfall is lower than previous years, but the effects are “cumulative,” Superintendent Rebecca Miner said.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Hundreds rally against Trump on Presidents Day in Everett

People lined Broadway with signs and flags, similar to other protests across the country.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.