Posted on 12/15/2003 1:08:54 PM PST by FloridaGeezer
Paris - Washington has agreed that Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the former NATO commander and a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, can testify in the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic. But the Bush administration has demanded the right to edit videotapes and transcripts of the sessions before they are made public.
The former opponents, the general and the formal president of Yugoslavia, will face each other in court Monday and Tuesday, but the sessions will be behind closed doors, with the public gallery off limits and minus the usual television and internet broadcasts.
Closed sessions are routine at the U.N. tribunal that deals with Balkin war crimes, but they are usually closed to protect witnesses who fear for their safety. The conditions for Clark's appearance are new.
The court has agreed to give the U.S. government 48 hours to review the testimony and to ask for suppression of any portions it regards as sensitive; the judges must approve such requests. Two U.S. government lawyers will accompany Clark.
"The review is to ensure there was no inadvertent disclosure of sensitive, clasified information." Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues,said in a telephone interview from Washington. During the Balkan wars, he said, Clark "obviously had seen a substantial amount of intelligence." But, he said, "we feel fairly confident that the bulk of the testimony and videotapes can be released."
The plan is to release the tapes Friday, said Jim Landale, a tribunal spokesman.
Clark spent hours with Milosevic in 1994 and 1995, when he was special advisor to Richard Holblooke, who was trying to end the Bosnia war. The general also spent lengthy sessions negotiating with Milosevic before NATO began bombing Serbia and its Kosovo province in March 1996.
Milosevic, whose trial began in February 2002, is facing 66 charges including genocide, stemming from his role in those wars, which left more than 200,000 dead.
"BOMB THE RUSSIANS!! BOMB THE EVIL SERBS AND SAVE THE POOR MUSLIMS!! OUTLAW MILITARY BARRACKS!! COED DORMS FOR ALL LONELY SOLDIERS!! Someone in the Bush White House called me at my home on CNN and told me to say that...."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.