Posted on 11/30/2004 7:43:10 AM PST by Jane_N
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic was a peacemaker who did not want to fight for a "Greater Serbia," while an anti-Serb West stoked the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia, Russia's Yevgeny Primakov said Tuesday.
Primakov, former Russian foreign minister and prime minister, was testifying in defense of the former Yugoslav president, who is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s.
Primakov said the Western media had portrayed Serbs as "aggressors" and after Bill Clinton was elected U.S. president in 1992, Washington became increasingly anti-Serb.
"It became ever more apparent that their course was to weaken Serbia, to not allow it to gain strength and possibly even to complete the process of Yugoslavia's complete disintegration," he told the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.
Primakov, prime minister in 1998-99, blamed the West, in particular Germany, for fueling violence in Kosovo in the late 1990s by supporting the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) despite earlier labeling them terrorists.
"The initiators and provocateurs of so many events in Kosovo was the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army," he said, adding that a mass exodus of refugees from the region started only after NATO launched airstrikes in March 1999.
In an allusion to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Primakov said Kosovo had set a precedent for military action without a U.N. mandate.
"This undermines undoubtedly the international order," he said.
NO "GREATER SERBIA" PLAN
Primakov said the West was wrong to assume that Milosevic wanted to create a "Greater Serbia" or to unify all Serbs in a state as the multi-ethnic Yugoslav federation crumbled.
During his first meeting with the former Serb strongman in 1993, Primakov said he specifically asked Milosevic whether he had plans for a "Greater Serbia."
"He said this could only be achieved in theory and at the price of great bloodshed and 'I'm not prepared to do that,"' Primakov said of Milosevic's reply. "He had no plans and conducted no actions to achieve a Greater Serbia."
Primakov noted that Milosevic accepted the 1993 Vance-Owen peace plan for Bosnia and imposed an economic blockade after the Bosnian Serb parliament rejected the plan.
"You wanted a peaceful solution," he said to Milosevic.
The 1992-5 Bosnian war ended after U.S.-sponsored talks in Dayton, Ohio. Primakov said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had told him Dayton would not have worked without Milosevic's support.
Primakov said Milosevic also tried to stop violence in Kosovo and told the Russian prime minister on a visit to Belgrade on the eve of the NATO bombing he was prepared to pull his forces out of Kosovo if NATO withdrew from the border with Macedonia.
"We never had the chance to tell what we had achieved," Primakov said. "Barely had our plane taken off then the bombing of the airport started."
The former Yugoslav president won back the right to lead his own defense earlier this month after the court appointed two lawyers in September to defend him to stop his ill health causing more delays to an already marathon trial.
Milosevic has accused the tribunal of bias against him and the Serb people, saying it is designed to cover up NATO war crimes in Kosovo. He has refused to enter a plea to the charges and pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf.
Milosevic, a Belgrade law school graduate, wants to call more than 1,000 witnesses in his defense including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Albright and Clinton.
"World" Court made a huge mistake by arresting Slobo... he will dish out all of their dirty laundry and he'll embarrass a lot of these politicians. But hey, they got what they wanted.
Unfortunately, the ICTY (which is not the "World Court", btw) does not have the death penalty which Milosevic profoundly deserves.
Why do you keep supporting Bosnian and Kosovo Jihadists ?
As for your jihadist business, 32 of the 66 counts in Slobo's indictment are for war crimes against Croats. They're Christians. And Milosevic was an atheist whose only connection with the Serb Orthodox church was to leverage it early in his career to help gain power. Patriarch Pavle himself said that Milosevic is not Christian. And the Croatian Cathholic Church lists hundreds of Catholic sites deliberately destroyed by Serbs--here's some examples.
So give it up already on the propaganda about Slobo and the Serbs defending Christian Europe against jihadists. He's a thug and war criminal, the Croats aren't jihadists and neither were the vast majority of the Bosniaks and Albanians.
And many of them got their first experience in Bosnia and Kosovo.
You sound like one of those bleeding heart New Yorkers who are all bent outta shape that GWB is taking charge.
It has already been established beyond a shadow of a doubt that the KLA engaged in a systematic murder campaign against their fellow Albanians. Kfor has sent virtually the entire KLA leadership cadre to prison for murdering Albanians.
A similar case can be made regarding your Bosnian buddies - those are the very same guys who gave Osma a Bosnian passport.
Statement by the President
I welcome today's arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, the former President of Yugoslavia. His arrest represents an important step in bringing to a close the tragic era of his brutal dictatorship.
Milosevic was responsible for great suffering throughout the Balkan region. He deserves to be tried for his crimes against the Serbian people. He also deserves to be tried for violations of international law. We cannot and must not forget the chilling images of terrified women and children herded onto trains, emaciated prisoners interned behind barbed wire, and mass graves unearthed by UN investigators.
Milosevic's arrest should be a first step toward trying him for the crimes against humanity with which he is charged. I am confident that Yugoslavia will continue down the path of cooperation with the UN War Crimes Tribunal. I am encouraged by the actions that Belgrade has already taken to work with the Tribunal, including its assistance over the last several weeks in transferring two indictees to the Hague. I call on President Kostunica to continue this cooperation and to see that Milosevic is likewise brought to justice.
And here's what President Bush said when Milosevic was sent to the the Hague:
Statement by the President
I applaud today’s transfer of indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. This very important step by the leaders in Belgrade ensures that Milosevic can finally be tried for his war crimes and crimes against humanity.
During various visits by Yugoslav authorities to Washington, they pledged that Yugoslavia was committed to cooperating with the Tribunal. Milosevic’s transfer is a strong sign of that commitment. We are confident that the government of Yugoslavia will continue down the path of cooperation with the Tribunal.
The transfer of Milosevic to the Hague is an unequivocal message to those persons who brought such tragedy and brutality to the Balkans that they will be held accountable for their crimes. Milosevic’s transfer further signals the commitment of the new leadership in Belgrade to turn Yugoslavia away from its tragic past and toward a brighter future as a full member of the community of European democracies.
Unlike Clinton, GWB realizes that the KLA was a bunch of mad dog killers - once GWB came to office - Kfor started rounding up KLA Jihadi's left and right.
Clinton's buddies - GWB's enemies
President Bush's actual words seem to be at variance with what you wish he'd said. Below are extracts from post 7 above where you can find the links to their source on the White House web-site:
"Milosevic's arrest should be a first step toward trying him for the crimes against humanity with which he is charged. I am confident that Yugoslavia will continue down the path of cooperation with the UN War Crimes Tribunal."
"I applaud today’s transfer of indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague"
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