Milosevic wanted to shoot Albanians says general
Nato's former top soldier says Slobodan Milosevic suggested shooting ethnic Albanians to resolve the Kosovo problem.
German General Klaus Naumann, a leading witness in the Milosevic war crimes trial in The Hague, described three meetings he had with the former Yugoslav president in 1998 and 1999.
During talks at the presidential White Palace in Belgrade in October 1998, Naumann said the atmosphere was relaxed after a drink of traditional Serb plum brandy and they discussed the ethnic balance in the disputed province.
"In that context, he had stated ... that one of the preconditions for a solution in the Kosovo area is to achieve a balance between the two ethnic groups," Gen Naumann said.
He said he asked Milosevic, "What do you mean with a solution?" and Milosevic answered: "We do the same (as) what we did in Drenica in 1945-46 ... We got them together and we shot them."
Drenica, an Albanian stronghold during the Second World War, was overrun and several Albanians were executed.
Milosevic has been charged with five counts of war crimes for the crackdown by government forces in Kosovo in the spring of 1999 when thousands of Kosovo Albanians were killed and about 800,000 fled their homes to neighbouring countries.
Gen Naumann, like other witnesses, described Milosevic as the undisputed leader of the Yugoslav army and police forces who had committed atrocities.
"He was the man who was really in control of the situation. He gave the directions. It was him who took the decisions," he said.
