Six Milosevic aides go on trial for Kosovo war crimes
The death of Slobodan Milosevic abruptly and inconclusively ended his trial for war crimes in Kosovo, but he remained a predominant figure in the trial of six Serb politicians and generals that opened in The Netherlands today.
The six, headed by former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, 63, are charged with orchestrating the deportation of 800,000 ethnic Albanians in a 1998-99 crackdown that prompted a Nato bombing campaign to end the Serb campaign.
They have pleaded not guilty to five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes at the UN Yugoslav tribunal.
Prosecutor Thomas Hannis said the six were part of Milosevic-led “joint criminal enterprise” that aimed “to manipulate or modify the ethnic balance of Kosovo to maintain Serb control”.
In the first half of 1999, convoys of tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians were herded to the border on foot and in tractor-drawn wagons, Hannis said – an exodus that was documented by international television.
Kosovo had a unique place in Serb history and religion, Hannis said, and the prosecution would show “the special importance it held for Slobodan Milosevic”, who rode a tide of Serb nationalism to become president of the former Yugoslavia.
The indictment of the six says Serb troops systematically shelled towns and villages, burned homes and farms, damaged and destroyed mosques, murdered civilians and sexually assaulted women.
In the village of Bela Crkva, the indictment says, Serb forces “ordered the men and older boys to strip, and then systematically robbed them of their valuables”. The captives were forced to stand in a stream bed, then were gunned down. Some 65 people were left dead, said the indictment, in just one of dozens of incidents cited.
In addition to Milutinovic, also on trial are Nikola Sainovic, 57, the former prime minister of Serbia; Dragoljub Ojdanic, 65, former army chief of staff; generals Nebojsa Pavkovic, 60, and Vladimir Lazarevic, 57; and Sreten Lukic, 51, former head of the internal affairs ministry for Kosovo.
Milosevic was charged with the others in 1999, but his trial was held separately after Belgrade extradited him to the UN tribunal in 2001.
Milosevic died of a heart attack in his prison cell in March, just months before his four-year trial was due to end. He was also charged for alleged war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia, including genocide.
In his defence, Milosevic said Serb troops were fighting a legitimate defensive war against the Kosovo Liberation Army, the KLA, which he said was conducting a campaign of terrorism against Kosovo’s Serb minority.
He denied Serb troops forcibly transferred ethnic Albanians, arguing that the Albanians were fleeing the Nato bombing or KLA actions.
Prosecutors may draw on much of the testimony and documents heard during Milosevic’s lengthy trial.
The six are accused of having planned and ordered the atrocities committed by the Serb troops, or for failing to punish the perpetrators, but they may try to shift the blame onto Milosevic. Milutinovic, though technically Milosevic’s successor as Serb president, has said in the past he had no real power.
Another former Serb general, Vlastimir Djordjevic, also was initially indicted. He is one of six fugitives sought by the tribunal, and is believed to be hiding in Russia.
The trial comes as negotiations were continuing on Kosovo’s final status. Kosovar Albanians are pressing for independence, a move fiercely opposed by the Serbs who live in vulnerable compounds scattered across the province.
