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AFP (with additional material by Reuters, AP and BBC). 2 October 2002. Milosevic and Croatian president clash in war crimes court. THE HAGUE -- Slobodan Milosevic turned the tables on Croatia's president in court on Wednesday, answering his testimony by accusing Stjepan Mesic of himself ordering villages torched and Serbs driven from their homes. Milosevic rejected Mesic's allegations that he caused the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. And he accused Mesic of organising killing sprees against Serbs. A discussion over who was responsible for the break-up of the former Yugoslavia became heated and both men raised their voices, both agreeing that the perpetrators of crimes committed in the republics should be brought to justice. "Perpetrators of war crimes should be prosecuted," Milosevic said at one point. "They should certainly be tried and brought to justice." "I'm not the person on trial," Mesic shouted triumphantly. "That's the point!" Milosevic snapped back. Mesic referred to Milosevic as "the accused" while Milosevic referred to himself as in the third person as "Milosevic," as in the accusation: "It was you and not Milosevic who caused the rift in the presidency." "I see you have a real hang-up about Milosevic. You mentioned me in every other sentence yesterday," said Milosevic. "You betrayed Yugoslavia and contributed to its break-up," railed the former Serbian president. "Is it true that deportations of the Serb population -- or humane resettlement as you put it -- was put forward in Zagreb?" Hundreds of thousands of Serbs were forced to flee Croatia after their breakaway "Serb Republic of Krajina" was overrun by Croatian troops in 1995. "According to your instructions Serb villages were destroyed," Milosevic said. Mesic later testified that he had been powerless to stop Milosevic -- then president of Serbia -- as Milosevic took control of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army in 1991. He said Milosevic then methodically set about purging non-Serbs from Serb-dominated areas within Bosnia and Croatia in 1991-1995. "The army did what Milosevic's regime asked of it, which was to create a 'Greater Serbia'," Mesic said. But Milosevic rejected Mesic's description of events. "If I had had control of the Yugoslav army, Yugoslavia would not have fallen apart, but sadly that was not the case," he said. Milosevic said that Mesic was the one who wanted to break Yugoslavia apart, and pointed out that Mesic had even written a book titled "How We Toppled Yugoslavia." Later, Milosevic brandished a piece of paper, saying: "I have a present for Mr Mesic, it is a map of Croatia showing camps for Serbs between 1991 and 1996, 221 to be exact. When he goes back to Croatia he might like to check it out and then give an answer to the question." Milosevic read out a series of quotations to illustrate the hostility of Croats to the Serb minority in the republic and claimed that thousands were sacked from public service jobs, creating a climate of fear. Milosevic quizzed Mesic about his time in prison and asked whether he had subsequently ordered the murder of state security officers. He then launched into a series of questions concerning specific killings. Milosevic protested loudly when the court threatened to go into private session, as he did not want to waste precious time and he showed great indignation when he felt Mesic was taking too long answering a particular question. "He's taking up my time," he shouted. "He spoke about this yesterday." The pair traded accusations and broadsides throughout the session and will have an extra hour to do so on Thursday as Judge Richard May ordered the cross-examination be extended due to the frequent interruptions. Mesic is the first of a series of high-profile witnesses scheduled to appear in the new, crucial phase of the trial. He is also the first head of state to testify. Paradoxically, his appearance comes at a time when the Croatian Government is at loggerheads with the UN tribunal. It is refusing to hand over a senior Croatian general who has been indicted for war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded soldiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ProletarianNews http://www.utopia2000.org --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
