AFP - A United Nations court refused to free Slobodan Milosevic to allow him to prepare his defence against charges of war crimes during the bloody break-up of the Balkans in the 1990s, which the former Yugoslav president said would take two years.
Milosevic, who is organising his own defence in the trial, asked to be freed to enable him to have direct, unfettered access to potential witnesses and documents to defend himself on more than 60 counts of war crimes.
"The most modest amount of time that is necessary to prepare my defence is two years," Milosevic told the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, where his trial has been running since February 2002.
But the president of the court, Richard May, denied his request, saying there was no reason to change an earlier ruling against his release.
May also rejected Milosevic's request for two years' preparation time, saying there was "no question" of suspending the trial for that length of time.
The court will decide at a later stage how long Milosevic should have to prepare his defence.
The 62-year-old Milosevic faces charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in the three wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s - Croatia (1991-95), Bosnia (1992-95), and Kosovo (1998-99).
The charge of genocide relates to the conflict in Bosnia, which left more than 200,000 dead.
Milosevic's court appearance today was to allow him to outline the defence strategy he intends to follow after the prosecution has finished putting its case.
Looking pale and drawn, Milosevic immediately launched into one of his by now customary tirades against the court and its proceedings.
"I do not recognise this court. This trial is not a trial," he said, before he was cut short by the tribunal president.
The case has lasted longer than any other in the history of the tribunal, and has been plagued with awkward interruptions, with Milosevic falling ill with flu or high blood pressure problems nine times so far.
The prosecution is due to take until the end of the year to finish setting out its case, in which 230 witnesses have been brought forward so far, at which point Milosevic will put his defence to the court.
That process is expected to last well into 2005.
At the start of his trial nearly two years ago, one of Milosevic's advisers suggested that more than 1,000 people were ready to testify on his behalf.
Milosevic has vowed to summon high-profile witnesses including French President Jacques Chirac and former United States president Bill Clinton.
If any of his chosen witnesses refuses to testify, May has the final say on whether to order them to appear.
Even though experts feel the prosecution case is going well, the public has had difficulty following the marathon trial, which has been touted as a historical precedent for international justice.
Many witnesses give evidence on detailed points or speak in sessions closed to the public, while cross-examinations by Milosevic are long and mostly focus on political developments seemingly far removed from the charges.
Last week, as Milosevic's trial resumed after a three-week break, the court heard testimony from a soldier who took part in the 1995 massacre of thousands of Muslims at Srebrenica, Europe's worst single atrocity since World War II.
More than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were summarily executed after Bosnian Serb forces took the UN declared safe area of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995.
The former president vehemently denies any connection with the bloodbath.
©AAP 2003
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