ZAGREB/THE HAGUE, Feb 10 (Hina) - Former Swedish Prime Minister Carld Bildt, who in mid-1990s was a peace envoy of the European Union and the United Nations, may testify at the trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic at
the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague next week.
ZAGREB/THE HAGUE, Feb 10 (Hina) - Former Swedish Prime Minister Carld
Bildt, who in mid-1990s was a peace envoy of the European Union and
the United Nations, may testify at the trial of former Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic at the UN war crimes tribunal in The
Hague next week.#L#
The prosecution has requested the trial chamber to adjust its schedule
so that Bildt could testify next week as the prosecution must
complete the presentation of evidence by February 19.
Bildt's testimony could deepen the context of other testimonies, the
prosecution said.
Bildt will testify only about his meetings with Milosevic which took
place between 7 and 15 July 1995, at the time of Bosnian Serb army
attacks on Srebrenica and the massacre of more than 7,000 local
Bosniaks.
Bildt's mission in the Balkans started in spring 1995, when he
replaced lord David Owen as a special envoy of the EU for the former
Yugoslavia and co-chairman of the International Conference on the
Former Yugoslavia.
Bildt co-chaired the peace talks in Dayton and until summer 1997 was
the international community's High Representative in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Between May 1999 and July 2001 he was a special
representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Balkans.
After a testimony by Diego Arria on Tuesday, the prosecution called
B-1804, a partially protected witness who previously gave a statement
about decisions on strategic aims of Bosnian Serbs. The statement
referred to the situation in Zvornik, Srebrenica, Kula Grad, the
ethnic cleansing of Zvornik, and the assistance the Bosnian Serb army
received from the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), which did not directly
participate in combat activities.
The witness is a Bosnian Serb, member of the JNA, who was transferred
to Bosnia after the JNA withdrew from Slovenia and Croatia.
His gave his testimony in closed session.
The Milosevic trial resumes on Wednesday.
(Hina) rml