THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - U.S. General Wesley Clark began his testimony in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic before the Hague war crimes tribunal behind closed doors on Monday.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - U.S. General Wesley Clark began
his testimony in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic before the Hague war crimes tribunal behind closed doors
on Monday. #L#
Clark, a U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, commanded NATO's
11-week bombing of Yugoslavia which stopped Yugoslav operations in
Kosovo in April 1999, while in 1995 he took part in peace
negotiations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Clark's two-day testimony is taking place behind closed doors, at
the request of the U.S. administration. The footage and transcript
of the testimony will be released on Friday to give U.S. authorities
time to review it and delete everything they feel encroaches on U.S.
national interests.
The scope of the examination and the cross-examination was arranged
in advance.
Clark is expected to speak about numerous meetings he had with
Milosevic first as an associate of Richard Holbrooke, the American
mediator during the war in Bosnia in 1994-5, and then as NATO's
commander in Europe during the autumn of 1998.
Clark has described his meetings with the defendant in his memoirs,
segments of which the prosecution will enter as evidence.
Clark said last month he had agreed to testify against Milosevic,
accused of genocide in Bosnia and crimes against humanity in
Croatia and Kosovo, because of the historic importance of the
trial, which he added was the first against a head of state for war
crimes.
In an interview with NBC, Clark said he had spent hours and hours
negotiating with Milosevic. Those conversations will reveal what
Milosevic knew, when he learned of something, what his intentions
were, how he looked upon the situation and how he operated, he
said.
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