THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The testimony of former NATO commander Wesley Clark at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, according to which Slobodan Milosevic knew that Bosnian Serbs were planning to commit a massacre in
Srebrenica in 1995, is viewed by the prosecution as exceptionally important for proving the part of the indictment referring to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The testimony of former NATO
commander Wesley Clark at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague,
according to which Slobodan Milosevic knew that Bosnian Serbs were
planning to commit a massacre in Srebrenica in 1995, is viewed by the
prosecution as exceptionally important for proving the part of the
indictment referring to Bosnia-Herzegovina.#L#
"This is exceptionally important for us because it provides us with
direct evidence on Milosevic having known about the mass killings in
the area of Srebrenica," said Florence Hartmann, spokeswoman for the
Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
The ICTY on Thursday made public a 200-page transcript of Clark's
testimony at the trial of the former Yugoslav president, which he gave
at a closed-door hearing on Monday and Tuesday. Before the transcript
was made public, US officials reviewed the document. According to an
unnamed tribunal source which was quoted by news agencies, they
censored one part of the testimony referring to the US government, for
which they were given court approval.
Cross-examining the witness, Milosevic denied having talked to Clark
about Srebrenica, and accused him of a blatant lie.
"General Clark, I have believed strongly to this day that Mladic did
not order the liquidation of people in Srebrenica. That was done by a
group of mercenaries".
An agreement signed by the US government and the ICTY defined the
scope of Clark's questioning, which particularly affected Milosevic as
in the cross-examination he had to limit his questions to what Clark
spoke about, i.e. mostly his meetings with Milosevic.
He was prohibited to ask any questions on NATO's 1999 bombing campaign
in Yugoslavia, which Clark commanded, as well as questions concerning
Clark's book "Waging Modern War", which judges did not admit as
evidence, partly also to avoid cross-examination.
"These are crucial questions and you will not let me pose them. This
is farcical and scandalous... This entire farce is used to cover up
the crime against Yugoslavia," Milosevic told presiding judge Richard
May, who ardently interrupted him whenever he tried to pose a
forbidden question.
A recording of the two-day testimony of General Clark will be shown on
the ICTY's web site on Friday.
(Hina) rml sb