THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Nov 25 (Hina) - The key witness for the prosecution of the Hague-based U.N. war crimes tribunal in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Monday accused him of having gambled with the interests
of the Croatian Serb people.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, Nov 25 (Hina) - The key witness for the
prosecution of the Hague-based U.N. war crimes tribunal in the
trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Monday
accused him of having gambled with the interests of the Croatian
Serb people. #L#
"You gambled with the destiny of Krajina citizens," the witness
said, accusing Milosevic during the cross-examination of having
had maximal demands with regard to the Serbs' rights in the early
1990s but of eventually "revising" them.
"In '91 I accepted your concept of SAO Krajina and the Serbs having
the right to stay in Yugoslavia," said the witness, whom Milosevic
started cross-examining today.
Protected witness C-061, whose relevance is demonstrated by the
fact that the prosecution announced they would give up questioning
the other 14 witnesses, last week described Milosevic's role in
shaping the policy of Croatian Serbs in the early 1990s, providing
them with arms and financing, and organising their rebellion.
C-061, whom Milosevic ironically addressed with "Mr. Croatia-61"
was a senior official of the so-called Serb Autonomous Region (SAO)
Krajina and the Republic of Serb Krajina.
The first day of the cross-examination was almost entirely closed
for the public.
The prosecution last week introduced through the witness secret
recordings of Milosevic's conversations with the leadership of
Bosnian and Croatian Serbs about the provision of arms to Croatian
and Bosnian Serbs and their seizing territory in the two
countries.
Witness C-061, who is testifying with his face hidden and voice
electronically distorted, was last week closed for public to great
extent in order to protect his identity.
In the last part of the cross-examination today, the witness
confirmed that the forces of SAO Krajina and the Yugoslav People's
Army (JNA), aided by the Serbian State Security Service, in the
autumn of 1991 attacked Croatian villages from Kostajnica to
Ogulin, Knin and Skabrnja, which at the time posed no threat to the
Serbs.
(hina) rml sb