MILOSEVIC TRIAL TO BEGIN ON FEBRUARY 12 NEXT YEAR

THE HAGUE, Oct 30 (Hina) - Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic should stand trial before the Hague-based war crimes tribunal for crimes committed in Kosovo roughly on February 12 next year, the chairman of the Trial Chamber in the Milosevic case, judge Richard May, said at a status conference in The Hague on Tuesday, and the prosecution announced that it would be ready for a trial for war crimes in Croatia in several months. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte announced at the conference, which deals with the status of court cases and preparations for trials, that an indictment against Milosevic for crimes in Bosnia- Herzegovina would be issued next week. She said the prosecution would request that all three indictments against the former Yugoslav president, for crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia, be joined into one. Del Ponte informed the Trial Chamber the prosecution had around 3,000 pages of documents supporting the indictment for crimes committed in Croatia, of which 90 documents were crucial, and that she was ready to call 255 witnesses, of whom 55 would testify about Milosevic's being directly linked to the crimes. Del Ponte believes the prosecutors would need around 170 working days for the presentation of evidence and testimonies. The prosecution is ready to start the trial in the Kosovo indictment immediately, Del Ponte said, adding preparations for the trial for crimes in Croatia would take four to five months. Twenty protected witnesses would testify for the prosecution in the Croatia case, she said. Speaking about the Kosovo indictment, del Ponte said the prosecution had 228 witnesses and needed around 170 days to present the case. Commenting on judge Patrick Robinson's remark that a joint trial or three separate ones could last as long as three years, del Ponte said joining these trials into a single one would enable some witnesses to testify in all three cases, which would make the trial shorter. I suggest that you pass a verdict right now and avoid your procedural problems, said the Yugoslav president, speaking for the first time without being interrupted by judge May. This has been a farce, Milosevic said. The former Yugoslav leader also commented on Monday's marathon reading of the Kosovo and Croatia indictments. "Do not bore me by making me listen for hours to a text which looks as though written by... a retarded seven-year-old." Milosevic urged the trial chamber to "disqualify the prosecutor" for presenting shameless untruths on behalf of the aggressor, and negating the fact that Serbia was the victim of "NATO's criminal aggression." "According to the indictment, Yugoslavia committed an act of aggression against itself," Milosevic said, adding this then meant Yugoslavia had thrown 22,000 tonnes of bombs at its citizens. Del Ponte, who was in the court room all the time, laughed at Milosevic's request that she be excluded from the case. She informed the trial chamber that she did not plan on changing the Kosovo or Croatia indictments any more. After he started levelling accusations at the tribunal and prosecution at Monday's hearing at which he was to enter his plea to the Croatia indictment and the amended Kosovo indictment, the Hague tribunal decided to note that Milosevic pleaded not guilty. During today's status conference, Milosevic told the trial chamber his trial for war crimes would encourage Albanian terrorists in southern Serbia to commit new crimes. "This has given wings to Albanian terrorists," Milosevic said, enumerating crimes he claimed Albanians were responsible for. Milosevic said that two years after the terrorist attacks on US targets in Nairobi, the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden visited Albania, and Milosevic discussed that with the former US administration. He also demanded that 24-hour camera surveillance of his prison cell be discontinued, adding the tribunal did not have to be afraid he would commit suicide as he would never do such a thing to his family and children and because he had to fight against the tribunal. (hina) rml