THE
HAGUE, October 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The President of
Croatia, Stipe Mesic, told the UN war crimes tribunal that former
Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic wanted to destroy Yugoslavia and
create a Greater Serbia. And he described the ex-leader as an
emotionless warmonger, driven by his goals.
Mesic
and Milosevic faced each other across a courtroom in The Hague
Tuesday, October 01, 2002, and traded accusations of blame over the
disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.
Mesic
is the first head of state to testify against Milosevic, in the dock
on more than 60 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for
his involvement in the 1990s wars in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia.
The
unprecedented public appearance of the two men attracted a throng of
curious onlookers to the international war crimes tribunal in The
Hague, where Milosevic has been on trial since February.
And
even before his old adversary Mesic entered the court, Milosevic
addressed the judges and announced: "There is a problem with the
next witness due to his personal criminal role in the breakdown of
Yugoslavia," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
But
his protest was dismissed by presiding Judge Richard May.
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Slobodan Milosevic
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The
war between Zagreb and Belgrade-backed Serb rebels, who opposed
Croatia's bid for independence from the former Yugoslavia, claimed
some 20,000 lives.
During
the war a third of Croatian territory was occupied by Serb rebels.
In
a letter to then UN secretary-general Javier Perez de Cuellar in 1991,
Mesic accused the army, entirely loyal to Milosevic, of preventing him
from traveling from Zagreb to Belgrade to attend meetings of the
presidency, by blockading roads and airports with tanks.
The
army was now entirely Serbian and acting autonomously, he said.
Mesic
told the court he believed that as Milosevic was in control of the
army, he effectively carried off a "military putsch" as the
armed forces were protecting only Serbian ends and ignoring all
requests by the President to return to barracks.
He
also said the army was financed by funds Milosevic diverted from the
federal coffers, notably tourist revenue contributed by Croatia.
Milosevic
sat attentively throughout the session, his arms folded or with one
hand in a pocket and the occasional sardonic grin lighting up his
face, while Mesic, who already gave evidence in previous cases,
appeared entirely unintimidated by coming face-to-face with his former
rival.
After
seven months of proceedings over events in the war in the southern
Serbian province of Kosovo, the focus of the trial shifted last week
to Milosevic's involvement in atrocities committed in Croatia and
Bosnia, including a charge of genocide over the 1995 massacre of
Muslims in Srebrenica.
He
could spend the rest of his life behind bars if found guilty.
On
Wednesday, October 2, Milosevic gets the chance to turn the tables as
the day has been set aside for cross-examination - a potentially fiery
confrontation eagerly awaited by followers of the trial
