Milosevic Refuses Plea on Bosnia Genocide Charges

Reuters ^ | Tuesday December 11, 2001

[dell Arpa]

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) Tuesday declined to plead to charges at the U.N. war crimes tribunal of genocide against Bosnian Muslims and Croats during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

The court's presiding judge Richard May entered a "not guilty" plea on behalf of Milosevic to 29 counts of genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes by Serb forces in Bosnia.

"I would like to say to you that what we have just heard, this tragic text, is a supreme absurdity. I should be given credit for peace in Bosnia not war," Milosevic said when asked to enter a plea by judge May.

Milosevic, handed over to the tribunal in June by the Belgrade reformers who defeated him in elections last year, declined earlier this year to plead to charges of crimes against humanity in Croatia in 1991-92 and in Kosovo in 1999.

The court also entered "not guilty" pleas on his behalf to the two earlier indictments.

Milosevic remained impassive as the Bosnia indictment, chronicling some of the darkest episodes of ethnic cleansing during the war, was read out in court.

"Mr. Milosevic at this time you are simply required to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. You have failed to do so. Accordingly the trial chamber will enter pleas of not guilty to all the counts of this indictment," judge May said.

The court was adjourned for 30 minutes before resuming to hear pre-trial motions.

[Voronin]

Let's see, M is charged with Genocide at the same time that Kofi Annan (US appointed head of the UN) recieves the Nobel Prize for Peace. Wasn't Mr. Annan the UN Deputy who had direct responsibilty for peacekeeping in Bosnia? Oh what heavy irony....

VRN

[vooch]

One should read the ICTY indictment in full to realize the patent silliness of the Clintonista Humanitaria Warriors agit-prop.

The indictment describes Milosevic as being involved in the most elaborate, complex, and sohpisticated conspiricy ever created. The indictment is so far fetched that it is actually entertaining in a John LaCarre sort of way.

[bluester]

Why Milosevic is innocent of course. And they should let him have even more political speaches at court, he's just so brilliant when he speakes. I love this man! And listening to his own defence and explanations, my heart starts bleeding. Poor man, so innocent. He just wanted the best for all people, and yes, he was helping Muslims! Such loving and caring person as he is.

Vooch, why don't we write to anti-war and sign the petition to free him. We'll be in great company, I can assure you.

War crimes? Genocide? Ethnic cleansing? Please!

Milosevic is Gandhi at his best!

[Hoplite]

What's so sad is he suckered so many people in going along for the ride - get off the bandwagon vooch, the horse is dead, the wheels gone, and the driver is in jail.

[vooch]

have you read the indictment ?

it is a conspiricy tale unparalleled in its complexity.......only committed Humanitrian Warriors could accept it.

[vooch]

What's so sad is he suckered so many people in going along for the ride

Clinton was a master of agit-prop I certainly agree. Indeed it is surprising to see a few Humanitarian Warriors still doggedly defending the Bosnian and KLA Mujhadeen even after 9/11 and all the other overwheliming evidence showing they were simply "suckered" by the Clintonistas.

[bluester]

Actually Vooch, Hoplite does have a point. I don't know if you'r aware of it, but with almost every post you'r giving people like Milosevic, Karadzic, or Mladic legitimation, you'r being their advocate and PR at once. I listened today what Milosevic said in his political tractate before the court, and you and a couple of others are saying the EXACT same things as he is, presenting the same justifications, explanations and excuses.

That it's a conspiracy, that he did nothing bad, that he only defended Serbia, that all those massacres, crimes, concentration camps, paramilitary forces, bombings and levelings of entire cities never happened, and that it's all the west to be blamed, bla bla bla bla....

That is complete and utter bullshit. Don't insult our intelligence Vooch. Many things are very clear, what was happening, what people were involved and what they did. They even taped their bloody escapades on camera, to show their "heroic" acts on TV. Don't tell me it was a conspiracy, and that the west was responsible for those crimes, when others comitted them. I know it, others know it, witnesses know it, even Serbs themselves know a lot about it, and can deal with it. Probably far better then some people here on FR, that are living outside Serbia, but are as always the biggest smartasses. I hope I was direct and clear enough.

[ohioman]

Why don't go and crawl back into your hole you disgusting piece of ---------!

[Hoplite]

Voochius non-sequitirius.

[Fixit]

Milosevic, animal though he may be, does not deserve to be put in front of this kangaroo court.

[vooch]

glad to see at least ONE person has spent the time to actually read the ICTY indictment and realize how simply far fetched it is.

[Incorrigible]

Milosevic is no hero and I'm sure he did many unsavory things.  However, there are lots of bad people running countries around the world.  Many doing worse that Milosevic.  Why was he singled out for special treatment from the US military?  He was hailed at the Dayton Accords as a peacemaker.

Sorry guys.  This ICTY court is a joke.  Clinton and Blair committed more serious war crimes by far than Milosevic.

[bluester]

Clinton and Blair committed more serious war crimes by far than Milosevic.

In that statement lies the whole problem.

[bluester]

Let me see. I acknowledge the responsibility of Naser Oric and other Bosnian Muslims paramilitary units for war crimes against Serbs, for war crimes comitted against Serbs in Croatia during Oluja and the ethnic cleansing of more then 250.000 Serbs in Croatia (Tudjman, Croat generals Gotovina, Ademi, Norac), KLA crimes in Kosovo (Thaci and other KLA leaders). I acknowledge that, I don't deny it, I don't justify it, I don't blame the west, NATO or whoever else for it, but those actually responsible. I have made this clear already on several occasions, you just weren't around on FR yet, so no need to make conclusions that are wrong. I have absolutely nothing against Serbs, I have many friends among them. Just as I have absolutely no problems with Muslims or Croats.

Which I couldn't say the same for a lot of people here. It's not me that hates people because of their religion (Islam) and calls them all terrorists and mujahadeens. And I am the one unbiased here.

Look who's talking.

[bluester]

That should have read: And I am the one biased here of course.

[Leonora]

Vooch, you are doing great job in disposing the silliness of the very notion of "humanitarian war" and "warriors", however, I don't think they will ever get it.

The point is that ICTY has NO legal ground, and that's a dangerous precedent by which few elite nation can harass other nations, just for not towing the prescribed line of the elite's NWO. (War crimes, whether real or imagined, have nothing to do with ICTY).

[vooch]

Letting one mass murderer on his merry way while indicting another, simply because of their different ethnicities (which is certainly the case here) is no justice at all.

I believe that Gam. was thinking of Clinton in his comment. Blue, your answer blaming other Balkanites but ignoring Clinton's War of Aggression falls into the divide and rule trap of the Humanitarian Warriors who only seek to have the balkanites so occupied with bickering with each other that they can get off scott free.