Milosevic Says Kosovo Massacre Staged by Rebels

Reuters ^ | 4/15/02 | Eric Onstad

[joan]

— By THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic at his trial on Monday accused separatist Kosovo Albanian guerrillas of fabricating an alleged atrocity by Serb forces in 1999 in a bid to spur a shocked West into attacking Yugoslavia.

The killing of about 45 ethnic Albanians in Racak in January 1999 shocked the outside world and was widely credited with stiffening NATO's resolve to launch its 11-week campaign of air strikes against Yugoslavia two months later.

The former Serb strongman, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, could face life behind bars if convicted at the end of Europe's biggest international war crimes trial since World War Two.

The Hague tribunal heard last week from a Western observer that dozens of unarmed men dressed in slippers and rubber boots were found shot in the head at Racak in 1999 after Serb forces entered the village. Milosevic disputed the testimony.

Milosevic told the war crimes court that ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas shifted corpses around Racak to an open mass grave as part of a ruse to convince Western observers that Serb forces had butchered villagers. He said Serb forces had only killed KLA guerrillas in gun battles.

"It may be, as Serb authorities claim, and many Europeans tended to believe, that the victims were in fact killed in the shoot-out reported by police and then aligned to give the appearance of a massacre," Milosevic said quoting from an Italian press report.

IN COLD BLOOD

The 60-year-old accused, who is conducting his own defense at the United Nations court against charges he has rejected as "false," vigorously challenged testimony that Racak's villagers had been gunned down.

Retired British general Karel Drewienkiewicz, who served in Kosovo with a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said he was convinced a massacre had taken place and had not been staged by the KLA.

"I know what I saw on the hillside and it was not manipulation...it was men who had been gunned down in cold blood," said Drewienkiewicz.

Drewienkiewicz acknowledged, however, that a fierce battle had taken place between KLA guerrillas and Serb forces at Racak and that there had been a "lapse" of some 15 hours overnight before Western observers viewed the scene.

Last week Drewienkiewicz told the court he saw men shot in the head at Racak. They had been dressed in carpet slippers and rubber boots.

Since his trial opened in February Milosevic has accuses the West and Islamic militant group al-Qaeda of supporting a "terrorist" campaign by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army to destabilize the Balkans.

He declined to enter pleas to the charges against him. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf. The trial is expected to last at least two years.

[Wraith]

A group of approximately 25 men attempted to hide in a building, but were discovered by the forces of the FRY and Serbia. They were beaten and then were removed to a nearby hill, where they were shot and killed.

Don't you find something very strange here? Where are all the women and children if Racak had been pounced on by the Serbian VJ and MUP? Why were the 25 men ALL attempted to hide together like sheep rather than take their AK-47's and flee for life in the hills where the UCK were sniping at the Serb forces? Think about it don't you think that the male villagers would have evacuated with their families unless they decided or where force to stay behind and defend their village with the UCK??? The latter I believe is the answer and the end result is the UCK taking the bodies of the Racak villagers and placing them in the ditch, well in the open where any Serbian soldier would not dare venture. The reason I know this is because I have been to Racak and know for a fact that this ditch is at the halfway point between the tree line above where the UCK snipers were shooting at the Serbs forces and the village itself. The UCK have tried this scenario before but did not succeed until Racak.

The biggest thing that I can add that convinces me that the UCK took the time during the night of January 15, 1999 to stage the massacre is because they the UCK prevented one of two OSCE KVM patrols from going to Racak. Why would the UCK do this if inocent Kosovar Albanians where being butchered by the Serb forces who by the way had news media with them. Makes no sence.

[Hoplite]

Wraith - the men were seperated from their family members, who were left in the village.

That information has been available for over a year.

C'mon - you're not sleuthing anymore, you're buying into the Slobo revisionism and embellishing it with your own proprietary tidbits.

The Serbs shot those men, not the KLA.
The men were shot in place, per the subsequent investigations.

You can raise all the questions you want about the prosecution's version of events, but cannot come up with a reasonable subsitute version of events which conforms to information now available regarding Racak.

Neither can Milosevic, and he's going to spend the rest of his life behind bars in part because of it.

[duckln]

The rest is just the usual smokescreen of BS

You've got that part right. Go to the video archives (15th) listen what this witness's 'testimony' is, or as Milosevic points, is answers and opinions 'read' from prepared 'text'. Milosevic again 'creams' the witness (a standin for Walker).

From the 'testimony', Walker is in deep doo doo, if justice is served. I remember anxiously waiting for the 'Finnish' report, commissioned by Germany, then unbelievably classified as secret. This IMO is a covert operation that won't wash, truth be known. The 'media' was and is up to their necks in this fraud.

[duckln]

The Serbs shot those men, not the KLA. The men were shot in place, per the subsequent investigations.

Only partly right, the Serb Army shot the rebels (men) but from a distance per all the subsequent investigations! The 'witnesses' (15th April) opinion was, contrary to all evidence, that they were masquered in place. And he had to 'read' that from 'cue' cards he brought with him.

What a farce. Milosevic is now at 21, NATO nada.

[Gael]

Wraith - the men were seperated from their family members, who were left in the village. Funny how those revisionist journalists accompanying the Serb forces found a village empty of all inhabitants except a couple of old men. Must have been an invisible roundup.

[Kate22]

Could be right - the 'output and knowledge base' is weak enough to be a Nato jobbie a la Paddy 'Pantsdown'. It's interesting that all Mr P had to offer were the tales of being a postman for Blaair, and 2 x hilltop observations with (as you say) Albanian 'guides'.
But he was pushing the publication of his new book, and 'where needs must'...?!

By the way, what has happened to the English language feeds via Domovina at the Hague. Does anyone know? The feed is fine in all other languages. Very strange and suspicious.

[duckln]

English language feeds via Domovina at the Hague.

I gave up on the live feeds. The time difference and buffering interuptions makes it to tedious. I just watched the video archive of the 15th, good contiuous picture and sound.

[Gael]

Here ‘tis.

[Hoplite]

The journalists, in the case of those present on the day of the action, Jan 15th, were a Serb AP TV camera crew.

They arrived hours after the operation started and did not get a free run of the village, being treated to what amounts to a MUP CAPEX.

Or are you referring to some other set of individuals unknown to everyone save yourself? The rest of the media usually mentioned (Chatelot and Girard) visited on the 16th, not the 15th.

At any rate, should the TV crew's input be helpful to Milosevic's case, I'm sure we'll hear from them during the defence portion of the trial - I look forward to the cross examination portion if that's the case.

[Saundra Duffy]

Thank you, Bill Clinton, for your wag-the-dog fiasco.

[Wraith]

So you say.

I maintain that these men were forced to defend their village by the UCK while the normal population was no where near. It is a fact that the UCK dead were removed and only the dead from Racak were left. A fact. You only rely on the falsified OSCE reports and a flawed pathologist who never conducted a proper investigation but refuse to listen to another point of view from a Hum worrier as Vooch puts it.

Hoplite I have not change my position one bit since I started on FR in regards to RACAK. A lot of what I have said is slowly coming to light and I believe you have a problem with acknowledging that I have made some points.

I have a friend, a former OSCE KVM who told me about altered field reports that OSCE were falsifying. I have posted this way before the news media ever printed it. I know the name of the UCK commander whose men stopped one of the two OSCE KVM patrol. As a matter of fact I've sat in this devils office and looked him in the eyes personally for obvious reasons. This individual is still there.

The UCK tried to orchestrate a similar situation in a LDK SUPPORTING village not far from Racak some months prior and it was this same UCK commander who set that one up. You won't find that tidbit in any OSCE report. The villagers were ordered by this UCK commander to remain in this village with a promise that the UCK would defend it. Serbs come, no UCK and a very quick evacuation with some limited fighting. A lot of distrust with this UCK commander by the LDK supporting villagers and trust me word travels much faster than a Serbian tank in Kosovo. Attempts on the lives of Kosovo Albanians from UCK goon squads have taken place because of the the rift between the LDK and UCK at Racak. A very dangerous rift.

So Dear Hoplite I found it curious that the population from this LDK village managed to depart very quickly and those in Racak that could hear the Serbian Armor miles away had a problem doing this. So don't patronize me in regards to what I know and believe and especially don't paint me with the pro Milosivic brush you should know better. I dare you to quote any of my posts that show I support Milosivic. I am not doing this to defend him but to simply add to the TRUTH about a lot of civilians who were forced to become very dead stage props by the UCK to impress the world stage .

I was there my friend and have a better idea of what reality in kosovo is. Buying into the Slobo revisionism indeed!