Posted on 05/04/2002 9:00:45 AM PDT by ABrit
Rugova in court clash with Milosevic over war crimes
The former Yugoslav president is defending himself against charges of murdering about 900 ethnic Albanians and expelling about 800,000 from Kosovo in the spring of 1999. He faces a total of 66 charges, including genocide, for atrocities in Bosnia and Croatia in the early 1990s. Milosevic became Serbian president, having founded his nationalistic appeal on a pledge never to allow Kosovo to secede, and revoked its autonomy.
Mr Rugova told the court antagonism grew as Serb authorities in Belgrade sacked thousands of Kosovo Albanians from government jobs "just because of their ethnicity. We wanted equal rights with everybody else in former Yugoslavia," Mr Rugova said." Milosevic heard Mr. Rugova bolster the prosecution charges that serious war crimes had been committed in Kosovo under Mr. Milosevic's leadership. Mr Rugova accused Milosevic of unleashing a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1999 in an attempt bid to snuff out its independence movement. He laid the blame for alleged Serb massacres of ethnic Albanians firmly at Milosevic’s door.
Rugova told the court in soft and measured tones, "Belgrade clearly decided to destroy Kosovo through violence and war." The drive to expel hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians, he said, was "a coldly decided cleansing of the population." "The international community came out in our defence for the human rights of our people and against the massacres being perpetrated by Belgrade and you. That is the truth." It was the only time that the Kosovar leader addressed Milosevic directly. Kosovo's leader, Ibrahim Rugova, was under arrest when he last met Slobodan Milosevic. Today, for the first time, Mr. Rugova said publicly that he had been forced to meet with Mr. Milosevic in Belgrade and even to appear with him on television to denounce the Western bombing campaign. Serbian security forces had picked him up at his home in Pristina, the capital, he said. "I was under house arrest," he added.
He said the meeting had been staged by Milosevic to split ethnic Albanian opposition to Serb rule. "Of course they thought that they could compromise me politically and discredit me in the eyes of Kosovo Albanians," Mr Rugova said. "It was not what I wanted, but [Milosevic] had requested it and if I hadn't gone there would have been consequences. They were not talks, I was a prisoner."
Mr Rugova, said that during their Belgrade meeting he had told Milosevic that Serb forces were forcing ethnic Albanians from their homes. "I expressed my concern and told him that people were being driven out of Kosovo by military and police and other groups and asked him to find out what was the matter and to do something and he was listening," Mr Rugova said. When he spoke of "expulsions, murders, killings," Milosevic "just blamed the international community for all that", he said.
In Kosovo, Mr Rugova’s testimony was watched closely by local politicians who huddled round television sets to hear the live broadcast from the Netherlands. On the streets of Pristina, people said they hoped Mr Rugova would pin Milosevic down with facts about Serb violence in the province.
This entire "war crimes" tribunal is a stage managed kangeroo court intended to legitimize the clinton/NATO terrorist bombing attacks against the Serb peoples and to legitimize islamic expansion in the Balkans. You have to be a moron to believe any of the "orchestrated" muslim testimony being presented. Never thought I'd be in a position defending a communist like Milosevic, but compared to these hate motivated, satanic muslims, he looks like a saint.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but all Rugova did was throw a bunch of accusations at Milosevic. Unless he has some way to prove those accusations, it's his word against Milosevic's word. Up until now, noone has produced any solid facts that support the theory that Milosevic was responsible for any crimes in Kosovo at all, whether it be killing the Albanians or driving them out of the province.
Every 'witness' so far has denied that the KLA killed anyone, refuse to directly answer questions, and obvious to anyone who's watching, lying through their teeth.
Judge May's obvious interference in allowing Milosevic's right to defend himself is cause for 'impeachment'. I never heard anyone so 'stupidly obnoxious'. By the way, anyone know his 'bio'.
So Rugova is now saying he lied in his telivised appearance with Milosevic? Hmmm, how many LDK members have turned up dead recently? I wonder what "consequences" Rugova would face if he didn't tow the party line here, and how that's affecting his statements this time around, don't you?
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