At UN Tribunal - Another prosecution witness ends up supporting defense

reuters | July 26, 2002 | By Julijana Mojsilovic

[vooch]

Milosevic master spy says no expulsion from Kosovo

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (Reuters) - The man who led Serbia's police during the Kosovo conflict denied Friday that Yugoslav forces engaged in a scheme to clear the province of ethnic Albanians during the 1998-1999 campaign.

Prosecutors accuse former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of overseeing a Serbian "ethnic cleansing" campaign to clear Kosovo of its majority ethnic Albanians. They had hoped insider witnesses who held top positions under Milosevic, would verify his ultimate responsibility for events in Kosovo.

But Rade Markovic, one of the highest-ranking insider prosecution witnesses to take the stand in Milosevic's war crimes trial, denied that Serb repression led waves of refugees to leave Kosovo. He confirmed his ex-boss's suggestion that they fled NATO bombing and the risk of being drafted by Kosovo Albanian guerrillas.

Markovic said the Yugoslav army and Serbian police had strict orders to protect Albanian civilians during NATO bombing.

"I never got any order, nor did I hear about any order or plan to expel Albanians," Markovic told the court during cross-examination by Milosevic.

Belgrade authorities transferred Markovic to The Hague last week from a local jail where he was held pending the outcome of a domestic trial in which he is accused of involvement in the murder of four political opponents of Milosevic. Markovic denies the charges.

Looking straight into the former Yugoslav strongman's eyes and replying to him in a short and clear manner, Markovic agreed that Milosevic never ordered Serb forces to hide evidence of mass executions of Albanians.

Markovic said he had no information on any war crimes committed in Kosovo, that those who committed such crimes were prosecuted and Milosevic himself said several times that "every crime must be immediately punished."

Markovic reiterated that his orders came exclusively from Serbia's then-interior minister and that Milosevic did not have direct control of Serbia's secret service when he headed it.

During questioning by prosecutor Geoffrey Nice, Markovic said he had no knowledge of bodies transferred from Kosovo to Serbia, a reference to mass graves near Belgrade discovered by Serb police in 2001, after Milosevic's ouster.

The trial was adjourned Friday for four weeks after doctors found that Milosevic was at grave risk of heart trouble and needed rest.

07/26/02 11:50 ET

Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited.

[vooch]

Markovic also had some shocking revelations which do't appear to be reported here. Evidently Markovic testified that he had been tortured by HumWarrior types in order to invent testimony supporting the prosecution.

Apparently Nice got hysterical at that point and demanded that Markovic be shut off....... I haven't listened to the today's cross yet, but if anyone can confirm this please do.

[Freee-dame]

Kosovo, another of X42's fiascos

[Tamodaleko]

I haven't had a chance to listen to the cross as well this morning. Now I'm very curious to know what touched Nice???

[pythagorean]

Excellent news and brave showing by Markovic! The idiotic prosecutors apparently thought that he would have been intimidated and bribed by them and by the Djindjic / Dusan Mihailovic crowd so that he would give a false testimony against Slobo. It is also likely that they may have blackmailed him with the threat of a Hague indictment (after all he, like Slobo, undisputably had command responsibility) and that he had reassured them that he would give a lot of evidence against Slobo in exchange for not being indicted.

It is the prosecution crooks, not Slobo, who are at risk of a heart attack.

[Tamodaleko]

OK, according to b92 (I know, I know, not the fav source of balkanoid freepers, although the only Serbian network that offers live Milosevic trial coverage) what made Nice hysterical was that Milosevic asked Markovic was it true that Mihajlovic, Petrovic & Mijatovic were trying to make a deal in Beograd with Markovic to testify against him in favor of money, new identity in a new country with family? Markovic answered positive and if not he will be back in Belgrade's prison!!!

LOL! Now that's some serious smack!

[vooch]

thanks for the clarification.....

Prosecutor Nice should have his heart examined. It is likely that he will be the one getting a seizure if this keeps up.