Posted on 09/11/2005 11:52:19 AM PDT by joan
THE head of the British Army is to be a key witness in a High Court legal action brought by a war hero accused by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of spying for Serbian war criminals.
General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff, is to be asked to testify for Milos Stankovic, a paratroop major who is suing the MoD over his arrest on allegations of breaches of the Official Secrets Act.
The major’s lawyers say that if he wins, the MoD may have to pay out as much as £1m in damages and compensation for his ruined military career.
In court papers his lawyers have accused the MoD of lying by falsely stating that Jackson had refused to provide a statement. “In fact General Jackson had provided one which wholly supported [Stankovic] and cast doubt on the integrity of the [MoD police] investigation.”
Coming from the head of the army, Jackson’s testimony could torpedo the ministry’s own defence that its police force acted in good faith and without malice during its two-year investigation.
Stankovic, 42, served as right-hand man to General Sir Michael Rose, the former SAS commander who was appointed head of the United Nations protection force in Bosnia in 1994. The UN was entrusted with trying to contain the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and to create the conditions for its peaceful resolution.
As one of the three Serbo-Croat speakers attached to the British contingent of the force, Stankovic’s role was to act as Rose’s principal military negotiator with the Bosnian Serb leadership on behalf of the UN.
But court papers disclose that he had a second task: to gather intelligence about the Bosnian Serb leaders for the UN commander. He was in regular touch with Radovan Karadzic, then president of the Bosnian Serbs, and General Ratko Mladic, their military commander. Both men have since been indicted for war crimes.
Stankovic is one of the most highly decorated British officers to have served in Bosnia. He became known as the “Schindler of Sarajevo” after rescuing more than 200 civilians from the Bosnian capital and smuggling them to freedom through Serbian-held territory.
He was made an MBE in 1994 for bravery after he ran out under fire and rescued a Muslim woman who was lying wounded in the road in Vitez. He was also decorated for his service in Northern Ireland and during the first Gulf war. But his career ended in 1997 when he was arrested by MoD police at a staff college in Bracknell, Berkshire, and accused of betraying state secrets.
A second officer, a major in the SAS, was also questioned, leading to speculation that police had broken up a Serbian spy ring. Stankovic’s security clearance was immediately withdrawn and he was moved to a low-grade administrative job at Aldershot.
He had expectations of rising to a senior position in the army, but the inquiry destroyed his reputation and his military career. The stress put huge pressure on his family and left his personal life in tatters.
The nature of the allegations against him were never made clear. However, sources close to him say they believe the Bosnian government alleged that he was betraying details of planned Nato airstrikes to the Bosnian Serb leadership.
Stankovic has repeatedly denied that he was involved in any treachery. Karadzic’s former political adviser, Jovan Zametica, has dismissed the claim as nonsense.
Qaiser Khanzada, his solicitor, said: “To this day we do not know the identity of the people who laid the complaint which led to his arrest. My client was hung out to dry. He was made a scapegoat in a massive geopolitical power struggle.”
The writ alleges that the claims of treason were trumped up by American intelligence agents to undermine the UN’s attempt to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Stankovic is writing a book about his experiences since his arrest. Steven Barker, his solicitor during the police inquiry, said: “It will be highly embarrassing for the MoD.” The case is due to be heard in the High Court next year.
"A Serb saving people out of Sarejevo THROUGH Serbian held terroritory??? No wonder they wanted to place him in jail! Another innocent Serb it seems." -- Destro
He was made an MBE in 1994 for bravery after he ran out under fire and rescued a Muslim woman who was lying wounded in the road in Vitez.
Vitez was where Muslims and Croats fought during the Muslim-Croat war which occurred 1993-1994 in the middle of the entire war 1992-1995.
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