Milosevic accuses witness of fabricating shocking testimony

B92 News ^ | May 31, 2002 | Reuters

[ABrit]

Milosevic accuses witness of fabricating shocking testimony
19:09

THE HAGUE, Friday Slobodan Milosevic at his trial today accused a witness of inventing an account of Serb forces mutilating a corpse during the alleged Racak massacre in January 1999.

Bilal Avdiu told the court that several of the 45 victims in the village were mutilated.

"Why are you inventing this?" asked Milosevic, who claims deaths were a result of a legitimate battle the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army.

The witness insisted he saw a Serb soldier cut the heart from one of the corpses. "I saw it the heart was cut out," Avdiu replied.

According to his testimony, Avdiu had feigned death for five hours after being rounded up with other villagers and taken to be executed. (Reuters)

[joan]

Vooch if you look at the photos of the dead at Racak you will see picture of a dead male who had been beheaded. Funny that’s what happened to the Wall Street Journal reporter in Pakistan. A very Muslim way of killing. Only those Villagers from Racak that the KLA enlisted to defend an undefendable situation were there. The rest were long gone from the coming predictable storm. It was only after the KLA took control were the villagers allowed to return and see what the KLA wanted them to see, hence the hearsay testimony.

A big question is: why wasn't that body or those in the ditch discovered after the Serbs left the village at 3:30 p.m the 15th. Why didn't KDOM, OSCE, reporters, the KLA who were back in the village, nor the villagers still there and the ones returning after the battle see any of this?

Why was it only after 16+ hours that those sites were "discovered" with armed KLA swarming around?

Also, it seems the vast majority of the bodies couldn't be recognized nor could Racak villagers furnish proof that they were relatives for 29 of 40 bodies. Neither could the ICTY come up with an estimate of the age of 23 for the bodies.

The quality of the picture of the people in the ditch - which is actually a dry stream bed on Bebus Hill, near a postion where the KLA was that day (see extracts from the following link):

http://www.suc.org/politics/kosovo/papers/racak.html:

For another, the area where many of the bodies were found was near one of the KLA positions that day; the alleged Yugoslav gov't-ordered executioners would have had to expose themselves to gunfire in that area in order to commit these acts of which they are accused.

But by the next morning, journalists were directed by KLA members to a dry bed of a stream on Bebus Hill overlooking Racak.

- the quality is not good, but those you can start to discern do look like military age men who were not mutilated. Were they Racak villagers or KLA from other towns or a maybe a few from Racak itself? Of those 29 that the Racak villagers couldn't prove they were relatives of, did those include all in the ditch? If those in the ditch weren't beheaded or mutilated - and those there don't appear to be - why couldn't they be recognized nor claimed. Were those in the ditch outsiders?

[joan]

"Neither could the ICTY come up with an estimate of the age of 23 for the bodies."

I mean the age FOR 23 of the bodies.

[Kate22]

Why would Milosevic make the contents 'publicly available' and spoil the surprise/ impact when it's delivered by the 'Prosecution'? It's obviously very weak evidence otherwise Nato and the Third Wayers would have had it pasted all over the media many months ago instead of the unsubstantiated tabloid sensationalism.

[Spar]

Milosevic is barred from meeting with the press--you know that!

[Spar]

Hoplite asked me As to why Milosevic hasn't made the material publicly available, well I'll let you try and figure that one out.

Slobo Slapped For TV Interview

[Kate22]

Yes, it would seem to follow, I agree.

[vooch]

Joan,
nice find "Those Albanians who betray their own deserve a fate worse than death"....

Wraith & Joan
Thanks for pointing out the details with the 'decapitated' fellow. Decapitation does appear to be a KLA-Muslim MO.

Wraith
It would be interesting to see your comments on Joan's find "Those Albanians who betray their own deserve a fate worse than death"......

[Hoplite]

Milosevic had a copy of the autopsy results before the war started.

Try to think things through before you post.

[Spar]

he had a copy of the "edited" report.

[Hoplite]

Based on what?

Your desire to embellish or change the facts so as to save yourself from looking foolish?

Pathetic.

[Spar]

Sorry you must mistake me for someone who works for NATO. You said that Slobo had the full Racak report before his arrest-show me.

[Hoplite]

On 17 March 1999, the copies of the Racak report (1428 pages), consisting solely of the autopsy protocols and related materials, were submitted to the EU (two copies), the District Court of Pristina (one copy) and the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Pristina (one copy). The Presidency of the EU (Germany) later decided to submit one copy of the autopsy protocols to the ICTY. Thereafter, the Team continued to work on reports relating to other agreed-upon investigations.
Go ahead, confuse the autopsies with the on site investigations and make yourself look even more of an idiot.
Source.

Don't worry - I'm entertaining serious doubts about your ability to work productively in any capacity anywhere, let alone doing something for an international military/political organization such as NATO.

Maybe you could ghostwrite for Jared Israel over at the SPS - they seem to have been lagging as of late.

[Spar]

That is not the full report! That is the edited report.

[Hoplite]

See post #30.

Kinda losing all pretense of coloring within the lines, aren't you.

[Spar]

Where did it say Milosevic was given a copy before his arrest. Let me know.

[Hoplite]

That would be post #30, for the third time.

You're really outdoing yourself here, Spar.

[Spar]

The Racak report linked in #30 is an EXECUTIVE SUMMARY and a summary is not a full report. So once again you have nothing, Hoplite. I guess in your case its good enough English for Federali work.

[vooch]

or for a international military/political organization

Hoplite......since when has NATO become a soverign entity and morphed into a political organization ? I don't recall anyone responsible during the 1949-89 period ever suggesting NATO was anything other than a military organization subject to civilian control

[Hoplite]

You don't have access to the full autopsy report, but it was delivered to Milosevic via Pristina's University and District Court on the 17th of March, 1999, as stated in the Executive Summary, which I linked for you.

Get a clue.

Please.

[Spar]

On 17 March 1999, the copies of the Racak report (1428 pages), consisting solely of the autopsy protocols and related materials, were submitted to the EU (two copies), the District Court of Pristina (one copy) and the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Pristina (one copy). The Presidency of the EU (Germany) later decided to submit one copy of the autopsy protocols to the ICTY. Thereafter, the Team continued to work on reports relating to other agreed-upon investigations.

An report consisting solely of the autopsy protocols and related materials is in no way even near to being the FULL REPORT, which is still restricted from the public.