Milosevic refuses to enter plea as Hague trial opens

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Tough search for a paper trail leading to the man who never signed anything

Facing his prosecutors alone, Slobodan Milosevic this morning refused to enter a plea to war crimes allegations, telling the UN tribunal that his trial was aimed at covering up Western crimes in Yugoslavia.

Chief Judge Richard May, who repeatedly admonished Milosevic that this was not the time for speeches, entered a plea on his behalf of not guilty to the four charges against him ­ deportation, a crime against humanity; murder, a crime against humanity; murder, a crime against the laws or customs of war; and persecution on ethnic or religious grounds, a crime against humanity.

May adjourned the proceedings until a procedural hearing the last week of August.

Milosevic, who wore a slate blue suit, light blue shirt and a tie with colors of the Serbian flag, appeared calm and controlled during the 12­minute arraignment.

He stood flanked by two security guards as the three judges entered the chamber and spoke firmly as May asked him if he wanted to reconsider his decision to appear without counsel.

"I consider this tribunal a fake tribunal," Milosevic replied in English. "I have no need to appoint council to illegal organ."

Asked if he wanted to enter a plea to the four counts against him Milosevic responded: "That's your problem."

Milosevic, speaking in Serbian, claimed the court was established as a "justification for the crimes comitted by NATO in Yugoslavia."

May repeatedly cut off Milosevic's attempts to justify his refusal to recognize the court. "This is not the time for speeches," the judge said.

Asked again if he would enter a plea, Milosevic said in Serbo­Croatian, "This tribunal aims to produce false justification for the war crimes committed in Yugoslavia."

"I asked you a question," May said.

"I have given you an answer," Milosevic replied in English.

The charges against Milosevic involve only offenses committed by his forces in Kosovo during his crackdown against ethnic Albanians there two years ago.

The United States and its allies have accused Milosevic of orchestrating the decade­long wars throughout the Balkans, and the tribunal hopes to indict him for offenses in Croatia and Bosnia­Herzegovina by October.

He was indicted in May 1999 as the first head of state ever charged with war crimes by a UN court.

Milosevic's Kosovo crackdown ended after a 78­day NATO bombing campaign, which forced Yugoslav troops and police to hand over the province to the United Nations and a NATO­led peacekeeping force.

Milosevic has consistently maintained that his actions were to save his country from Western domination and that the world has ignored NATO's "crimes," including the bombing of civilian targets in and out of Kosovo.

Milosevic, who was ousted from power in October, was transferred here Friday by the pro­democracy government of Yugoslavia's republic of Serbia. He was arrested April 1 after a chaotic standoff with police.

Pro­democracy forces had planned to charge him with offenses in Yugoslavia but so far had been unable to bring formal charges. Yugoslav officials complained that evidence had disappeared and witnesses refused to cooperate.

Milosevic decided to refuse counsel following a three­hour meeting Monday with two lawyers from Belgrade. Afterward, they told reporters that Milosevic has refused to accept the validity of the court, established in 1993 by the UN Security Council to prosecute those believed responsible for crimes committed during Balkan wars.

"Mr. Milosevic does not recognize The Hague tribunal," Zdenko Tomanovic said. Milosevic believes the tribunal "is part of a mechanism to commit genocide on the Serb people."

"He is not going to appoint any lawyer," Tomanovic added. He said Milosevic would refuse legal representation during the arraignment and the trial expected to begin next year.

Milosevic's claim that his only crime was to stand up against NATO is unlikely to win points with the court. He is gambling that it will bolster his reputation among his own people.

The United States has provided evidence concerning Milosevic to the UN war crimes tribunal and is prepared to provide additional information, according to the U.S. State Department.

The proceedings against the number one suspect in the decade­long Balkan wars has been a stunning success for the tribunal, which now faces the long and difficult task of convicting a defendant branded as the "Butcher of the Balkans."

Ahead of the arraignment, Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt spoke of the "personal satisfaction" in seeing that one of the court's "major targets is being brought before the tribunal."

"It's not going to be an easy prosecution," Blewitt said. "His responsibility for crimes when he was president of Serbia is not going to be easy to prove."