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Your support makes all the difference.Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has gone on trial before a United Nations tribunal at the Hague, accused of overseeing the murder of thousands of people and the displacement of more than a million in three Balkan wars.
Chief prosecutor Del Ponte said Milosevic was accused of crimes of "medieval savagery and calculated cruelty." His case, she said, would be a powerful demonstration that "no one is above the law" or beyond the reach of justice.
Del Ponte said Milosevic "pursued his ambition at the price of unspeakable suffering to those who opposed him." All his actions were "in the service of his quest for power," she said, as Milosevic scribbled notes.
Milosevic has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court, berating it as an instrument of his enemies whom he identified as the western NATO alliance. He claims his actions as Yugoslavia's leader was to defend his country against terrorism and preserve its unity.
He is expected to give a lengthy opening statement on Wednesday, arguing that the trial is inherently unfair, and that the tribunal is illegal and biased, his legal advisers said.
Milosevic, who studied law but never practiced, has refused to appoint defense lawyers, and will speak for himself.
Milosevic could be sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted of any of the 66 specific charges contained in three indictments, one each for the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. The trial is likely to take two years.
Legal experts said the case would be complex, with the prosecution obliged to draw a direct link between Milosevic and the crimes committed by Serb forces against other ethnic groups in his disintegrating country.
Starting with Kosovo, deputy prosecutor Geoffrey Nice told the tribunal Milosevic had command responsibility for the action of Serb troops, and must be found guilty if it could be shown that he failed to prevent crimes he knew were happening.
"Why did he not stop these things that were occurring?" Nice said. "He did not confront his victims. He had these crimes committed for him by others."
The prosecution screened television footage of Milosevic's rise to power, whipping up Serb nationalism and directing Serb anger against other groups. "Nobody will be allowed to beat you," he told angry Kosovo Serbs in 1987, in a speech that launched him on the national scene.
Milosevic, 60, is the first head of state indicted for war crimes while in office.
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