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| Europe |
| Clark: Milosevic Knew About Srebrenica |
| 2003-12-19 |
| Presidential hopeful Gen. Wesley Clark testified that Slobodan Milosevic knew in advance about the 1995 massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims. Clark’s testimony gave U.N. prosecutors the most direct evidence yet linking the former Yugoslav leader to the genocide. The retired American general testified as a prosecution witness in closed sessions at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Monday and Tuesday. I don’t want him as president but I’m pleased he’s doing this. The testimony was made public after being reviewed by State Department lawyers, who the Bush administration said did not request any changes. Tribunal officials said one segment of the court hearings was not included, but it was not related to Clark’s testimony. Prosecution spokeswoman Florence Hartmann said Clark’s testimony was ``extremely important for us,’’ and experts agreed it was the most direct evidence so far indicating Milosevic had advance knowledge of the intention to kill Muslim captives at the U.N.-protected zone at Srebrenica. Clark gave an authoritative account of his encounters with Milosevic over 3 years of Balkan wars. He avoided arguments despite provocation from Milosevic, who suggested Clark left his NATO command early because of character problems and was taking campaign contributions from Albanian separatists in Kosovo for his Democratic presidential nomination bid. Oh sure, the Albanians are flush with money, everyone knows that. Look at the paradise they’ve built on the Adriatic. The strongest evidence came in Clark’s recollection of a conversation with Milosevic in Belgrade one month after the Srebrenica massacre. Clark was part of a U.S. delegation negotiating a Bosnian peace plan and Milosevic, then president of Serbia, said he could speak on behalf of the Bosnian Serbs. ``I approached President Milosevic as he was standing there in a casual setting outside the formal meeting, and I was still wrestling with the idea as to how it is that Milosevic could maintain that he had the authority and the power to deliver the (Bosnian) Serb compliance with the agreement,’’ Clark said. Say what you will, Wesley isn’t but so slow on the uptake. ``I said, ’Mr. President, you say you have so much influence over the Bosnian Serbs, but how is it then, if you have such influence, that you allowed Gen. Mladic to kill all those people in Srebrenica?’Jig’s up, Slobo! Clark insisted it had been clear that Milosevic ``did know this in advance, and he was walking the fine line between saying he was powerful enough, influential enough to have known it, but trying to excuse from himself the responsibility for having done it.’’ Yep, standard wiggle room for thugs and dictators. The testimony comes at a critical time for prosecutors who have just 15 days left to wind up their case and yield the floor for Milosevic to present his defense. The trial adjourned Wednesday and resumes Jan. 13 after a Christmas recess. Ah, the speedy wheels of Judith Armatta of the Washington-based Coalition for International Justice said Clark’s evidence was the hardest yet tying Milosevic to Srebrenica, but it fell short of proving his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. ``It is important evidence, but it is quite a step away from what they need,’’ Armatta said. ``He is accused of genocide and complicity in genocide. That is very hard to prove. They need to show that Milosevic shared the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a specific group of people.’’ While judges could find Clark’s comments incriminating, they could also work in favor of the defense. They could interpret the remark to mean Milosevic tried to prevent a slaughter of Muslim civilians, and had no power over the Bosnian Serbs who committed the murders. Only if they had the common sense of lima beans, but this is the international court we’re talking about. During cross-examination, Milosevic denied the conversation ever happened. No kidding. ``Gen. Clark, this is a blatant lie,’’ Milosevic said. ``First and foremost because we did not talk about Srebrenica at all, and secondly because I, throughout this time, through all of those years, I never issued a single order to Gen. Mladic, or was I in a position to issue him an order.’’ "I was merely his sugar daddy and his father confessor! He was like a son to me, but I could never order him about, the wastrel!" Milosevic said to Clark, ``I, for example, believe firmly until the present day that Gen. Mladic did not order any execution of people in Srebrenica. I believe that this was done by a group of mercenaries.’’ Damn, them Esquimoux get around, don’t they! |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #9 "If only Himmler had listened to me..." (Adolf Hitler) /sarcasm off |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-12-19 1:25:53 PM |
| #8 "The defendant stated to me that..." is direct evidence. "The defendant's cousin stated that the defendant told him..." is hearsay. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-19 1:21:15 PM |
| #7 Um, no. Any statements by a defendant are by definition not hearsay. Whether they are relevant evidence, or are evidence worthy of weight, is another question. |
| Posted by: Nick 2003-12-19 10:05:55 AM |
| #6 the 'best direct evidence' is Clark's recollection of what Milosevic said in the US this has another name; it's called 'hearsay' or less politely 'scuttlebutt' the only time this would be admitted into evidence in a criminal case would be if the underlying crime involved the defendent saying something |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-12-19 9:36:23 AM |
| #5 thousands..millions...whatever. |
| Posted by: B 2003-12-19 9:18:18 AM |
| #4 whoa..whoa..whoa. What am I missing here? Clark’s testimony gave U.N. prosecutors the most direct evidence yet linking the former Yugoslav leader to the genocide Prosecution spokeswoman Florence Hartmann said Clark’s testimony was ``extremely important for us,’’ and experts agreed it was the most direct evidence so far indicating Milosevic had advance knowledge of the intention to kill Muslim captives at the U.N.-protected zone at Srebrenica. That's it????? That's the best they got? Mr. Vain/Glorious' statement? Thousands raped and buried in mass graves and this is THE BEST THEY CAN COME UP WITH????? Somebody fire the prosecutor! This is outright pathetic. Great job of investigating guys. He avoided arguments despite provocation from Milosevic, who suggested Clark left his NATO command early because of character problems and was taking campaign contributions from Albanian separatists in Kosovo for his Democratic presidential nomination bid Regardless of whether it is true or not, this would have been the case if Clark wasn't such a useful tool for the UN. You can picture the headline at the NYT. The he-said/he-said advantage definitely would have gone to Milosevic. Unfortunately for Milosevic, the UN and Euroweenies can all see the advantage of boosting Clark's stature right now . Tough luck there, Milosevic, looks like you came up against the one US General they intend to maintain as their respected patsy. What a world we live in. Milosevic was the leader and thus responsible for the slaughter and rape of millions. I guess it's just another ho-hum these days. Can't prove it, so let's give the guy an honorary citizenship in Frace. The UN is so lame! This is an outrage...but sadly, everything the UN does is an outrage...we've just become immune to it. |
| Posted by: B 2003-12-19 9:13:48 AM |
| #3 4thInfVet, The Bosnian Muslims are true moderates, who love to drink and dance, and thus are considered heretical by the wahabbis. They have a unique, westernized architecture that Wahabbi "missionaries" from Saudia have vandalized. Their mosques look more like Cathedrals, so the Wahabbis demand that they be torn down and rebuilt in the Saudi Arabian style. I regret I don't have the link, but the religious leader of the Bosnian Muslims praised the United States and Bill Clinton to high heaven for coming to their aid, reminding the reporter that the United States didn't have to come and spend that kind of money and risk the lives of their sons and daughters for strangers. He called the United States "The Crown of the World". That, at the end of the age, when Allah judges the world, If He demanded if any nation ever did anything righteous, that he (the leader) would nominate the United States of America. Ohhh, they were grateful all right. Very grateful. THEN. Lord knows how they are now, or if that guy still draws breath to bear witness. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-12-19 5:27:35 AM |
| #2 Those were European Muslims. They don't count. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-12-19 1:45:38 AM |
| #1 So, how much credit are we getting from 'islam', moderate or otherwise, for going to the mat for them in Bosnia? *crickets* |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-19 1:26:29 AM |