Balkans: February 21, 2002

Archives

: Slobos trial continues. On February 18 the former Serb dictator Slobodan Milosevic continued his defense at his ICTY trial in the Hague. This was the fifth day of his extraordinary, theatrical diatribe. He once again held NATO responsible for the 1999 Kosovo War and said the Wests action in the Balkans was a new colonialism. Milosevic insisted he was the peacemaker. Heres the best quote of the day: "There is an inversion here. The instigators of war are accusing the protagonists of peace." he concluded his defense on the same day, declaring, "The truth is on my side, that's why I feel superior here, that's why I feel to be the moral victor. Were not going to cover the trial blow by blow, but a tough moment for the prosecution occurred February 21 when a Kosovar Albanian farmer refused to submit to further questioning by Milosevic. The farmer, named Agim Zeqiri, had told investigators that Serb Army soldiers had left him with permanent injuries after beating him in 1999. Milosevic got to cross-examine the accuser and argued that Zeqiris village (Celina) was a KLA hideout. After a day of Milosevics questioning, Zeqiri basically said he couldnt take it anymore.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close