| Milosevic wants Clinton, Blair, Schroeder subpoenaed as witnesses in his war crimes trial ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer |  | Thursday, June 17, 2004 |
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| (06-17) 06:51 PDT THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic said Thursday he wants former President Bill Clinton, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to be subpoenaed as witnesses in his war crimes trial. They were among nearly 1,400 witnesses Milosevic sought to call in his defense case, set to start July 5. U.N. judges at the Yugoslav tribunal did not immediately rule on the request. "In effect, you are asking us to subpoena those persons. You will have to produce, in writing, reasons for the issuance by the chamber of that subpoena," presiding judge Patrick Robinson said. Milosevic said he would call the Western leaders to testify about the "war waged against Yugoslavia" and pressed for a quick decision. The three headed their governments in the 1990s during the period covered by Milosevic's indictment. "Clinton has to appear here. Schroeder, Blair, others, too," Milosevic said at a procedural hearing. "The reasons for which Mr. Clinton should appear here are quite clear. He decided upon many matters which had to do with Yugoslavia. He uttered a series of lies as a pretext to the bombing of Yugoslavia. He gave the orders." Clinton was president during a 78-day NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia in 1999 that forced Serbia to end its crackdown on the ethnic Albanian population of the southern Serbian province of Kosovo. The court set a four-hour limit for Milosevic's opening statement and reaffirmed he will have 150 trial days to present his case. It will consider his request that the court seek intelligence service documents from Britain, Germany and the United States. Milosevic said he has 1,631 witnesses in mind and has presented the names of nearly 1,400 of them to the court. Among other names submitted to the court were former NATO commander Wesley Clark and longtime West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. Clark testified for the prosecution in December. "The most terrible accusations have been uttered here," Milosevic told the court. "The most flagrant lies have been spoken here as well, and the only means to fight that is to present the truth." Appearing energetic and characteristically defiant despite his frail health, Milosevic told the judges, "I should like here, before the public, to prove that these are all false indictments, false accusations against Serbia, against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and against myself." Robinson cut Milosevic short, warning him against making speeches. He instructed the former Serb leader to provide more details about witnesses he wants to call, such as the subject of their testimony. Milosevic is representing himself against 66 charges of war crimes filed by prosecutors, including genocide, during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. He has had nearly three months to prepare his defense since prosecutors completed their case in February. He is assisted by several lawyers. The 61-year-old Milosevic showed no sign of the ailments that has delayed the trial for months. He has a weak heart and high blood pressure, and has complained of fatigue and stress. The judges said they won't limit the number of witnesses he calls, as long as doesn't his allotted 150 days. Milosevic has the right to keep the content of his case confidential but must disclose a witness list each week to prosecutors, the judges said. During the prosecution case, which began in February 2002, nearly 300 witnesses were called and thousands of documents were presented. The judges rejected Milosevic's request for an extra month to interview witnesses, questioning the relevance of many of them. On Wednesday, the three-judge tribunal dismissed a motion filed by three independent lawyers to drop the genocide charges. The judges dismissed the argument by the lawyers, appointed by the court to ensure fairness, that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the charges. | ||
June 17, 2004
Milosevic wants Clinton, Blair, Schroeder subpoenaed as witnesses in his war crimes trial
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