HAGUE PROSECUTION DETERMINES THE DESTINY OF SERBIA
Sloboda/Freedom Association - April 1, 2003

Richard May: Yes, Mr. Milosevic.

President Slobodan Milosevic: Since we are again at the open session and the new witness has not come yet, can I get the floor in relation to my requests?

Richard May: Yes.

President Slobodan Milosevic: So, first of all I repeat my request to allow my questioning and to make it possible to be in public, since it is related to the media campaign that is going on publicly. The retaliation against one’s wife and children is something we remember from the darkest days of the last century, from the darkest years of the last century! I also demand an investigation about the involvement of this illegal prosecution in the fabrication of untruths that are being launched. Besides that…

Richard May: Mr. Milosevic, I have stopped you already once. The events in Belgrade are not something that this court deals with. If that would have any direct influence to this trial, than we would take it into consideration, but nothing you have said up to now shows that it has any influence. You wanted to say something about your health. That’s what we would like to hear.

President Slobodan Milosevic: I will tell you about the health, but direct influence is in their aim to prevent my wife to give me her assistance and support. And above that, I want to inform you that they have arrested several members of the National Committee for my defense "SLOBODA" ("Freedom"), in spite they have no ground for that. Accordingly, we deal here with an orchestrated attempt to put pressure on me and my family since this false Prosecution suffers a fiasco here every day. I consider as your duty to establish the degree of their involvement.

Richard May: That is only your comment. There is absolutely no evidence to support what you are saying. Maybe there are good reasons for some people to be arrested. However, in this moment we will not deal with such allegations. Do you want to say something about your health?

President Slobodan Milosevic: Regarding my health – I have got these papers you’ve discussed last Tuesday in my absence. My first objection is that discussion about me in my absence. Second, it is written here, I will read it to you: "Having in mind that the accused has refused to take the increased dose of the medications recommended by the cardiologist…". So you have created in the discussion here the impression that I refuse to take medications and that by that I deliberately have worsen my health condition, which is a notorious lie. I have discussed, in presence of the director of the prison, with the only medical employee here the fact that I have never refused to take medications. Every medication that has been prescribed to me, I had taken. And the fact that I have drawn the doctors attention to the negative side effects of the medication I’ve been receiving and requested it to be replaced by some more adequate – that was a normal conversation between the doctor and patient – which belongs to duties of a doctor and I guess also to the rights of a patient. I’ve got also the references proving that the medication that has been given to me to lower the blood pressure causes, among other things, two very serious consequences, the symptoms which I had all the time. One consequence is dazedness and another is insomnia.

You would have to admit, gentlemen, that dazedness requires from me additional efforts, additional engagement, additional exhaustion in order to fulfill the job I have to fulfill here. On the other hand, insomnia prevents me to get even a minimum of rest. So I stressed that and I also got references, which I am submitting to you here. The references of the international experts’ institutions underlying these negative side effects. But you have been holding your discussion here as I refuse to receive the medication. And on that very day when you were discussing and expressing the totally untruth allegations, on that very day doctor Vandajham (?), having all this in mind, decided to change my therapy.

Two days after the change of the therapy was the first night when I’ve been able to sleep. That shows that the doctor was right to change the therapy and that your whole discussion here on my alleged refusal to take medications was completely groundless and even in a very evil way interpreted by Mr. Nice. I also have here a signed letter from my doctor, in which he says: vertigo, insomnia, dazedness and gives references. In addition to that he told me – we can even send it to Houston and they will confirm that it is correct. And I think that one needs no better confirmation than the fact that since last Tuesday when you had your discussion here and my therapy was changed – my blood pressure has been settled after two days. And also after two days I have been able to sleep normally.