Milosevic trial resumes with Mitar Balevic's Testimony
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - February 8, 2005

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

The trial of Slobodan Milosevic resumed Tuesday before the Hague Tribunal after hearings were cancelled last week because Milosevic had the flu.

Milosevic looked healthy and well-rested as he questioned Mitar Balevic, a former official of the SPS in Pristina.

Balevic told the court that the Albanian terrorists targeted non-Albanians, Albanians who were loyal to the state, and Albanians who were in ethnically mixed-marrages.

He testified that Albanian Terrorists exploited the cease-fire established under the Milosevic-Holbrooke agreement. Balevic said that the cease-fire was only binding on the Serbian side, and that the KLA continued its activities while the police and the army went back to their barracks.

Balevic's testimony jibes with the testimony of prosecution witness, and KLA commander, Shukri Buja who confirmed that the KLA exploited the cease-fire in order to obtain weapons and conduct training exercises. (see Milosevic Trial transcript page 6360, June 6, 2002)

Balevic testified regarding KLA atrocities. He testified about a KLA camp in Klecka, near Pristina. He said that in 1998 the KLA executed more than twenty Serb civilians there, including women and children. He said that the KLA used kilns, similar to those used by the Nazis, to cremate and dispose of the victims' remains.

He also testified regarding a massacre of civilians at the Panda Cafe in Pec. Balevic said that on December 14, 1998 the KLA attacked the Panda Cafe with grenades and six Serbian youths were killed.

As for the Yugoslav and Serbian forces, Balevic testified that they "protected the Albanian and the Serb population equally." He said that he never saw any of the state security forces acting improperly towards the Albanians. He even testified that aid, which had been destined for Serbian refugees from Bosnia and Croatia, was given to ethnic-Albanian refugees in Kosovo.

Balevic, at age 76, is currently a refugee himself. In late June 1999, after the arrival of KFOR, Balevic was chased out of his home in Kosovo, and everything he ever owned has been looted or destroyed.

This is the second time that Balevic has been expelled from Kosovo. In 1941 Balevic and his family were expelled from Kosovo by Kosovo-Albanian Nazi SS troops.

Milosevic asked Balevic which occupation was worse; the NATO occupation or the Nazi occupation? Balevic replied that the Albanian terrorism is more intense under the NATO occupation.

After Balevic concluded his examination-in-chief, he was cross-examined by Prosecutor Geoffery Nice.

Mr. Nice began his cross-examination by unsuccessfully trying to paint Balevic as an anti-Albanian racist. Mr. Balevic was always careful to differentiate between normal Albanians and the Albanian terrorists.

Mr. Nice, citing information given by Nazi occupation troops in Belgrade, accused Balevic of exaggerating the number of Serbs expelled from Kosovo by the Nazis. Balevic, and most Serbian historians, claim that the Nazis expelled some 200,000 Serbs. Meanwhile, Mr. Nice, and the Nazi officer who's word he relied on, claim that only 40,000 were expelled.

After attempting to minimize the crimes of the Nazis, Mr. Nice embarked on a feeble campaign to challenge the credibility of the witness. Mr. Nice read out documents from the International Crisis Group, and excerpts from the OSCE's "As Seen As Told" report. When the witness was not able to corroborate what was written in the documents Mr. Nice accused him of having a "selective memory."

In spite of Mr. Nice's insulting accusations, not being able to corroborate claims made by the ICG does not mean that Mr. Balevic has a "selective memory," it could easily mean that the ICG has its facts wrong, or that its making-up "facts" that don't exist.

Mr. Nice persisted in his claims that Milosevic's 1987 visit to Kosovo Polje, and his 1989 speech at Gazimestan were designed to provoke a wave of Serbian nationalism that he rode to power on. However, all of Mr. Nice's claims are for not, since Milosevic already played the complete video tapes from both of these events during Mr. Balevic's examination-in-chief, and anybody who watches the tapes can see that Milosevic was not provoking any nationalism. He was doing the opposite.

In other news, the two British lawyers appointed to Slobodan Milosevic's defence against his will are not allowed to resign, the tribunal's president said in a decision made public on Tuesday.

Lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins had already asked the tribunal's registrar to be taken off the case last year. That request was turned down in December and the pair subsequently filed a request to be taken off the case directly with Judge Theodor Meron, the president of the court.

Despite the attorneys' arguments Meron denied their demand to withdraw.

The trial will resume at 9 AM tomorrow morning, when Mr. Balevic will continue to be cross-examined by Mr. Nice.

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