GEN. DELIC DETAILS KLA TACTICS AND YUGOSLAV ARMY REACTION
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - June 22, 2005

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

Gen. Bozidar Delic, the former commander of the 549^th motorized brigade continued his testimony at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic on Wednesday.

This witness was brought to The Hague to refute the prosecution’s thesis that the Yugoslav Army conducted a policy of murder and ethnic cleansing towards Albanian civilians in Kosovo during the 1999 war.

Gen. Delic came to court with more than 600 army documents and several videotapes. It was obvious from the exhibits that the army behaved in a restrained manner towards the KLA. 

The witness outlined, through the documents, how the KLA escalated its activity during the first half of 1998. He gave detailed testimony about the arming of the KLA, the training its members received in Albania, and the support it received from Western governments. 

He listed several examples of KLA attacks on the police and Serbian villages and the violence the KLA used against Albanians who refused to join or financially support it.

Gen. Delic provided orders and official documents showing that the Yugoslav Army responded KLA provocations in accordance with domestic and international law. When violations happened, appropriate measures were taken to punish the purpetrators.  

Milosevic explained how the documents show the "continuity of proper conduct of the army", in spite of an "organised escalation of terrorist activities.”
 
Milosevic also showed video tapes of three incidents near the border crossings near Morina and Kosara, on the border with Albania, in April 1998. The tapes depicted the KLA illegally attempting to smuggle weapons accross the border.

The prosecution has alleged that an incident at the Kosara crossing on April 23, 1998, in which 19 terrorists were killed by Yugoslav border guards, was a case of “disproportionate force.”

Gen. Delic explained that the terrorists were attempting to cross the border illegally and that they ignored the calls to stop and put down their weapons. Instead of stopping, they opened fire on the border guards, who were forced to return fire in self defense.

Milosevic noted that the border post was manned by six soldiers and one non-commissioned officer, while the terrorist group attempting to cross the border numbered between 150 and 200 men. In light of the ratio of forces there can be no crednce given to the notion that the Serbian side used disproportionate force.

It will be interesting to see how the prosecution handles Gen. Delic. It will be difficult for them to challenge his credibility, because they have reportedly asked Delic to testify in the Haradinaj trial as an expert witness.

General Delic's testimony will continue next Wednesday.

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