SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC MAKES HIS OPENING STATEMENT
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - August 31, 2004

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

Slobodan Milosevic delivered the first part of his opening statement at the Hague tribunal today. He was given the full day today, and he will finish his opening statement during the first session of the day tomorrow.

So far, Milosevic has delivered a very sharp opening statement. In addition to his opening statement, he has prepared a written document to accompany the statement and he will submit that to the tribunal as an exhibit. If the rest of his defense case is as sharp and as well documented as his opening statement has been then NATO's worst nightmares have all come true.

For people interested in the Balkans, and in particular the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia, the transcript of today's proceedings is essential reading.

I will now briefly attempt summarize a few of the main points that Milosevic made in his statement today. Milosevic uses direct quotes and names his sources, this summary is written from notes the I made while watching a video of his opening statement. This summary does not do his opening statement justice. You should read the transcript as soon as the tribunal releases it.

In his opening statement, Milosevic outlined the way in which the international community orchestrated the break-up of Yugoslavia. He focused his main attention on the roles played by Germany, the Vatican, and the United States.

He explained how they undermined the Yugoslav state by unilaterally recognizing the secessionist republics. He said that this not only destroyed Yugoslavia, but also the UN and the international legal system.

Milosevic read out numerous statements from international officials stating that the bloodshed in Yugoslavia was unleashed when the international community recognized the independence of the republics that had seceded illegally.

He referred to numerous government, and financial documents that prove that Germany and the Vatican were actively financing secessionist elements inside of Yugoslavia, particularly in Croatia and Slovenia, but also in Kosovo.

Milosevic explained how the SFRY leadership failed the citizens of Yugoslavia by working with the international factors that wished to destroy the country. How they ordered the JNA to stay in the barracks, while the foreign-backed Croatian and Slovenian paramilitary forces carried out violent attacks.

Milosevic spoke of negative historical role of the Vatican in the region. He read from a document of the Astro-Hungarian empire, where in 1914 the Pope was appealing to the empire to attack the Serbs, in order to advance what he called "the struggle against Orthodoxy."

Milosevic talked about the hand of the Vatican in the activities of the Ustasha, and how the Vatican, working in concert with the British and the Americans, helped the Ustasha to escape via the "rat lines" to South America.

Milosevic read from statements of Pope John Paul II where the pontiff is inciting warfare, and defending ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, which as Milosevic pointed out is "quite contrary to the teachings of Christ."

Milosevic denounced the hypocrisy of Germany. Milosevic read out numerous statements by German officials in which Germany promised to respect the territorial integrity of other nations, and not to interfere in their internal affairs. He contrasted Germany's promises with the real activities of Germany; how Germany armed, trained, and financed secessionist elements.

Milosevic spoke of Germany's historical aspirations in the Balkans. He read from Friedrich Naumann’s book "Mitteleuropa" in which it states that Germany should be the central state in Europe surrounded by weak satellite states, and that Serbia should be "erased from the map." He explained that Klaus Kinkel is a member of the German FDP, and that Naumann is the ideological founder of the FDP.

Milosevic pointed out the statements that Kinkel made when he was Germany's Foreign Minister (1993-1995), when he said that Germany had to accomplish in Yugoslavia what it had "failed to accomplish twice before," and that "the Serbs should be brought to their knees."

Milosevic also lashed out at the United States. He pointed out that the United States undermined the Cutliero plan through Zimmerman's instruction to Izetbegovic to pull out of the agreement. He said that the United States also worked to undermine the Owen-Stoltenberg plan, and Vance-Owen plan, and that by doing so the United States prolonged the war in Bosnia with the aim of establishing a military foot-hold in Europe.

Milosevic pointed out that Islamic terrorists were brought into Bosnia and Kosovo from the Middle East, and that Bill Clinton facilitated their arrival in the Balkans. Milosevic said that the terrorists came from the Al-Qaeda and Hizbollah organizations.

Milosevic spoke of the roles that neo-Nazis and the international drug Mafia played in the wars, and how they worked in concert with the western intelligence services to fund and support the secessionists who carried out the violent destruction of Yugoslavia.

Milosevic briefly attacked the tribunal, he repeated his earlier request for the International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of the ICTY. He pointed out that the Security Council, which established the tribunal, has no judicial powers and therefore can not bestow powers that it doesn't have on the tribunal.

Milosevic also read out statements from former NATO and Tribunal officials that speak to the political nature of the so-called "court."

He read part of an interview by Michael Scharf (co-writer of the tribunal's statute), in which he demonstrated the political nature of the court by saying that the ICTY can isolate "rogue" leaders, and "increase the political will for sanctions."

He also read out a statement made by NATO's spokesman Jamie Shea in which he says that "NATO is the majority financier of the tribunal."  

Milosevic also pointed out other dark sources of funding that the tribunal receives such as the Soros Foundation, and various other NGOs.

Milosevic devoted the last half of his statement to Kosovo. He spoke of the historical Albanian movement towards the establishment of a greater-Albania.

He went through the establishment of the Prizren League, the Ballist movement and its ties to fascism; the persecution of Serbs in the late 19th century, throughout the 20th century, all the way up to today.

Milosevic condemned the failure of the UN to implement resolution 1244. He angrily denounced their failure to protect Kosovo's non-Albanian population, and cultural heritage.

Milosevic pointed out that over 150 medieval Christian churches have been destroyed in Kosovo since the UN occupation of that province began.

He noted the demographic trend in Kosovo, and pointed out that more than two-thirds of the non-Albanian population has been expelled from Kosovo since the UN took-over.

Milosevic read from numerous UN resolutions where the KLA was clearly defined as a terrorist group.

Milosevic read out statistics of persons killed by the KLA, and noted that the KLA killed a large number of Albanians.

He explained that Yugoslavia had almost neutralized the KLA in 1998, but that Clinton came to the KLA's rescue. He told of how the KLA was aided by the CIA through the OSCE's Verificaion Mission, and in particular the role played by William Walker. He pointed out that it was Clinton who elevated the KLA's status by bringing them to the negotiations in Romboullet.

Milosevic examined the KLA's ties to drug trafficking, and forced-prostitution, then pointed out that the KLA was receiving German and American support through: weapons, financing, and training. He also condemned the UN for transforming the terrorist KLA into the KPC and putting them on the UN pay-roll.

Milosevic revealed the identity of the KLA terrorist in the infamous picture that circulated last year in which a smiling KLA terrorist is holding a severed Serbian head. Milosevic, who revealed the identity of the KLA terrorist as Sadik Chufla, pointed out that Chufla is currently serving as a member of the KPC.

Milosevic summed-up his statement today by talking about the environmental catastrophe that NATO's 1999 bombing caused. He spoke of the health effects of the depleted uranium bombs, and the pollution introduced into the rivers by the bombing, and the damage that that caused to Serbian agricultural production.

Milosevic will finish his opening statement tomorrow. Following his opening statement, the tribunal will hear submissions from the parties regarding the possibility of imposing a defense lawyer on Milosevic against his will, and they will discuss the possibility of severing the indictment into separate indictments.

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