MR. NICE CROSS-EXAMINES VUKASIN JOKANOVIC
www.slobodan-milosevic.org – December 2, 2004

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

Mr. Nice concluded his cross-examination of Vukasin Jokanovic on Thursday. Nice’s challenge of Jokanovic’s evidence was weak and ineffective.

In a crude attempt to discredit the witness, Nice tried to get him to say something racist towards Albanians. Nice failed, and was rebuked by the witness who told him not to try and drive a wedge between him and his Albanian friends. Mr. Jokanovic, who is fluent in the Albanian language, drew a clear distinction between Albanian terrorists and the general Albanian population in Kosovo.

Mr. Nice did not bother to challenge many points of the evidence, and when Mr. Nice did make a challenge he was ineffective. Nice would make a claim, Jokanovic would say it wasn’t true and Nice would move on.

Nice attributed statements to Jokanovic that he didn’t make. In one case Nice claimed that Jokanovic had issued a call to arms to Kosovo Serbs in the mid-80s. It turned out that the newspaper Nice was relying on did not attribute any such statement to Jokanovic. It was simply an invention of Mr. Nice’s imagination.

Mr. Nice was grasping at straws throughout his cross-examination. At one point Nice made the suggestion that the deputies in the Kosovo Assembly who voted to approve the amendments to Serbian constitution in 1989 were imposters; that they were not the real assembly members, but people masquerading as assembly members.

Jokanovic pointed out that 180 journalists, including photographers and TV crews, were present in the assembly hall recording the vote that day. It was impossible that imposters could come in to the Assembly, vote, and not get noticed by anybody.

Mr. Nice knew that his claims were false because he had seen the video tape of the assembly session during Wednesday’s evidence, but that didn’t stop him from conjuring up this conspiracy theory anyway.

Failing to discredit the witness, or score any points in his cross-examination, Mr. Nice simply endeavored to waste as much time as he could. In this endeavor Nice was successful and he did waste the entire day.

Nice wasted a great deal of time asking the witness about events where he was not present, or had no knowledge. At one point Mr. Bonamy even rebuked Nice for wasting of time.

At the end of the cross-examination, Milosevic re-examined Mr. Jokanovic and some points where Nice had attempted to sow some confusion were clarified.

With the conclusion of Jokanovic's testimony the proceedings were adjourned until next Monday.
 

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