MR. KAY CAN’T QUIT AND MR. NICE RELIES ON DISCREDITED MATERIAL FOR HIS CROSS-EXAMINATION
www.slobodan-milosevic.org – December 7, 2004

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

The expert historian Dr. Slavenko Terzic concluded his examination-in-chief, and was cross-examined by prosecutor Geoffrey Nice at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic on Tuesday.

Dr. Terzic, who is testifying as an expert witness for the defense, stuck to his original testimony and easily handled Mr. Nice’s decrepit attempts to challenge the reliability of his evidence.

In his cross-examination, Nice claimed that Dr. Terzic had relied on Serbian sources or sources favoring Serbs when he wrote his expert report. Terzic, who relied almost exclusively on Western sources during his examination-in-chief, rebuffed Mr. Nice’s claim.

Dr. Terzic dealt extensively with the pan-Albanian movement in his expert report. Mr. Nice asked him whether he had read a report published in February 2004 by the International Crisis Group entitled “Pan-Albanianism: How Big a Threat to Balkan Stability?” In this report, the ICG claims that Albanians do not want to establish Greater-Albania.

Dr. Terzic, replied that this was the first time he saw that document, but that he did not agree with it, because he knew the people who had written the report and did not share their views.

Mr. Nice snidely said that Dr. Terzic would have “had to have been aware of the document.” Mr. Nice further insinuated that because Dr. Terzic had not read the ICG report, he had not done his job as an expert witness properly.

Mr. Nice, who was attaching a great deal of significance to the ICG report, apparently does not realize that this particular ICG report has been rejected and discredited by the Albanians themselves.

The Central Presidency of the Albanian National Union Front (ANUF) issued a statement on April 11, 2004 rejecting the ICG’s conclusion that Albanians aren’t interested in creating Greater Albania. In the estimation of the ANUF, Albanians overwhelmingly favor what they call “national unification” (i.e. the establishment of Greater Albania).

The ANUF statement says: “The ICG is avoiding polling data from the Albanian population showing that support for Albanian national reunification is much more than 80%. The last inquiry was organized in February - March 2004 by the independent Albanian magazine ILIRIA. 7895 persons polled from all social, age, and population structures from all Albanian lands, declared as follows: PRO national unification - 82,5 %, AGAINST national unification - 6% and WITHOUT CONCRETE ANSWER - 11%.

Independent television of the Republic of Albania (GJELI VIZION), on the evening when the trial of Gafurr Adili and Taip Mustafaj began, made an inquest too. 99,8% of the persons polled were declared as PRO NATIONAL UNIFICATION.

So, with what right does the ICG claim that Albanians were supporting KLA and NLA only when those organizations renounced the program for national unification?! With what right is the ICG ignoring that more than 80% of Albanians, from all Albanian lands are pro national unification?! The way in which the ICG attempts by all means to impose multi-ethnicity, is not giving desired results to the Albanian people (sympathy for multi-ethnicity) but on the contrary, precisely this constraint and this oppression is giving the Albanian people huge frustration. Albanians are simply brought into such a position that they are forming the conviction that ICG-type organizations are doing everything against the Albanians' rights.”

See full ANUF statement at: http://www.shqiperiaebashkuar.org/0/Anglisht/EN010.htm

Full ANUF statement Mirrored at: http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/anuf041104.htm

Mr. Nice’s attempt to use a discredited ICG report to prove his untrue claim that Albanians don’t want to create Greater-Albania is just another demonstration of the dishonesty and deceit employed by the prosecution.

Albanians make no secret of the fact that they want to establish Greater-Albania. During the recent elections in Kosovo, many Albanian politicians campaigned precisely on the platform of annexing Kosovo to Albania. See: http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/ks1008091304.htm

Mr. Nice will continue his campaign to deny self-evident facts, otherwise known as the “cross-examination of the witness,” on Thursday. Due to a plenary session of the judges, there will be no trials at the Hague Tribunal on Wednesday.

Aside from the testimony of Dr. Terzic, the trial chamber handed down a ruling regarding the resignation of Mr. Kay and Ms. Higgins.

The trial chamber rejected their resignation and ordered them to stay on until the end of the trial. It is widely reported that the tribunal wants them to remain available to take over the defense case in the event that Milosevic falls ill and can not attend court, although such a development would be a clear violation of the ICTY’s rules prohibiting trial in absentia.
 

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