TRYING MILOSEVIC
June 28, 2001

After this background report, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discusses Slobodan Milosevic's transfer to the Hague.

 

Online NewsHour Special Report: Trying Milosevic June 25, 2001: Yugoslavia paves the way for extradition April 8, 2001: Hague prosecutor Carla Del Ponte April 2, 2001: Serb police arrest Slobodan Milosevic March 26, 2001: Ethnic violence in Macedonia Oct. 23, 2000: Yugoslavia tries to rebuild after Milosevic Oct. 11, 2000: Serbian Americans discuss the changes in Yugoslavia Oct. 10, 2000: Vojislav Kostunica tries to lead Yugoslavia in a new direction Oct. 6, 2000: Vojislav Kostunica declared the winner of Yugoslavia's elections Oct. 5, 2000: Samuel Berger discusses the developments and the next steps in Yugoslavia. Oct. 5, 2000: A panel discusses the opposition's efforts to topple Slobodan Milosevic. Sept. 27, 2000: Milosevic calls for run-off elections in Yugoslavia. Sept. 25, 2000: Contested election in Yugoslavia March 6, 2000: The military and civilian officials in Kosovo update efforts. Feb. 18, 2000: The difficulty of keeping peace after the war in Kosovo. Nov. 9, 1999: The anti-Milosevic opposition in Serbia. May 6, 1999: Assessing the peace proposal May 6, 1999: A Kosovar's perspective May 6, 1999: Full text of the foreign ministers' agreement May 6, 1999: Clinton and Schroeder on the G-8 Deal May 4, 1999: Are NATO strikes against Serb media outlets justified? May 3, 1999: Will diplomatic efforts bring an end to the conflict? More NewsHour Bosnia and United Nations coverage.   War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague Official Yugoslav government site	GABY RADO: From the time the federal parliament was stormed, it is only a matter of time. Last October, Slobodan Milosevic had grossly miscalculated that he could steal the election from under the people's noses. Its now clear that he also miscalculated the power of The Hague war crimes tribunal. When he appeared on TV the next day to announce he was going, he still felt he could avoid his ultimate fate. As far as he was concerned, it was a reverse the forces of the west had temporarily won, but he would fight on in opposition. He misjudged the determination of the new Yugoslavia to reach out to the West and reap the hard cash benefits. But at the end of March, there was a deadline imposed by the Americans for his arrest, and sure enough, he was finally put in jail. At that stage, however, most of Serbia felt he needed to be tried at home before he was handed over to The Hague. Today, the constitutional court in Belgrade froze a decree allowing his extradition. The decree was passed in response to another deadline, tomorrow's donors conference to Yugoslavia in which a billion dollar worth of aid would be forthcoming if The Hague tribunal's indictments were honored. Rushing such legislation through always carried dangers with it, as voiced by the Yugoslav ambassador today before he had heard that Milosevic was on his way to The Hague. DR. VLADETA JANKOVIC: His extradition, especially if it is materialized, if it happens under the present circumstances, is bound to divide the nation. It's bound to cause instability, and again, create a field of a very sensitive potentially very dangerous political goings on. We might -- I don't want to sound dramatic, but we might find ourselves on the verge of some sort of civil strife, civil war, potentially. GABY RADO: The war crimes for which Milosevic has been charged relate purely to the Kosovo conflict. And in recent weeks, Serbs have been viewing TV pictures of a mass grave of ethnic Albanians being unearthed on the outskirts of Belgrade. It was clearly a preparation of public opinion for the reckoning with which Milosevic was about to be confronted. When Yugoslavia began the process of breaking up at the end of the '80s, Slobodan Milosevic was seen as the savior of the Serbs. At this rally, the perceived threat was from the Albanians of Kosovo, but other times it would be the Croats and the Bosnian Muslims. The massive support Serbs gave their new leader would later be used by him to justify some of the most terrible acts seen in Europe for 50 years. First, the war between Serbs and Croats. There were thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. In the Croatian city of Vukovar overrun by the Serb-led Yugoslav army, there were also atrocities. War crimes investigators later discovered a mass grave nearby. As a result, The Hague tribunal indicted three army officers. So far, Slobodan Milosevic has only been charged with war crimes relating to Kosovo, not the Croatian or Bosnian wars. The crucial question is whether his responsibility can be proved.
	Licensing anarchy
	LORD OWEN: Well, he's totally in control -- if he wants to be. The question was: Did he license anarchy -- did he just let people like Arkan and these people get up to these appalling things -- not clamp down. He's certainly guilty in that sense, of not using his authority. GABY RADO: Western diplomats saw a lot of Milosevic in those days. He spoke good English, he was charming and made promises which he largely didn't keep. But as early as 1992, even before The Hague tribunal was set up, he was named as a possible war criminal by a senior American diplomat. REPORTER: He did seem to be linking your name to the possible future war crimes trial, which would be an international affair. PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC: (December 1992) It is absolutely out of any real basis. GABY RADO: For Milosevic to be indicted for war crimes in Bosnia where the war raged for three and a half bitter years with 200,000 people perishing along the way, his role will have to be established. Not an easy task, as Bosnia was, by that time, a nation independent of Yugoslavia.