GEN. JELIC CONCLUDES HIS TESTIMONY; MILOSEVIC ASKS FOR A 380 HOUR EXTENSION OF THE DEFENSE CASE
www.slobodan-milosevic.org - December 8, 2005

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

Mr. Nice concluded his cross-examination of Gen. Krsman Jelic on Thursday. The prosecutor, citing the OSCE book “As Seen As Told,” accused Jelic of using grenades to kill civilians in Kotlina, and then disposing of their corpses by throwing them down wells.

Jelic denied that he or his men killed civilians in Kotlina, or that they threw anybody’s corpse down a well.

Jelic’s testimony jibes perfectly with Gen. Stevanovic’s testimony. Stevanovic said that the terrorists were killed in Kotlina while fighting against the police. To prove that point, he had pictures of the corpses of the dead terrorists with their weapons still lying next to them at the bottom of what Mr. Nice calls “wells.” (In reality these so-called “wells” were underground bunkers disguised to look like wells.)

Mr. Nice, again relying on the book “As Seen As Told,” demanded that Jelic explain how it was that three corpses, which he claimed were wearing civilian clothes, were found in the village of Ivaja in April 1999.

Jelic said that the army did not enter Ivaja, so he didn’t know what killed those people. But he did point out that members of the KLA often wore civilian clothes. He speculated that they could have been killed in clashes with the police.

It already emerged during the testimony of Bogoljub Janicevic that the three corpses Mr. Nice was referring to as “wearing civilian clothes,” were in fact three armed women who had been partially dressed in KLA uniforms.

It is also a fact that the 162nd Brigade of the KLA was headquartered in Ivaja. The brigade numbered some 380 members and was commanded by Ibri Razi and Dzabir Zarko.

Mr. Nice briefly dealt with the events in Stagovo where he accused the Army of shelling the village and killing civilians.

Jelic denied that the army shelled Stagovo, but he did confirm that the Army did attacked a group of KLA terrorists located outside of the village.

Milosevic briefly re-examined the witness. He began by asking questions about Racak. Jelic explained that the army did not fire at Racak and was not involved with any of the fighting in Racak. He reiterated that the Army only provided security on the road outside of Racak.

Jelic explained that the combat disposition of his unit did not change throughout the entire time the police were carrying out the anti-terrorist operation in Racak. He said that the army remained in the same positions that it had been holding since April of 1998.

In relation to Mr. Nice’s questions about Stagovo, Milosevic asked Jelic if the army ever targeted civilians or civilian houses. Jelic responded that the army never targeted civilians. He said that the army only targeted terrorists and whatever facilities they were using for their firing positions. He said that the army did not fire unless it knew what it was shooting at, and he repeated that the group of terrorists that his unit targeted was outside of Stagovo – not inside the village itself.

Milosevic ended the re-examination by showing Gen. Jelic photographs of the wells that Mr. Nice says were used to dispose of corpses of murdered civilians in Kotlina.

These photographs, originally presented during the testimony of Gen. Stevanovic, show that these so-called “wells” were all decked out with ladders and heaters. The photographs prove that they weren’t wells at all, they were KLA bunkers linked together by a network of underground tunnels.

On top of the fact that these weren’t really wells, is the fact that the prosecution’s own investigators were given statements by the people living in Kotlina that the bodies found dead in the wells were those of known KLA fighters – not civilians.

After Gen. Jelic concluded his testimony the tribunal held a hearing to hear submissions from the parties about whether more time should be given to the defense.

Milosevic told the tribunal that he needs another 380 hours to complete his case and call his remaining 190 witnesses.

Milosevic argued that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, requires the Tribunal to give him adequate time for the preparation and presentation of his defense case.

Mr. Nice argued against granting Milosevic further time, saying that if the extension was granted the trial would take three years longer to finish. Judge Robinson picked-up on Mr. Nice’s assertion of three years and accused Milosevic of not being serious in his submissions.

Apparently, basic arithmetic is beyond the comprehension of the prosecutor and the judges. Granting Milosevic 380 more hours would only extend the trial by another 90 working days; sitting three days a week that would only be 30 more weeks. Add another 20 or 30 weeks for cross-examination and administrative matters and you’re somewhere around one year – not three years.

At any rate, the Tribunal is expected to deliver its decision before the three-week recess starting at the end of next week.

The last 20 minutes of the day was devoted to the cross-examination of Lt. Col. Janos Sel. Mr. Nice obtained the witness’s work notebook and asked him questions about it.

The only topic that Mr. Nice covered today was a soldier named Solovic who served for five days before deserting the army in mid-1998.

The trial will resume next Tuesday with the continuation of Lt. Col. Sel’s cross-examination.

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