Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Former Serbian Leader Slobodan Milosevic Went Before The Hague Tribunal

Aired January 09, 2002 - 07:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Former Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, went before The Hague Tribunal earlier this morning in a final pretrial hearing. He faces charges of alleged war crimes in Kosovo.

CNN chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, is at The Hague. She joins us now with this update -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, Milosevic had his last hearing here before the trial begins February 12, and he really did perform according to this now well established pattern that he has been undertaking since he became -- he came here back here in June. He again defied the court. He said it was illegal. He said this jurisdiction didn't cover him. He said that it was politically motivated.

He kept being asked about procedural matters. This was a hearing on procedural matters about how the trial was going to unfold. And the judge kept giving him a chance to ask him whether he understood how the trial was going to unfold, whether he understood what it needed in order for him to be his own lawyer, to call his own witnesses and evidence. And at that point, Slobodan Milosevic launched into the last of a defiant series of statements about how this court, he believed, was rigged against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, DEFENDANT (through translator): Well, if you are going to limit to me to speaking about these questions and the questions of procedure, let me say that by natural definition of each and every court and tribunal, a court is always neutral and unbiased and prejudiced. And look at this court. It is -- the court should be impartial, but look at this court. The indictment has been raised according to what the British intelligence service has said. The judge is an Englishman. The amicus curie is...

RICHARD MAY, TRIAL JUDGE: Mr. Milosevic, we have listened to you patiently. You have been told a number of times that this hearing is purely to make -- to deal with matters of procedure. You will have a full opportunity at your trial to make your defense and make your statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: Now, we are told by his legal advisors after that courtroom appearance that Milosevic had planned to submit a verbal list of about 35 former and current world leaders who he wanted to come and testify on his behalf at the trial, including the former U.S. president, Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and other world leaders, including the British prime minister, Tony Blair, and other NATO leaders. His contention is that it was NATO who were the aggressors, and that he, as commander-in- chief, was simply defending Kosovo and defending Serbia.

The trial, of course, will cover only Kosovo, and he is accused of crimes against humanity and other crimes of war. And there are something like 500 victims listed in the indictment against him, and also he is accused of participating in the forced expulsion of some 800,000 Kosovos during the NATO intervention there back in 1999 -- Paula.

ZAHN: Christiane, thanks so much of that preview of the court case to come.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.