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CNN Live At Daybreak

Milosevic Hearing Ends

Aired January 09, 2002 - 06:32   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was back in court today for the last time before his February 12th trial. He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour is at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands with details on today's hearing. He was pretty feisty, wasn't he Christiane?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed he was. This was his fifth appearance before this tribunal since he was brought here at the end of June of last year. He was acting in accordance with a well-established patent he's now had here and that is in defiance of the court. He said again that this court had no jurisdiction over him.

Now what was happening today was the court was outlining procedural and administrative effects for the beginning of the trial, which will begin on February 12th. And they went through a whole list of actions that need to be taken by the prosecution and by Milosevic, who is planning to defend himself before this trial can get underway.

At one point the judge, at the end of this procedure, said to Milosevic that this is how the trial is going to take shape. He explained the opening statement. He explained cross-examination. He explained what Milosevic would have to do and say if he was going to defend himself and at that point, Slobodan Milosevic again said that this was a politically motivated tribunal, that he was unable to get a fair trial and he went further than I've heard him gone before, saying that he believed this was simply a trial orchestrated by British intelligence.

He said look, the presiding judge is British. One of the amicus curiae, the friends of the court, is British, and the judge at that point cut him off and said that this procedure was going to be adjourned. His lawyers told me, after this procedure, that Milosevic had intended to announce the witnesses that he was going to call for himself during the trial. They said that he was going to present a list of 35 witnesses, including the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State of the United States, the British Prime Minister, British foreign secretary.

In short, he was going to try to call as witnesses on his behalf all the leaders of the NATO pact during the Kosovo conflict. Now it really remains to be seen because he will be given the opportunity to present that list of witnesses.

Whether that is a starter (ph) at all, and whether he has any hope of getting those world leaders here to the court or whether he may even get a written statement from them. The judge also told the prosecution that it had to limit its witnesses to 90. Prosecution had hoped to bring about 200 witnesses and the judge said that the prosecution should attempt to wrap up its case by the end of July -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Christiane Amanpour reporting live for us from The Hague this morning. Thank you very much.

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