Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Milosevic allies go on trial in Hague for 'ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo

Milosevic allies go on trial in Hague for 'ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo

· Former Serbian president charged over 1999 conflict
· Defendants accused of helping deport Albanians

Nicholas Watt, European editor
Tuesday July 11, 2006
The Guardian

Former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic
Former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic. Photograph: Michael Kooren/AFP

A key ally of Slobodan Milosevic and five other former Serbian officials were put on trial yesterday, charged with the murder and persecution of thousands of Kosovo Albanians during the 1999 conflict.

Milan Milutinovic, 63, a former president of Serbia, and his five co-defendants allegedly joined forces with Milosevic to deport up to 800,000 ethnic Albanians from the Serbian province.

Thomas Hannis, the prosecutor at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, told the court: "These six accused were co-participants with Slobodan Milosevic and other Serbian political, military and police officials in a joint criminal enterprise. They burned or destroyed villages so there was nothing left to return to."

Article continues
The trial of Mr Milutinovic has taken on added significance since Milosevic died of a heart attack in March while on trial for war crimes. Mr Milutinovic is now the most senior Serb facing charges before the tribunal.

The prosecution alleged that Milosevic was the "primary planner" behind Belgrade's plans to deport hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, a province where ethnic Serbs form a minority. The prosecution linked the six defendants to the operation by saying they had all been appointed by Milosevic "to ensure that like-minded people were in positions of power", according to Mr Hannis. The five other defendants are: Nikola Sainovic, 57, the former prime minister of Serbia; Dragoljub Ojdanic, 65, a former army chief of staff; Generals Nebojsa Pavkovic, 60, and Vladimir Lazarevic, 57; and Sreten Lukic, 51, a former head of the internal affairs ministry for Kosovo.

Last night, it emerged that Serbia and Croatia, whose acrimonious split caused the worst bloodshed on European soil since the second world war, are engaged in behind-the-scenes talks on how to cooperate with the tribunal in The Hague.

In a move unimaginable a few years ago, Zagreb has been advising Belgrade on how to convince the tribunal it is trying to track down the indicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic. European diplomats have hailed the talks as an illustration of the "soft power" of the EU to put pressure on countries that want to join the union. Brussels suspended its membership talks with Belgrade in May after Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor at the war crimes tribunal, accused the Serbian prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, of lying to her about the whereabouts of Mladic. Mladic is wanted in connection with the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims at Srebenica 11 years ago this month.

Mr Kostunica, who is determined to resume the EU talks, has turned to his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Sanader, for advice. The EU briefly postponed its membership talks with Croatia last year when Mrs del Ponte accused Zagreb of failing to cooperate in the capture of an indicted Croatian war criminal, Ante Gotovina.

Mr Sanader highlighted the importance of the EU yesterday when he declared that there would be no more regional wars, thanks to the EU and Nato. In a speech in Dubrovnik, the prime minister said membership preparations are boosting co-operation between former enemies.