Milošević's "private solution" for Kosovo

Milošević's "private solution" for Kosovo

On the seventh and final day of his evidence, the prosecutor continued the cross-examination of former Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ratko Marković.

The prosecutor tried to prove that the Serbian side had been seeking a military, not a peaceful solution for the Kosovo crisis. The prosecutor also alleges that the Rambouillet talks were run by Slobodan Milošević from Belgrade, not the 13-strong delegation led by Marković.

The prosecution went on to note that historian Marc Weller discussed the level of commitment of the Serbian delegation in Rambouillet in his book. Describing the talks, Weller states that most of the Serbian delegation—which included eight representatives of ethnic minorities in Kosovo—did nothing.

They behaved as if they were at a tea party. On one occasion, Weller notes, they sang and made noise until early in the morning, and the international mediators complained the next morning.

Marković says it is possible that some of the delegation members may have celebrated their birthday in the course of the lengthy talks, and they may have stayed up late.

They may have "sang a few songs because of the good mood." As he clarified, this was an incident, not a regular occurrence.

Only a few of the Serbian negotiators took active part in the talks, the prosecutor claims. Among them were Federal Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Šainović and Milan Milutinović, who would show up in Rambouillet from time to time, although he was not formally a member of the delegation.

The prosecutor claims that the two of them followed instructions from Belgrade. In proof of the allegation, the prosecutor notes that Šainović went to meet with Milošević in the middle of the talks. Marković says he doesn't know what Milošević and Šainović talked about, because the latter didn't have to report to him about who he talked to in Belgrade.

As for Milošević's designs to obstruct the talks, the prosecutor argues it is proven by the testimony of Klaus Naumann, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee. Naumann says that in October 1998 Milošević told him, in the presence of Milutinović and Šainović, that in spring next year he would apply “the Drenica model” to solve the Kosovo problem. He would "gather all the Albanians in one place and kill them."

Marković's reply is that he didn't hear Milošević make such statements publicly, and in his opinion, this was Milošević's "private oppinion."

Vojislav Šešelj said something to that effect in early 1999. He was one of the five Serbian deputy prime ministers at the time; Marković was another. The prosecutor showed a video clip in which Šešelj promises "there will be no Albanians in Kosovo" if NATO launches air strikes.

When asked why no one in the government distanced themselves from the statement, Marković said it had been a party rally where Šešelj did not speak as a cabinet member.

As indicated earlier, the next witness to be called by Milan Milutinović's defense will be former Serbian energy minister and Serbian government commissioner for Kosovo Života Ćosić. He will be followed by Jovan Kojić, former official in Milutinović's cabinet.