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Milosevic Accuses Croatian President of War Crimes October 2, 2002 By REUTERS Filed at 12:24 p.m. ET THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic turned the tables on Croatia's president in court on Wednesday, answering his testimony by accusing Stjepan Mesic of himself ordering villages torched and Serbs driven from their homes. There was scant eye contact between the two as Milosevic cross-examined Mesic, a day after the Croatian leader gave evidence against the former Yugoslav president in Europe's biggest war crimes trial since Nazi leaders were tried at Nuremberg. Milosevic, facing 61 counts including genocide in Croatia and Bosnia, accused Mesic of betraying the old Yugoslavia and planning mass expulsions of Serbs from Croatia. ``I see you have a real hang-up about Milosevic. You mentioned me in every other sentence yesterday,'' said Milosevic, who is defending himself. ``You betrayed Yugoslavia and contributed to its break-up,'' railed the former Serbian president. ``Is it true that deportations of the Serb population -- or humane resettlement as you put it -- was put forward in Zagreb?'' Hundreds of thousands of Serbs were forced to flee Croatia after their breakaway ``Serb Republic of Krajina'' was overrun by Croatian troops in 1995. ``According to your instructions Serb villages were destroyed,'' Milosevic said. Mesic replied: ``That has nothing to do with actual fact. I heard about the torching of villages and lodged a complaint with (then) President (Franjo) Tudjman.'' BOSNIAN SERB LEADER PLAVSIC PLEADS GUILTY In a separate hearing later in the same courtroom of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, a former ally of Milosevic escaped trial by pleading guilty on Wednesday to one count of crimes against humanity. Lawyers for former Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic poured water on speculation that the change in plea was part of a deal with prosecutors to testify against Milosevic. ``Mrs. Plavsic has not agreed to testify in any case pending before this tribunal,'' Eugene O'Sullivan said after the hearing. Judges said other charges against Plavsic would be scrapped. However, Plavsic, once dubbed the ``Iron Lady'' of Bosnia's Serb Republic, ``invites others, especially leaders, on any side of the conflict, to examine themselves and their own conduct,'' O'Sullivan added. During his testimony on Tuesday, Mesic, 67, had portrayed Milosevic as an unfeeling warmonger bent on Yugoslavia's disintegration and on seizing Croat land in his pursuit of an ethnically pure Greater Serbia. ``It was better to negotiate for 10 years than wage war for 10 days. Some people were in favor of the war option and Slobodan Milosevic was certainly one of them,'' he said. Mesic was the last to hold the rotating presidency of the old Yugoslav federation before its bloody collapse in 1991. He was elected Croatian president in 2000 on a pro-Western reformist ticket. In contrast to other witnesses against Milosevic, Mesic appeared unperturbed by Milosevic's presence. The former Serb strongman smiled as he asked Mesic if he had exerted any influence over the kidnapping of two Serbs. ``Just as much influence as I had on Lincoln's assassination,'' Mesic shot back, raising laughter in the public gallery. Milosevic, who became Yugoslav president in 1997 after seven years as Serb leader, said the insurgency by Serbs in Croatia in the 1990s was the result of oppression by Croats. He quoted comments he said were made by officials of the Croatian Democratic Union -- a political party Mesic co-founded with Tudjman -- which included: ``Outside the boys are singing: we're going to slaughter the Serbs.'' Mesic dismissed allegations that Serbs lived in an atmosphere of fear as an ``exaggeration,'' saying: ``Those who wanted to cut off parts of Croatia are those who are to be blamed for radical statements.'' Milosevic has refused to enter a plea, out of scorn for the Hague tribunal. Judges have entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. Prosecutors at the U.N. court last month wrapped up the part of their case against Milosevic which accuses him of war crimes in Kosovo. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-milosevic.html?ex=1034601547&ei=1&en=d352a1bf1f32c096 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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