[Start quote from National Post]
"THE HAGUE - Prosecutors sought yesterday to clamp down on Slobodan Milosevic's lengthy cross-examinations, saying his grillings could deter future witnesses from testifying against him at his trial for war crimes.

"'We do have to have in mind the effect that questioning can have on witnesses yet to come,' the lead prosecutor, Geoffrey Nice, told the judges.

"'It would be foolish to pretend that this process isn't being given very wide publicity.'

"His comments came at the end of a day when Mr. Milosevic, at times sharply, questioned two ethnic Albanians who said they witnessed executions by Serb forces in the war in Kosovo in 1999.

"During the first six days of testimony, Mr. Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader acting as his own lawyer, has taken vigorous advantage of his right to ask questions to make his own case: that his army and police were not responsible for atrocities."

-- End quote from National Post On-Line, February 27, 2002
 http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?f=/stories/20020227/183738.h

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Note that Mr. Fisher describes President Milosevic as taking "vigorous advantage of his right to ask questions," suggesting there is something illicit about a sharp cross-examination in which witness after witness is exposed as a liar.

Look at the balance sheet, if you will.

On the one hand, The Hague has virtually unlimited financial, organizational and communications resources.

On the other hand, Slobodan Milosevic has a tiny cell in the same prison "which was used by the Gestapo during the Second World War as a torture centre for Dutch resistance fighters." (National Post, February 11, 2002)

He is only permitted to see his wife once a month. (Other prisoners get to see family every day.) The prison food is inedible. He is not allowed to exercise when The Hague is in 'session.' (I put 'session' in quotes because this is not a real court.) He is not permitted to meet with his legal advisers, other than his Yugoslav attorneys and perhaps one Dutch lawyer.

This ban includes the head of his legal team, Chris Black. It also includes most of his attorneys suing the 'tribunal' and Holland for denying President Milosevic basic rights. Whenever 'Judge' May wishes, he silences Milosevic by turning off his microphone. He has access to no research library nor the Internet. He cannot freely receive documents. He is not allowed to talk to the press although the prosecution holds regular press conferences. During much of his detention (though not at the moment) lights have been turned on in his cell, 24 hours a day.

I could go on. The point is, his rights are violated constantly and his living conditions are awful.

All Slobodan Milosevic has is his knowledge of what really happened in Kosovo and his brilliance, which enable him, despite widespread press censorship, to reach people around the world with the truth.

So why should witnesses be afraid? Why are they refusing to testify? Why did Agence France Press report, about one Mr. Zeqiri, that:

"Throughout his testimony, Zeqiri twisted in his chair to avoid facing Milosevic, who listened impassively and scribbled notes. The witness looked away even as the one time Serbian strongman fired questions at him during cross-examination." (AFP, February 20, 2002)

Note that, even in this context, Agence France Presse feels the need to label Milosevic a "strongman." But in fact Slobodan Milosevic has no army, no police, nothing but his eyes and his words. On the other hand, the witnesses are part of the secessionist organization which runs Kosovo with the support of not only NATO but The Hague 'tribunal' as well.

President Milosevic doesn't yell at these witnesses. He doesn't threaten them. He just catches them in lies.

That is why the 'prosecutor,' Geoffrey Nice, is worried. As Mr. Nice says:

"It would be foolish to pretend that this process isn't being given very wide publicity."

The 'prosecution' wants to silence Slobodan Milosevic because he is proving that NATO's witnesses - and therefore NATO's 'tribunal' - are liars. This is causing would-be witnesses to think twice about appearing. Moreover, Slobodan Milosevic is showing millions of people around the world that a) we have been sold a pack of lies about Yugoslavia and that b) one principled leader of a small country is more than an intellectual match for the legal 'minds' of the NATO emperors.

And that translates: NATO can be defeated.

The so-called prosecution at NATO's so-called tribunal is worried because millions of people around the world are learning from President Milosevic that NATO can be beaten.

[Coming Soon: "Lies and More Lies at NATO's 'Tribunal'" ]

-- Jared Israel

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FURTHER READING
==========================

1) 'By Adding Three Lies, One Does Not Get the Truth – Only a Bigger Lie ' - President Slobodan Miloševic in The Hague, January 30th 2002 (transcript)

2) 'Why is NATO Decimating the Balkans and Trying to Force Milosevic to Surrender?'
By Jared Israel and Nico Varkevisser

3) 'Illegal Tribunal - Illegal Indictment,' by Dr. Hans Koechler at  http://emperors-clothes.com/docs/prog2.htm

4) How Madeline Albright Ordered The Hague 'Tribunal' To 'Indict' Milosevic at  http://www.icdsm.org/more/lovie.htm

5) Official Statements Prove Hague 'Tribunal' Belongs to NATO by Jared Israel at  http://www.icdsm.org/more/belongs.htm