NYT/AP: 6 Milosevic Aides Go on Trial in the Hague

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6 Milosevic Aides Go on Trial in the Hague
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 10, 2006

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Six former high-level political and military leaders of Serbia and the former Yugoslavia went on trial Monday for alleged war crimes in Kosovo during the 1998-99 crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

The six, headed by former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, are charged with orchestrating the deportation of 800,000 ethnic Albanians and allowing other acts during the crackdown, which ended with a NATO bombing campaign. They have pleaded not guilty to five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes at the U.N. Yugoslav tribunal.

Prosecutor Thomas Hannis said the six were part of ''joint criminal enterprise'' led by former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, which aimed ''to manipulate or modify the ethnic balance of Kosovo to maintain Serb control.''

In the first half of 1999, tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians were herded to the border on foot and in tractor-drawn wagons -- an exodus that was documented by international television.

Kosovo had a unique place in Serb history and religion, Hannis said, and the prosecution would show ''the special importance it held for Slobodan Milosevic,'' who rode a tide of Serb nationalism to become president of the former Yugoslavia....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-War-Crimes-Kosovo.html?hp&ex=1152590400&en=2bc81e69a63fff67&ei=5094&partner=homepage