Ex-Serb general accused at war crimes trial

[Adsos Letter]

AFP - Wednesday, January 28

THE HAGUE (AFP) - - Former Serbian general Vlastimir Djordjevic went on trial on Tuesday at the UN's Yugoslav war crimes court for the murders of hundreds of ethnic Albanians and the deportation of 800,000 others from Kosovo.

The prosecutor, Chester Stamp, accused Djordjevic of taking part in a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against Albanians in Kosovo between January and June 1999.

During this campaign, Yugoslavian and Serbian armies expelled one third of the Albanians living in Kosovo, he argued before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The 60-year-old former assistant internal affairs minister and police commander faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for deportation, murder and racial persecution.

The indictment alleges that Djordjevic "willingly participated in a joint criminal enterprise whose aim was to expel the majority of the Kosovo Albanian population to ensure continued Serbian control over the territory".

This was to be achieved through murder, deportation and persecution, said a court statement, adding: "These forces are also alleged to have sexually assaulted women, as well as looted and destroyed civilian property and religious sites."

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090127/twl-warcrimes-serbia-kosovo-4bdc673.html