Serbian Academy Memorandum Author Testifies

Slobodan Milosevic called yet another member of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU) to testify on his behalf in his trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Professor Kosta Mihajlovic is an economics expert and an author of the famous or infamous (depending on your point of veiw) SANU Memorandum. His testimony on Serbia's economic position in relation to the other republics in the former Yugoslavia in the 1980's is marginally relevant, if at all, to refute the charges against Milosevic. Yet the Accused spent considerable time eliciting the Professor's opinion that Serbia was unfairly disadvantaged in economic relations.

Milosevic spent no more than 20 minutes questioning Mihajlovic about the SANU Memorandum, which has far more relevance for the proceedings, since it is alleged to be the basis of the program Milosevic implemented leading to the violent break-up of Yugoslavia. In response to the Accused's examination, Mihajlovic told the Court that SANU drafted the Memorandum as a warning to the Serbian President and Assembly of the existing crisis and where it would lead. He denied it was a nationalist program for a Greater Serbia. The Memorandum was a draft only and not intended for release to the public, he said, claiming it was leaked to the press in 1986 after being sent to Professor Jovan Djordjevic for comments.

In cross examination, Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice gave voice to former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, Milosevic's one-time mentor, by quoting from the book he wrote about Yugoslavia's demise. Stambolic said the Memorandum was nationalist and for that reason was the obituary of Yugoslavia. Though he claimed to have sought the SANU's assistance in the first place, he reacted against the document immediately. 'We were expecting the Academy to help carry the load instead of trying to trip us. It [the Memorandum] is political insinuation that does not create science but evil blood and darkness.' Mihajlovic objected that this was an incorrect diagnosis and blamed Stambolic for what followed.

Attempting to counter the witness's opinion that the Memorandum was not intentionally leaked in order to stir up the public, Nice quoted the Professor's commentary on the Memorandum, written by him when he and a colleague re-published it in 1995: 'The Memorandum struck a cord with the public which had many of its own observations about the situation in the country confirmed. The Memorandum's lucid analysis and clear message had a powerful effect in shaping public opinion. . . .' Though not officially published in 1986, it was mimeographed, passed from hand to hand, and sold on street corners, he wrote. Mihajlovic vehemently denied that SANU members intended the document to have this effect, insisting they did not intentionally leak it. He admitted, however, that once leaked, it did influence the situation.

The Prosecutor unsuccessfully sought the Professor's agreement that Milosevic, turned into a cult leader by the intellectual elite and propaganda media, instrumentalized the Memorandum, i.e. turned it into reality. Milosevic's ideas merely coincided with those in the document, he said.

Nor would Mihajlovic agree that he and other drafters of the Memorandum became Milosevic's advisors, but only because he was not officially appointed. When called upon by Milosevic, he responded. After several attempts to refresh his memory, Nice secured the witness's agreement that Milosevic selected him with several others for follow up meetings with Croatian representatives following the much-discussed meeting between Milosevic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman at Karadjordjevo, Tito's former hunting lodge. According to substantial evidence in the trial, that was the meeting where the two presidents agreed to divide Bosnia between them, Nice reminded the Court. Milosevic strongly objected that there had been no such evidence. Nice, however, cited testimony from Lord Paddy Ashdown, Stipe Mesic, Ante Markovic, Hrvoje Sarinic and Milan Babic. While Mihajlovic agreed he had attended three such follow up meetings, he said the Serbian representatives had no instructions on what to do. They focused on what would happen to the Krajina, he testified.

Nice also made use of Milosevic's witness to review for the Court stenographic notes from meetings of the Council for Harmonization, chaired by Dobrica Cosic. While Mihajlovic said he only attended two meetings and could only remember discussions of the Vance-Owen Peace Plan, the Prosecutor read former Federal Prime Minister Milan Panic's remarks into the record. At an August 18, 1992 meeting Panic tells those assembled, including Milosevic, that they have been accused of causing and supporting war in Bosnia, leaving weapons for the Bosnian Serbs and financing Radovan Karadzic. When Milosevic attempts to dismiss his concerns, Panic insists, 'This afternoon I received information that ethnic cleansing has begun. Fifteen thousand (15,000) Muslims from Sanski Most were given eight hours to leave their homes.' The information came from the United Nations, who said he should stop it. While the Professor did not remember this meeting or the conversation, the stenographic notes cannot be ignored, and Milosevic was clearly put on notice.

While Milosevic's examination of his witnesses is superior to his prior cross examination of prosecution witnesses, his strategic decisions on which witnesses to call and where to focus their testimony needs improvement. The time allotted for presenting his defence case is strictly limited. He should move on from historians and SANU experts.