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US Seeks Safeguards on Diplomats Testifying at Milosevic Trial - International Justice - Global Policy Forum US Seeks Safeguards on Diplomats
Testifying at Milosevic TrialBy Christopher Marquis
New York Times
Jule 13, 2002The State Department is negotiating the terms under which Richard C. Holbrooke, the former ambassador to the United Nations, and other American diplomats may testify in the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader, officials said today.
The department has indicated that it would like to see Mr. Holbrooke and other former officials testify in secret before the Hague tribunal that is trying Mr. Milosevic, citing concerns that they might disclose sensitive information or that in testifying they might set a precedent that Washington wants to avoid.
But the American conditions have frustrated the tribunal's prosecutors. They have suggested that they may have no choice but to drop the testimony of Mr. Holbrooke, who as the Clinton administration's envoy to Balkans worked closely with Mr. Milosevic on the 1995 accords that ended the Bosnian war.
Philip Reeker, the department's deputy spokesman, said talks with the tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, were continuing. "We have to weigh the need to protect compelling United States interests, including the need to protect effectiveness and security of our diplomats and the security of sensitive information," Mr. Reeker said.
He also said the Bush administration had been "extraordinarily supportive of the prosecution at an unprecedented level of cooperation," and would continue to back the trial.But some insiders said the administration was nervous about setting a precedent in which officials and former officials may be summoned before a court outside the United States.
Evincing a similar uneasiness, the administration has refused to sign a treaty establishing an International Criminal Court, citing concerns that American servicemen might be singled out for legal action. "We believe that that treaty has a number of fundamental problems," Mr. Reeker said.
Mr. Holbrooke, for his part, said he was ready to testify against Mr. Milosevic. He said he had already spent hours sharing his views with Ms. Del Ponte and her staff."I absolutely believe he's guilty," Mr. Holbrooke said. "Whether we have smoking guns, that's a different issue."
Mr. Milosevic is charged with genocide and other crimes committed during the 1990's Balkans wars. He is leading his own defense and has said that he will seek the testimony Mr. Holbrooke and other top American officials to bolster his case.
The prosecutors are seeking the testimony of five or six Americans in all. The former officials include Christopher Hill, who is now ambassador to Poland, and Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the former NATO commander, officials said.
Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, Mr. Holbrooke said the State Department was not impeding the prosecution of the case. The Financial Times of London reported today that the United States was jeopardizing some of the most important testimony in the case."The whole idea that State is blocking a conviction is totally bizarre," Mr. Holbrooke said. He noted that there were 66 counts against the former Yugoslav leader. "I don't know which of the 66 will matter," he said.
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