Milosevic opens his defense — THE HAGUE | 世界のニュースを英語で読むならジャパンタイムズウィークリー


	UPDATE: Saturday, June 12, 2010 The Japan Times Weekly 2004年9月11日号（バックナンバー）

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THE HAGUE
Milosevic opens his defense

Slobodan Milosevic

More than two years after his trial opened, Slobodan Milosevic launched his defense against war crimes charges Aug. 31, insisting that the Serbs he led with an iron fist were the real victims in the wars that tore apart Yugoslavia and destroyed millions of lives.

Charging that the prosecution case was a "distortion of history," Milosevic said Serbia's actions were a response to rebellions by other ethnic groups and outside threats by Islamic radicals who piggybacked on Yugoslavia's tensions to foment mayhem in the Balkans.

Milosevic said the accusations against him were "an unscrupulous lie and a tireless distortion of history," and said he had defended his country against a conspiracy to "wipe out Serbia from the map of Europe."

Milosevic faces more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1991-95 war in Croatia, the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and the Serb crackdown on Kosovo in 1998-99.

He faces a life sentence if convicted.

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