Milosevic Trial Back In Full Swing

A Harvard University specialist testified Tuesday at the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that Serb forces deliberately destroyed Muslim holy sites in Kosovo.

Cultural historian Andras Riedlmayer said the Serbs dynamited, shelled, shot or set fire to scores of mosques, Islamic libraries, theology schools, mausolea and historical sites.

Riedlmayer said he visited 140 sites in Kosovo after the conflict in the Serbian province ended in 1999, using the information for his 1998-99 study of holy places, "The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Kosovo."

"In some cases, such attacks were accompanied by anti-Albanian or pro-Serb graffiti written on the mosque walls or inside the mihrab (prayer area) and vandalism directed at religious scripture," the report said.

"Our documentation showed that more than one-third were destroyed or damaged, and the evidence shows this happened in 1998-1999 during some kind of conflict," he said. "I will leave the conclusions to others."

Around 80 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were damaged or defaced by returning Kosovo Albanians after the war. In one example, the court was shown pictures of a mural on which UCK, the acronym for the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, had been scratched.

No evidence was found that the 78-day bombing campaign by NATO in 1999 had damaged any important religious or historical architecture, the document said.

During cross-examination, Milosevic rejected the report as subjective, saying it had been carried out under NATO orders. He accused Riedlmayer of bias, but the witness said his American nationality had not influenced the report.

"If we had found evidence that NATO had destroyed heritage, we would have reported it all the same," he said. "Our conclusions are not influenced by the government."

The trial, which started on February 12, resumed Monday after a three-week break because of the defendant's illness. Milosevic, dressed in his usual dark suit, looked rested and had a slight tan.

Prosecutors earlier this week called two protected witnesses to testify in closed proceedings against him.

Prosecutors can request that the identity of a witness remains secret and that their testimony can be heard behind closed doors. The press and public are barred from attending closed hearings.

Milosevic stuck to his usual line of attack, accusing Western leaders and Albanian "terrorists" of crimes in Kosovo. He read through a long list of damaged churches and mosques which he said "NATO intentionally targeted."

Milosevic was transferred to the U.N. court last June to face charges of crimes against humanity and other war crimes, including genocide. He could face life imprisonment if convicted of any one of 66 charges.

On Monday, the U.N. tribunal heard evidence in closed session from two protected witnesses. No information about their identities or testimony could be published.

In another development, Bosnian Croat Drago Josipovic was flown to Spain Tuesday to serve the remainder of a 12-year jail sentence for his role in the Ahmici massacre in Bosnia in 1992 and 1993. Josipovic's conviction was upheld by an appeals chamber in Oct. 2001