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War
crimes trial against Milosevic begins
THE
HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Slobodan Milosevic orchestrated the
murders of thousands of people in a campaign of “savagery”
with the sole goal of satisfying his all-consuming thirst for power,
a prosecutor said Tuesday, opening the former Yugoslav president’s
trial for war crimes.
Milosevic,
the first head of state to face an international tribunal, listened
impassively, occasionally jotting notes, as United Nations attorneys
sketched a complex case spanning nearly a decade of horror in three
Balkan countries.
The
prosecution gave a first glimpse of a litany of agony — rape,
torture, looting, expulsion and almost gleeful killing — that
survivors will recount during a trial expected to last two years.
The
trial is the biggest war crimes case since Hitler’s henchmen
were brought before a military tribunal after World War II.
Milosevic,
60, faces a total of 66 counts of genocide and other war crimes
in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo that killed thousands of people and
displaced more than a million others. Each count carries a maximum
sentence of life in prison.
Milosevic
is expected to give a spirited response Wednesday to the prosecution’s
six-hour statement. He has refused to recognize the tribunal or
appoint a lawyer, and has launched separate proceedings to fight
his detention.
In
previous court appearances, he refused to wear headphones providing
him with the translation of proceedings into his native Serbian
language. On Tuesday, a loudspeaker set up in front of his desk
gave him no choice but to listen.
Outside
the court, about 25 people held an anti-Milosevic protest behind
police barricades. His supporters were even fewer.
Meanwhile
at a district court elsewhere in The Hague, Milosevic’s legal
team sought an injunction
to force the tribunal to allow them to have unmonitored meetings
with their client to prepare a case in the European Court of Human
Rights.
A
lawyer for the state said the Dutch court had no jurisdiction over
the tribunal. The judge promised a ruling in two weeks.
Peace
plan outlined for Palestinians, Israelis
JERUSALEM
(AP) — Foreign Minister Shimon Peres outlined a peace plan
Tuesday negotiated with a senior Palestinian lawmaker that calls
for a cease-fire followed quickly by
the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Long
on optimism but short on supporters, the plan was reached between
Peres and Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia, known as
Abu Ala, over several months of unannounced meetings in which they
strove to move beyond the daily violence and heated rhetoric.
In
their peace efforts, Peres and Qureia appeared to have reached broad
agreement on several important points, but it remained far from
clear how much support their plan would generate among Israeli and
Palestinian leaders.
Peres
suggested the plan was also backed by Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat.
“There
is a proposal, which is acceptable to Abu Ala and his senders,”
Peres said on Israel radio, adding that he has shown the plan to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and expects his comments.
Peres
may face a tough battle persuading Sharon, who has shot down several
of his initiatives. Other members of Sharon’s coalition government
— including members of Peres’ own Labor Party — also
are skeptical.
Qureia
endorsed the plan Monday, although he gave few details and the Palestinian
Authority has been vague about its position.
The
proposal has been discussed in the media for weeks, but the two
negotiators have mostly kept mum. In his first detailed description,
Peres said it contains three stages, beginning with a cease-fire
— a goal which has proven difficult over the 16 months of bloodshed.
Shortly
after a cease-fire is achieved, the plan envisions a mutual recognition
of Israeli and Palestinian states.
The
two sides would then have one year to negotiate final borders and
other terms for the Palestinian state, and another year to implement
any agreement.
Peres
said the new Palestinian state would initially be on territory already
ruled by the Palestinian Authority — about two-thirds of the
Gaza Strip and 40 percent of the West Bank.
Palestinians
are seeking all of Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, along
with a capital in east Jerusalem.
Pentagon
to investigate mistreatment of Afghans
KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military insisted Tuesday that
Afghans mistakenly captured in a special forces raid last month
were not abused and, in fact, were
in better shape when freed than when captured.
Nevertheless,
the Pentagon will investigate allegations that U.S. soldiers beat
and mistreated captives from the Jan. 23 raid, one of the most controversial
incidents in the four-month U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan.
Several
of the 27 captives later released told The Washington Post that
U.S. troops treated them so badly that some lost consciousness and
suffered fractured ribs, loosened teeth and swollen noses. Other
newspapers carried similar reports.
The
prisoners were kept at the U.S.-commandeered air base in Kandahar,
southern Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Keith Warman said from there Tuesday
that the abuse claims were without foundation.
Base
commander Col. Frank. Wiercinski said Red Cross investigators found
no evidence that any detainees, believed to include fighters from
the Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s al Qaida terrorist network,
have been mistreated.
In
Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld ordered an investigation into the alleged mistreatment,
although Victoria Clarke said the military “has nothing to
indicate that anything like that happened.”
The
Pentagon first said U.S. special forces attacked an al Qaida weapons
dump in Khas Uruzgan, a town north of Kandahar, and killed about
15 people.
But
after Afghans complained they were wrongly targeted and that innocents
were killed, the U.S. military acknowledged that the 27 captives
were not al Qaida or Taliban fighters and released them.
Patriotic
colors added to Mardi Gras celebrations
NEW
ORLEANS (AP) — Mardi Gras revelers who filled the streets of
New Orleans’ French Quarter added a patriotic twist to the
debauchery Tuesday, mixing red, white and blue with the traditional
purple, green and gold of Carnival.
On
Bourbon Street, strings of beads — including new red, white
and blue necklaces — rained down on young women who bared their
breasts.
“I
got the really good beads,” bragged Joe Chin, 23, of Miami.
“I know it’s cold, but girls are still happy to show them
for these babies.”
National
Guardsmen patrolled Mardi Gras for the first time, but police said
the only direct response to the terrorism alert issued by the FBI
on Monday was the posting of the suspected terrorists’ photos
at police stations.
“Why
would terrorists want to break up such a good party?” said
Tommy Mitchell, 31, of San Francisco, who wore only a grass skirt
and American flag pasties despite the chill.
“This
is a friendly group. Very friendly.”
Temperatures
in the 30s thinned the crowds that usually line the Fat Tuesday
parade route through the city’s Garden District.
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