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Milosevic Sharply Cross Examines Witness VOA News 28 Feb 2002 17:47 UTC 
The former Yugoslav leader made his charge as he cross-examined Kosovo Albanian human rights activist Halit Barani about his testimony that Serbian security police prepared a list of Kosovo ethnic Albanian leaders scheduled for assassination.
Mr. Milosevic told the Hague War crimes tribunal that Mr. Barani's testimony was a series of untruths. In a fierce cross examination, the former Yugoslav leader confronted Mr. Barani with details of dozens of attacks by ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica. He noted the presence of the witness on many of the occasions and asked whether he was a founder of the city's local unit of the guerrilla group, the Kosovo Liberation army.
Mr. Barani told the court he was familiar with many of the incidents, but denied founding the guerrilla group. He said he had documented dozens of atrocities by Serbian forces as a member of the the group, the Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, in Kosovska Mitrovica.
Mr. Barani Monday told the court he obtained the list of 66 people, signed by a special Serbian unit commander, M. Markovic, from a municipal building in the city. He said police had shot and killed at least one of the people listed.
Prosecutors have presented evidence to show that Serbian forces murdered hundreds of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In addition, the prosecution says the Serbian crackdown in Kosovo resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia.
Mr. Milosevic faces 66 charges of war crimes and genocide arising from the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. He has challenged the legitimacy of the U.N. court at The Hague and is conducting his own defense.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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