'Judge' Richard
May: Mr Milosevic, if there are any
issues you wish to raise in
connection with your case or about
your physical and mental conditions,
then this is your chance to do so.
President
Slobodan Milosevic: Well, I would
like to know first of all, can I
speak or are you going to turn off my
microphone like first time.
May: Mr
Milosevic, if you follow the rules
then you will be able to speak.
President
Slobodan Milosevic: Then that is my
next question, I would like to make
presentation on the legality of this
tribunal.
May: You have
already put a motion in on that
topic, are you asking to be able to
address it to the chamber?
President
Slobodan Milosevic: If I cannot make
the presentation...I will give it in
writing. My associates will give it
to the press. I don't see why I have
to defend myself in front of false
tribunal from false indictments
May: If you
make it in writing it can be made
public in due course. If you have it
in writing it may be more convenient
to deal with it in that way.
President
Slobodan Milosevic: That
is your decision. We have to
communicate as a civilised persons
not with switching off the microphone...
so we can understand each other what
is possible what is not.
If you
allow, I would comment on what we
have just heard. Something very
interesting, proving what I said on
July 3 in this chamber - that we are
dealing with a false indictment.
I was
indicted 26 May, the 60th day of Nato
aggression against Yugoslavia, when I
was defending my country, and there
are two and a half years from that
date, and we have just heard that
they have no evidence, that they
cannot complete indictment.
Having a
clear opinion which is proved by
legal facts that this tribunal is
illegal, I don't see why I have to
defend myself in front of false
tribunal from false indictments.
If
you allow to me I would ask some
questions to you concerning my
position in illegal imprisonment.
May: You can't
ask us any questions, but if there
are issues you would like to raise
about that you can do so.
President
Slobodan Milosevic: I am by the order
of this illegal institution in total
isolation, and my question is why am
I isolated from my family? Why my
family cannot visit me the same way
as the others have that possibility?
Why visits of my family are
monitored? Why you need monitoring of
my talks with my grandson who is two
and a half years old? So why you are
making all those acts of massive
violation of my rights? And why I am
isolated from the persons who would
like to visit me and who I need to
talk and to discuss different legal
aspects of my position in this
illegal imprisonment.
May: Just pause
there. The rules governing the
detention are a matter for the
registrar. If they are being applied
differently to you to anybody else we
will inquire. The difficulty about
the lawyers is that you have not yet
selected or nominated a lawyer, and
the rules allow legal visits from a
nominated lawyer.
Now, is this
your position? You wish to represent
yourself, you do not wish to [nominate]
a lawyer, but you wish to have access
to legal advice, does that summarise
your position?
President
Slobodan Milosevic: It is clear that
it is my right to contact different
experts for different aspects of my
position in illegal imprisonment and
in addition to that I have the right
to contact lawyers who are dealing
with my private affairs in
Yugoslavia, I have right to contact
lawyers who are engaged in some
international organisations who are
supporting me, I have right to
communicate with those people... As I
understand all system of UN is based
on the principal of non-discrimination
and I am discriminated all the time
from the first day I got in.
May: The
problem is that you have not
nominated a lawyer, if you nominated
a lawyer the position would be clear.
The staff here have to follow the
rules, and the person who is allowed
legal visits is your nominated lawyer.
But you want advice first of all on
your position here on these
proceedings, you also want advice on
your affairs in Yugoslavia.
President
Slobodan Milosevic: Of course and
many other things I have in mind,
what I have to talk about.
May: The trial
chamber will look into these matters.
The problem is that you have not
nominated a lawyer. If you nominated
a lawyer the position would be clear
President
Slobodan Milosevic: The
third question is why I am isolated
from the press especially in the
circumstances in which every single
day there is something printed or
broadcast against me as a pure lie.
So you are
keeping me in isolation not to
communicate to the press even by
telephone, which is the only means
which is available to me... If there
is on one side all that machinery you
represent, all that secret services,
military mach media machinery and
everything else and on my side there
is only the truth, if you are
isolating me from the communications
with the press then it is clear that
is completely discriminatory and you
cannot even mention the idea of even-handedness...
Please
let me remind you I am not
recognising this tribunal but
considering it completely
illegitimate and illegal, so all
those questions about counsels, about
representations are out of any
question...
May: Very well,
Mr Milosevic there must be an end to
this. Just one moment. let me deal
with the matters you raise, the rules
of the detention unit provide that
there should not be communication
with the press. Those are the rules
and they must be followed. They do
not discriminate against you they
apply to all the accused who are in
detention. As to your point about
your not recognising the tribunal,
you have made it and we have heard it
and there is no need to repeat it, is
there anything else you want to add?
President
Slobodan Milosevic: I understood we
were dealing with that problem of
illegality of the tribunal as a
problem of jurisdiction. It is clear
to any lawyer in the world that
question of jurisdiction can be open
when juridicial institutions are
concerned, and you are not juridical
institution. You are political tool.
May: You've
made that point, Mr Milosevic, we are
not going to listen to political
arguments, your motion on
jurisdiction you have put in and we
will consider it. This hearing will
be adjourned until Monday 29 October.