Milosevic accused of 'savagery'

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The U.N.'s chief prosecutor accused former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic of being "responsible for the worst crimes known to humankind" at the opening of his landmark war crimes trial.

Milosevic, 60, went on trial at The Hague on Tuesday, charged with crimes against humanity in Croatia and Kosovo, and genocide in Bosnia.

It is the biggest European war crimes trial since Hitler's henchmen were tried at Nuremberg after World War II.

"Today as never before, we see international justice in action," Carla Del Ponte said in her opening statement. His case, she said, would be a powerful demonstration that "no one is above the law" or beyond the reach of justice.

Del Ponte said her task was to "allow the voice of the victims to be heard. Many of the victims cannot come to you because they did not survive."

"These crimes touch every one of us wherever we live because they offend against our deepest principle of human rights and human dignity," she said.

VIDEO Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic is accused of "the worst crimes known to humankind." CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports (February 12) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • What they said: Quotes from the prosecution  • Charges: A summary of the indictment  • Timeline: The Milosevic years  • The view from Serbia  • Speaking out for Kosovo's dead    EXTRA INFORMATION In-Depth: The case against Milosevic  CNN Presents: The people against Milosevic    RESOURCES On the scene: CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports    CNN.com Europe More news  from our European edition    QUICKVOTE Slobodan Milosevic says the charges against him are a conspiracy by the West. Do you agree? Yes No View Results

"We should pause to recall daily scenes of grief and suffering in former Yugoslavia. The events themselves were notorious and a new term -- ethnic cleansing -- came into common use in our language.

"Our unique contribution is to bring to justice the persons responsible for the worst crimes known to humankind."

Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice said Milosevic viewed what was happening "from the distance of high political office" and Milosevic "had these crimes committed for him by others."

"The issue is or may be did he know they were happening. Of course he did. Not only would all matters have been reported to him, but in these days when press, radio and television bring wars to our homes as they occur, he can't not have heard.

"Therefore the question is, if the chamber is in due course satisfied that he lay behind what was happening, why did he continue and why did he not stop these things that were occurring?"

Hundreds of journalists, international officials, lawyers and human rights activists converged for the start of a trial expected to last at least two years.

CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, said: "For the first time, Milosevic was confronted with the individual stories by the prosecution of instances of individual crimes committed and individual victims that had been listed by the prosecutors.

"And for the first, time -- certainly in the experience of this reporter -- Slobodan Milosevic looked uncomfortable.

"He didn't look smugly at the spectators gallery as he usually does. He shifted around in his seat, his eyes looked down, and he made many, many notes. "

Milosevic, who lost power to reformists in Belgrade after elections in 2000, has branded the court "illegal" and the charges against him "monstrous."

He has dismissed the charges as a conspiracy by the West to tarnish the memory of his 13-year rule, and has chosen not to appoint defence counsel in a show of contempt for the court.

The tribunal has entered "not guilty" pleas on his behalf to all three indictments and appointed three prominent international lawyers as "friends of the court" to ensure he has a fair trial.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, his Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook are among those Milosevic intends to call to testify.

Milosevic was charged with war crimes in Kosovo in 1999. Indictments on Croatia and Bosnia followed last year. As a result, prosecutors will deal first with Kosovo before introducing evidence from the two earlier conflicts.

He is accused of responsibility in Bosnia for the Srebrenica massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys, the siege of Sarajevo and the deportation or imprisonment of over a quarter of a million.

The West, the United Nations and NATO engaged in shuttle diplomacy, peacekeeping, sanctions and eventually air strikes, in an attempt to halt the conflicts.

Milosevic, who has already spent seven months behind bars in The Hague, could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.