Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic launched a spirited defense at his war crimes trial on Tuesday, branding the case a "distortion of history" of the blood-stained collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Milosevic, 63, was characteristically defiant as he opened his defense against charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo months later than planned because of his deteriorating health.
Milosevic, who wants to call more than 1,000 witnesses, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. President Bill Clinton in the 150 days allocated to him, stabbed the air with his glasses as he called the tribunal illegal.
"Accusations leveled against me are an unscrupulous lie and also a tireless distortion of history," he told the U.N. court in The Hague. "Everything has been presented in a lopsided manner in order to protect those who are truly responsible."
Looking relaxed and sitting with his legs crossed, Milosevic started his opening statement with a broad-brush account of what he called "the violent destruction" of Yugoslavia.
The former Serb strongman, who has described himself as a peacemaker, accused the West, NATO, Kosovo Albanian drug gangs, Islamic militants and the Vatican of fuelling the break-up of the former Yugoslav federation at the end of the Cold War.
"A multi-ethnic, multi-confessional state was destroyed ... this constitutes the gravest international crime," said Milosevic, who was wearing a dark suit, pale blue shirt and red, blue and white striped tie.
"Hundreds of thousands of people were wounded and maimed. Thousands of people fled their homes, mostly Serbs."
Milosevic accuses court of anti-Serb bias
Milosevic has accused the court of inherent bias against him and the Serb people, saying it is designed to cover up NATO war crimes in Kosovo sponsored by the United States and Britain.
Quoting from historical texts dating back to the 19th century, Milosevic said he was the victim of ancient anti-Serb propaganda, which charged the Serbian people with an expansionist drive to create a "Greater Serbia."
"It is in this institution that the lie of the Greater Serbia grew into a monstrous structure of unprecedented magnitude," he said.
A small group of supporters demonstrated outside the tribunal waving a banner reading "Freedom for Slobodan Milosevic."
Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch was disappointed Milosevic had not addressed the charges leveled against him.
"We are hearing an alternative view of history. We're hearing nothing about the specific charges," he said.
Prosecutors want judges to impose a defense counsel on Milosevic despite his objections to make sure the most significant war crimes trial in Europe since top Nazis were tried at Nuremberg is not delayed again by his ill health.
The court is expected to discuss his health and consider arguments on appointing a defense lawyer after Milosevic completes his opening statement, two-and-a-half years into his marathon trial.
Prosecutors rested their case in February after calling more than 290 witnesses. Judges want to conclude the case by October 2005. Milosevic has declined to enter a plea to the charges he faces. Pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf.
