Milosevic on trial - Dispatch editorial

Charged with a decade-long campaign of "savagery," Slobodan Milosevic has persistently demonstrated his contempt for the United Nations tribunal under way in the Netherlands.

Any one of the 66 counts, which include genocide, mass executions and other war crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia, could result in a lifetime of imprisonment for the former Yugoslav president.

Openly sneering at the proceedings that began Feb. 12, Milosevic has refused to grant the trial any legitimacy and he has declined to retain a lawyer to defend himself.

However in the early going of the trial at The Hauge, Milosevic has put witnesses through tough cross-examinations and pointed out inconsistencies in their testimony. The trial, which could go on two years, is expected to detail prosecution charges of rape, torture, looting and killing, during Milosevic's reign. In the tribunal's opening week, one interesting paradox has already surfaced.

If Milosevic does a credible job of defending himself and is eventually found guilty by the United Nations his skill will only serve to bring more credibility to the proceedings.

School vote letters

Readers urged to get

their letters in early

Area residents who'd like to weigh in on the March 12 Brainerd School District referendum should be aware of the March 7 deadline for letters. All letters on that topic must be received by The Dispatch by 5 p.m. March 7. None will be published after March 8.

The reason for the deadline in advance of the March 12 vote is to try to prevent any last-minute charges or incorrect statements from unduly influencing the votes.