Witness Eight: Besnik Sokoli
Watson: I see the witness, Mr Sokoli, got rave reviews in the MSM. "He told the court he had been beaten by Serb police in a hotel in Pec for up to six hours before he was bundled into a packed truck and taken close to the Albanian frontier" they raved. Sounds like Mr Slobo is in for a torrid time.....take that you brute, Mr Slobo......... ( kicks out at imaginary OAP Serb ) ......... Grrrrrrrr!
Holmes: Erm, not quite.
Watson: Okay daddio, what's the deal?
Holmes: He's a professional translator and at the time of the testimony was working for the UNMIK police. During 1998, he worked for the US KDOM observer, then for the OSCE, and after the war, he worked for the ICTY.
Watson: So he's on the pay of the prosecution?
Holmes: Yup. He's from Pec which he said was 90% Kosovo Albanian and is near the Montenegrin border. By far and away the most pitiful witness so far. Cringe-making crud. Even worse than the guy who ran away from the court crying when Slobo asked him some questions.
Watson: Oh deary me.
Holmes: I'll give you an idea of how dim brained he was by Slobo's last statement in his cross examination
(
( 1167 )
Slobo: Gentlemen, the witness knows nothing about NATO attacks or attacks in Pec or attacks by the KLA or the terrorist attack that occurred and about which there is a report of the KVM. Yesterday we heard that the army attacked itself, and in the indictment, they say that Yugoslavia attacked itself. I think there is no point in examining this witness any longer about things that the entire Yugoslav public knows about and he says he knows nothing about this. I imagine it is pointless for me to question him any further because he said himself that he is a staff member of this Tribunal. So I have no further questions of him.
)
Watson: Hilarious, the prosecution witnesses are reduced to claiming that it was Serb policy to bomb themselves.
Holmes: Yes that was the previous weak anecdote of a witness who'd claimed that
Watson: I Got the idea, daddio, it's dribble time at the ICTY
Holmes: Dribble time indeed. Here's a tissue. Anyway, he claimed that the Panda Cafe massacre was in fact a fight between the Serbs, he'd never heard of any KLA attacks on civilians, nor did he know that even the KVM admitted that it was KLA policy to murder all loyalist Kosovo Albanians. Oh and he changed his testimony between making a statement and testifying. Yes, the same ole schtick. The lad hits the ground the running: the lies and nonsense start flying from the off.
Watson: Just a minute. What's the Panda Cafe massacre?
Holmes: The Panda Cafe massacre? Now this was a terrible mass murder of a half dozen ethnic Serbs in the Panda cafe, carried out by some heroic KLA terrorists who bravely shot at some kids from a passing car.
The KLA were armed with machine guns, the Serb kids with milkshakes
It occurred in 98. The Serbs had been trying to get the different ethnic groups together. The Panda cafe was an idea to get the kids slurping strawberry flavoured milkshakes in peace and harmony. Unfortunately the KLA had different ideas.
Watson: So the KLA shot up the Cafe? That was a brave thing to do.
Holmes: Yup. Our witness however thinks the Serbs killed themselves .
Watson: Sorry?
Holmes: Yup. My, those strawberry milkshakes must sure pack a punch
(
( page 1141 )
Witness: I don't remember the exact dates, but I think it was December, and there was an incident when six Serbs were killed in a cafe. According to rumours that I've heard, there was a certain -- there was a certain argument among the Serbs themselves.
)
He also said that this mass suicide with iced drinks of various assorted flavours started a vicious Serb crackdown
(
( 1141 )
Witness: Until that incident, we went to work more freely - I'm talking of myself - but after this incident, we were the -- the observers had to come and fetch us from our homes, and we were shut up in our homes.
)
He had no idea of any killing by the KLA in Pec
(
( 1143 )
Witness: I wasn't aware that the KLA was in the city of Pec, and the only information I have about the KLA I obtained from the media and the telev
ision. They were mostly deployed among the hills and the villages.
)
Because of the police presence in Pec, our hero headed for Montenegro on foot
(
( 1147 )
Witness: Then my family and the Bobi family decided to walk to the first town in Montenegro, to Rozaje.
)
Holmes: He didn't make it but was told to turn back where they could be taken by bus and coach to Albania.
Watson: The evil Serbs made the lad sit down on a bus instead of having the luxury of trudging all the way to the border. The rascals.
Holmes: Rascals indeed, my fair physician
(
( 1147 )
Witness:Then my family and the Bobi family decided to walk to the first town in Montenegro, to Rozaje.
Question: So what did you see or hear while you were walking?
Witness: Again, I saw a large police presence in several places. They didn't stop me and didn't
stop me until the reached the crossroads for the road to Montenegro.
Question: Did you reach the border to Montenegro?
Witness: No.
Question: What happened?
Witness:The police stopped me at this crossroads. There were five or six of them in the same uniform, and they told me that I couldn't continue on this road.
Question: Did they tell you why?
Witness: No. They didn't give me a real answer, but I insisted, and I lied to them, saying that their colleagues had told me to go in this direction.
Question: And what did they do?
Witness: They were very -- [Interpretation] They were very aggressive and told me that I had to go back to the centre of Peja, where they had organised buses and trucks to leave the city.
Question: So did you go back to Pec?
Witness: Yes. I went back to the centre of Pec.
Question: Did you walk back to Pec?
Witness: I walked for a bit and then a car stopped which took me and my parents, and to the -- even today, I still don't know who this person was.
Question: So when you arrived in Pec, where did you go?
Witness: When we arrived in Pec near the Metohija Hotel, we stayed there.
Question: How many people were there?
Witness: There was a great crowd of Albanian civilians; about 30.000.
Question: So why were you gathered in the centre of the town?
Witness: All the citizenry had been told the same, to gather in the centre where buses and trucks would take them from the city.
Question: What kind of buses and trucks?
Witness: They were civilian buses and trucks. They belonged to various Albanian private travel agencies.
)
The lad helpfully told the court he also saw a RED MERC .
Watson: A RED one?
Holmes: Yes, a red one. The meaning of which escaped all present. A red Merc!!!!!! ( 1150 )
Watson: Hmmmmmmm! What can the significance of the colour red be?
(
Question: Can you recognise any other vehicles that you saw present in the centre of the town?
Witness: I saw a red Mercedes which was driving by.
)
After noticing the RED MERC - yes , a red one! - the lad said he was beaten by the police and put on a truck to Prizren. From there they went on another bus and then walked a couple of kilometres to the Albanian border.
(
( 1150 )
Question: What happened to you, Mr. Sokoli, at that time?
Witness: At about 3.00, six policemen came and they took me to a hotel called Metohija then.
Question: What happened in the hotel?
Witness: They maltreated me physically and psychologically.
)
The buses took the people to Prizren and then to the Albanian border
(
( 1152 )
Witness: At that moment, I didn't see who, but when we arrived in Prizren, I saw that he was a policeman........At that moment, some of the citizens began to walk in the direction of Albania. Meanwhile, one of the policemen shouted, telling them to stop. And he told us that some other buses are going to take us closer to the border with Albania........From Prizren, some other buses arrived there, and they took us to a village. I don't remember the name. It was somewhat five kilometres away from Prizren.
Question: So after you got in one of the buses, where did you go?
Witness: After we got on the bus, we were driven up to the village I said earlier. Then we walked on foot up to the border.
)
He claimed the police took his little wee ID card from him and also some license plates of some cars. How low can the police stoop? I ask you!
Watson: Did he see any RED MERCS in Prizren?
Holmes: No, he didn't notice any RED MERCS in Prizren. Anyway, when he returned to his wendy house after NATO/KLA took over he found it without it's roof and all the plaster ducks had flown away too.
Watson: So he has no idea who made off with the plaster ducks then.
Holmes: Could be anyone.
(
( 1154 )
Question: How did you find your house?
Witness: The top was burned and everything was looted and raided from my property.
)
Watson: So that's it .
Holmes: Yup. Anyway, Slobo, with both eyes closed, one hand tied behind his back, whilst playing 3 D chess with Spock and reciting "War and Peace" in Latin, cross examined the wee boy. It wasn't for the faint of heart.
The witness couldn't even get simple figures correct, and admitted not knowing "exactly the figure"
(
( 1156 )
Slobo: You said that 90 -- the population of Pec was 90 per cent Albanian.
Witness: That's what I think.
Slobo: But based on the existing figures, 76 per cent of the population of Pec was Albanian.
Witness:I said approximately, but I do not know exactly the figure.
)
He admitted the Serbs didn't order him to leave Kosovo "but the circumstances forced me to take a decision during that period" ( 1157 )
About why he was turned back from going to Montenegro, Slobo suggested it was because NATO were bombing the crap out of anything that moved
(
( 1158 )
Slobo:Do you know that on the 25th of March the area of Rozaje was bombed? I have a fact here concerning a young man, a Muslim young man, Senat Dacic, a 16-year-old who was killed, and I also have information about a large number of wounded persons. Therefore, this is why you were turned back from that road that wasn't safe, because on that occasion, cluster bombs were used. Therefore, on the road that you wanted to use to go from Pec to Rozaje, cluster bombs were used. This is why that road was not considered to be safe for refugees.Do you know about this?
Witness:No, I don't know anything about that.
Slobo:Therefore, on the road that you wanted to use to go from Pec to Rozaje, cluster bombs
were used. This is why that road was not considered to be safe for refugees.
)
Yep, NATO were bravely dropping cluster bombs on civilians. Way to go lads.
The witness had tried to suggest that Kosovo Albanians weren't being allowed to go to Montenegro. However
(
( 1159 )
Slobo:And do you know that several tens of thousands of refugees from Kosovo and Metohija went to Montenegro, using that very road, but later on, when there were no cluster bombs on that road? Do you know that several tens of thousands of citizens went, using that same road, to Montenegro?
Witness:I also don't know when they left Kosovo, but I learned through the media that several thousand refugees took shelter in Montenegro
)
Holmes: We now come to that old chestnut .
Watson: Well, it's either "the bloke in the bar" or Mr Amnesia. I'll go with Mr Amnesia.
Holmes: Right you are young lass. It's time for the second fastest growing gameshow west of the Mississippi. Bar none. Yes, it's "The K L A and amnesia". Some think it's because of the water in the Hague and some think it's because of the tulips and windmills. Whatever the cause, it's at epidemic levels. The lad is no different, he's succumbed to the whole 10 yards. Big time
(
( 1162 )
Slobo: And you believe that, prior to that, there were no incidents that would lead to increased tension?
Witness:I don't know of any in the city of Pec.
Slobo: Well, that's a relative thing. Do you know that from May until November of 1998, meaning from May until November of 1998, that the police had clashes with the KLA in a large number of villages around Pec? For example, the village of Lodza is two kilometres from Pec, Lubeniq also two, Rausic five kilometres, Streoc 10 kilometres, Breznik and so on. Six members from MUP were killed. So do you have knowledge of these attacks of the KLA on the police and civilians in general from May until November of 1998? All these events took place in the area of Pec.
Witness: No, I don't know about these incidents.
)
And
(
Slobo: And do you know, for example, about an incident in the Karagaq Hotel Park in Pec - this is an area of Pec - when the representatives of the OSCE mission came to verify the rumours as to what was going on in that hotel, and they talked to the deputy commander of the KLA brigade who happened to be there?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo:You said that you used to work at the Verification Mission. Therefore, I suppose that you, as an employee of the Verification Mission, had more information available to you than the rest of the population. Did you have any information regarding this or not?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: You said that there were no incidents in Pec. And in order to save the time, I will ask you just about the Albanians. Do you know that on the 26th of May, 1998, in the town itself, in Pec, so on the 26th of May, 1998, Komanica Dela was killed? Do you know about that?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo:Do you know that on the 2nd of June, another Albanian was killed in Pec, therefore in the downtown as well, and his name is Thaci Uka?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: And do you know that on the 3rd of June, another Albanian was killed, Zyber Berisha, near the Pec patriarchy?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: Do you know that on the 24th of June, Adem Gjuka and Baki Gjuka were killed?
)
Mulder: THE WITNESS ANSWERS THAT HE KNOWS!!!!! YES FOLKS, BRING ON THE DANCING GIRLS AND KEEP YOUR DAUGHTERS LOCKED UP
(
Slobo: You know only about that incident. And do you know about the event that took place on August 1st, when Zenun Gashi was killed?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo:Veton Kelmendi was killed on the 2nd of January.
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: Do you know that Rrustem Sadriu was killed on the 11th of January?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: Emin Basha was killed on the 31st of January. Have you heard about this murder?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: And on the 10th of February, Qerim Suka was killed. You haven't heard about that either, have you?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: You used to work at the Verification Mission. Do you know that in the Verification Mission's report - this is the OSCE mission - pertaining to the period between 10th and 11th of March, 1999 -- from 9th until 12th of March, 1998, it says that pursuant to the KLA command structure's order, more Albanians who were loyal to Serbia were killed. Do you know about this report and do you know that this is what the report says? This was the report of the Verification Mission where you used to work.
Witness doesn't know
Slobo:Very well. You said that you were not afraid of the bombing because you didn't live near the barracks or the police station. And do you know that, during the aggression, there were not troops in Pec because they all left towards the area near the water? Do you know about that?
Witness doesn't know
Slobo: Do you know that, in those days, there were 18 funerals of policemen from Pec who were killed by the KLA? This is something that people usually take note of, the funerals. Do you know about this?
Witness doesn't know
)
About the Panda cafe slaughter?
(
( 1165 )
Slobo: And do you know that this was a terrorist attack against a cafe in which there were young people and that, from the door, a group of terrorists gunned down the entire group that was in that cafe and that there was this group of six young men there? Do you know about that, apart from the rumours that you heard of? And do you know that these young men who remained on the floor, dead, when the whole cafe was bullet-riddled, they were between the ages of 13 and 22? Does the witness know that there is a report of the Kosovo Verification Mission about this terrorist attack?
Judge gets upset and has a word with Slobo
Slobo: Mr. May, I am putting a question because that was one of the dirtiest terrorist attacks against children, and the witness said that this is due to the fact that the Serbs quarrelled among themselves in the cafe.
)
Everyone knows that it was a KLA drive by shooting. EVERYBODY. Save for the witness.
(
( 1166 )
Slobo: Does the witness know then, if I may ask him this by your leave, that there is a report of the Kosovo Verification Mission about this terrorist attack?
Witness: No. I have no knowledge of such a report.
)
And about being dragged around by the scruff of his neck up by the police? Well, it seems that the lad had been telling pork pies
(
( 1166 )
Question: Mr. Sokoli, a few minutes ago, you said that at one moment a policeman, as you had
put it, dragged you to a truck.
Witness: Yes. That's what happened.
Question: However, as regards this event, I have to caution you that you spoke about this on the 14th of June to the investigators that you talked to on that day, that is to say, very soon after you had experienced what you had experienced. And then you said that this policeman helped you. You say, "He escorted me to the truck. I did not have the strength to board the truck, so this policeman helped me." Isn't that right?
Witness: Yes, that's correct.
Question: Yes. And one more thing. Is it correct that a bit later you saw that policeman again, and you even said he was a very kind man. "He gave children chocolate, and he was telling people to be patient. He did not carry any weapons. He had a bag with the Red Cross on it. Some people asked him where he was from, and he said from Belgrade."
Witness: The policeman that I -- that I was observing, that I saw, it was before the six
policemen took me to the hotel, and I noticed that he wasn't armed. He was carrying the sign of the Red Cross, and I saw him among the people, and I saw him giving things out to the children.
Question: Albanian children?
Witness:Yes, Albanian children.
)
The witness was also forced to admit that most of the Serb houses were destroyed after the KLA/NATO took over running the show ( 1164 ) .
Watson: Oh dear, the witness damns himself. And he's so clueless he has no idea either.
Holmes: Game, set and match to Slobo. New balls please.
Watson: So are you telling me that
- He decided to leave Kosovo. The Serbs didn't make him
- He was turned back at the Montenegrin border by the Serb forces because NATO had thoughtfully been dropping cluster bombs on the road
- The Serbs laid on buses to take him and other citizens to Prizren
- At Prizren the Serbs laid on more buses to take people to the Albanian border
- He lied about being shoved on the bus
- In his earlier statement he'd talked of the Serb police being very kind and handing out sweets to the Kosovo Albanian kids
- He's in the pay of the prosecution
- Despite working for UNMIK he has absolutely no idea of the large number of atrocities carried out by the KLA
- He claimed that the teenagers in the Panda Cafe killed themselves and were not - as even the UNMIK admit - slaughtered by the KLA
- He admitted that many tens of thousands of Kosovo Albanians did in fact go to Montenegro. As Montenegro was a part of Yugoslavia at that time, it means the Serb forces weren't forcing the Kosovo Albanians to leave Yugoslavia.
Holmes: Yup. Slobo wins a pint in the pub with some Yorkshire pudding: the ICTY ? A pint in the pub with the Yorkshire Ripper
Holmes and Watson: Arf
No comments:
Post a Comment