Milosevic trial enters second year

Milosevic's ill health has forced several delays

By Geraldine Coughlan The Hague

The trial of the former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, is entering its second year at the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague.

The most important war crimes trial since World War II - regarded as a test case for international justice - is likely to continue for several more years.

Mr Milosevic will cross-examine a so-called insider witness who was one of his key advisers.

Aleksander Vasiljevic, a former Yugoslav army general, is the prosecution's highest level insider witness so far.

When the trial began last year, prosecutors said the court would hear from around 20 insiders, members of Mr Milosevic's inner circle.

But they found it difficult to persuade high-ranking Serbs to testify because they perceive the tribunal as biased.

Star witness

In the coming months the prosecution is expected to call several more insiders, including the former Yugoslav President, Zoran Lilic.

And a star witness court observers are waiting for is a former UN envoy to the Balkans, Richard Holbrooke.

Some legal experts say there is already enough evidence to convict Mr Milosevic for crimes in Kosovo. But they agree it will not be easy to prove his command responsibility for crimes in Croatia and Bosnia when he was the president of Serbia.

The trial has been delayed several times because of Mr Milosevic's ill-health.

It was due to end in 2004, but now critics fear the trial of the first former head of state for genocide and crimes against humanity could drag on much longer.