www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/12/03/3fcd71b815e8e
Cameras that normally broadcast the proceedings on closed circuit television and the Internet will be blacked out. There also will be a 48-hour delay on the release of the trial transcript that will enable State Department lawyers to examine Clarks testimony and request the deletion of portions that they deem harmful to national interests. UN prosecutors are unhappy with the arrangement, but said they had little choice but to accept if they wanted Clarks testimony. Its always better when you have everything in public and out in the open, but this is the best we could get, said Florence Hartmann, spokeswoman for Carla Del Ponte, the chief prosecutor. Under the rules that govern the International War Crimes Tribunal, secret testimony is allowable, but it has usually been reserved for officials dealing with sensitive intelligence matters or actively engaged in intelligence gathering. There also are secrecy provisions to protect rape victims or witnesses who have reason to fear for their safety. But for a high profile public figure, the secrecy surrounding Clarks testimony is unprecedented, especially in light of the fact that Clark has written a lengthy book and numerous articles on NATO and the Kosovo war, and has freely given his opinion on these subjects as a TV commentator and presidential candidate. We are concerned about the perception, especially in the countries that were involved in the war, said Hartmann. If you do things in a closed session, people think you are hiding something and that it is not a fair trial. The State Department declined to answer specific questions about the clampdown on Clarks testimony, but denied that it was trying to censor him. Other senior political and military figures have testified in open court against Milosevic, including Klaus Naumann, the German general who commanded the NATO war in Kosovo, and British envoys Paddy Ashdown and David Owen. American diplomat William Walker, whose outrage at the Serb police massacre of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo galvanized United States opinion in support of military action, gave his testimony in open court. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has been the highest-ranking United States official to appear at The Hague. She gave her testimony in a public session during proceedings against the Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic. When high-ranking officials are called as witnesses, the normal procedure for dealing with sensitive testimony is to allow representatives of their government to be present in the courtroom and to intervene if they believe the officials testimony might harm national interests. The tribunal then goes into a temporary closed session to deal with that portion of the testimony. Closed sessions are for victims who might be harmed, not governments who might be embarrassed, said a tribunal source. The refusal to allow Clark to testify in public underlines the Bush administrations hot and cold relationship with the war crimes tribunal. The administration, which underwrites a large part of the Tribunals costs, continues to insist that all war criminals be brought to justice. At the same time, the administration has balked at sharing intelligence that would aid tribunal investigators and has thwarted attempts to call senior United States official as witnesses, according to Tribunal sources. Last year, Hague prosecutors wanted to call former Balkan envoy Richard Holbrooke, but changed their minds when the Bush Administration insisted on closed sessions. Holbrooke, who probably knows Milosevic better than any other Western official, may yet be called, sources said. Milosevic, who is acting as his own lawyer in these proceedings, is defending himself against charges of genocide and other crimes against humanity in connection with a decade of war in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Over the course of the trial, now in its 21st month, Milosevic has badgered and bullied witnesses. The technique has been effective with ordinary citizens from Bosnia and Kosovo, but has generally backfires when he tries to use it against experienced public figures. Clark knows Milosevic well, having served as Holbrookes military adviser during many hours of negotiations with the Serbian leader in Belgrade and during the Dayton peace talks. He later directed NATOs 78-day air campaign against Yugoslavia, forcing Milosevic to withdraw his troops from Kosovo. Clark has stated his willingness to testify against Milosevic, and political observers have viewed his appearance at The Hague as an opportunity for him to boost his stature in a crowded Democratic field. Clark declined to comment on the restrictions that have been imposed on him. At his campaign headquarters, spokesman Matt Bennett said the campaign has no involvement at all in Gen.
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