RT: The Milosevic Tapes
Ivo Skoric
ivo at reporters.net
Thu Feb 7 16:59:28 CET 2002
Croatia's Globus is beating dead horses. The leaked transcripts of
Clinton-Milosevic conversations are obviously a media sensation.
But - Milosevic is in jail, Clinton's administration is out, and
diplomatic conversations are always cordial. Why doesn't Globus
rather investigate how did Enron manage to take over Croatia's
power distribution and who in Croatia bears responsibility for that
brilliant idea?
ivo
Date sent: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 09:08:00 -0500
From: "Tim Slater > TranSlater" <TRANSLATER at compuserve.com>
Subject: RT: The Milosevic Tapes
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver at compuserve.com
----Forwarded Message(s)----
Milosevic Tapes Show Cordial Clinton, Goofy Family
RTos 06/02/2002 10:41
Copyright 2002 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole
or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
By Douglas Hamilton
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic had cordial relations with Bill
Clinton and was apoplectic when the daily meant to be his mouthpiece savaged
the then U.S. president in a bungled editorial, according to transcripts of
his phone calls.
The leaked transcripts, published by the Croatian weekly Globus, are the
current media sensation in the Balkans.
Croatian defense ministry sources told Reuters in Zagreb on Wednesday
they were authentic excerpts from wiretaps of hundreds of calls recorded by
the Croatian military intelligence service, but there has been no comment
from Serbia or Milosevic himself.
In parts, the scripts read like an afternoon TV soap opera, with the dry
wit, fatherly wisdom and weary political woes of the Serbian strongman in the
leading role.
Milosevic, far from being a bug-eyed, mad dictator, says he is "sick and
tired" of seeing himself on television. He is also exasperated by the
hill-billy antics of the Bosnian Serbs and fondly sarcastic with members of
his dysfunctional family.
Newspapers say "the Americans are furious" at the intelligence leak,
especially the Clinton quotes. But since the two men had recently shaken
hands at the signing of the peace deal for Bosnia, the civilized exchange
hardly seems unusual.
Milosevic, however, is due to go on trial next week before the U.N.
tribunal at The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.
Speculation is mounting that Clinton and other major Western political
figures will be called to testify.
UP TO A POINT, SLOBODAN
"It's nice to hear your voice," Clinton tells Milosevic in one taped
call from Air Force One at the end of a New Year's visit to U.S. troops newly
installed in Bosnia in January 1996.
The Serbian leader has previously admitted to a top aide he is jealous
of Clinton's planned stopover at Zagreb airport to meet Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman but has been unable to persuade Clinton to also visit Belgrade.
"We support normalization of relations and I know it cannot go ahead
without you," the U.S. president stresses during their brief conversation
about implementing the Dayton peace accords, which Milosevic helped clinch to
end the war in Bosnia.
"He spoke really nicely," a gratified Milosevic later tells his sidekick
Milan Milutinovic, an indicted co-conspirator who is still at large and
serving as president of Serbia.
Milutinovic, also known disparagingly to U.S. negotiators as "Tunafish,"
quips that Clinton must have hid in the plane's toilet to make the call, so
as not to be overheard by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, whom he
calls "a real bitch."
The next day, Milosevic is stunned to see Politika, the leading
pro-government daily in Belgrade, denouncing Clinton as a scandal-tainted
draft dodger looking for photo opportunities.
When he rings up to blow a fuse, the editor, Dragan Hadzi Antic, has not
even read his own paper. In a scene reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh's media
satire "Scoop," Milosevic lets rip in street language as Antic cowers.
"For Christ's sake! You can't let them do as they please. Politika is
considered the mouthpiece of the government and there you go and slag off
Clinton!" Milosevic complains.
Correcting course drastically, Politika prints an extremely positive
editorial about the U.S. president on the following day, a volte face
remarked on at the time by opposition media.
The previous month, Milosevic saw his triumphant appearance in Paris for
the Dayton signing ceremony put at risk by Bosnian Serbs who were defiantly
holding two French pilots downed during NATO strikes in the autumn.
He complains to army chief of staff Momcilo Perisic that the Bosnian
Serbs had always put Belgrade in a terrible negotiating position with their
actions.
"What the (expletive) do they need these two pilots for? And now they
are jerking us around with this. Let them find where the pilots are!"
THE SOPRANOS OF SERBIA
Records of his domestic phone calls are by turns tender and hilarious,
as Milosevic, sounding like the harassed Mafia don played by James Gandolfini
in the TV hit "The Sopranos," deals with the overdeveloped egos of his wife,
son and daughter.
Son Marko, a nightclub owner who has now fled to Central Asia, emerges
as a Narcissus obsessed about his jug ears -- which he is going to have
surgically corrected -- and his teeth -- which he is going to have replaced.
He also plans to buy sets of colored contact lenses to match his clothes.
"You're awfully skinny, every guy your age looks that way," Milosevic
tells his son in an attempt to head off the ear surgery. "As soon as you fill
out everything will fall into place. I looked even worse when I was thin."
In January 1997, Marko has a new house with a swimming pool, which he
keeps heated to 38 degrees Celsius.
"You're a fool, man. That's not healthy," says Milosevic, quickly giving
up the argument and passing the phone to "mummy."
Daughter Marija, mostly complaining about business problems at her
television station, has a new puppy so smart it can almost talk. But
Milosevic has other concerns.
"Please tell (Serbian TV) to get me off the news bulletin, for
chrissakes. I am sick and tired of seeing myself...tell them it's enough...I
think God and the people are sick and tired of me. I am too."
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