by Hon. Joseph J. DioGuardi and Shirley Cloyes
On Friday, February 15, 2002, indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic at his trial in The Hague accused former Congressman Joe DioGuardi and the Albanian American Civic League of “the systematic expansion of the anti-Serb mood and the Satanisation [sic] of the Serb people in the American public opinion.” In reality, the Civic League has always made a distinction between the Serbian people as a whole and the barbaric acts of Milosevic and his henchmen. Meanwhile, Milosevic has done almost as much damage to Serbia as he has to the Albanian people of the Balkans in the course of ten years of genocidal warfare.
Milosevic also said in his opening statement that, “In support of Albanian terrorism and separatism in Kosovo and Methohija, we see the engagement of the Albanian émigrés in the countries of Western Europe and in the United States. In America in 1989, an Albanian American Civic League was set up under the presidency of Congressman Joseph DioGuardi, whose task it was to lobby on Capitol Hill for the requests and goals of the Kosovo Albanians. By actively lobbying, this opened the road to the Kosovo and Metohija separatists for official contacts in the American Senate and Congress.”
In reality, Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987 on a platform of anti-Albanian racism and then, two years later, invaded Kosova and subjected the ethnic Albanian majority to a decade of state-sponsored terrorism as part of the worst occupation in Europe since the Nazi era. Upon leaving Congress 1989, Joe DioGuardi established the Albanian American Civic League, a volunteer lobby, to expose the desperate plight of Kosovar Albanians to the U.S. government, the press, and the public. As the chronology that follows demonstrates, for fifteen years Joe DioGuardi, Shirley Cloyes, and the Civic League have worked tirelessly to stop the oppression of the Kosovar Albanians and to influence U.S. foreign policy to bring a just and lasting peace to the Balkans.
The First Albanian American Is Elected to the U.S. Congress
November Joe DioGuardi, a Certified Public Accountant and a Republican, is elected
1984 to the U.S. House of Representatives by a very slim margin in a
Congressional District that had been controlled by the Democratic Party
for more than fifty years. He was born in the Bronx, New York, of an
Albanian father and an Italian mother, and he had no prior political
experience.
The DioGuardi's Discover Their Real Albanian Roots
September At Joe DioGuardi’s 45th birthday celebration, his Albanian roots were
1985 discovered when Kosovar Albanians who had supported his election to
Congress, overheard his father, Joe, Sr., then aged seventy-two, speaking in Albanian to
his younger sister. Thereafter, the Albanian community lobbied Joe about Kosova,
reminding him of his connection by bloodline to the Kosovar Albanians.
The First Resolution for Albanian Rights Is Introduced in the U.S. Congress
June After much lobbying by Albanian Americans from around the United
1986 States, who adopted Joe DioGuardi as their Albanian American
Congressman, and after much research by Joe’s staff, the first resolution
(H.Con.Res. 358) to protect Albanian human rights in the former
Yugoslavia is introduced by Joe in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The next day, Joe’s friend, Senator Bob Dole, introduced the same
resolution in the U.S. Senate (S.Con.Res. 150).
Caught by surprise, Serbian officials enlist their Russian and Greek
sponsors to use their lobbies in Washington to attack DioGuardi as a
provocateur and to get their friends in the State Department to kill the
resolution.
The battle lines for Albanian human rights and freedom are drawn openly
in Washington for the first time, and DioGuardi, surprised and stung by
the vehement opposition to his seemingly innocuous Resolution for basic
human rights meets the challenge by personally meeting over one hundred
Congressman in the following twelve months to gain their support.
DioGuardi Is Reelected to Congress
November With elections every two years in the House of Representatives,
1986 DioGuardi, known by some as the accidental congressman, works hard to
win a second term against the well-known political figure, Bella Abzug,
who brought national attention to the race.
DioGuardi and Dole Introduce Expanded Version of Resolution for Albanians in Kosova
June DioGuardi, after resuming his intense, personal lobbying efforts in the
1987 House, reintroduces an expanded version of the 1986 Resolution for justice
for Albanians in Kosova (H.Con.Res. 162)—this time with fifty-seven
Congressman. Senator Dole accommodated Joe by reintroducing the same
Resolution in the Senate (S.Con.Res. 150).
Milosevic Comes to Power
July Slobodan Milosevic, a Serbian banker, deceives his personal and political
1987 mentor in Yugoslavia and seizes control of the Communist Party and the
Presidency of Yugoslavia. An ardent nationalist, who unlike his
predecessor, Marshal Tito, openly disdains the Albanian people of
Yugoslavia , and calls for their suppression and total control as “enemies of
the state.” He also tries to promote his agenda in Washington and against
DioGuardi by enlisting the support of his former American colleagues,
Henry Kissinger (former Secretary of State), Larry Eagleburger (former
Ambassador to Yugoslavia), Messrs. Brent Scowcroft and Scanlon (former
State Department officials in Yugoslavia), Maryland Congresswoman
Helen Bentley, a Serbian American and ardent Serbian nationalist
supported by the Greek lobby, including Senator Paul Sarbanes, also from
Bentley’s home State, and Congressman Jim Moody, who openly dealt with
and supported Serbs in Congress.
The U.S. State Department Exposes Its Pro-Yugoslavia, Anti-Albanian Policy
October The State Department, under much pressure from the Greek lobby and the
1987former colleagues and friends of Milosevic, who worked hard behind the
scenes to promote Serbian dominance in Yugoslavia and to disparage
DioGuardi and the Albanian case for human rights, sends a letter to
Congressman Dante Fascell, then chairman of the House International
Relations Committee. The letter denounces the DioGuardi Resolution as an
affront to U.S. friend and ally Yugoslavia, and blames the Albanians of
Kosova for crimes against the Serbian people there.
First Congressional Hearing on Kosova Authorized
November Using his friendship and powers of persuasion with the Democratic
1987 Chairman Dante Fascell (D-FL), and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on
Human Rights, Gus Yatron (D-PA), DioGuardi prevails against the State
Department in getting a Congressional Hearing on his Resolution, which for
the first time openly exposes the barbaric and egregious abuse of human
rights by Serbs against the defenseless Albanians of Kosova.
First Major Albanian Rally in Front of the United Nations
June DioGuardi leads a massive demonstration by Albanians from around
1988 America in New York City in front of the United Nations and in Washington
In front of the White House and the Capitol, to make the U.S. press and
public more aware of the desperate plight of Albanians in Yugoslavia,
especially in Kosova.
DioGuardi and Congressman Lantos Confront the
U.S. State Department
September DioGuardi arranges for his friend and colleague Congressman Tom Lantos,
1988 a prominent Jewish American Congressman from California and Chairman
of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, to arrange a high level meeting
with State Department officials and the Ambassador from Yugoslavia to
confront our flawed and failing U.S. foreign policy in the Balkans. The
meeting, spearheaded by Lantos, an ardent supporter of Albanian human
rights, is a great success and Milosevic recalls his ambassador to the United
States in a show of contempt.
DioGuardi Narrowly Loses His Third Election
November In a bitterly fought election campaign against former NY Secretary of State
1988 and multimillionaire liberal Democrat Nita Lowey, DioGuardi loses his seat
in Congress the way he won—by a very slim margin. The loss is a great
surprise to all, but was due to many factors, including Vice President Bush’s
poor Presidential election results in New York (Governor Mike Dukakis won
New York State in 1988), the work of the Greek lobby on behalf of Lowey,
and illegally unreported money used at the last minute to smear DioGuardi,
for which Lowey was fined $3,500 by the FEC two years later.
The Albanian American Civic League Is Formed
January Undaunted by his loss, DioGuardi announces that he will run again for
1989 Congress after redistricting in 1991, and proceeds to form the Albanian
American Civic League to continue to lobby the U.S. Congress and the Bush
administration on behalf of the Albanians in Yugoslavia, especially in
Kosova.
The Civic League is founded to continue the Congressional agenda of
former U.S. Congressman Joe DioGuardi to liberate the seven million
Albanian people in the Balkans from hostile Slavic domination and
Communism.
Feb.-Oct. With more time to devote to Albanian issues, DioGuardi and three of his
1989 former key staff, now paid by the AACL, intensify Congressional pressure
against the pro-Serb State Department policy and by engaging in mass
demonstrations, sending out press releases, and causing Congressional
statements to be issued by our friends in Congress.
The First Major Rally in Washington Is Held
June The first Washington rally is held to free Kosova from Serbian occupation
1989 and to free Albanian dissident Adem Demaci from prison.
Congress Passes First Albanian Rights Resolution
July The June rally sparks the passage of Civic League-sponsored House
1989 (H.Con.Res. 314) and Senate (S.Con.Res 124) resolutions condemning Serbia
for human rights abuses in Kosova. This leads to the immediate removal of
the Serbian ambassador to the United States by Slobodan Milosevic.
DioGuardi Takes First Trip to Belgrade and Prishtina to Confront Milosevic
November DioGuardi goes to Belgrade’s International Press Center and
1989 Milosevic’s office with a letter signed by Senator Bob Dole and
twelve other U.S. Senators to free Kosova. He then makes his first
trip to Kosova to witness firsthand the brutal Serbian occupation and is
evicted from the Grand Hotel in Prishtina for conducting a press conference
there.
DioGuardi Brings the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to Belgrade and Prishtina
February DioGuardi goes to Belgrade with the staff of the Congressional
1990 Human Rights Caucus, chaired by Congressmen Lantos and Porter,
to conduct a press conference in Belgrade about Serbian oppression
of Kosova’s Albanians. He then makes an unannounced visit to Kosova to
meet leading intellectuals, journalists, and activists, including Dr. Zekeria
Cana, Zenun Celaj, Bajram Kelmendi, Ibrahim Rugova, Rexhep Qosja, and
Vetton Surroi.
The Serbian Secret Police (UDBA) Under Milosevic’s Control Kill Enver Hadri
Kosovar activist Enver Hadri is assassinated in Brussels, and
DioGuardi is invited to give a eulogy at his funeral before
thousands of mourners. Afterwards, he travels to Geneva at the
request of Hadri’s widow and son to deliver to the United Nations
Human Rights Commission the list of 34 peaceful Albanian
demonstrators killed by Serbian authorities that was found on Hadri’s body
at the time of his death.
Kosova Comes to Washington for the First Time
April The Civic League sponsors a delegation of 15 Albanian leaders from
1990 Kosova to testify against Milosevic’s occupation of Kosova at an historic
Congressional Human Rights Caucus Hearing for Kosova in Washington
and to be honored at an historic dinner at the Sheraton Hotel in New York
City, attended by 2,700 Albanian Americans, to “Salute Freedom and
and Democracy for Kosova.”
DioGuardi Brings Lantos to Kosova to Expose Milosevic’s Modern Day “Warsaw Ghetto”
May Congressman Tom Lantos and Joe DioGuardi lead a delegation to
1990 Kosova to challenge the brutal Serbian occupation of Kosova. They blast
Milosevic as a modern day tyrant bent on policies that will destroy any
democracy in Yugoslavia.
July DioGuardi is officially banned from returning to Yugoslavia by the
Milosevic controlled parliament in Belgrade for his press
conferences in Belgrade and Kosova as “hostile acts against the
State.”
DioGuardi and Lantos Form the Interparliamentary Group for Kosova in Luxembourg
January DioGuardi brings Iljaz Ramali, speaker of the exiled Kosova Assembly, to
1991 Luxembourg to meet with Congressman Tom Lantos and Lord Nicholas
Bethel of the British and European Parliaments to sign a joint declaration
proclaiming an “Interparliamentary Group for Kosova’s Protection,” as a
strategy to further expose Milosevic’s occupation of Kosova.
DioGuardi Calls Milosevic the “New Hitler” in the U.S. Senate
February DioGuardi testifies before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
1991 cochaired by Senators Joe Biden and Claiborne Pell, and makes the first
public case for the independence of Kosova under international law. In the
process, he compares Milosevic to Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein and
issues a press release calling Milosevic the “Saddam of Serbia.”
The Albanian Lobby Takes Its Case to the Helsinki Commission
June DioGuardi goes to Copenhagen, Denmark, to meet the Albanian community
1991 and attend the Helsinki Commission Conference. He addresses a massive
Albanian rally just outside the conference hall and conducts a press conference
about human rights abuses in Kosova, showing for the first time enlarged
photographs of Albanians brutally tortured and killed by the Serbian police
at the direction of Slobodan Milosevic.
Sen. Dole Greets 10,000 Albanian Demonstrators in Washington and Goes to Kosova
July The Civic League sponsors a massive rally in Washington in front of the White
1991 House and the U.S. Capitol. More than 10,000 Albanian Americans march
from the White House to Capitol Hill and demonstrate for freedom for Kosova.
Senators Bob Dole, Claiborne Pell, Larry Pressler, and Al D’Amato and
Congressmen Gilman, Lantos, Porter, and Broomfield address the crowd.
August At the request of the Civic League, Bob Dole and six other U.S. Senators visit
1991 Prishtina to see firsthand the brutality of Milosevic.
The Civic League Stops U.S. Aid to Serbia
October The Civic League lobbies for and passes economic sanctions banning aid to
1991 Serbia under the Nickles-D’Amato Amendment to the Foreign Aid Bill.
The Civic League Gets Lantos to Introduce a Resolution for the Independence of Kosova
January The Civic League introduces a well-documented Congressional Resolution
1992 (H.Con.Res. 264) cosponsored by Congressmen Lantos and Gilman calling for
the recognition of the independence of Kosova.
Demaci Comes to Washington
March The Civic League brings Adem Demaci, after 28 years in Serbian jails, to
1992 Washington to discuss the crisis in Kosova with Secretary of State Larry
Eagleburger and to New York to meet with Mayor David Dinkins at Gracie
Mansion, where he was honored as the Nelson Mandela of the Albanian
people.”
Shirley Cloyes Joins the Albanian Lobby
October Joe DioGuardi meets Shirley Cloyes, then publisher of Lawrence Hill Books,
1993 who is working on a book entitled Yugoslavia’s Ethnic Nightmare, the first to
bring the perspective of the anti-Milosevic, anti-war opposition inside the
former Yugoslavia to U.S. readers.
The Civic League Introduces Clinton to Rugova
February Joe DioGuardi and Civic League Balkan Affairs Adviser Shirley Cloyes bring
1994 Kosova President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister-in-exile Bujar Bukoshi
to Washington, DC, to meet President Bill Clinton at a private reception
before the annual Prayer Breakfast, to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill
about Kosova’s occupation by Milosevic, and to participate in a special tour
and special tour and reception at the newly opened U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum.
DioGuardi Goes to Turkey to Win Support for Kosova
March DioGuardi addresses a Balkan peace conference in Istanbul, sponsored by the
1994 Balkan Solidarity Foundation, and publicly condemns Milosevic, Tudjman,
Gligorov, the Greek government, Lords Owen and Carrington, and the U.S.
State Department for their roles in suppressing the Albanian people of
Kosova.
The Civic League Conducts First Rally Calling for U.S. Troops
April The first rally calling for U.S. troops in Kosova is led by DioGuardi in front
1994 of the United Nations in New York City.
Congressman Gilman Introduces a Resolution Asking Clinton to Protect
the Rights of the Kosovars
May Congressman Gilman introduces a resolution (H.Con.Res. 251) calling on
1994 President Clinton to report to the Congress within 60 days about the
conditions in Kosova and to make recommendations for protecting the rights
of Kosovars, including the possibility of establishing an international
protectorate for Kosova together with other members of the UN Security
Council and the European Union.
DioGuardi and Cloyes Create the First Hearing on the Albanian National Cause
February DioGuardi and Cloyes create the first Congressional hearing on the
1995 Albanian dimension of the Balkan conflict, including Arben Xhaferi, Fadil
Sulejmani, Iliaz Halmi, and Ismet Ramadani from Macedonia, Bujar
Bukoshi from Kosova, Gjerg Gjokaj from Montenegro, and Riza Halimi
from Presheva.
The Jewish Lobby Becomes a Partner with the Civic League for Kosova
The Civic League makes the addition of Albania to the “Righteous among
Nations” section of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum a reality. Three
Jewish congressmen, Gilman, Lantos, and Nadler, cochair and speak at a
League-sponsored ceremony and reception commemorating the installation.
The connection is made for the first time between the ethnic cleansing in
Kosova and the genocide of the Jewish people in the minds of Jewish
American leaders.
Gilman Introduces a Resolution Making the Lifting of Sanctions Against Serbia Conditional on Improvements in Kosova
March Congressman Gilman introduces a resolution (H.Con.Res. 1360),
1995 conditioning the lifting of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro on
improvements in Kosova. The resolution details the horrors of the
occupation and states that “the rights of the people of Kosova to govern
themselves and to establish a separate identity for Kosova must not be
denied.”
DioGuardi and Cloyes Return to Turkey to Make the Case Against Milosevic and for the Independence of Kosova
September DioGuardi and Cloyes travel to Istanbul, Turkey, to speak about the Balkan
1995 conflict and to make the case for the independence of Kosova at the
National Press Center and at a seminar with key members of the faculty for
international affairs at the University of Marmara.
The Civic League Distributes 10,000 Copies of Rescue in Albania
October At the Civic League’s request, Congressmen Lantos and Gilman write a
1995 foreword to Rescue in Albania by Harvey Sarner. The League begins
distribution of 10,000 copies to demonstrate the courage and tolerance of
the Albanian people who saved Jews from the Nazis in World War II.
Congressmen Gilman and Traficant send the book with a personal letter to
each Jewish member of Congress and with a “Dear Colleague” letter to the
other members, as pat of a strategy to publicize Milosevic’s barbarity
against Albanians and Kosova.
The Civic League Tells Congress that the KLA Is Not a “Terrorist Group
March The Civic League shifts the focus of a Congressional hearing with Balkan
1998 envoy Robert Gelbard from Bosnia to Kosova. Under questioning instigated
by the Civic League, Gelbard is forced to retract his earlier, erroneous
depiction of the KLA as a “terrorist”organization. The retraction creates a
storm in the Western media, and overnight the attempt to “criminalize”
the KLA is halted. In an historic confrontation, Cloyes tells Gelbard that
“the KLA is not a terrorist group, and that the 500,000 Albanians in America
are all KLA.” After the hearing, the Civic League holds the first rally on Capitol Hill in
support of the Kosova Liberation Army.
DioGuardi and Cloyes Call Congress to Support U.S. Intervention
in Kosova and to Indict Milosevic
March DioGuardi testifies before the Congressional Helsinki Committee, calling for
1998 U.S. intervention in Kosova before Milosevic kills more Albanians.
May DioGuardi testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on
1998 Kosova, criticizing U.S. foreign policy there and clashing with Biden over the
need for U.S. military intervention.
June DioGuardi again testifies before the Congressional Helsinki Committee, this
1998 time about the Serbian invasion of Kosova and the need to indict Slobodan
Milosevic as a war criminal.
July Al D’Amato in the Senate and Chris Smith in the House pass Civic League-
1998 sponsored Resolutions (S.Con.Res. 105 and H.Con.Res. 304) calling for the
indictment of Slobodan Milosevic as a war criminal.
August Cloyes begins work with the Transnational Radical Party on the documentation
1998 to be submitted to The Hague to indict Milosevic as a war criminal. In order to
establish the charge of “crimes against humanity,” international law requires
that an armed conflict between two armies must be established. Cloyes with
KLA assistance demonstrates that the KLA is a legitimate army, with a chain
of command, training camps, courts, etc., and not a “guerrilla group.”
The Civic League Lobbies the Pope for Kosova
August DioGuardi and Cloyes travel to Rome to meet Pope John Paul II and to
1998 Bajram Curi, Albania, to meet with the Albanian refugees in the care of the
UNHCR at the request of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and with
leaders of the KLA.
The Civic League Lobbies the European Commission for Kosova
September Emma Bonino, head of Human Rights for the European Commission, meets
1998 with the Civic League Board in New York City to discuss her trip to Kosova
during the Serbian summer offensive and her plans for ending the war.
The Civic League Lobbies Against Holbrooke’s Agreement with Milosevic
October The Civic League holds a rally in Manhattan, marching from the United
1998 Nations to the office of U.S. Special Envoy to the Balkans Richard
Holbrooke, to protest Holbrooke’s entering into the October agreement with
Milosevic—a diplomatic holding pattern that would lead to the infamous
massacre of Albanians at Racak.
The Civic League Goes to London, France, and Tirana for Kosova
January DioGuardi and Cloyes meet with the leaders of the Albanian community in
1999 London at a dinner organized by UCK representative Pleurat Sejdiu and then
travel to Paris to participate in a UCK-sponsored event for the Albanian
community in France.
February DioGuardi and Cloyes go to Rambouillet, France, to speak at a KLA-
1999 sponsored demonstration outside the peace talks.
DioGuardi and Cloyes Congressman Jim Traficant are keynote speakers
at an international conference in Tirana on Kosova and peace and stability
in the Balkans. They make the case for the independence of Kosova at
a press conference with former Albanian President Sali Berisha and on
Albanian TV and radio. DioGuardi and Cloyes also confront Albanian
President Pandelli Majko about his failure to publicly support the
independence of Kosova.
DioGuardi and Cloyes Advocate on U.S. and International TV and Radio for Kosova
January – July DioGuardi and Cloyes represent the Albanian viewpoint on more than
1999 50 U.S. and international TV and radio broadcasts, including CNN
International, CNN, Fox-TV, BBC-TV, NBC, MSNBC, WPIX, and
CNBC—before and after the NATO bombing campaign.
March Cloyes testifies after Senator Bob Dole, Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick,
1999 and Henry Kissinger before the House International Relations
Committee in support of U.S. troop deployment to Kosova.
The Civic League holds a rally in front of the UN, calling the U.S.
government to arm the KLA and deploy troops to defend the people of
Kosova. DioGuardi and Cloyes march with 5,000 demonstrators to the
Serbian mission.
The Civic League holds a second rally in front of the UN with Jewish
leaders to protest the ongoing genocide in Kosova.
Congressman Traficant Calls Congress to Support Independence and Indict Milosevic
April Traficant introduces the Kosovar Independence and Justice Act
1999 (H. Con. Res. 1425), calling for the arming of the KLA, the indictment
of Slobodan Milosevic as a war criminal, and the independence of
Kosova.
As the starvation, torture, mass expulsion, and murder of Kosovar
Albanians continues, the Civic League holds a rally in Washington, DC,
with Senator Joseph Lieberman and Congressmen Ben Gilman, Jim
Traficant, Stenny Hoyer, and Tom Lantos, calling the U.S. government
to arm the KLA, to grant Kosova independence, and to indict Milosevic
as a war criminal.
Milosevic Is Indicted by the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
May On May 24, 1999, Slobodan Milosevic is indicted, along with four of his
1999 military and security officials (Milan Milutinovic, Nikola Sainovic, Dragolub
Ojdanic, and Vlajko Stojiljkovic) for war crimes and crimes against humanity
in Kosova. The indictment is accompanied by an international arrest warrant.
DioGuardi and Cloyes Travel to a Free Kosova and Report to Congress
August DioGuardi, Cloyes, and members of the Civic League Board meet with
1999 Arben Xhaferi in Macedonia and make their first trip to Kosova after the
NATO bombing campaign to report back to Congress on postwar conditions.
October DioGuardi and Cloyes are invited by Bishop Mark Sopi to attend an outdoor
1999 mass in Bizhtashin to commemorate all the Kosovars who sacrificed their
lives for freedom. The first mass in free Kosova, it is attended by more than
5,000 people. They then travel to Prishtina to meet with UNMIK economic
development adviser Joly Dixon and to Junik, Babaj Bokes, Peja, and Gjakova
to meet with residents and local officials.
AACL Convinces the House Committee on International Relations to Hold a Hearing on How to Win the Peace in Postwar Kosova
April The Civic League brings Ramush Haradinaj, Muhamet Mustafa, Bajram
2000 Rexhepi, Esad Stavileci, and Shyqyri Kelmendi to the House Committee
on International Relations to present the political and economic obstacles to
the reconstruction of Kosova, including the need to block access to all but
humanitarian aid to Serbia until Slobodan Milosevic is indicted and the
Albanian prisoners of war, illegally transported to Serbia at war’s end in
violation of the Geneva Conventions, are freed.
Milosevic Is Surrendered to The War Crimes Tribunal in
The Hague and Is Charged with Genocide
June In a great triumph for the victims of war crimes and genocide in Bosnia,
2001 Croatia, and Kosova, Slobodan Milosevic is transferred to the International
War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague on June 28.
November The International War Crimes Tribunal charges Milosevic with genocide
2001 against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Milosevic’s Cover-Up of Mass Murder in Kosova is Revealed
July War crimes investigators establish that Milosevic ordered the bodies of
2001 hundreds of civilians murdered in Kosova to be exhumbed, driven to
Serbia in refrigerated trucks, and reburied in secret mass graves.
Prosecutors believe that the evidence will help prosecutors secure a life
sentence at the end of the trial in The Hague. The Civic League is
instrumental in determining the fate of three Albanian American brothers
who were U.S. citizens (Agron, Mehmet, and Ylli Bytyqi), whose bodies
are discovered in a mass grave in Petrovo Selo, Serbia.
Milosevic Goes on Trial in The Hague
February Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial in The Hague, facing 66 counts on three
2002 indictments for genocide and war crimes spanning a decade in Bosnia, and
crimes against humanity in Croatia and Kosova. On February 15, in his
opening statement, Milosevic attacks and defames the Albanian American
Civic League and Joe DioGuardi for supporting “Albanian terrorism and
separatism” in Kosova and for making “a great contribution to the systematic
expansion of the anti-Serb mood and the ‘Satanisation’ of the Serb people in
the American public opinion.”