Convicted war crimes general to teach pupils

A former Serb general convicted of war crimes and t wo ot h e r c o mma nd e r s who took part in a bloody cr a c kd own ag a i n s t Koso v o’s Al b a n i a n s in th e 19 9 0 s wi l l b e i nv it e d to teach at the Balkan country’s military academy.

Speaking on Serbia’s state TV yesterday, defence mini st e r Al e k s a n d a r Vu li n pr a i s e d fo r m e r ge n e r a l Vladimir Lazarevic in confirming the invitation.

Lazarevic was sentenced to 14 years i n prison by a UN war cr i mes tr i b u n a l f or atro cities committed by S erbian troops in Kosovo during the 1998- 99 violence that left more than 10,0 0 0 pe o p l e de a d an d nearly one million forced to flee their homes.

The bloodshed stopped o nl ya f t e r a 78 - d ay Nato bo m b a r d m e n t . Se r b i a do e s n o t r e c o g n i s e Ko s - ov o ’ s in d e p e n d e n c e , declared in 2008.