Milosovic's wife describes his battle against 'evil'

The wife of Slobodan Milosevic has described the former Yugoslav president’s performance before the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague as a battle between good and evil.

In an interview published today by Belgrade’s Nacional newspaper, Mirjana Markovic said her husband was innocent.

Milosevic is charged with genocide during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and crimes against humanity in Kosovo and Croatia.

Her husband is ‘‘all alone ... fighting a battle against a thousand Goliaths and his only weapons are truth, courage and ability to tell the truth to everybody,’’ 59-year-old Markovic was quoted as saying.

Milosevic, 60, and his wife wielded enormous power in Yugoslavia for more than a decade before a popular revolt in October 2000.

The post-Milosevic government later extradited him to the UN tribunal in the Netherlands.

Since then, many of Milosevic’s political and business allies - as well as his two children - have been accused of crimes.

The couple’s daughter, Marija, is on trial in Belgrade for aggravated assault because she fired a gun in the air during her father’s dramatic arrest last June.

Their son, Marko, has fled the country to dodge prosecution for alleged corruption, smuggling and aggravated assault.

Markovic said ‘‘gross injustice has been inflicted on my family’’ and expressed hope that ‘‘justice will catch up with those who caused us suffering’’.