The first defence witness has started testifying at the trial of the former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic at The Hague's UN tribunal. Smilja Avramov, a retired Serbian law professor and ultra-nationalist, said Western-trained "terrorists" had worked to break up the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic said two British lawyers appointed to defend him represented the court and he refused to meet them. Milosevic, who has heart trouble, tried again to defend himself. But the presiding judge, Patrick Robinson, cut off Milosevic's microphone when the former Yugoslav president denounced his court-appointed defence as "a legal fiction". "I don't want to hear the same tired refrain," Judge Robinson said. Lawyers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins are overseeing proceedings on behalf of Milosevic, who has been deemed unfit to defend himself. The ex-leader faces 66 charges of war crimes during the 1990s Balkan wars. **Ill health*** Milosevic had represented himself since the beginning of the trial in February 2002. But his frequent bouts of ill health caused months of delay to the trial, prompting prosecutors to accuse him of "manipulating this tribunal" with his ailments. Doctors said his heart condition could become life-threatening if he continued to represent himself. Milosevic will be able to question witnesses, but only after they have been examined by the defence. Avramov was an adviser to Milosevic during the 1990s and took part in negotiations between Croatia and Serbia. She said "terrorist groups" trained in Germany, the United States, Canada and Australia were active in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic wants to call more than 1,000 witnesses, but it is unlikely they will all be able to appear during the 150 trial days allotted for his defence, the BBC's Geraldine Coughlan reports from The Hague. This month, the former Greek and Russian prime ministers are due to appear, as well as prominent figures from the US, Canada, France and Serbia. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Slobodan Milosevic. (AP)