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Serbian PM Says Belgrade On Verge Of Appointing Milosevic Judges
LONDON, Feb 14 (News Agencies) - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said here Wednesday that Serbia's parliament was on the verge of appointing a court and judges to investigate former president Slobodan Milosevic and, if necessary, to try him in Serbia.
"I hope that today [Wednesday[ and tomorrow [Thursday] during parliamentary sessions, we will appoint a court and judges in Serbia and that we can do that in a legal way," said Djindjic when asked at a press conference about possible legal action against Milosevic.
"We have enough reasons to start investigations against Milosevic and some reasons are linked to the war - to war crimes," he said.
He reiterated Serbia's view that Milosevic would face trial in Serbia and not at The Hague-based International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which has indicted him on war crimes charges and wants him extradited.
Milosevic, who still leads the former ruling Socialist Party and is under 24-hour surveillance in Belgrade, has not yet been charged with any crimes by Serbia.
"We should give a chance to our institutions to show if they are able [to do it] or not, and I think that they are," said Djindjic, speaking after a meeting with officials at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Serbian prime minister said Belgrade's new political leaders had no reason to protect Milosevic, the former strongman of Yugoslavia, "because we were on his hit list."
"But we must find ways accepted by our people ... which do not divide [them]," he insisted.
The ICTY charges leveled against Milosevic, and four key allies, stem from the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict.
So far, Yugoslav officials, especially Milosevic's reformist successor Vojislav Kostunica, have been extremely reluctant to hand over the wanted men, arguing that the constitution forbids extradition of Yugoslav citizens.
ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte has repeatedly ruled out allowing any suspects to be tried in Serbia, which Kostunica has called the "best and most just" outcome.
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