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U.S. Certifies Yugoslavia Aid After Milosevic Arrest
WASHINGTON, April 2 (News Agencies) - Secretary of State Colin Powell has determined that Belgrade is eligible for tens of millions of dollars in much-needed U.S. aid, following the weekend arrest of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, a senior State Department official said Monday.
However, Powell has qualified his decision by saying that unless Belgrade continues its cooperation with a U.N. war crimes tribunal, Washington will not help convene a donor's conference for Yugoslavia, the official said.
"The secretary has decided to certify continuation of our aid program with a qualification that we wouldn't expect to help convene a donors' conference this summer without continued progress, especially with regard to the tribunal," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"We have seen them take steps to begin to cooperate, but would we look for those steps to be continued," he said.
"Clearly, the Milosevic arrest over the weekend and the strong stance taken for the rule of law shows some progress," the official said.
The official noted that Belgrade had begun to work with the tribunal to draft a new law that could allow for Milosevic's extradition to The Hague and had assisted in the recent handing over of two other, lower-level, indictees.
A formal announcement of Powell's decision to release $50 million in U.S. assistance to Belgrade was to be made at the State Department's daily news briefing at 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT), officials said.
U.S. lawmakers had demanded that Yugoslavia work to bring Milosevic before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, before granting the aid or supporting programs for Belgrade at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.
The ICTY has indicted Milosevic for war crimes committed during the 1999 Kosovo crisis.
Congress set a March 31st deadline for Belgrade to show it planned to cooperate with The Hague as well as demonstrate progress in complying with the terms of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords and the implementation of democracy and rule of law reforms.
Although Yugoslav officials, including President Vojislav Kostunica, have said Milosevic is for now in custody only on domestic corruption charges, U.S. President George W. Bush said Sunday the former president's arrest was an "important step" toward trying him before the tribunal.
"I am confident that Yugoslavia will continue down the path of cooperation with the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal. I am encouraged by the actions that Belgrade has already taken to work with the Tribunal," Bush said in a statement released after Milosevic's arrest.
Milosevic refused to surrender on Friday as authorities moved to arrest him one day before the U.S. deadline, but was finally taken into custody early Sunday after an armed standoff and is currently being held under a 30-day detention order facing charges of corruption and abuse of power. He denies the charges.
Milosevic's lawyer said Monday he had appealed, without much hope of success, the detention order.
Milosevic also faced fresh criminal charges Monday for resisting arrest.
As Milosevic spent his second day behind bars officials announced that in addition to the corruption and abuse of power charges, he would also be charged with resisting arrest during the weekend face-off, in which four police were injured.
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