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Yugoslavia Preparing To Extradite Milosevic To U.N.
BELGRADE, June 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Yugoslav government was due to meet Friday to adopt a decree which could lead to the extradition of former president Slobodan Milosevic to face war crimes charges before a U.N. tribunal, a minister said.
Yugoslav Telecommunication Minister Boris Tadic said the government was expected to "make official" its cooperation with The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) later in the day.
The decision to by-pass parliament and adopt a decree was taken late Thursday by leaders of Serbia's ruling DOS coalition, Radio B-92 reported.
This followed the failure to persuade the Montegrin Socialist People's Party (SNP) to back a bill in the federal parliament endorsing cooperation with the U.N. war crimes' court, the radio said.
Milosevic, jailed since April 1st for domestic charges on corruption and abuse of power, is wanted by the ICTY for war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 crackdowns on Muslim Albanians in Kosovo.
Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic told the radio that Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) leaders had agreed to prepare the decree providing for the extradition of Yugoslav citizens to the court and, by implication, Milosevic.
The BBC reports that rumors circulating in Belgrade state that Milosevic could be extradited as early as this weekend, if the decree is issued.
Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said earlier that, if a decision were taken to extradite Milosevic, it would be taken publicly and in line with the law. He said there would be no "kidnappings or night flights," reports the BBC.
President Vojislav Kostunica and Prime Minister Zoran Zizic met earlier to discuss the measure and were expected to call a cabinet meeting later, the report said.
At Thursday's meeting of DOS leaders "significant progress was made... going from the procedure to the goal," Tadic was quoted by Beta news agency as saying.
Yugoslavia has been under intense international pressure, particularly from the United States, to cooperate closer with the court and to enshrine this in law before an international donors' conference for Yugoslavia takes place on June 29th in Brussels.
U.S. officials, speaking in Washington, said privately Thursday that it was "unlikely" they would attend the conference while the State Department reminded Belgrade that it still had time to act.
"We've made clear that that cooperation has to take place and at this point, we haven't made a decision in terms of our attending the conference," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.
Belgrade officials, however, have insisted the push for a decree on cooperation with the U.N. tribunal was not connected with the donors' conference.
"The cooperation is our international obligation and we are doing it no matter of the donors' conference. We will not sell out anyone for money, whatever his name is," Zivkovic said.
Kostunica had long argued that the international tribunal was biased and that prosecuting Milosevic for war crimes was not a priority for his team as it set out to democratize and rebuild the country.
Legal expert Vojin Dimitrijevic said a decree was a "clear solution" to the political impasse created after it failed to win support in the federal parliament.
"We do not need a law since the obligation to cooperate with the ICTY undoubtedly exist and must be executed in some way... A draft was an unnecessary political adventure and this decree] is a clear solution," Dimitrijevic said.
Reacting to the possible clearing for Milosevic's extradition, a Milosevic ally on Friday blasted the Yugoslav government's plans to adopt the decree on cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, saying it was a "constitutional coup".
"This would be a constitutional coup," said Zoran Andjelkovic, top official of Milosevic's Socialist Party (SPS).
On Thursday, a bill on cooperation with the ICTY was withdrawn from the Yugoslav federal parliament after the DOS could not get SNP backing that was needed to push through the legislation.
The SNP, until last October allied with Milosevic, refused to back the bill specifically because it would allow the extradition of Yugoslav nationals to The Hague.
"There is no doubt that the DOS has majority in the Yugoslav government, and that they will try to issue something which I think is not in accordance with the constitution," Predrag Bulatovic, the leader of the SNP said.
"I do not think this is a good thing to do," he warned.
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