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Former Bosnian Serb President in Belgrade Awaiting War Crimes Trial
BELGRADE, Sept 6 (News Agencies) - Former Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic, who faces charges at the U.N. war crimes court, returned to Belgrade Thursday, saying her temporary release was a recognition by the international community of Serbian government policies.
Plavsic, 71, is to live in an apartment in Belgrade under 24-hour police surveillance until her trial in The Hague next year.
She has been accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and of genocide for her role during the 1992-95 Bosnian war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"I am happy and moved to set foot on our soil. I thank the Serbian government for having given guarantees to the ICTY," Plavsic, her voice shaking, told journalists at Belgrade airport.
"My presence here constitutes a recognition of the policies of the Serbian government by the international community. Without that mark of confidence, I would not be here," she said.
Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said the temporary release of Plavsic was "the beginning of a cooperation in both directions between the ICTY and the Serbian government."
The ICTY agreed last week to release Plavsic after Batic offered guarantees that Serbia would ensure her return to The Hague for the trial.
The former Bosnian Serb leader was welcomed in Belgrade by Batic, by Milrad Dodik, the former prime minister of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity of Bosnia and the head of the Serb Popular Alliance party SNS, Svetozar Mihajlovic.
Plavsic, the most senior political figure in the custody of the ICTY after former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, surrendered to the U.N. tribunal in January and has been cooperating with the prosecution.
Of the 43 people awaiting trial or on trial before the tribunal, only three others are on provisional release.
Plavsic is the only woman publicly indicted by the tribunal.
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