|
Serbia Hands Milosevic To U.N. War Crimes Court
BELGRADE, June 28 (News Agencies) - Slobodan Milosevic, wanted by the international community for war crimes committed in Kosovo, was finally handed over Thursday to officials of a U.N. tribunal in a surprise move by the Belgrade authorities.
His transfer came only hours after a dramatic twist in which Yugoslavia's top court froze moves to hand him over as the country bids for desperately needed international economic aid.
"Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was handed over to the representatives of The Hague tribunal," spokesman Nemanja Kolesar told reporters.
Milosevic was handed over to officials of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in Belgrade before being put on a plane for The Hague, where he is to stand trial.
In the Dutch city, ICTY spokesman Christian Chartier confirmed his handover.
Milosevic has been indicted by the ICTY on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1998-1999 Serbian crackdown on Muslim Albanians in Kosovo.
Beta news agency reported that the former Yugoslav strongman was aboard a plane en route to The Hague, which had left Yugoslav airspace.
Most ICTY suspects arrive in the Netherlands at the Valkenburg military airbase, situated some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of The Hague.
But the base remained off-limits to the press late Thursday. The runway is out of sight from outside the base.
Court sources in The Hague said the former Yugoslav leader was likely to make his first court appearance in the coming days and be formally charged, but added that it was impossible to predict a trial date.
News of the surprise handover came after a day in which Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court threw a wrench in the works by freezing a five-day-old government decree enabling the transfer of Milosevic to The Hague.
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said the government saw the decision as "invalid".
The court had said the decree adopted Saturday was not constitutional and that it needed a further two weeks to consider whether the transfer was legal.
The court ruling, issued by four Constitutional Court judges all appointed by the Milosevic government, appeared to grant the former president a temporary reprieve in lengthy international efforts to bring him to justice.
On hearing news of the court ruling, the government, which had been keen to show good faith ahead of a crucial donors' conference in Brussels on Friday, called an emergency meeting to consider action.
"The court's decision endangers the survival of the country," Djindjic said later.
The Serbian government decided to "carry out its obligations towards The Hague, and the decision went into effect immediately after the cabinet session," Djindjic said.
He insisted there were "three reasons for such a decision": the ruling by the constitutional court, Friday's donors' conference and the future of Serbia.
Djindjic insisted that the "future of Serbia would be jeopardized if the cooperation with the ICTY was postponed until an uncertain future time."
Belgrade has been under increasing pressure from Western nations, especially the United States, to cooperate with the U.N. tribunal in exchange for much-needed financial aid intended to spark the country's devastated economy.
The transfer of Milosevic comes on the eve of a donors' conference in Brussels viewed as a crucial step on Yugoslavia's long road back to normality after a decade of war, sanctions, international isolation and economic ruin.
At Friday's conference, the 35 or so donor nations will be called upon to pledge $1.25 billion for the coming year.
The Tanjug news agency reported that Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica was not informed in advance of the decision to send Milosevic to The Hague, quoting a source in his office saying he had "found out about the event through the media."
One of Milosevic's lawyers, Veselin Cerovic, said the transfer would be "against the constitution of this country and a violation of all rights."
Milosevic had been held in a central Belgrade prison since April 1st, on domestic accusations of abuse of power and corruption.
|
