WASHINGTON, March 15 (Hina) - The United States is resentful and has lodged a strong protest with the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry and Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica against an "inadmissible act" committed against a US diplomat in
Belgrade on Thursday evening. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the first secretary of the US Embassy in Belgrade was physically assaulted, illegally arrested and held in custody for 15 hours without being allowed to contact the embassy. The incident occurred while the diplomat, whose name was not made public, was having dinner with Serbian Vice-Premier Momcilo Perisic in a Belgrade restaurant. Boucher said the US administration was subsequently informed that the incident was caused by the military police, although the persons who caused the incident were not wearing military uniforms or showed any documents, Boucher said. Asked to comment on speculation that Perisic met the US
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Hina) - The United States is resentful and has
lodged a strong protest with the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry and
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica against an "inadmissible
act" committed against a US diplomat in Belgrade on Thursday
evening.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the first
secretary of the US Embassy in Belgrade was physically assaulted,
illegally arrested and held in custody for 15 hours without being
allowed to contact the embassy.
The incident occurred while the diplomat, whose name was not made
public, was having dinner with Serbian Vice-Premier Momcilo
Perisic in a Belgrade restaurant.
Boucher said the US administration was subsequently informed that
the incident was caused by the military police, although the
persons who caused the incident were not wearing military uniforms
or showed any documents, Boucher said.
Asked to comment on speculation that Perisic met the US diplomat to
hand him documents related to the trial against Slobodan Milosevic
before the Hague war crimes tribunal, Boucher said all kinds of
speculation would be heard, but regardless of the circumstances the
act against the diplomat was inadmissible.
General Perisic was former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) Chief-of-
Staff. A court in the southern Croatian town of Zadar sentenced him
in absence to 20 years in prison for war crimes and shelling of the
town in 1991, while he was commanding JNA officer in Zadar.
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