PARLIAMENT HEAD MICIC ACTING PRESIDENT OF SERBIA

BELGRADE, Dec 30 (Hina) - Pursuant to the decision of the Serbian parliament's constitutional committee, the parliament's head, Natasa Micic, on Monday took over the office of Serbian President, and she will hold office until the election of a new Serbian President. #L# Under the law, the assembly's head, who is currently the acting Serbian president, is bound to decide within two months after the unsuccessful presidential election on the new date of the presidential ballot. The deadline for her decision is 8 February 2003, and given that there is provision that at least 30 days and not more than 90 days must pass since the day when the election is called, the next Serbian presidential election, i.e. the second repeat after the invalid first election and first repeat, is likely to be scheduled between 8 March and 8 May. Natasa Micic today became the first woman president in the Serbian history. Her predecessor Milan Milutinovic, whose term of office expired at Sunday midnight, is indicted together with former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes against Kosovo Albanians in 1998 and 1999. A Yugoslav assistant justice minister, Nebojsa Sarkic, was quoted by the Beta news agency as saying that an investigating judge would probably today ask the Serbian government for the opinion on the request of the ICTY that Milutinovic be immediately extradited to The Hague. If the Serbian government gives the green light to the hand-over, the procedure would be initiated in the coming days depending on whether Milutinovic, accused of his superior responsibility, would voluntarily surrender or not. If the government gives the negative opinion, the procedure against Milutinovic will be discontinued. Nobody from the Yugoslav justice ministry has so far held officials talks with the indictee Milutinovic, as his immunity as the president of Serbia has been respected, Sarkic said. (hina) ms