ZAGREB, April 1 (Hina) - Commenting on Milosevic's apprehension, Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic greeted the determination which Belgrade authorities showed in the operation of the arrest of the former Yugoslav and Serbian
president, and expressed belief that Belgrade was also aware that Milosevic must eventually face judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. "Today's apprehension of Slobodan Milosevic is en event which must have happened and which will be hailed by everybody that respects justice and democracy. His detention is inevitable not only for the stabilisation of the region, not only for the establishment of the responsibility for crimes perpetrated in four wars in the former Yugoslavia, but also for Serbia's democratic progress. Therefore, I hail the determination which authorities in Belgrade showed taking former president Milosevic to an investiga
ZAGREB, April 1 (Hina) - Commenting on Milosevic's apprehension,
Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic greeted the determination which
Belgrade authorities showed in the operation of the arrest of the
former Yugoslav and Serbian president, and expressed belief that
Belgrade was also aware that Milosevic must eventually face judges
of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) in The Hague.
"Today's apprehension of Slobodan Milosevic is en event which must
have happened and which will be hailed by everybody that respects
justice and democracy. His detention is inevitable not only for the
stabilisation of the region, not only for the establishment of the
responsibility for crimes perpetrated in four wars in the former
Yugoslavia, but also for Serbia's democratic progress. Therefore,
I hail the determination which authorities in Belgrade showed
taking former president Milosevic to an investigating judge and
thus instigating a process against him," Mesic's statement read.
Naturally, what happened in Belgrade this morning is directly
related to a deadline, which the Untied States has imposed linking
it with its further assistance to Serbia. In this context I would
like to point to an important role which the United States has
played in this part of the world in recent years and also to
emphasise that this role is important in the coming period. The
consequences of everything that took place in the last decade are
too deep and too complex to be removed without the international
community's participation in bids to eliminate them. However, the
greatest responsibility lies with political forces in the region
and they are with all reason expected to make crucial moves and they
are expected to do so in the future. It is almost needless to say
that Milosevic, one of the most liable, is definitely not the only
one for whom a prison cell is in the offing, the Croatian president
stated.
"Going to - of course not by his own will - today to a Belgrade
prison, Milosevic has embarked on a long one-way path which must
finish before judges of the International Tribunal in The Hague. I
am sure that the authorities in Belgrade, that arrested him, are
fully aware of it," read Mesic's statement.
(hina) ms