BELGRADE, April 3 (Hina) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on Tuesday dismissed any connection between the arrest of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and a US Congress deadline for the resumption of assistance to
Yugoslavia, adding Milosevic's hand-over was "not being considered in the country." "The assistance we have received, amounting to 50 million dollars, is small compared to the damage NATO caused in 1999, which amounts to 30 billion dollars," Kostunica said at the beginning of a news conference in Belgrade. He confirmed that "it was clear two days before Milosevic was arrested that President Bush would sign the decision." The Yugoslav president sharply criticised last weekend's operation of the judiciary and police aimed at arresting Milosevic, which he said was "clumsy and sloppy" and disregarded "the order of events." Kostunica added that he had been informed ab
BELGRADE, April 3 (Hina) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on
Tuesday dismissed any connection between the arrest of the former
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and a US Congress deadline
for the resumption of assistance to Yugoslavia, adding Milosevic's
hand-over was "not being considered in the country."
"The assistance we have received, amounting to 50 million dollars,
is small compared to the damage NATO caused in 1999, which amounts
to 30 billion dollars," Kostunica said at the beginning of a news
conference in Belgrade.
He confirmed that "it was clear two days before Milosevic was
arrested that President Bush would sign the decision."
The Yugoslav president sharply criticised last weekend's operation
of the judiciary and police aimed at arresting Milosevic, which he
said was "clumsy and sloppy" and disregarded "the order of events."
Kostunica added that he had been informed about the first attempt to
arrest Milosevic only on Saturday, March 31, at 8 am.
He did not deny "Milosevic's huge responsibility for many acts,"
particularly regarding the policy toward Kosovo, however, he
stressed, Yugoslav courts should deal with it. "As regards
Milosevic's arrest and questioning, we are thinking only within the
framework of domestic courts," he added.
Accusing the Hague war crimes tribunal of "selective justice,"
Kostunica assessed that the ICTY "has never raised the issue of
responsibility of those in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina or
Kosovo Albanians."
Asked whether there were any elements of state secret disclosure in
an appeal Milosevic filed with an investigating judge, Kostunica
said he "does not believe" such elements existed. Milosevic stated
in his complaint that Yugoslavia had had a separate fund for arming
and providing other forms of assistance for Croatian and Bosnian
Serbs which had not been stated as a budgetary item.
Kostunica also denied any connection between further pressures
regarding Milosevic's hand-over to The Hague and Yugoslavia being
allowed to participate in a donors' conference.
(hina) rml