BELGRADE SEEMS TO BE IN HURRY TO MAKE DOCUMENT ON COOPERATION WITH ICTY

BELGRADE, May 26 (Hina) - Judging from latest statements of its top officials, Yugoslavia seems to be ready to draw up a law for the cooperation with the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) and extradite ICTY indictees, after it prolonged this job very much and prepared the media and public for such a step. "Very often, painful compromises must be made which should be then regulated within adequate legal frameworks," Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunia said on Saturday at a meeting of his party, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) pointed to the necessity of "the legal foundations and regulation of the cooperation with the ICTY." Kostunica, in return, asked the international community to implement "consistently" the UN Resolution 1244 on Kosovo and the Dayton peace accords. That Belgrade is now hastily preparing documents for the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is indicated from a statement of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic who announced a meeting for Monday of "bodies of the DOS ruling coalition", the governments of Serbia and Yugoslavia, justice ministries officials and representatives of a Montenegrin party - SNP - which is a coalition partner of DOS at the federal level. Djindjic reiterated DOS' view that they need adopt a law on the cooperation with the ICTY, and added that they supported President Kostunica in this respect. Serbian premier assessed that further delays in the adoption of the law would lead to "a crisis of the federal government and state." The law is likely to be passed in early June. Belgrade has little time, as a fund-raising conference, in which the United States will take part if Yugoslavia shows a higher degree of readiness to cooperate with the ICTY, is scheduled for 29 June. ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte is arriving in Belgrade next month before her travel to New York where she is expected to produce a report on steps Yugoslavia has taken to cooperate with the Tribunal. (hina) ms