YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT ADOPTS LAW ON COOPERATION WITH ICTY

BELGRADE, June 14 (Hina) - The Yugoslav government on Thursday adopted a bill on cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and forwarded it to the parliament for debate and adoption. The bill was adopted with a majority vote. The Socialist People's Party, the party of Yugoslav Prime Minister Zoran Zizic, opposed the adoption of the law, i.e. any possibility of the hand-over of Yugoslav citizens. "The law defines all obligations of Yugoslavia's federal institutions and institutions of its republics. Under the law, the republics' authorised bodies make decisions about the hand-over of suspects to the ICTY whereas rulings on the hand-over are adopted by their governments," Yugoslav Information Minister Slobodan Orlic told the Belgrade-based agency Beta. The Yugoslav parliament is expected to discuss the bill on cooperation with the ICTY as early as next week. ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte will visit Belgrade next week. According to unofficial sources, she will arrive on June 21 and meet the highest Yugoslav state officials. (hina) rml