SALZBURG, July 2 (Hina) - The extradition of former head of state Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague war crimes tribunal has not destabilised Serbia, which will continue cooperating with the tribunal and might organise some war crimes
trials in Belgrade, Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said in Salzburg on Monday. Djindjic was talking to reporters on the margins of a European economic summit taking place in Salzburg between Sunday and Tuesday. He answered questions about the situation in Serbia after the extradition of Milosevic and the Serb government's plans. The PM emphasised he was satisfied with the reaction of the Yugoslav army. "We are satisfied with the army's reaction to the crisis, it was very moderate," he said. Asked if Serbia would extradite new war crimes indictees in the near future, Djindjic said Serbia would resume full cooperation with the Hague tribunal but did not expect pressure in the next 20-3
SALZBURG, July 2 (Hina) - The extradition of former head of state
Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague war crimes tribunal has not
destabilised Serbia, which will continue cooperating with the
tribunal and might organise some war crimes trials in Belgrade,
Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said in Salzburg on Monday.
Djindjic was talking to reporters on the margins of a European
economic summit taking place in Salzburg between Sunday and
Tuesday. He answered questions about the situation in Serbia after
the extradition of Milosevic and the Serb government's plans.
The PM emphasised he was satisfied with the reaction of the Yugoslav
army. "We are satisfied with the army's reaction to the crisis, it
was very moderate," he said.
Asked if Serbia would extradite new war crimes indictees in the near
future, Djindjic said Serbia would resume full cooperation with the
Hague tribunal but did not expect pressure in the next 20-30 days in
this respect. "We might organise some trials in Belgrade
ourselves," he said.
According to Djindjic, Serbia could not have prosecuted Milosevic
in Belgrade because of an entirely unreliable judiciary, which the
new authorities inherited from Milosevic's regime.
The Yugoslav Constitutional Court is a special problem. Its judges
were appointed by Milosevic's regime, said Djindjic, adding it was
a "political body" in its entirety and a "real disgrace" for
Serbia.
Asked if former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic would be
arrested soon, Djindjic said it was an internal matter of Bosnia and
the international representatives active there.
As for the future of Yugoslavia as a federation, Djindjic said
Serbia thought a federation was a better solution for both Serbia
and Montenegro. He added, however, that Serbia would not force
Montenegro to remain in a joint state.
According to the Serb PM, the break-up of Yugoslavia would
immediately open the issue of the status of the southern province of
Kosovo.
"For the time being, nobody has a concept for Kosovo's status in
case Yugoslavia stops existing," he said. He added Serbia would
complete a draft joint state project by autumn, when it will be
presented to Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic. The project
envisages minimal powers for the common state towards the outside
and maximum independence for the two constituent republic.
Serbia's minimum is a joint state that would be represented as such
at the United Nations. If Montenegro disagrees, Serbia will not be
interested in any special arrangements with Montenegro.
(hina) ha sb