KOSTUNICA'S PARTY SLAMS SERBIAN GOVT. FOR EXTRADITING BANOVICES

BELGRADE, Nov 10 (Hina) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's party (DOS) has accused Serbia's government of being responsible for the "abduction and extradition of persons (to the Hague war crimes tribunal) without any legal grounds." In a statement issued on Saturday, the Serbian Democratic Party (DOS) states direct accusations in connection with the arrest of the Banovic brothers in Obrenovac near Belgrade on Thursday. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) charges the brothers Predrag and Nenad with crimes over Muslims in Keraterm, a Serb detention camp near Prijedor in north-western Bosnia, committed in 1992. The Banovic brothers are not Yugoslav citizens and were arrested and turned over to the ICTY based on the Tribunal's Statute as, authorities in Belgrade said, Yugoslavia does not have a law on cooperation with the Hague court. Serbia's Justice Minister Vladan Batic said his ministry did not know the Banovic brothers would be arrested, thus dismissing the possibility of his ministry's issuing an arrest warrant. Serbia's Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic countered by saying Batic "is well-acquainted with the decisions made at the Serbian government session." Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic is the only one who confirmed the Banovic brothers were arrested, but declined to tell reporters on Friday who had arrested and extradited them. Kostunica's DOS advocates passing a law on cooperation with the ICTY as an "absolute necessity" in order to enable prosecuting Yugoslav citizens at home. (hina) ha