SERBIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE HOLDS ROUND TABLE ON RELATIONS WITH ICTY

BELGRADE, Nov 28 (Hina) - The chairwoman of the Serbian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HOPS), Sonja Biserko, said on Wednesday the indictment of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic would also "satisfy those who have fought against the Serbian aggression." Biserko believes the indictment defines the policy of Milosevic's regime and the character of the war on the territory of former Yugoslavia. Opening a round table on the ICTY in Belgrade, Biserko said the indictment against Milosevic was "a framework which will help define a new Serbia and establish the rule of law," and a precondition for individualising responsibility and reconciliation. She stressed that "the protective relationship of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the Yugoslav Government towards the Yugoslav Army is difficult to understand," given the content of the Milosevic indictment, which says the Yugoslav armed forces implemented the policy of creation of Greater Serbia. Biserko said Milosevic was not "a rare phenomenon" but a symbol of a widely supported policy. Challenging The Hague (tribunal) may be interpreted as the continuation of that policy, the HOPS president said. Biserko concluded that "the honeymoon" between Yugoslavia and the international community was over and added that Belgrade's cooperation with the Hague tribunal would be "crucial for the country's future and development of its civic option." (hina) sb rml