CASSESE WARNS SECURITY COUNCIL OF BEHAVIOUR OF YUGOSLAVIA - STATEM

STATEM $ ENT ZAGREB, May 23 (Hina) - The president of the International Crimes Tribunal in The Hague Antonio Cassese on Thursday warned the president of the UN Security Council Qin Huasun that Yugoslav authorities had not on Tuesday apprehended two persons suspected of war crimes Ratko Mladic and Veselin Sljivancanin. The letter said: "General Ratko Mladic was, according to reliable information, present in Belgrade on Tuesday 21 May 1996 attending the funeral of General Djukic. It is self-evident that General Mladic entered and left Belgrade unhindered. The fact that he has not been arrested by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is further evidence of the blatant failure of that State to comply with its clear and overriding legal obligation to execute orders of this Tribunal, orders that, to quote a report of the Secretary-General of the Security Council (S/25704, para. 126) 'shall be considered to be the application of an enforcement measure under Chapter 7 of the Charter of the United Nations'... According to reliable information passed to me by Prosecutor Goldstone one of the three indictees about whom I had reported to you in my letter of 24 April 1996, against whom our Tribunal has issued an international arrest warrant, namely Colonel Veselin Sljivancanin (indicted for war crimes in Croatia), was also seen on 21 May 1996 in Belgrade attending the funeral of General Djukic. ....I therefore thought that it would be appropriate for me to report to you on this continuing violation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of its obligation to cooperate with our Tribunal pursuant to Security Council resolution 827 (1993) in respect of one of those individuals." (hina) lm mm 232129 MET may 96