SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, June 28 (Hina) - Top officials of the Bosnian Serb entity reacted upon Thursday's extradition of Slobodan Milosevic to the ICTY with restraint, assessing that this move can deepen the internal rift in Serbia and
put Bosnian Serbs to new tests. The President of the Republic of Srpska, Mirko Sarovic, on Thursday evening said Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) "have not solved their problems nor will they avoid new tests" by the hand-over of Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Sarovic, who hardly concealed his bad mood, was quoted by the Television of RS, as saying that the Serbian government had assumed possible consequences of this act (extradition). Asked whether Milosevic's appearance in the dock of the Hague Tribunal would impact the Dayton peace accords, as the former Yugoslav President was a signato
SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, June 28 (Hina) - Top officials of the Bosnian
Serb entity reacted upon Thursday's extradition of Slobodan
Milosevic to the ICTY with restraint, assessing that this move can
deepen the internal rift in Serbia and put Bosnian Serbs to new
tests.
The President of the Republic of Srpska, Mirko Sarovic, on Thursday
evening said Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)
"have not solved their problems nor will they avoid new tests" by
the hand-over of Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Sarovic, who hardly concealed his bad mood, was quoted by the
Television of RS, as saying that the Serbian government had assumed
possible consequences of this act (extradition).
Asked whether Milosevic's appearance in the dock of the Hague
Tribunal would impact the Dayton peace accords, as the former
Yugoslav President was a signatory to that agreement, Sarovic
responded that this move would have no influence on the peace
agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Serb entity's Premier, Mladen Ivanic, expressed fear of new
pressure to be exerted by the international community on the
Bosnian Serb authorities in order that they improve its cooperation
with the Tribunal.
"I maintain that this case will be transformed in a sort of
political analysis of everything what has happened in the area of
the former Yugoslavia and I hold that this will put the Republic of
Srpska into a completely new position," Ivanic said.
The international community's High Representative to Bosnia,
Wolfgang Petritsch, has recently described the efforts of Bosnian
Serb authorities to cooperate with the ICTY as scandalous. The
Austrian diplomat criticised the Ivanic government for failing to
do anything in this field.
The Bosnian Serb government has for months preparing a law on the
cooperation with the ICTY, but there are still no indications that
it may soon be passed.
In addition, Bosnian Serb authorities claim they know nothing about
the whereabouts of the Serb warlords - Radovan Karadzic and Ratko
Mladic - wanted by the UN Tribunal.
(hina) ms