THE GUARDIAN (London)
Wednesday January 24, 2001
Wednesday January 24, 2001
Kostunica snubs UN call to seize Milosevic
War crimes prosecutor in frosty talks with president
War crimes prosecutor in frosty talks with president
Special report: war crimes in the former Yugoslavia
Jonathan Steele in Belgrade
The UN chief war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, ran into a cool and unbending response yesterday when she met the Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica, for the first time to demand the arrest of his predecessor, Slobodan Milosevic.
Plans for a joint appearance before the media after their hour-long meeting were cancelled, and Mrs Del Ponte left his office in silence. Her spokeswoman later said she would speak at a press conference tomorrow at the end of her three-day visit.
A written statement from Mr Kostunica's mentioned "differences" and said the president had insisted that new Yugoslav laws would be needed before Belgrade could fully cooperate with the Hague war crimes tribunal, a stance rejected by Mrs Del Ponte. He also complained that "mostly Serbs" had been indicted, and accused the tribunal of wanting to impose "collective guilt on all Serbs". The prosecutor rejected those assessments, the statement added.
Mr Kostunica had initially refused to see the Swiss lawyer but changed his mind last week after protests from several of his government members. After his three-month honeymoon with western governments, which have lifted sanctions and renewed some aid to Yugoslavia since Mr Milosevic's downfall, the encounter with Mrs Del Ponte was meant to be his chance to give something back.
Although Mr Kostunica has repeatedly refused to accept the tribunal's jurisdiction, it was hoped that he would gradually change his tune under international pressure - and with the knowledge that the flow of aid could depend on it.
Yugoslavia was accepted into the UN last autumn. But Mr Kostunica justified his agreement last week to see the prosecutor by saying he would urge her to act against the west for its attack on his country and Nato's use of depleted uranium last year.
Zoran Djinjic, the new prime minister, is more aware of the need to seem flexible. Mr Milosevic ought to be arrested and tried for corruption in Belgrade to show that action was being taken, he said, while "we should keep an open ear to what the world is saying".
Mrs Del Ponte's spokeswoman told reporters before the meeting that as well as a dozen publicly indicted suspects still at liberty in Serbia, she was ready to give Mr Kostunica at least one name on a list of secret indictees if he showed a willingness to act. But afterwards, she said that if necessary the list would be handed to the minister of justice instead.
Such "sealed" indictments are used to snare defendants by surprise.
Turning up the pressure ahead of the talks, the war crimes tribunal ordered Yugoslavia to freeze the remaining financial assets of Mr Milosevic. Yugoslav central bank officials have accused the Milosevic regime of stealing more than £2.7bn and taking it out of the country in bags of cash marked "citizens' savings".
Mrs Del Ponte refuses to say just how much money Mr Milosevic may have left behind in Yugoslavia. In November, she told the UN that "it was a huge, huge amount of money that was stolen [from] the Serb population".
A statement from the tribunal said the warrant for Mr Milosevic's arrest was reissued on Monday by an Australian judge on the tribunal, David Hunt. It directs Belgrade to discover if the ousted president still has assets in Yugoslavia and, if so, to freeze them until he is taken into custody.
Judge Hunt also ordered the publication of an indictment against Zeljko Raznatovic, the paramilitary known as Arkan who was assassinated last January. Officials said that the indictment would be made public in the next day or two.
The Belgrade media have been feverishly speculating about the identities of the "secret" indictees. Top of their list is Borislav Pelevic, Arkan's sub-commander of the socalled Tigers in the Croatian war. He now heads the Serbian Unity party which won 14 seats in the Serb parliament.
A world-class kickboxer and vice-president of the world kickboxing federation, he runs a department in a sports college and calls himself "professor". He rejects all suggestions that he committed war crimes.
"I'm very proud of my role as a Tiger. We were the most disciplined part of the army. General Michael Rose, who commanded UN forces, said the Tigers were the best unit and always first into battle, although we did not have heavy weapons." For those two reasons, he said, they were not able to commit war crimes.
"I don't understand why anyone would indict me. The only reason could be because my party has just got into parliament. I stopped fighting in 1993, when I was wounded, so why were they waiting eight years?"he asked.
Like many other Serbs, "Professor Pelevic" would prefer to see Mr Milosevic stand trial in Serbia - not at the Hague - and face charges of corruption and abuse of power, not for war crimes.
Some ministers in Mr Kostunica's government have hinted that a trial for corruption might start in Belgrade this year. Goran Svilanovic, the federal foreign minister, has canvassed the idea of holding a war crimes trial for Mr Milo sevic in Belgrade with the Hague. Some European diplomats seem willing to consider this, but Washington insists on the Hague as the only venue.
US President George Bush has to certify by April whether Yugoslavia is "cooperating" or it will forfeit American aid.
Mrs Del Ponte has stated that trials away from the Hague are impossible. In any case it would be unfair on those already convicted. "I don't think we should make an exclusion for Milosevic," she said.
Some 15 of the 25 publicly indicted Serbs still at large are thought to be living in Serbia. Some, such as the Serbian president, Milan Milutinovic, make no effort to hide.
He was seen on television on Monday night meeting the leaders of all four parliamentary factions before nominating Mr Kostunica's main ally, Mr Djindjic, as Serbia's new prime minister.
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