Serbia's Ex-president to Be Extradited to UN Court

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 13, 2003

Serbia's Ex-president to Be Extradited to UN Court

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Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic is expected to be extradited soon to face charges of war crimes before the United Nations court in The Hague, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said on Sunday.

With the process of Milutinovic's transfer going on, he would appear before the UN war crimes tribunal soon, Svilanovic told a press conference.

Negotiations on the ex-president's surrender were in their final phase, and there were only some technical problems to be solved, Yugoslavia's state news agency Tanjug quoted justice sources as saying.

Milutinovic, along with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, has been on the most wanted list of the UN tribunal in the Hague, the Netherlands, since 1999 for war crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo.

The UN court has repeatedly demanded Milutinovic's extradition,but Yugoslav authorities had refused until the expiration of his presidential term on Dec. 29, saying he was protected by immunity.

Milutinovic, 60, who was elected Serbian president in 1997, hasdenied the war crimes charges against him.

Meanwhile, US State envoy for war crimes Prosper Rissar, who isgoing to visit Bosnia, said he believed all war crimes suspects inthe former Yugoslavia could be brought to The Hague to stand trialby the end of this year, including former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic and Bosnian Serb army general commander Ratko Mladic, according to reports from Sarajevo.

The United States has got the intelligence about the hideout ofKaradzic, who is thought to be a key person to the peace in Bosnia,said Rissar.

The sooner Karadzic is transferred to the war crimes tribunal, the earlier normalcy will be resumed in Bosnia, he explained.

Any indicted person must be extradited because Yugoslavia, as amember of the international community, had to respect its international obligations, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Svilanovic told the press conference.

He also pledged Belgrade's full cooperation with the Dutch-based tribunal.

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