Kostunica says extradition illegal

Kostunica says he will work to keep the country together

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has called the extradition of his predecessor Slobodan Milosevic "unconstitutional."

He issued the criticism in an address aired on national television late on Thursday.

His comments came as Milosevic, 59, charged with crimes against humanity, was being transferred to The Hague to face trial before the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal.

"Tonight's extradition of Milosevic cannot be considered as legal and constitutional," Kostunica said.

Kostunica, who has said he wanted the extradition to be done by the book, said there was no legal procedure for Milosevic's transfer and that it appeared somebody in Serbia was in a hurry to extradite to satisfy Western demands.

"Without a state of law, we will get nowhere. Now we need to face the problem of the survival of the country," he said. "I will do all I can to keep the country together."

Earlier on Thursday, the Yugoslav Constitutional Court suspended a government decree allowing for Milosevic's transfer.

However, the Serbian government said the Constitutional Court's ruling was irrelevant because the government has to cooperate with international law and fulfill the extradition order issued by the tribunal.

The transfer also came a day before a group of donor nations and top lending institutions were to meet in Brussels on providing more than $1 billion in funds to Yugoslavia.

The Western nations had threatened to boycott the meeting if Yugoslavia did not co-operate with the War Crimes Tribunal.