U.N. prosecutor calls for Serbs to hand over Milosevic

By David Williams
CNN.com Writer

Milosevic

(CNN) -- Now that Slobodan Milosevic has been driven from power, the international community is calling for the former Yugoslavian president to stand trial for war crimes.

Milosevic was indicted on May 22, 1999 by the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Kosovo.

He is accused of murder, the forced deportation of ethnic Albanians and persecution of racial, ethnic and political minorities. The tribunal also is expected to charge Milosevic with additional war crimes stemming from Serbia's war with Bosnia and Croatia.

"It is my hope and expectation that the people of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in their legitimate aspiration to justice, shall express their will to see Milosevic brought to trial in The Hague. I truly believe that this is the only solution if there is to be a true and lasting peace in the Balkans and if the people of Yugoslavia are to enjoy a democratic existence and to be fully accepted back into the international community," Tribunal prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said in a statement Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met with Milosevic Friday and suggested that Milosevic might try to stay in Serbia and continue to play a role in the country's politics. Both Britain and the United States said that was unacceptable.

"He is still an indicted war criminal and has to be accountable, we believe," said U.S. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger.

The U.N. Security Council gave the Yugoslavian tribunal the authority to require Serbia to hand over Milosevic, even if president-elect Vojislav Kostunica's new government wants to try him first.

"They have a duty to hand him over now. That's not likely to happen as a practical matter, but one holds out hope," said Nina Bang-Jensen, executive director of the Coalition for International Justice.

"As a practical matter, Kostunica has a tremendous amount to do immediately," she said. "He has a domestic political problem, so I don't see him handing (Milosevic) over immediately but he could take him into custody to ensure that he doesn't leave."

White House spokesman Jake Siewert said Friday the United States is opposed to any deal that would give Milosevic political asylum in another country.

"Any country that provided a safe haven to Milosevic would be in violation of international law," said Diane Orentlicher, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law.

Bang-Jensen said one concern is that Milosevic might be allowed to escape Serbia and go to a "pariah state," such as Iraq or Belarus, that might not turn him over.

"Any legitimate state would hand him over the minute he stepped into their jurisdiction, so right now he's very much a prisoner of Serbia," she said.

If Milosevic is handed over to the tribunal, he's likely to go to trial quickly.

"He is the Number One suspect indicted by the tribunal. They actually at this point have something of a backlog in their cases, but they've made a priority of prosecuting those who bear the greatest responsibility for quote "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslavia, and he's certainly their prime suspect," Orentlicher said.

Milutinovic

Milosevic is not the only Serbian leader wanted by the tribunal. Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic and Minister of Internal Affairs Vlajko Stojiljkovic were also indicted, along with Colonel General Dragoljub Ojdanic, chief of staff of the Yugoslav army.

"I'm sure that that's an explosive issue right now because one of the critical factors in Milosevic's fall from power is that he lost the support of his inner circle in the army and that loss of support, and the army's ultimate acceptance of Kostunica's victory was essential to the transition, but on the other hand, other military officials are now under indictment as well," Orentlicher said.

She said that their may be mixed feelings in Yugoslavia about handing over Milosevic because he knows a great deal about other officials' involvement in the alleged war crimes.

"He's in a position to not only ensure that there is accountability on his part, but on the part of his henchmen," Orentlicher said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.