[ALBSA-Info] UN War Crimes Court Expects Milosevic by Year - End

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

UN War Crimes Court Expects Milosevic by Year - End

AMSTERDAM, March 2 (Reuters) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague is 
expecting former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to appear before it by 
the end of the year, its deputy prosecutor said on Friday.

Before that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia 
predicts that the first indicted criminals from Serbia will be handed over to 
the Hague-based court.

``He (Milosevic) needs to be subjected to the jurisdiction of this 
Tribunal,'' Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt told the Dutch current affairs 
program 'Netwerk'. ``It is not going to happen immediately but there are good 
chances...I hope during the course of this year.''

Blewitt said there were indications that Serbia's new reformist government 
headed by President Vojislav Kostunica was prepared to work with the Tribunal.

``We will give them the benefit of the doubt for a short period of time...We 
would expect some substantial movement by the end of this month,'' Blewitt 
said. ``We will probably get some persons who are indicted and are living in 
Serbia...It would be the first time Serbia surrendered anyone to the 
Tribunal.''

He noted a turnaround in Serbian public opinion, with half the Serb 
population wanting Milosevic to face charges in the Hague.

``There is a realization among the Serb people that Milosevic has done them a 
lot of harm. He has committed crimes in their name,'' Blewitt said.

He said he was also hopeful that wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan 
Karadzic, who has been indicted by the Hague tribunal but is still at large, 
would also appear before the tribunal eventually.

As each day goes by, we get closer to the day that Karadzic and Milosevic are 
before this Tribunal. That day will happen.''

Serbia's justice authorities, purged of Milosevic's allies, appear to be 
closing in on the former president, having recently launched probes into his 
financial affairs and arrested his secret police chief on suspicion of 
multiple murder.

But most reform leaders have so far opposed handing Milosevic over to the 
tribunal. They argue he should first face justice at home, and probably on 
corruption charges first.

Prosecutors are preparing to charge Milosevic with giving false information 
about his assets when he bought a house in Belgrade in 1999, according to 
political and judicial sources.