Yugoslavia and The Hague

Kostunica's Own Goal

In the midst of the discussion in Belgrade and in the West on where it would be best to try Milosevic, the President of the FRY declares that he "has no time" to receive the Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte. What does this mean?

AIM Belgrade, January 16, 2001

By refusing to receive the Chief Prosecutor of The Hague Tribunal Carla del Ponte when she visits Belgrade, President of the FRY Vojislav Kostunica has caused the sharpest criticism since he had taken over the duty.

The political damage caused by this to himself, but to Serbia as well, was increased by the fact that just two days prior to that Kostunica had unexpectedly received and talked for an hour with the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic indicted by The Hague Tribunal for war crimes. This meeting took place in the midst of everyday debates whether Milosevic should be tried in The Hague or in Belgrade and immediately after Milosevic's ill-famed wife Mira Markovic had left the country allegedly to visit her son Marko and grandson in Azerbaijan (by the way, it is interesting that Nourz Mamedov, who is in charge of foreign policy in the office of the president of Azerbaijan, in a statement for the BBC resolutely denied this piece of news carried by Belgrade media, by saying that "Azerbaijan has no relations with Milosevic on any level").

An avalanche of protests of Kostunica's coalition partners followed the statement that "in the talks global conditions in the country, the situation in Kosmet (Kosovo and Metohija) and the relations in Yugoslav federation were discussed", and after the statement of the President himself that "the president of the state should communicate with representatives of all parties".

The colleagues from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (they still call themselves that, although they are in power) criticised Kostunica for attaching importance to Milosevic's stands, for talking about the relations in the federation first with him and then with DOS and claimed that Milosevic could not be considered an "ordinary" president of an opposition party. The official information on the topic of the talks was later modified by statements of unidentified sources from Kostunica's office that Milosevic had in fact made inquiry about his personal security fearing that he would be kidnapped and extradited to The Hague.

As concerning The Hague Tribunal, the President of the FRY is not in charge of international cooperation. This is the job of the Federal Ministry of Justice, so that the thunderously refused Kostunica's meeting with Carla del Ponte would in fact be just a gesture of good will which he obviously did not wish to make. Kostunica has a consistently negative attitude towards the Tribunal which he repeated again a few days ago. Nevertheless, Kostunica stresses every time that Yugoslavia will meet the obligations taken by signing the Dayton Peace Accords and cooperate with the Tribunal - although he does not seem to have decided what forms this cooperation could take.

According to interpretations of experts for international law from Belgrade Forum for International Relations, by signing the Dayton and the Paris agreements Yugoslavia had taken the obligation to offer precise legal assistance to the Tribunal in determination of facts based on which decision will be made whether there are foundations for raising charges against the suspects, their arrest, taking into custody and extradition to the Tribunal. The new Yugoslav authorities have so far taken upon themselves to re-open the office for the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague and to issue visas to the investigators (who hope that they might also be given certain documents).

In the statement from Kostunica's office issued on January 14, however, the public was told that opening of the mentioned office did "not necessarily mean automatic acceptance of all demands of the Tribunal". The mentioned possibility on exchanging documents and material evidence, joint investigation activities and exchange of court and medical evidence, "having always in mind the supreme state interest" - but extradition of anybody is resolutely refused. Kostunica's coalition partners also believe that it would be best to try Milosevic in Belgrade

• or at least both in The Hague and in Belgrade.

Carla del Ponte, on the contrary, keeps repeating that Milosevic and his associates (indicted with him are the president of Serbia Milan Milutinovic, former Yugoslav defence minister Dragoljub Ojdanic, former minister of police of Serbia Vlajko Stojiljlpvic and former Serbian deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic) can be tried only in The Hague. Nevertheless, it is obvious that a compromise will be sought concerning this issue. The departing American State Secretary Madeleine Albright declared during the recent visit of Yugoslav foreign minister Goran Svilanovic that the USA would not be opposed to the trial to Milosevic in Belgrade, but "under jurisdiction of The Hague Tribunal". Even Carla del Ponte declared in an interview to Belgian Soir weekly that "some hearings" could take place in Belgrade. Its President and not the Prosecutor will make the final decision in the name of the Tribunal.

The question to which it is quite difficult to give an answer is why in the midst of sensitive negotiations with the West on Milosevic's destiny, Kostunica, first, allowed the vice president of his Democratic Party of Serbia to scornfully declare that del Ponte was "not high enough" to be received by the President of the FRY, and then to state himself that he "has no time" to receive the Chief Prosecutor - although he mitigated this statement by the promise that "a way will be found" to inform del Ponte on the questions the Tribunal is concerned with. The leading Western media assessed this as "loud ignoring" of the Tribunal, and even Russian media estimated that Kostunica should more clearly declare his stand concerning the destiny of Slobodan Milosevic.

Not even Kostunica's partners in the DOS approved of his stand. The future prime minister of Serbia Zoran Djindjic immediately made it clear that he would meet with Carla del Ponte "if she wishes"; the future deputy prime minister in Djindjic's cabinet Nebojsa Covic reminded that orders for "many or some" crimes were issued by Slobodan Milosevic, while the candidate for the future minister of justice in the government of Serbia Vladan Batic declared that the "strategy of defiance and obstinacy" should not go on. Carla del Ponte was not too excited. She sent a message that Kostunica met with many, so she hoped that he would somehow find some time for her too, and declared that she would bring secret indictments and a list of 15 fugitives from international justice who are believed by the Tribunal to be hiding in the FRY, "so let the Yugoslav authorities choose who they will extradite to The Hague first".

In short, Kostunica has made a gaffe, but it does not mean that in relations with the Tribunal foreign minister Goran Svilanovic and minister of justice Momcilo Grubac will not correct him by manifesting adequate cooperativeness with the Tribunal when Carla del Ponte visits Belgrade on January 22. Political atmosphere in Serbia is such that it is hardly probable that Milosevic will avoid a trial for all the crimes he has committed. The rest is, as usual, a matter of political deals.

Roksanda Nincic

(AIM)