Global Policy Forum

The government of Serbia-Montenegro on Thursday (8 July) set up a new special council on co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and urged it to take immediate action to meet the country's obligations. Describing full co-operation with the ICTY as a top political priority, the government also stressed that the provisions of the law on Serbia-Montenegro's relations with the ICTY are binding for all.

The National Council for Co-operation with the ICTY, which includes top officials from Serbia-Montenegro's two constituent republics, held its first session Thursday, but failed to elect a president. Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic have both reportedly refused to head the council. The post will likely be taken either by Serbian Interior Minister Dragan Jocic or Justice Minister Zoran Stojkovic, the daily Danas reported.

Once that issue has been resolved, the council's next step would be to decide whether four indicted retired army and police generals would be extradited to The Hague. Generals Nebojsa Pavkovic, Vladimir Lazarevic, Sreten Lukic and Vlastimir Djorjdevic were indicted by the ICTY for their alleged involvement in war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 conflict in Kosovo. All except Djordjevic are reportedly in Serbia.

Establishment of the special council came a day after US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman visited Belgrade. He called for the extradition of Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic and the four generals, saying the move was necessary if Serbia-Montenegro wants to continue on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration. "We have the prospects of integration into Europe if we meet our international obligations, and closed doors if we do not," Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic told Serbian Radio and Television late Wednesday.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who has expressed opposition in the past to the generals' extradition, has not yet announced his position. Veroljub Stevanovic of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), partner in the ruling coalition, said he saw no reason the extraditions should destabilise the country. "I think that whatever is good for Serbia will happen. That means that the generals will be sent to The Hague and that we will not have political instability," said Stevanovic. "A decision to extradite the generals is the best decision for Serbia right now."

In other news, the Serbian state news agency Tanjug quoted ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte as saying Thursday that Mladic is still hiding in Serbia, adding that if the authorities there had the necessary political will, they would arrest and extradite him to The Hague.