Weekly had story about Serb PM's murder day early

Serbian Assassination Looms Over Tribunal

Sat Mar 15, 9:32 AM ET

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - As the trial of former President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) crawls through its second year, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal is struggling to cope with the U.N. mandate it was given 10 years ago to bring justice to those responsible for the Balkans slaughter.

That task has gotten harder with the assassination of Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who orchestrated Milosevic's extradition. The death has raised doubts about the chances for a trial at The Hague (news - web sites) for former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic and other fugitives.

Serbia was thrust into crisis Wednesday when Djindjic was shot in Belgrade. The government accused Milosevic's allies of organizing the killing, pointing to an alleged criminal clan built on police and security forces from the Milosevic's regime.

Even if Djindjic was not killed for collaborating with the tribunal, in today's atmosphere of lawlessness an implicit threat of death could hang over any successor who defies the hardline nationalist sentiment fostered by Milosevic. The intimidation may even be felt in The Hague, which might be reluctant to pressure a new, uncertain regime in Belgrade.

In The Hague on Friday, Milosevic appeared in court as usual, defending himself against 66 counts of war crimes, including genocide, as prosecutors methodically presented their case before three U.N. judges. Ordered to finish by May, the prosecution has asked for a year extension. That would prolong their case well into 2004 before Milosevic begins to present his defense.

Established a decade ago by the U.N. Security Council, the tribunal has publicly indicted about 125 war crimes suspects. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and Mladic, both wanted for the genocide of thousands of Muslims in Bosnia, are the two most wanted of 23 suspects still at large.

After Milosevic's ouster in 2000, Djindjic pressed ahead with pro-Western reforms, despite fierce opposition.

Chief U.N. Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said Djindjic showed courage in putting his career on the line to uphold the authority of the court, and that his death made relations with Belgrade uncertain.

"Djindjic was our first supporter in the cooperation with this office of the tribunal," Del Ponte told Associated Press Television News in The Hague. "We lost our main, important point of connection for our activity," she said.

"I hope that I will very soon speak with someone else who will take the same courageous action as he was doing for us and particularly for his country," said Del Ponte.

On Thursday, authorities investigating the assassination detained Milosevic's former state security chief, Jovica Stanisic, and his deputy, Franko Simatovic, who headed notorious Serb paramilitary units in the Bosnian and Croatian wars of the early 1990s.

The two are believed to have maintained influence among police and organized crime even after Milosevic's ouster in October 2000, and are part of the underworld regime Djindjic sought to uproot. Authorities also suspect they may use their influence to protect indicted war criminals, including Mladic.

"Djindjic decided to clean the system and to go through this deep reform of the police and army, which was a courageous undertaking," prosecution spokeswoman Florence Hartmann said.

Avril McDonald, a war crimes expert at the Asser Institute in the Netherlands, said the U.N. court may be forced to ease pressure on Belgrade to secure Mladic's arrest. Djindjic's murder will make it harder to find a politician willing to press ahead with reforms, she said.

"It is not going to encourage his successor to cooperate with the tribunal," McDonald said. "Arresting Mladic would be a huge political risk, which is why he hasn't been handed over sooner."

The tribunal has entered what it calls its completion strategy, focusing on trials of suspects already in The Hague and finishing investigations on 35-40 high-level officials.

Del Ponte has said the court's work becomes "more and more complex" and that "full cooperation is needed" from Belgrade if the court is to meet a 2008 deadline to wrap up.

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