Alessio Vinci: Media camps out as Milosevic holes up

Alessio Vinci camped out with other reporters at Milosevic's villa near Belgrade on Saturday

CNN Correspondent Alessio Vinci is camped out with other international media outside the posh suburban villa of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic, who is holed up inside, refusing to be arrested on national embezzlement and international war crimes charges.

Q: Is anyone in the government trying to talk Milosevic into surrendering?

VINCI: Yes, they are. They're very much trying to end the standoff peacefully because they want to avoid at any cost a bloodbath. They've said this repeatedly. They have a pretty good idea about what could happen here if they were to try to arrest Milosevic again using force by storming the building. There are several armed body guards and Milosevic supporters inside the compound and the only way to avoid a bloodbath right now is to try to negotiate any kind of surrender or at least convince Mr. Milosevic to answer the prosecutor's subpoena.

Q: How far is the house from central Belgrade and what's the scene like outside?

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VINCI: Well, the house where Mr. Milosevic is in is in a posh suburb called Dedinje. That's where most of the former Yugoslav top officials used to live and also where there are a lot of embassies. It is across the river from the old city center. The situation now is very quiet still. There are still several hundred riot policemen surrounding the villa. There are several dozen people still waiting it out and trying to figure out if the house will be stormed tonight. But most of those people appear to be more interested in drinking a few beers and waiting to see if there will be another attack rather than being concerned with Milosevic's whereabouts.

All the Milosevic supporters we have seen throughout the day have gone now and also the anti-Milosevic demonstrators are gone. There are just a few people here now, waiting to see if anything will happen tonight.

Q: Given your thorough knowledge of this story because you've covered Belgrade for so long, how do you think this crisis will end?

VINCI: It is virtually impossible to predict anything in this region. None of our predictions have come true, including the fact that the government would have tried to arrest Milosevic without making a big deal out of it and here we are, the world media have been camping out in Milosevic's villa and being kept at bay by police. So, certainly it's very difficult to make any predictions.

The government wanted to make this arrest very quiet, to make it a very quick snatch and announce that Milosevic was arrested. They failed to do so. It may take several days if the government decides not to try another violent arrest, because it's going to take some time to convince the Milosevic supporters inside the compound, inside the villa, to lay down their weapons.

We've heard some reports that electricity and water and telephones have been cut off. But right now we're in a position where it could happen in a matter of minutes if the government were to decide to go ahead and storm the building again. But in this case, they could face the possibility again of casualties, something they've said they would like to avoid, or waiting it out and seeing how long supporters are willing to stay there without water, electricity or even without food at some point.

Q: Has Yugoslav President Kostunica given any indication as to whether he will allow Milosevic to be tried as an alleged war criminal by the world court?

VINCI: Yugoslav and Serb officials agree Milosevic must face trial first here in Serbia. They're being very adamant about it. Even the interior minister said (that) yesterday during his press conference when he announced that Milosevic had been arrested for crimes committed in this country, embezzlement, abuse of power and not war crimes.

They're not ruling out war crimes at a later date. However, what they're saying is that first you must be tried here and this is what most officials are saying. And what other officials are saying about the situation with The Hague tribunal from the United Nations is that we are a member of the United Nations, we have to cooperate. And they will. But they'll do it not necessarily right away.

In the meantime, they have allowed the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal office to open here in Belgrade and they are cooperating with them. But the first trial must take place here in Serbia for crimes committed against Serb people, not war crimes.

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Del Ponte welcomes Belgrade move
March 26, 2001
Kostunica criticises warcrimes process
March 25, 2001
Milosevic greets anti-NATO protesters
March 24, 2001
Serbs hand over war crimes suspect
March 23, 2001
Milosevic net tightens, U.N. told
March 20, 2001

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

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