Arrest warrant issued for Milosevic

Kostunica: Resisting pressure to hand over Milosevic to The Hague

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A U.N. official has been sent to Belgrade to deliver a warrant for the arrest of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on war crimes charges.

U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Hans Holthuis, the International Criminal Tribunal's registrar, was sent on Wednesday by tribunal President Judge Claude Jorda and Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte to try to deliver the warrant personally to Milosevic.

Holthuis was sent to Belgrade "to discuss practical modalities" in connection with Yugoslavia's legal obligations under the statute of the tribunal, Eckhard said.

He was also expected to meet with Federal Justice Minister Momocilo Grubac, Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic, and was expected to see Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic.

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Eckhard said Holthuis was "travelling in his neutral capacity as registrar" to clarify to Yugoslav authorities the steps that must be taken to fulfil their legal obligations to the tribunal.

Milosevic was arrested last week and is being detained in Belgrade on charges of suspicion of corruption and abuse of power.

The Serbian government has so far refused to extradite Milosevic to The Hague to face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Kosovo.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook talked on Wednesday with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovica to discuss Milosevic's fate and the future of the Balkan region.

Cook insisted Milosevic should be handed over to the international war crimes tribunal as part of Serbia's new "partnership" with the rest of Europe.

He held out the prospect of aid for the country and help in restructuring its crippling international debt.

But he stressed the people of Yugoslavia had to play their part in helping the international community by delivering Milosevic to the tribunal so he could be put in the dock for crimes against humanity.

"I welcome the fact that the people of Yugoslavia will now have an opportunity to hear in full the crimes committed by Milosevic against the peoples of Yugoslavia, how he made himself rich while he made his people poor," Cook said.

He said he welcomed Kostunica's statement that no one is above the law, which he said in response to Milosevic's initial refusal to be arrested.

"There is an international law as well," Cook said. "It's vital that President Milosevic is not above that international law either."

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Milosevic indictment
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbia Ministry of Information
Serbia Ministry of Interior

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