Army Obstructs Attempt to Arrest Milosevic: Minister

The Yugoslav Army obstructed a police attempt to arrest former President Slobodan Milosevic, obeying allies of the former president, Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said Saturday.

Police were authorized to arrest the former president, not for war crimes but on criminal charges, the minister told a news conference.

He noted that the Interior Ministry was not arresting Milosevic to extradite him to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, which has indicted him for war crimes.

Police have filed charges against the former president of abuse of power and deeds against criminal law, and the district prosecutor has accepted the charges, the minister said.

Police attempted to arrest the former president early Saturday morning but he refused, saying he would not be taken to prison " alive," according to the minister.

Milosevic Not to Be Arrested for War Crimes: Minister

Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said here Saturday that former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic will not be arrested for war crimes but on criminal charges.

Milosevic will be charged with abuse of power in accordance to Yugoslav laws, he said.

Police attempted to arrest the former president early Saturday morning but he refused, saying he would not be taken to prison " alive," the minister said.

The former president will remain under house arrest "until he is brought to justice," he added.

Police Attempt to Arrest Milosevic Continues

Yugoslav policemen are continuing operation to arrest former president Slobodan Milosevic hours after storming into his villa in the suburbs of Belgrade early Saturday.

Local reports said the 80-odd-strong special police force has not been able to present an arrest warrant to Milosevic as the latter refused to accept it.

Zivorad Igic, a close aide to Milosevic, said that the former president would not negotiate with the police on surrender.

And reporters, both local and foreign, were ordered to back several hundred meters from the house at daybreak as police were sealing off the area.

The police met resistance from Milosevic's personal body guards and his die-hard supporters when they were trying to enter the house early in the morning. Two people, a police officer and a photographer, were slightly injured in the exchange of gunfire for some 15 minutes.

Police have imposed a cordon around the villa, and Milosevic's supporters and other people were driven away from around the house.

Serb television reported that Milosevic had been back home under house arrest after being arrested and taken to Belgrade Central Court late Friday night.

Up till now, there have been no official comments on these dramatic events.

Tanjug reported that Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic declined on Saturday morning to confirm whether Milosevic had been arrested or not. He was quoted as saying that Serbia's Ministry of the Interior is expected to issue an official statement on the issue.

The Yugoslav government's latest action against Milosevic was widely seen as a result of piling pressure from Washington which set March 31 as the deadline for the arrest of Milosevic.

Tension has been mounting outside Milosevic's house Friday as the ultimatum was due to expire. More Milosevic's followers gathered outside the house Friday night after a group of armed police officers in helmets arrived at the entrance of the house with eight jeeps and three ambulances.

Earlier Friday, US President George W. Bush again called for the arrest of Milosevic, a precondition for continued US financial aid. Washington also threatened to re-impose sanctions against the Balkan country.

Milosevic, along with some of his close aides, was wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague for alleged war crimes committed in Bosnia and Kosovo in the past few years. All accusations were denied by Milosevic.

Prosecutors of the ICTY have repeatedly demand the arrest and extradition of Milosevic and other indictees.

Despite the West's mounting pressures, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has refused to hand over Milosevic, whose country has no legislation on the extradition of suspected war criminals. But he agreed to start limited cooperation with the ICTY.

The government is trying to build a corruption case against Milosevic who was accused of obtaining by fraud the villa.

Early this week, Milosevic's seven allies, including former foreign minister Zivadin Jovanovic, were arrested on charges of fraud and other wrongdoings.






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