UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL CHIEF REPORTS SERBIA TO SECURITY COUNCIL

UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL CHIEF REPORTS SERBIA TO SECURITY COUNCIL New York, Jun 23 2008 5:00PM The President of the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s has reported Serbia to the Security Council for failing to cooperate with the court.

Judge Fausto Pocar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY) informed Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad of the United States, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, that the Serbian Government had been unwilling to cooperate in the so-called 'Milutinovi&#263; and others' case.

The ICTY trial chamber tried on a number of occasions between March and June this year to contact General Aleksander Dimitrijevi&#263;, former head of the Yugoslav Army's Security Administration, to have him appear as a witness in the Milutinovi&#263; case.

Mr. Milutinovi&#263; is on trial with five other former top Yugoslav political and military figures – Nikola Šainovi&#263;, Nebojša Pavkovi&#263;, Dragoljub Ojdani&#263;, Vladimir Lazarevi&#263; and Sreten Luki&#263; – over an alleged campaign of terror and violence directed against Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs living in Kosovo in 1999. All six men face charges of murder, deportation, forcible transfer and the persecution of thousands of Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs.

As Gen. Dimitrijevi&#263;'s address in Serbia was not available to the ICTY, both the trial chamber and Judge Pocar urged Rasim Ljaji&#263;, the head of Serbia's National Council for Cooperation, on a number of occasions to ensure the delivery of both the letter inviting the General to testify and the subsequent subpoena.

But the National Council for Cooperation's response to requests from the tribunal for updates "were often delayed and incomplete," according to a statement to the media issued today, and Gen. Dimitrijevi&#263; failed to appear in court as well.

"The Government of Serbia is challenging the authority of the International Tribunal and the Security Council," Judge Pocar said, adding that Serbia is therefore "in breach of its international legal obligations."
2008-06-23 00:00:00.000

________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/