Milosevic Transfer Sets Off Political Mayhem
June 29 -- Yugoslavia was plunged into a fresh political crisis today when the prime minister resigned over the surrender of former president Slobodan Milosevic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
Prime Minister Zoran Zizic called the handover Thursday "hasty" and an affront to the country's dignity.
Milosevic is the first former head of state to be handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
About 6,000 Milosevic supporters condemned the handover which was initiated by Serbia's pro-democracy Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. They shouted, "Treason!" and "Uprising!"
Djindjic, a radical reformer, rushed through Milosevic's transfer to The Hague on Thursday, despite opposition from Yugoslavia's moderate nationalist President Vojislav Kostunica.
He was handed over despite a Constitutional Court ruling that banned hisextradition.
Milosevic was indicted on charges he orchestrated atrocities committed in Kosovo during the crackdown he ordered on the province'sethnic-Albanian population. The crackdown ended after NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
He is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, who was indicted along with Milosevic, is also reportedly considering giving himself up.
The United Nations' chief war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, called for the arrests of two more key war crimes suspects.
"Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic were first indicted six years ago. The fact they have not been arrested while we are preparing for the trial of other members of the Serb Bosnian leadership is scandalous," she said.
Development Amid Chaos
While Milosevic's transfer shook the Yugoslav political world, some stabilization came in the form of $1.28 billion in developmental aid.
The money is intended for repairing infrastructure — some of it still damaged after NATO's 1999 airstrikes — and to pay teachers and doctors.
Much of the money was pledged by international donors at a conference in Brussels today, one day after Milosevic's move to The Hague.
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