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Premier Says Mladic Will Be Extradited to ICTY Once Tracked Down in Serbia2006-08-25BBC Monitoring EuropeanText of report by Serbian TV on 24 August [Announcer] Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is satisfied with the results of the implementation of the Action Plan for cooperation with the Hague Tribunal [International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - ICTY]. The prime minister pointed out that no one can ever be above the interests of Serbia, and that includes Ratko Mladic. The very moment it is discovered that he is on our territory, he will be transferred to The Hague, the prime minister said emphatically. [Correspondent Ivana Ckonjevic] The prime minister said that he received daily reports about the round-the-clock activities of the responsible institutions and that he is satisfied with the cooperation of the team for implementing the Action Plan, whose coordination is in the hands of Rasim Ljajic [chairman of the National Committee for Cooperation with the ICTY] and [Special War Crimes Prosecutor] Vladimir Vukcevic. [Kostunica] I would like to point out that the Action Plan has only one clear objective, and that is that Ratko Mladic and the remaining indictees must be in The Hague. For the Serbian government this means that the very moment it is discovered that Ratko Mladic or any other indictee is on our territory, they will immediately be extradited to the tribunal. [Reporter] Kostunica reiterated that the arrest of the members of the Scorpions was the best proof of Serbia's determination to bring to justice all those suspected of having committed war crimes. He pointed out that much has been done and that we are close to our goal. Prime Minister Kostunica said that concluding cooperation with the ICTY was Serbia's international obligation, but also that the arrest of ICTY indictees was essential in order to determine in a court of law responsibility for committing war crimes. [Kostunica] Justice does not tolerate selectiveness. Justice which is selective becomes its opposite, injustice. And all those who are in any way protecting war criminals are also committing a kind of crime. And of course, when I say this, as I have said in an earlier example when I spoke about the Serbian government's timely and responsible action, when we are talking about crimes committed against the Serbs, I am particularly referring to the example of Atif Dudakovic, who was directly in command of war atrocities committed against Serbs, and his failure to respond to that fact and to this clear and hard proof of his accountability, today shows the worst kind of contempt for the innocent victims and is a public mockery of justice. [Reporter] The Serbian prime minister said that Serbia's negotiating team for the status of Kosovo and Metohija would meet on Monday [28 August] after which time the government would forward a request to the Serbian Assembly to hold a special session where the report on all the negotiating team's activities would be presented. Kosovo-Metohija must remain a part of Serbia and the government will not consent to experiments being conducted on our territory and for our territory to be taken away from us, Prime Minister Kostunica said. [Kostunica] For the Serbian government, for this government and I am certain for every other Serbian government, Kosovo will remain an integral part of Serbia, not only in words, but in something that is far more binding, legally binding, in large letters, clearly formulated in the future Serbian constitution. I would also like to point out that Kosovo is not only a question of territory, it is not only a question of a part of Serbia's territory, it is not only a territorial issue, but it is also an issue of Serbia's honour. [Reporter] The prime minister said Serbia was maintaining a good course, which would lead to adopting its new constitution. [Kostunica] Of course all parliamentary parties have a major responsibility and it is a question of historical maturity for Serbia finally to get a new constitution, not to mention that it would be really a big pity if this did not happen. I am certain that the new constitution will be adopted and that of course with the adoption of the new constitution, completely naturally, quite normally, the process would be rounded off with the scheduling of general elections. [Reporter] Kostunica said that the Serbian government had appointed two new ambassadors and a few other diplomatic representatives. The prime minister confirmed that the Serbian government would undergo reorganization, but only after amendments have been made to the Law on Ministries and he added that right now it was unnecessary to speculate in connection with the names of the new ministers. (c) 2006 BBC Monitoring European. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Channel: USHMM: International Law
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