[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Downwithcapitalism <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2001 3:24 PM Subject: [downwithcapitalism] 'Constitutional coup' - decree adopted Associated Press; Agence France Presse. 23 June 2001. Milosevic Extradition Decree Adopted; Milosevic hand-over would violate constitution: lawyer. Combined reports. BELGRADE -- The Yugoslav government adopted a decree Saturday that clears the way for Slobodan Milosevic's extradition to the U.N. war crimes tribunal, Information Minister Slobodan Orlic said. The former president's extradition is a key Western condition for Yugoslavia to receive billions in aid money. Orlic told The Associated Press that some "minor changes" were made to the decree, but that it "includes extradition" to the U.N. tribunal. No other details from the document were immediately available, but a news conference was scheduled for later Saturday. Montenegrin ministers boycotted the meeting and offered to resign from the Cabinet -- a move that could lead to early elections. The decree was intended to provide a legal basis for cooperation with the U.N. court, including extradition of Yugoslav citizens -- a move banned by current legislation [NOTE THAT]. Milosevic supporters gathered outside the federal administration building to protest the Cabinet meeting, chanting "down with the NATO government" and "treason." Any move to extradite former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to the UN war crimes court in the Hague would be in direct violation of Yugoslavia's constitution, one of Milosevic's lawyers said on Saturday. The statement by Veselin Cerovic, quoted Saturday by the daily Glas Javnosti, came as the Yugoslav federal cabinet was set to meet to issue a decree allowing the extradition of war crimes suspects, such as Milosevic, to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. "With or without a law on the International Criminal Court, there is no clause in the constitution allowing for the extradition of one of our citizens, regardless of whether it is requested by a state or an international organization," Cerovic said. "Any legal act going against this principle directly violates the Constitution." "The extradition of a nation's president means accusing the state as a whole and its citizens for what has been attributed to the president" he added. Cerovic said Milosevic did not recognise the authority of the war crimes court. "Milosevic does not recognize the authority of the court, and even refuses to see the affidavit. He sees NATO's aggression against his country (referring to NATO air strikes between March and June 1999) as the most serious crime and genocide committed in the last century" he said. He said Milosevic had told him during a meeting in Belgrade's central prison, he was "proud to have been at the head of the army that stood up to NATO." * * * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
