Deutsche Welle
English Service News
June 29th, 2001, 16:00 UTC
The former president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, is sitting
behind bars in the Hague where he faces charges of crimes against
humanity after a decade of ethnic wars in the Balkans. A
spokesperson in the Hague has confirmed that Milosevic will make his
first appearance before the International War Crimes Tribunal on
Tuesday morning. Many western leaders, including German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder, have hailed Belgrade's decision to extradite the
former Yugoslav leader. Schroeder called the move a triumph for
justice and French President Jacques Chirac said the news would send
a strong message about human dignity. However not all powers were
satisfied with the decision. Russia joined Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica in denouncing the handover, saying it was illegal
and unconstitutional. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov also said
the move would undermine Yugoslavia's fragile institutions after a
decade of turmoil and was bound to fan the flames of separatism.
On his 3-day mission in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell met for talks with Jordan's King Abdullah in an
effort to bolster an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire. At
the meeting King Abdullah told Powell that Israel had to create
the proper circumstances for peace which involves lifting a blockade
of Palestinian areas and freezing settlement building. He also
called for the full implementation of the recommendations made by
former U.S. senator George Mitchell. Powell left Amman after
the one-hour meeting and headed for talks with Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah in Paris before heading back to Washington. In the
meantime, a barrage of six mortar bombs fired at Jewish settlements
in Gaza earlier in the day highlighted the tough task ahead
for both sides in ending nine months of Israeli-Palestinian
violence.
At an international donors conference in Brussels, the European
Commission has pledged nearly $450 million dollars to Yugoslavia in
a package of grants and loans to help rebuild the Balkan country's
war-battered economy. The money is in addition to pledges already
made by the 15 EU-member states. The United States and Japan are
also expected to pledge several million dollars to Yugoslavia. The
conference opened in Brussels just hours after ex-president Slobodan
Milosevic was extradicted to The Hague. The pledges, totalling
$1.28 billion dollars, slightly exceeded the conference organisers'
target. Yugoslavia's needs have been estimated at about $4 billion
dollars.
Russia has said it was open to changes in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty, according to Russian news agencies. The new sources
quoted a senior Russian General, Leonid Ivashov, who is in charge of
international co-operation. It was the first time a high-ranking
official has explicitly raised the possibility of making changes to
the treaty. Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened
that Russia would respond to any U.S. bid to abandon the ABM arms
control accord by adding multiple warheads to its nuclear missiles.
Russia strongly opposes U.S. plans to build an anti-missile shield
on grounds that it would violate the ABM pact, defended by Moscow as
the foundation of three decades of disarmament.
Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada has said he planned to see out his
term of office despite quitting the ruling coalition last week.
In an open letter to the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation,
Negaso said attempts by the government to blacken his name could,
however, cause him to step down before the end of his six-year term,
which expires later this year. Negaso announced his withdrawal from
the council of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition last Friday, complaining the
organisation had abandoned its socialist ideals. He also said he
had come under pressure to quit from Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,
the country's most powerful leader and head of the main party
coalition.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been re-elected for another
five years as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations.
The 189-member U.N. General Assembly endorsed Annan with warm
applause two days after the 15-nation U.N. Security Council did the
same. The election process, usually held late in the year, took
place six months before the expiration of Annan's first term.
Diplomats said he should have the extra time to get started on his
second term.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
