U.S. Reaffirms Support for Tribunal Following Milosevic's Death
11 March 2006
Continues to call for the capture of indicted war criminals Karadzic, Mladic
The United States, following the death of Slobodan Milosevic, reiterated its support for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in connection with the atrocities committed in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s in a March 11 State Department announcement.
The body of Milosevic, who suffered chronic heart ailments and high blood pressure, was found in his bed at the detention center. He apparently died March 11 of natural causes, the ICTY said in a press release.
Milosevic had been on trial since February 2002, defending himself against 66 counts of crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Milosevic, president of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000, was the first sitting head of state ever to be indicted for such crimes.
He was accused of orchestrating a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Serbs during the collapse of the Yugoslav federation in an attempt to link Serbia with Serb-dominated areas of Croatia and Bosnia to create a new Greater Serbia, according to the State Department.
"Milosevic's rule has long ended, and the United States supports a future for the Serbian people of peace, security, prosperity and greater integration with the Euro-Atlantic community," the statement said.
In the March 11 statement, the United States also urged the governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro to call on indicted war criminals, Bosian-Serb political leader Radovan Karadic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, to give themselves up. (See related article.)
Karadzic and Mladic remain at large nearly 10 years after the end of the Bosnian War. They are suspected of playing a leadership role in the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, Bosnia, in which ethnic Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
The U.N. tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte said March 11 that she believes Mladic is in Serbia and Karadzic is hiding in eastern Bosnia-Montenegro.
For additional information see, Southeast Europe and War Crimes Tribunals.
Following is the text of the State Department statement:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
March 11, 2006
STATEMENT BY TOM CASEY, ACTING SPOKESMAN
Death of Slobodan Milosevic
The United States learned this morning of the death of Slobodan Milosevic. Milosevic was the principal figure responsible for the violent dismemberment of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, including the outbreak of two horrific wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. Milosevic's rule has long ended, and the United States supports a future for the Serbian people of peace, security, prosperity and greater integration with the Euro-Atlantic community.
Milosevic was on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in connection with the atrocities committed in the Balkans conflicts of the 1990's. He was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. His trial, which began in February 2002, was nearing completion. The Tribunal will be looking into the circumstances of his death. The United States reiterates its continued support for the Tribunal and its work.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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