Yugoslav president says he's `sick' of U.N. war crimes tribunal

<br>BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) _ Faced with a looming U.S. deadline to hand over war crimes suspects, the Yugoslav president blasted a U.N. war crimes court, saying he feels ``sick'' whenever it

Thursday, March 28th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) _ Faced with a looming U.S. deadline to hand over war crimes suspects, the Yugoslav president blasted a U.N. war crimes court, saying he feels ``sick'' whenever it is mentioned.

President Vojislav Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, frequently has criticized the tribunal, claiming it is anti-Serb and not based on the rule of law. He has regularly blasted his pro-Western political rival, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, for wanting to extradite Serb suspects to the tribunal.

``There must be cooperation with The Hague tribunal, but I have to admit that I feel sick to my stomach when I think about that court, with a horrific degree of its prejudices that are shown through its proceedings,'' Kostunica told Serbian state TV late Wednesday.

The U.S. Congress gave Yugoslavia until March 31 to cooperate with the Netherlands-based court or risk losing $120 million in financial assistance.

Acting on a similar deadline last year, the Serbian government arrested former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who is now on trial in The Hague for atrocities his forces committed in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s.

``I've had enough'' of the tribunal, Kostunica said in the television interview. ``I can imagine how those who have to deal with that court feel.''

Kostunica said he is ``absolutely against the extraditions to The Hague tribunal,'' arguing they are illegal as long as no special domestic law has been passed.

But Serbia's government Wednesday defied Kostunica and a high court ruling that extraditions without a special domestic law are illegal. The government formally adopted the U.N. tribunal's rules that allow the extraditions, saying no local law is necessary as the world body's rules surpass national regulations.

The Serbian government move indicates that it is ready to arrest and extradite at least some of 15 Serb war crimes suspects living in the republic and sought by The Hague. Kostunica said he had no power to stop the extraditions, which he considers illegal.

Zoran Zivkovic, the interior minister and federal police chief, said he found ``the president's statement rather odd.''

``There will be extraditions. I don't know when and who will be extradited,'' said Zivkovic, a deputy in Djindjic's party. ``Kostunica is playing fake patriotism. To say 'I'm sick' of something is not a vocabulary of a responsible politician.''

Among the suspects sought by the tribunal are former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his wartime military commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic. Mladic is known to be hiding in Serbia; Karadzic's whereabouts are unknown.

Both have been indicted for genocide for the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Bosnia, and the three-year military siege and shelling of Sarajevo.

In Washington on Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell praised the transfer of about 150 ethnic Albanian prisoners from Serbian jails to U.N. custody, hinting that the step could help the region keep millions of dollars in U.S. aid.

Powell will make a decision about certification over the weekend.