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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Lukovic's surrender was not previously agreed

Belgrade, 14 May 2004

In an interview for today's issue of Belgrade daily Blic, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica speaks about the arrest of Milorad Lukovic, the chief suspect in the murder of former Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic, cooperation with the Hague tribunal, European integrations and other current topics. The official web site of the Serbian government brings excerpts from the interview.

Lukovic's surrender was not previously agreed

Arrest of Milorad Lukovic "Legija":

No agreement whatsoever preceded Lukovic's surrender, and the Serbian government did not give him any guarantees. Lukovic's surrender was a big surprise for me and the ministers of interior and justice, but a satisfaction as well. It is good that the court has as many accused, witnesses and evidence as possible at its disposal. It would be much better if it had some other accused who are at large as well. After Lukovic's surrender, Minister of Interior Dragan Jocic met with him and fulfilled the regular procedure in such cases. Concerning the police protection which Lukovic requested for himself and his wife, I must say that the protection of family members of an accused is not a question of a deal, but is mandated by law.

Government's assistance to the family of the assassinated prime minister:

I talked with his wife, Ruzica Djindjic. Former Serbian prime minister Zoran Zivkovic informed me about the problems concerning the safety of the late prime minister's family. The government has taken steps to complete what the previous government began. I will talk with Ruzica about other things that can be done to help the Djindjic family even more. The state will react resolutely to the threats the Djindjic family received recently, and will provide them full safety. Serbia must be a safe country and this government will do everything to achieve that.

EU messages which Chris Patten delivered during his visit to Belgrade:

During the talks with Chris Patten, both the Serbian and the European side agreed that the state union should be preserved. We agreed that it must become truly functional, and it is becoming functional with the completion of state institutions, with the establishment of the court of Serbia-Montenegro, formation of parliamentary committees, the adoption of the parliament's rules of procedure. Speaking about the European integrations, the issue of harmonisation of the Action Plan remained opened. In the talks with Patten, Serbia-Montenegrin President Svetozar Marovic and Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic pointed out to the need of tackling the issue, and some steps were made to that end. A proposal of the solution has been drawn up, but I cannot say anything else until it is approved by both republics. Patten's first reaction to the proposal was that it is a constructive attempt to overcome the problem of harmonising customs rates of 56 agricultural products, and he did not impose any conditions.

Patten's remark that the cooperation with the Hague is unsatisfactory, and his message to forget the past:

These two things are interrelated, and that is not a remark, but a fact. I do not see big differences in Patten's and the Serbian government's view of the Hague problem. That problem must be resolved by turning to the future, while taking into account current circumstances.

Hague tribunal indictments against four Serbian generals:

The cooperation with the Hague can be realised in several ways. Those who criticise that cooperation forget the fact that a large number of Serbian and Montenegrin citizens, politicians and the most senior army officials are at the Hague. No other country which participated in war conflicts in former Yugoslavia can get even close to our country by the number of citizens who have been handed over to the Hague tribunal. Many documents that were solicited by the Hague were made available, many witnesses were freed from the obligation of keeping a state secret. The trials of generals in Serbia are underway. A new national council for cooperation with the Hague should be established quickly so that we could see how that cooperation will continue. Speaking about calls for voluntary surrender, my position is familiar - these calls are not in the sphere of law, but of the freedom of each individual and his responsibility. There is something else which is much more important. The present government insists that the Hague tribunal should respect guarantees given by the government, and provide pre-trial release for the accused. If the Hague tribunal had done that the things would be different.

Did the prosecutor's office of the tribunal abuse the presence of Serbian Minister of Justice Zoran Stojkovic in the Hague, and was Serbia humiliated as a state because of that:

Serbia was not humiliated. The state showed that it was willing to cooperate, and any other Stojkovic's gesture would have been wrong. According to my deepest beliefs, I think that the law was humiliated because it was not respected. The tribunal's statute was not respected, which stipulates that state officials who provide guarantees for the accused cannot be questioned or treated as witnesses. The rules which should be binding for the tribunal were violated. The minister's trip to the Hague was meant to be used for establishing cooperation, encouraging voluntary surrender of the accused and resolution of their financial status. It was meant to achieve a mutual agreement that cooperation should start from the presumption of innocence, that no one is guilty until the court proves so.