Milosevic extradition causes government collapse

Former President Slobodan Milosevic's extradition to The Hague to face the UN War Crimes Tribunal has triggered the collapse of the Federal Yugoslav Government. Federal Prime Minister Zoran Zizic resigned from the cabinet, saying that Milosevic's transfer to The Hague had humiliated the nation and brought it "below the level of dignity". Yugoslavia's Deputy Prime Minister said that the resignation of the Prime Minister would not affect economic reforms.

The Democratic Party of Serbia, which is led by the incumbent President, Vojislav Kostunica, has said that it is withdrawing from the loose coalition which holds power in both the Serbian and federal parliaments. Mr Kostunica has denounced the Serbian Government's decision to surrender former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic as unconstitutional and illegal.

Reports suggest that Mr Kostunica had not been consulted about the matter and that the extradition raises questions about the relationship between Yugoslavia's federal government and the reformist Serbian administration, which took the decision. There were some disturbances on the streets of Belgrade earlier, with an estimated 2,000 Milosevic supporters holding a protest rally.

Mr Milosevic, who was extradited from Belgrade last night, is due to be arraigned at the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague next Tuesday. The Serbian Finance Minister, Bozidar Delic, rejected the notion that the extradition was timed to coincide with the conference. He said that the transfer of the former President to The Hague was a way for Serbia to show it was making a clean break from the past.

The Court in The Hague indicted Mr Milosevic, accusing him of having responsibility for the mass killings and expulsions of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. This morning, the Tribunal's Deputy Prosecutor announced that Mr Milosevic would also be indicted for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Croatia in 1990s. Court spokesman, Jim Landale, said that, at the hearing on Tuesday, Mr Milosevic would be read the charges against him, and he will have 30 days to enter a plea. The former Yugoslav President will make his first appearance before the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday to become the first former head of state to be formally charged with war crimes.

International reaction to Mr Milosevic's extradition has been mostly positive. US President George W Bush said that the extradition was a message to those who brought tragedy and brutality to the Balkans that they would be held accountable. The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, described it as a great triumph for justice. The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said that the extradition sent out a clear message to what he described as other "would-be dictators". However, Russia's Foreign Minister said that the extradition was damaging to the stability of Yugoslavia. Igor Ivanov said that the move was likely to fan the flames of separatism.

Meanwhile, western countries and international organisations meeting in Brussels have pledged $1.28bn in aid to Yugoslavia following the extradition of Slobodan Milosevic.