Reports from Belgrade suggest that the former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, may soon be arrested on charges of misusing power. The speculation follows the arrest last night of Mr Milosevic's former secret police chief, Rade Markovic. He was detained in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate the opposition leader, Vuk Draskovic, in 1999.
The arrest was the firmest move by Serbia's justice authorities since they were purged of Mr Milosevic's supporters following his overthrow in a mass uprising last October. Markovic, the highest-ranking official from the former regime to be arrested since Milosevic was overthrown in a popular revolt in October, is under investigation for "premeditated murder", Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said late yesterday.
A leading parliamentarian suggested the arrest was just the beginning of a process which would culminate in Milosevic himself being brought to justice. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has indicted the former president and four of his top allies for war crimes allegedly committed in the Kosovo conflict in 1998-99.
