Milosevic's arrest
World leaders have hailed Sunday's arrest of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic -- dubbed the "Balkan butcher" for the crimes against humanity which he committed during a decade of wars that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo -- after a tense 26-hour standoff.
The evident relief of the world leaders, however, appears to be premature considering that Milosevic gave himself up only after assurances from incumbent President Vojislav Kostunica that he would not be handed over to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Kostunica's promise complies with Yugoslavia's constitution which bans the extradition of its nationals to any foreign country.
Besides, Milosevic has only been charged with corruption and abuse of power during his 13-year authoritarian rule. If convicted, he would serve light prison terms, far more lenient than he deserves as the architect of genocide in the region.
The formal charges, as quoted by foreign news agencies, state that Milosevic "overstepped his official authority" and issued illegal orders that led to the destruction of the payments system and provoked monetary instability and collapse, thereby wiping out the life savings of millions of Yugoslavs.
Understandably, many of his victims' families and those who survived his reign of terror -- particularly ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo -- were enraged when they learned that he had only been arrested on corruption charges. They demand that Belgrade turn Milosevic over to the UN tribunal to stand trial for crimes against humanity so that justice can truly be done.
They also allege that the Kostunica administration was compelled to make the arrest after the Western powers, led by the United States, threatened to cut off the financial aid that Belgrade badly needs to rebuild its crumbling economy unless the former despot was brought to justice.
To allay the suspicion that the arrest was simply an excuse for obtaining foreign aid, Kostunica and his reformist government, which has promised to present a draft law on cooperation with the UN tribunal within the coming months, must demonstrate their sincerity by amending the Yugoslav constitution regarding extradition, thereby allowing Milosevic to be tried fairly by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Kostunica, at the same time, has to work hard to calm down Milosevic's chauvinistic supporters, who may stage violent protests against the handing over of the 59-year-old former ruler to the UN tribunal, and convince them that when a person commits crimes against humanity, that person will instantaneously become a global pariah and will not go unpunished even if he has served his country well in the past.
This is especially so given that UN prosecutors have already indicted him for war crimes in Kosovo. If Milosevic is not brought before the UN tribunal, it will send a very powerful message to other human rights violators and tyrants that "it is open season on ordinary people who cannot defend themselves".
If this happens, it will obviously be a setback to all of Kostunica's efforts to bring democracy to Yugoslavia, a dream that he and all the peace-loving people of Yugoslavia -- Serbians and Montenegrins alike -- have long cherished.