Hurdles cleared for Milosevic funeral

BELGRADE – A Belgrade court was expected yesterday to withdraw an arrest warrant for the widow of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, clearing a major hurdle to a funeral in the Serbian capital.

A court official said a decision was expected at any time during the day, following a request from a lawyer for the family. Prosecutors have already said they have no objection to revoking the order against Mirjana Markovic, known as Mira, and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s party has said it will respect whatever the court decides.For the Serbian press, it is a done deal – Markovic would get the warrant lifted and Milosevic’s family and party would ensure a quiet funeral without any embarrassing shows of force.”That means the wife of the late Slobodan Milosevic can without obstacles come to Belgrade to attend the funeral of her husband,” said the Blic tabloid.The only other potential obstacle has emerged from the couple’s son Marko, who told AFP before a flight to the Netherlands to recover his father’s body that authorities were blocking a funeral in his homeland.”The authorities in Belgrade…want to avoid this event,” he said.”They are threatening us officially and unofficially.”Commentators in Serbia, however, believe the funeral will take place here, probably in Belgrade’s main cemetery by the end of this week.Slobodan Milosevic, 64, died of a heart attack Saturday while on trial at the UN war crimes court in The Hague, where he was being judged for his role in the brutal 1990s Balkans conflicts.Zdenko Tomanovic, a lawyer for the Milosevic family, lodged the withdrawal request on Monday, arguing there were “new circumstances” after the death of the former head of state.He also provided additional financial guarantees for Markovic, the court’s spokeswoman Ivana Ramic told AFP.Ramic said Tomanovic lodged a request “to suspend the detention order and withdraw the arrest warrant…based on new circumstances after the death of her husband.”Markovic, 63, was once a fiercely powerful Serbian political figure in her own right, often seen as a driving force behind Milosevic.The charges will remain in place even if the warrant is revoked, however, officials have said, and she could still be asked to appear in court.-Nampa-AFPProsecutors have already said they have no objection to revoking the order against Mirjana Markovic, known as Mira, and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s party has said it will respect whatever the court decides.For the Serbian press, it is a done deal – Markovic would get the warrant lifted and Milosevic’s family and party would ensure a quiet funeral without any embarrassing shows of force.”That means the wife of the late Slobodan Milosevic can without obstacles come to Belgrade to attend the funeral of her husband,” said the Blic tabloid.The only other potential obstacle has emerged from the couple’s son Marko, who told AFP before a flight to the Netherlands to recover his father’s body that authorities were blocking a funeral in his homeland.”The authorities in Belgrade…want to avoid this event,” he said.”They are threatening us officially and unofficially.”Commentators in Serbia, however, believe the funeral will take place here, probably in Belgrade’s main cemetery by the end of this week.Slobodan Milosevic, 64, died of a heart attack Saturday while on trial at the UN war crimes court in The Hague, where he was being judged for his role in the brutal 1990s Balkans conflicts.Zdenko Tomanovic, a lawyer for the Milosevic family, lodged the withdrawal request on Monday, arguing there were “new circumstances” after the death of the former head of state.He also provided additional financial guarantees for Markovic, the court’s spokeswoman Ivana Ramic told AFP.Ramic said Tomanovic lodged a request “to suspend the detention order and withdraw the arrest warrant…based on new circumstances after the death of her husband.”Markovic, 63, was once a fiercely powerful Serbian political figure in her own right, often seen as a driving force behind Milosevic.The charges will remain in place even if the warrant is revoked, however, officials have said, and she could still be asked to appear in court.-Nampa-AFP