SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES TRANSFER OF FORMER PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES TRANSFER OF FORMER PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC

TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL

Following is the statement by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the decision to transfer former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague:

I welcome today's decision to transfer former President Slobodan Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  It is a day few had imagined, but many had hoped for.  It is a day that will be remembered not for vengeance, but for justice.  It is a victory for accountability over impunity.

To the many victims of the Balkan wars of the past decade, I hope this day will bring some measure of comfort, some sense that even the most powerful leader can be brought to justice, and face the consequences of his actions.

To the people of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, I hope this day will mark a true break with the past, and the beginning of a new spirit of coexistence throughout the former Yugoslavia.

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