The letter on the following pages was handed to Slobodan Milosevic shortly before he finally agreed to surrender in the early morning of 1 April 2001. The typewritten annexes on the reverse were added in response to Milosevic’s demand for guarantees that he would not be extradited to the ICTY at The Hague. Cedomir Jovanovic, who signed Annexes I and II under the authorisation of Zoran Djindjic, later told the Belgrade press that the guarantee that Milosevic would not be extradited to the ICTY only applied to the date on the document, i.e. 31 March 2001. A copy of this document was given to the author by Mira Markovic. The translation was prepared by Vesna Peric-Zimjonic and the author.
We, the signatories of this document, as senior officials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia, being clearly determined to establish and apply the rule of law, with the aim of preventing further unnecessary victims, hereby state:
The criminal proceedings before the Belgrade District Court against Slobodan Milosevic, former President of the Republic of Serbia, FRY, and President of the Socialist Party of Serbia, were not undertaken in response to the demand of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, but because of reasonable suspicion that he has committed a criminal act as defined in Article 26 of the FRY penal code, and will therefore be heard before the judicial organs of the FRY. We guarantee to Mr Slobodan Milosevic that he will have unimpeded communication with his family during the court proceedings.
The members of Mr Slobodan Milosevic’s family have also been granted guarantees for their personal safety, and that of their property, as well as the right to use the residential premises at 11–15 Uzicka Street in Belgrade.
Belgrade
31 March 2001.
PRESIDENT
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Signature
Dr Vojislav Kostunica
PRESIDENT
Republic of Serbia
signature
Milan Milutinovic
President
Government of the Republic of Serbia [i.e. Serbian prime minister] Dr Zoran Djindjic
Slobodan Milosevic will not be handed over to any judical or other institution outside the country
Slobodan Milosevic is guaranteed the right of daily visits by members of his family.
Under the authorisation of Dr Zoran Djindjic, the president of the Serbian government, Annexes I and II are signed by
Cedomir Jovanovic
Belgrade, 31 March 2001
