US cuts off aid to Serbia and Montenegro for lack of cooperation with ICTY News
US cuts off aid to Serbia and Montenegro for lack of cooperation with ICTY

[JURIST] The United States has announced that it will withhold $10 million in aid to Serbia and Montenegro [Wikipedia article] due to Belgrade's lack of cooperation [JURIST report] with the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia [official website]. According to the US State Department:

The Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2005 [text] Section 563 (c) prohibits assistance to the central government of Serbia after May 31, 2005 unless the Secretary of State certifies that the government of Serbia and Montenegro has taken action to, cooperate with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, "including access for investigators, the provision of documents, and the surrender and transfer of indictees or assistance in their apprehension, including making all practicable efforts to apprehend and transfer Ratko Mladic," and certain other steps….

We call on the authorities in Belgrade to cooperate fully with the Tribunal by arresting and transferring fugitive indictees, particularly Ratko Mladic, to face justice in The Hague.

The Secretary is prepared to review this decision if future actions by Serbia and Montenegro demonstrate their cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Read the full State Department press release. In response to the US decision, Vuk Draskovic, Foreign Minister for Serbia and Montenegro, said:

It is inadmissible that our parliaments and governments adopt full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal as their state and national priority only for it to be later obstructed by those protecting the Tribunal's indictees. At the same time, those failing to pursue the agreed policies call themselves patriots while those complying with them are branded as traitors.

Read the full Serbian Ministry of Foreign affairs press release. Reuters has more.

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