Milosevic (60 page)

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

My thanks, firstly, go to those who granted me interviews, especially individuals from the former Yugoslavia. They gave their time generously, often at some emotional cost, relating the details of their lives and their involvement with Slobodan Milosevic and his regime, whether chosen or not. Such encounters have deepened my understanding of the complexities of his rise and fall, and of the destruction of Yugoslavia. Bleak subject matter aside, I have also been fortunate to experience many stimulating and enjoyable discussions in the cafés of Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo.

I have benefited greatly from the guidance and advice of my editors at Bloomsbury: Bill Swainson, a steady hand at the tiller through sometimes dark and choppy waters, and Pascal Cariss, whose eagle-eye has helped hone a manuscript into a book, Katharina Bielenberg for her meticulous proof-reading and Douglas Matthews for his excellent index. Thanks also to Ruth Logan and Katherine Greenwood for keeping the wheels rolling. As ever, I am very grateful to my agent Laura Longrigg, always a source of encouragement and inspiration. Many thanks must go to my present and former colleagues at the Budapest International Press Centre, who have freely shared with me their knowledge and experience of reporting on the former Yugoslavia: Neil Barnett, Christopher Condon, Simon Evans, Jim Lowney, Mark Milstein, John Nadler, Erwin Tuil and Robert Wright. Their advice, input, good humour and steady supply of coffee – and occasionally stronger Balkan libations – is much appreciated. I am also grateful to Celia Hawkesworth of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London for her advice and expert knowledge, and to the Society of Authors for a generous grant.

The genesis of this book was my experience as a reporter for the
Independent
and
The Times
during the early 1990s, covering the Yugoslav wars. As a young and then inexperienced foreign correspondent I was fortunate to meet a fine group of colleagues. In places such as Sarajevo and Split, Vitez and Travnik, Zagreb and Belgrade, their comradeship
eased the passage of sometimes unnerving days and nights. They know who they are.

It would be near impossible to write a book of this kind without considerable local assistance. Many have been generous with their expertise, contacts and good offices. In Belgrade: the staff of the Belgrade Media Center, Charles Crawford, Mihailo Crnobrnja, Braca Grubacic, Tahir Hasanovic, Ljubica Markovic, Nebojsa Radic, Aleksandar Nenadovic, Seska Stanojlovic, Milos Vasic, Buca Zimjonic and especially, Mark Tomlinson. Thanks to Dragan Milanovic for an illuminating walk around Pozarevac. Thanks also to three fine journalists who have helped in many ways: Vesna Peric-Zimjonic, Daniel Sunter and Vlastimira Stankovic. In Zagreb: David Austin, Sanja Markusic, and especially Laura Irena Lui. In Ljubljana: Natasha Gorse. In Budapest: Agnes Csonka for virtuoso French translations, Hugh Martin for politesse at its best; Vesna Kojic for many hours of interpreting, Janet Garvey, Pablo Gorondi, Lutz Kleveman, David Landsmann, Dr Robert Ligeti, Dr Jancis Long, Djordje Radic, Rob Scott, Julius Strauss, Vladimir Vlaskalic, and also Dusan Mitevic for granting me a series of lengthy interviews.

Thanks to Tony Lang at Bestsellers bookshop for his support over the years, the same holds true for Roger Boyes in Berlin and Justin Leighton. In London: Sir John Birch, Adrian Brown, Yigal Chazan, Leonard Doyle for a steady supply of accreditation letters, Tim English at the BBC press office, Tim Judah, Dessa Trevisan and Francis Wheen. I am especially grateful to Norma Percy, Paul Mitchell, Angus Macqueen and the staff of Brook Lapping Associates for their generous provision of video tapes and transcripts of the six-part series
The Death of Yugoslavia
, an invaluable resource for any student of this period. In the United States my thanks go to Charles Lane and Peter Maass, and in Moscow, Matthew Chance and Ian Traynor. Several others in various cities have also helped with their knowledge and expertise, but have asked not to be named.
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