Milosevic admits funding rebel Serbs

BELGRADE - Slobodan Milosevic denied early today that he ever stole government money to enrich himself or finance political crimes, but acknowledged his regime secretly funded and armed breakaway Serb forces in Bosnia and Croatia.

In a two and a half page written appeal against his 30-day prison remand, which appeared to outline his defence should he go to trial, he suggested there might be classified documentary proof of the secret transfers.

In his view, such matters were still state secrets, he said, but "judicial bodies could, of course, check them."

The former Yugoslav president, imprisoned to face charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy, wrote his own appeal against his detention.

Copies were distributed by his lawyer, Toma Fila, whose own formal appeal to free his client pending a trial was not made public.

There was no mention, by Milosevic or the indictment he was answering, of international charges of crimes against humanity.

Milosevic was arrested late on Sunday after an armed stand-off between police and private guards at his official Belgrade residence. He has also been charged with organising the men who tried to shoot it out with arresting officers.

The indictment alleged embezzlement of state customs dues between 1994 and October 2000, when Milosevic fell from power. But Milosevic said the reason some items did not appear in state budgets was because they were state secrets.

"There was never talk on giving money or material goods to any individuals or groups," his appeal said.

"Regarding the funds spent on weapons and ammunition and other needs of the Bosnian Serb Republic Army and Croatian Serb Republic Army, those expenditures could not, for reasons of state secrecy, be presented in the budget, which is a public document," Milosevic said.

"The same applies to the expenditures for equipping the security forces, in particular the special anti-terrorist forces, from A to Z, with light arms and equipment to helicopters," the document added.

He also said he did not believe top aides stole from government coffers to finance his Socialist Party of Serbia.

"I highlighted at the interrogation by the investigating judge that I personally did not deal with the issue of the party finances for all of the past 10 years," Milosevic said.

He said he had never used a single dinar of the party's money, or even its cars.

"I want to repeat that I never, either directly or through any third party, received any money for my personal needs. Throughout my time as president of Serbia and president of Yugoslavia, I had no income other than my salary," he said.

"I don't mind any investigation of any aspect of my life, but it bothers me to be treated as a criminal for what I have done for my state in the best way it could be done."

Milosevic said he believed the proceedings against him were politically motivated, on the orders of the new government.

The aim was "to blemish and belittle many years of my work and especially because I opposed world powers in the interest of state and nation."

Milosevic said the well over $US100 million he is alleged to have siphoned off was for the benefit of others.

It was meant for "the army of Bosnian Serb Republic, for the security bodies, for the Croatian Serb Republic, for assistance to the people over the Drina River (the border between Serbia and Bosnia), for textile workers, metalworkers and others."

It was financed through the Beogradska Banka bank in the most difficult social circumstances and under conditions of a total foreign blockade, Milosevic wrote.

He expressed indignation at the court's argument that he should be detained so as "not to escape or influence witnesses" and said he was in jail because of the "deadline of 31 March, dictated by the capitals of powers which committed aggression on our country."

This was a reference to the US Congress's cut-off date for aid if Yugoslavia failed to cooperate with the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, which has indicted Milosevic on charges of crimes against humanity.

- REUTERS

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