Rupel Calls Milosevic's Death Symbolic End of Yugoslav Disasters

Salzburg/Ljubljana, 11 March

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has labelled the death of former Serbian and Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic a "symbolic end to the Yugoslav and Balkans disasters," and the onset of EU accession prospects for the Balkans.

"A lot remains to be done, but the departure of Milosevic removes the last bastion of reactionary forces in Serbia," Rupel said in a statement on the margins of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Saturday.
Slobodan Milosevic died on Saturday in his prison cell in The Hague. The news has been confirmed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which had been trying Milosevic for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Former Slovenian President Milan Kucan also commented on Milosevic's death, saying that this "landmark event will make it easier for Serbians to evaluate the past and therefore easier to tackle Serbia's future challenges."
Kucan said in a statement that the Hague tribunal will now be unable to pass a judgment on Milosevic's actions, which had a profound impact on the course of history in the former Yugoslavia and Southeast Europe. "History will be the judge now," he stressed.
Kucan had been Slovenia's top political leader when Yugoslavia was breaking up in the late 80s and therefore witnessed first-hand Milosevic's rise to power. He had also testified against him in The Hague in May 2003.

Rupel Calls Milosevic's Death Symbolic End of Yugoslav Disasters

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