Thousands rally in support of Milosevic

Some 5,000 supporters of Slobodan Milosevic have protested in Yugoslavia at the criminal proceedings against the ousted leader.

The rally in the centre of Belgrade was attended by mostly elderly people, many of whom were bused in from other parts of the country.

Zivadin Jovanovic, who was the foreign minister during Milosevic's rule, warned that handing over the ex-president to the UN war crimes tribunal would be "an ultimate treason."

Mr Jovanovic remains a top official of Milosevic's Socialist party, which organised the rally.

Milosevic lost presidential elections last October and was forced to step down amid massive riots triggered after he tried to change the results.

He was arrested on April 1 by the new, pro-democracy government, which is investigating charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Milosevic is also wanted by the Netherlands-based UN war crimes tribunal, which indicted him for alleged atrocities during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war.

The crowd booed at every mention of the tribunal in fiery speeches by Mr Jovanovic and other Milosevic associates.

Meanwhile, the current prime minister of Serbia, the main Yugoslav republic, warned that not cooperating with the tribunal, notably handing over Milosevic, would cost the country Western financial support, further damaging the country.

Zoran Djindjic stressed that Yugoslavia, as a UN member, "simply has to cooperate with the UN tribunal," Beta news quoted him as saying.