Yugoslavia pledges to be good U.N. member - but avoids war crimes issue

UNITED NATIONS - After years of ostracism, Yugoslavia entered the United Nations with a promise to be a trustworthy new member and a good neighbor in the troubled Balkans - but without a commitment to hand over ousted President Slobodan Milosevic.

At a meeting to admit Yugoslavia's new democratic government into the United Nations on Wednesday, the United States and others reminded Belgrade that membership carries obligations that include turning over suspects to the U.N. war crimes tribunal at The Hague.

''Nobody can bring back the victims of the hostilities in southeast Europe,'' Croatia's U.N. ambassador, Ivan Simonovic, told the assembly. ''However, it is our legal, political and moral duty to cooperate in prosecuting war crimes, in resolving the destiny of missing persons and in preventing a repetition of the tragedy.''

His comments, which reflected the continued unease of Yugoslavia's former republics with the new leadership in Belgrade, came after the 189-member assembly overwhelming approved Yugoslavia as a new U.N. member state.

The decision was greeted by a loud round of applause in the assembly hall. It ended eight years of international isolation for Yugoslavia, which had refused to apply for U.N. admission as a new country following the breakup of the Yugoslav socialist republic in the early 1990s.

As a result, Yugoslavia was barred from speaking or voting in the General Assembly, although it remained a U.N. member and the communist-era flag flew at U.N. headquarters.

On Wednesday, that flag was lowered for the last time and the flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - identical to the old red, white and blue one but without the red star in the middle - was raised in a nighttime ceremony.

''This indeed is a historic day for the United Nations, and for the Balkans - for all of Europe, indeed for all of the world,'' U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said. ''We welcome Yugoslavia as the United Nations' newest member.''

But Holbrooke stressed that following its pledge to respect the U.N. Charter, Yugoslavia must understand that it should cooperate with the tribunal.

Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has made it clear he does not intend to extradite Milosevic or other Serbs to the U.N. war crimes tribunal - which many Serbs regard as a tool of the Americans - even though he has admitted that Yugoslav forces did commit crimes during the Serb crackdown on Kosovo last year.

Milosevic still could face trial at home for crimes allegedly committed during his 13-year rule. On Wednesday, three Serb soldiers went on trial in a Yugoslav court on charges of killing an ethnic Albanian couple for refusing to leave their home during the Kosovo conflict - the sort of prosecution human rights groups are hoping to see more of under Kostunica's government.

Kostunica's envoy to the United Nations, Goran Svilanovic, promised to respect the ''noble goals and principles'' of the U.N. charter, but made no specific pledge to surrender suspects to the tribunal.

Svilanovic, who is considered the leading candidate to be Yugoslavia's next foreign minister, offered ''assurances'' that Belgrade was willing to work with governments, in particular its neighbors, to overcome the problems that divide them.

''To that end, Yugoslavia will be a trustful neighbor and a conscientious member of the international community and will invest its best efforts to promote peace and stability in the region as well as worldwide,'' he said.

He thanked ambassadors for welcoming Yugoslavia back into the U.N. family and asked that they continue supporting the country as it tries to recover from years of economic mismanagement and isolation under Milosevic.

At the flag-raising ceremony, Svilanovic urged governments to help provide the children of Yugoslavia and its neighbors with a stable and prosperous future, saying, ''This is what they deserve and this is the promise we have to keep.''

As the flag flapped in the chilly night air, he added: ''Thank you very much for this bright moment in the history of our country.''