Prosecutor: Milosevic not getting a deal, might face more charges

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia - Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, now indicted in connection with bloodletting in Kosovo, might face additional charges for his role in previous Balkan wars, the chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal said Wednesday.

The prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, also announced that Milosevic's archenemies in Kosovo - the former commanders of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought Milosevic's forces until a year ago - are being investigated on suspicion of war crimes.

Milosevic is already indicted by the tribunal for his alleged role in atrocities during the Serb crackdown on Kosovo Albanians that ended a year ago. Del Ponte's denial that the tribunal might drop the indictment was a response to news reports that the United States is considering offering Milosevic safety guarantees in exchange for him stepping down.

''My investigators will continue their forensic work in Kosovo to gather additional evidence concerning the existing indictment of Slobodan Milosevic,'' Del Ponte told reporters. ''We have no intention to withdraw this indictment.

It is unclear what kind of international pressure could be brought on the court, which answers to the United Nations, but Del Ponte's comments were an indication that the court itself was not aware of any kind of deal for Milosevic.

There is no indication in any case that Milosevic is contemplating a deal that would see him step down in exchange for safety guarantees. While facing international isolation, he has managed to consolidate his rule by outmaneuvering a split political opposition.

In her comments Wednesday, Del Ponte said the tribunal is ''investigating the criminal responsibility of Milosevic for (wars in) Bosnia and Croatia.''

Milosevic fomented Serb rebellions, first in Croatia and then in Bosnia, in response to decisions by the non-Serb majorities in those two republics to secede from Yugoslavia. Hundreds of thousands of people died in those two wars.

Her comments on the Kosovo Liberation Army, meanwhile, appeared calculated at least in part to dispel Serb criticism that the war crimes tribunal is biased against Serbs. Serbs have accounted for the majority of those indicted as a result of the Croatian, Bosnian and Kosovo wars, and no ethnic Albanian has been publicly indicted for the Kosovo conflict.

''We are investigating KLA activity during the conflict,'' Del Ponte said. ''Our mandate is always to look at the highest responsibility in the chain of command, and that is also the case for the KLA.''

Serbia has barred tribunal officials from entry since the end of the Kosovo bloodshed. Del Ponte urged Serb officials to allow them in so they can interview Serb victims and witnesses of atrocities in Kosovo who later fled the province.

At the United Nations in New York, Yugoslavia denounced a report on Kosovo by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, accusing him of anti-Serb bias and of failing to condemn attacks on Serbs in Kosovo.

In the June 6 report, Annan said revenge attacks by Kosovo Albanians against the province's Serb minority appeared to be an ''orchestrated campaign'' of violence.

But Yugoslav envoy Vladislav Jovanovic said in a letter circulated Wednesday that Annan's report ''obfuscates the true situation in Kosovo.'' He said the report emphasizes the security for the Albanian population ''and the lack of it for the Serbian population is marginalized.''