Serbian special forces arrest Milosevic

Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was detained by local police and escorted to Belgrade's Central Prison Sunday morning. Milosevic's 13-year rule of Serbia was marked by bloody genocidal wars and the economic and political collapse of the former Yugoslavia. The Associated Press reports that he faces charges of abuse of power and corruption. If convicted, he would face a maximum of five years in prison.\nMilosevic's reign ended in October when Serbians elected Vojislav Kostunica as their new president. Milosevic stayed active in Serbian politics until early February when he was sentenced to around-the-clock surveillance in the presidential villa, according to Associated Press reports.\nPolice first attempted to detain Milosevic Saturday morning, but were fired upon by his guards and were forced to abandon the attempt, according to The Associated Press. Supporters of Milosevic surrounded the villa in a show of support, further hampering attempts to apprehend him. \nSerbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic told The Washington Post that Milosevic said he would rather die than surrender. Mihajlovic said he also threatened to take the lives of his wife and daughter.\nThe difficulties involved with arresting Milosevic are seen by some as signs of continued problems in Serbia's government. IU-Purdue at Fort Wayne history professor Bernd Fischer said, "While I would consider it a positive step, the bungling nature of the arrest itself may have important negative repercussions." Although Milosevic's career has ended, Fischer said he believes, "these new (Serbian) leaders have a long way to go before they can create any real stability."\nMilosevic surrendered after an agreement promising him he would be tried in Serbian court and not sent to The Hague, Netherlands, to face war-crimes charges brought by the United Nations, according to The Associated Press.\nImmediately following the successful arrest of Milosevic, his 32 year-old daughter, Marjia, fired four to five shots at the police escorting her father to an armored Mercedes van. The Washington Post reported that nobody was seriously injured during or after the raid.\nIn an interview with NBC's Michele Neubert Friday, just two days before his apprehension, Milosevic commented on the charges against him. He claimed that charges of corruption and theft of government money were, "based on lies."\n(They are) completely, completely false information."\nWhen asked where the source of the lies is coming from, he said, "I don't believe the United States is behind the hate tribunal ... I only believe that some individuals from former administrations (are) behind the tribunal."\nMSNBC reported that it is believed his accusations are targeted toward former President Bill Clinton.\nIn a written press release Sunday, President George W. Bush praised Milosevic's arrest and urged Serbia to work with the United Nations war crimes tribunal. The president said in a written statement, "Milosevic's arrest should be a first step toward trying him for crimes against humanity with which he is charged"