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US says takes no satisfaction in Arkan's murder

PANAMA CITY, (Panama): The United States derived no satisfaction from the murder of Serb paramilitary leader Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic, who had eluded arrest on charges of crimes against humanity, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on Saturday.

"We take no satisfaction in Arkan's murder and would have wanted him to stand trial in The Hague for his crimes," she said in a statement released during a visit to Panama.

"The United States calls on all indicted war criminals to surrender voluntarily," Albright added. "All will receive a fair trial in The Hague."

On Sept. 30, 1997, the U.N. International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague indicted Arkan, 47, for alleged atrocities in Croatia in 1991 and in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. He denied the charges.

An international warrant for his arrest had been ignored by the Serbian government.

Albright said the United States would continue to support, in cooperation with the tribunal and with other governments, the goal of bringing all indicted individuals into custody in The Hague to stand trial.

Arkan led the paramilitary unit called "Tigers" whose members took part in both the Croatian and Bosnian wars and were seen in Kosovo during last year's conflict in the Serbian province.

He also was wanted by the international police body Interpol for a series of bank robberies across western Europe.-Reuters