The Federal Police Office of Switzerland announced Wednesday that Switzerland will freeze any assets found belonging to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and four other Serbian leaders indicted for war crimes.
Officials are so far unaware of any such assets in Switzerland.
While Russia, which helped broker the peace accord, had wanted the West to pay for all war damage to Serbia as well as its Kosovo province, the United States and NATO allies refuse to provide any funds to rebuild Yugoslavia while Milosevic is in power. Serbia is the dominant republic in Yugoslavia, which also includes Montenegro. However, charities can provide humanitarian aid to Serbia and Montenegro, and the reconstruction fund may help Serbian cities that have democratically elected mayors who oppose Milosevic, he said. The United Nations estimates 860,000 ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo or were expelled by Serb forces after NATO launched a bombing campaign March 24 that lasted 78 days to force Yugoslavia to accept a peace plan for the province. The bulk of the EU funds will be spent in Kosovo on humanitarian aid and rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure.