International

Yugoslav Minister kills himself in Madrid hotel

MADRID (Spain) APRIL 12. The Yugoslav Health and Labour Minister, Miodrag Kovac, committed suicide on Friday in his hotel room in Madrid, a Yugoslav embassy spokesman said.

Spanish police said Mr. Kovac hanged himself with a belt in the bathroom of his room in the Eurobuilding Hotel in north-central Madrid. A suicide note was found nearby. He is believed to have killed himself shortly after midnight.

Although the embassy could not rule out that Mr. Kovac was motivated by political reasons, a spokesman said the suicide note contained a personal message to his family without any mention of politics.

Mr. Kovac was not a war crimes suspect.

Police said Mr. Kovac's body was discovered after his secretary alerted hotel staff that he was not answering phone calls.

Mr. Kovac (54), who was married with three children, was in Spain as the head of his country's delegation to the U.N. Second World Assembly on Aging.

A cardiovascular surgeon, Mr. Kovac was a Parliament member from Montenegro, the junior Yugoslav republic. — AP

Telegraph reports from Belgrade:

The former Serbian police chief, Vlajko Stojiljkovic, indicted for war crimes, committed suicide hours after the Yugoslav Parliament adopted a law that allows arrests and extraditions to a U.N. tribunal.

Mr. Stojiljkovic, who headed the police during Slobodan Milosevic's reign, shot himself in the head in front of the Federal Parliament building.

Mr. Stojiljkovic was one of the most trusted members of Slobodan Milosevic's inner circle, a hardliner prepared to do his master's dirty work.

His loyalty to his friend earned him a place on the indictment, headed by Milosevic, alleging crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Kosovo in 1998-9 when 10,000 Kosovars were killed and 800,000 driven from the province.

He was indicted for war crimes in Kosovo by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, together with Mr. Milosevic and others.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Sharon not for pullout now
• U.S. hopeful of peace
• Venezuelan President quits amid chaos
• 30 die in Afghan quake
• FBI to train Pak. personnel?
• Upgraded INS submarine launched in Russia
• Yugoslav Minister kills himself in Madrid hotel
• LTTE issue: Guarded welcome by U.S.
• Tension in Asian towns in U.K. on poll-eve
• Where Prabakaran didn't do his homework
• Pak. poll panel member resigns
• `I took a firm stand on Kashmir'

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu