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Tuesday, 19 March, 2002 Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Resigns VOA News 19 Mar 2002  
Mr. Perisic, in a statement, reaffirmed his innocence but said he is resigning to prevent the downfall of the entire Serbian government. Yugoslav military police picked up Mr. Perisic and a U.S. diplomat at a Belgrade restaurant on Thursday. The officers roughed up the diplomat, John David Neighbor, and held him incommunicado for 15 hours before releasing him Friday. They freed Mr. Perisic, a retired top general, on Saturday. Monday, the United States accepted a formal apology from Yugoslavia's foreign minister for the detention and assault on the diplomat. A State Department spokesman denied any spying took place and said the United States considers the incident closed. The incident was the latest in a growing series of disagreements between Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. President Kostunica expressed regret that Mr. Neighbor was detained for so long. He said Yugoslavia wants solid ties with the United States, but he called the incident a "spy affair of huge proportions." Prime Minister
Djindjic described the arrest as an effort to discredit his government.
Supporters of the Serbian leader have called for the resignation of the the
chief of Yugoslavia's military counterintelligence service, General Aco Tomic,
for failing to inform civilian authorities in advance of the
operation. Media reports in Yugoslavia have speculated that Mr. Perisic may have passed documents on former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to the American diplomat. In related
developments Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized the
Yugoslav government for not cooperating with the United Nations war crimes
tribunal. Secretary Powell warned that U.S. reconstruction aid to Belgrade may
be in jeopardy. The Bush administration has to rule by March 31 on whether
Yugoslavia has met conditions set by Congress for continued economic
aid. Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
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