Under arrest: In the end, Milosevic went quietly
Dejan Anastasijevic: The wheels of justice are turning, and quickly. The prosecutors seem to have most of the material for the trial prepared, and it will probably take place in a couple of months. They clearly have very detailed evidence.
This, of course, will be a corruption trial. But there are a number of other investigations under way, which could see him face new charges.
It was reported that the violence surrounding his arrest may even lead to specific charges against Milosevic...
Yes, a number of people from Milosevic's security team have been arrested, and even his daughter Maria is facing charges. She was reported to have fired shots, although not to have injured anyone. Still, even if she was found innocent of having actually fired a weapon, they found three handguns in her possession for which she had no permit — that's enough to put her away for five years.
Now that the psychological barrier to arresting Milosevic has been breached, will he be sent to The Hague to face a war crimes trial?
Eventually, I believe he will. But first he'll be tried in Serbia for breaking Serbian law, before going to The Hague for breaking international law. Although he could still face a number of even more serious charges in Serbia, the state has assembled some serious evidence on these corruption charges and they want to start the process of trying Milosevic. It's no coincidence, of course, that the arrest was timed to meet a U.S. deadline to put Milosevic behind bars if Serbia is to receive economic aid. And once he's behind bars on corruption charges, there'll be plenty of time for other investigations since he won't be going anywhere.
How have ordinary people in Belgrade reacted to the arrest?
Mostly with relief. It hasn't been ecstatic, but nor has there been any protest. The question of when Milosevic would be arrested has been hanging in the air for some time. I think most people are relieved — it's over, and we can move on.
But isn't the war crimes trial the one the nation must confront before it is able to move on? You wrote previously that the real challenge for Serbs will be to confront what was perpetrated in their name over the past decade.
Yes. Although there has been a lot more openness in confronting the past since the fall of Milosevic, the issue of war crimes hasn't yet been properly addressed as a national discussion. In that sense, Milosevic's arrest is only a first step in a long and painful process. But at least we can say with certainty that the process has now begun.