Slobodan Milosevic celebrates second birthday behind bars

The leadership of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) has announced that former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic is celebrating his second birthday in the Hague Tribunal's prison. Milosevic remains the party's chairman. His wife Mira Markovaic flew into the Netherlands to mark the occasion with her husband.

The 61-year-old's three-year-old grandson, Marko, and his daughter-in-law, Milica Gaic, were also due to make the trip, but were unable to do so through illness.

For the first time in her husband's two-year incarceration, Mira Markovaic was granted a visa lasting more than three days by the Dutch authorities. She has been in The Hague since Saturday. The Scheweningen prison's rules allow visitors to bring books, magazines and musical discs, but not food, cakes or drinks.

The SPS sent a telegram of congratulations to their chairman. As well as the usual messages of congratulations and well-wishing, there was also a section stressing Milosevic's "brave and worthy defence at the trial in the illegal Hague court." Deputy SPS Chairman Marko Marjanovic expressed his confidence that Milosevic would be able to refute the false allegations made against him and the Serbian nation and all the citizens of Serbia and Yugoslavia.