President of Bosnian Serbs says he will not visit Milosevic's funeral

The president of the Bosnian Serb-run half of the country, Dragan Cavic, ruled out attending the funeral of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Photo: President of Bosnian Serbs says he will not visit Milosevic's funeral

President of Bosnian Serbs says he will not visit Milosevic's funeral

"I will not attend the funeral (of Milosevic), not due to political or any other reasons, but simply because these days I have other obligations," Cavic told reporters on Tuesday evening.

Milosevic, 64, died Saturday of a heart attack while in U.N. custody during his war crimes trial at The Hague. His funeral was expected to take place later in the week.

The late Serbian leader was "like all men and politicians, had his positive and negative sides," said Cavic, the president of Republika Srpska, the semi-autonomous Serb entity of Bosnia.

"In one phase, he was the highest authority for Serb people, and then he lost authority in his own country," the Bosnian Serb leader said.

Cavic added that he could never forgive Milosevic for an embargo the former Yugoslav strongman imposed against Serb-controlled Bosnia more than a year before the end of the country's 1992-95 war, reports the AP.

I.L.