Seselj wins concessions from war crimes court

SERBIA:Allies of Serb hardline nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj have hailed him as a "world symbol of struggle" after the UN war crimes court in The Hague acceded to a list of his demands to persuade him to end a 28-day hunger strike that doctors said might kill him.

Officials at the tribunal and among western governments feared Mr Seselj would join ex-Serb president Slobodan Milosevic in becoming a "martyr" for hardline nationalists, who are expected to challenge for power in next month's general election in Serbia.

Election victory for Mr Seselj's Radical Party would probably end Belgrade's faltering co-operation with the European Union, Nato and the UN court, which are all pressing Serbia to catch fugitive war crimes suspects like Gen Ratko Mladic.

Mr Seselj, who faces a life sentence if convicted of helping launch a reign of terror to drive Croats and Muslims from parts of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, demanded the right to defend himself in court, to unlimited visits from his wife, and to receive prosecution documents in Serbian and in paper form, rather than in English on computer disk.

Critics said that the demands revealed Mr Seselj's intention to copy the delaying tactics employed by Mr Milosevic when he defended himself in court.

But an appeals panel at the UN tribunal criticised the trial judges for being too hasty in appointing defence lawyers against Mr Seselj's will - though it refused to replace the trial judges, as the nationalist firebrand had also requested.

"Seselj's victory is a great victory for all free people in the world," said leading Radical party official Aleksandar Vucic.

Tomislav Nikolic, who leads the Radicals in Mr Seselj's absence, said the UN court "would not recover" from its clash with Mr Seselj, whom he called a "world symbol of struggle" and an inspiration to Serbs before the election. He urged them to "stand up straight" and oppose western "bullying" by backing the Radicals on January 21st.

Fearing a backlash if Mr Seselj died in The Hague, the Belgrade government had urged the UN court not to let him die in custody.

"Our efforts have produced results. Everything is now back in regular court proceedings," said Rasim Ljajic, the Serb minister in charge of relations with the tribunal.

Surveys suggest the Radicals are the single most popular party in Serbia, but could be kept out of power next month by a coalition of more liberal, pro-western parties.