Milosevic dismisses lawyers

Mr Milosevic still has some support back home

The former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has declined to have legal representation at his first appearance before the United Nations war crimes tribunal on Tuesday, tribunal officials.

He is not going to appoint any lawyer to appear in front of the tribunal

Milosevic's lawyer
Zdenko Tomanovic

The announcement was made after Mr Milosevic met his lawyers from Yugoslavia to discuss his defence strategy.

Mr Milosevic has already said he does not recognise the authority of the tribunal, and has described the charges against him as political.

At the court hearing, Mr Milosevic will speak on his own behalf, but it is not known whether he will enter a plea of guilty not guilty.

Two of the lawyers who had been representing Mr Milosevic while he was in Belgrade failed to persuade him that he should be represented in court.

Political statement

A BBC correspondent in the Hague said Mr Milosevic will appear at the court on Tuesday (0800 GMT) to hear the indictment read out.

Mr Tomanovic failed to persuade Slobodan Milosevic

But his lawyers seemed to indicate that instead of entering a plea he may try to make a political statement.

Our correspondent says that at past trials at the Hague tribunal, judges have clamped down on any such attempts to make speeches.

If Mr Milosevic refuses to enter a plea within 30 days of his arraignment on Tuesday, a plea of "not guilty" will automatically be entered for him under the rules of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Visa considered

Following the arraignment, both sides are expected to spend months preparing their cases for a trial which could take years.

The Dutch authorities are considering whether to allow Mr Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic, an entry visa so that she can be present at her husband's court appearance.

Charges against Milosevic

Deportation, a crime against humanity

Murder, a crime against humanity

Murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war

Persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity

As part of remaining European Union sanctions against Mr Milosevic's regime, members of his family are not allowed access to EU member states.

Meanwhile, politicians in Belgrade are struggling to deal with the aftermath of the extradition, which set Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic against the incumbent Yugoslav President, Vojislav Kostunica, and brought down the Yugoslav Government.

Talks on forming a new government have been postponed for 10 days.

Milosevic supporters have pledged to continue demonstrating against his handover - 15,000 marched through the centre of Belgrade on Monday.

Suicide watch

The UN tribunal is keeping Mr Milosevic in isolation, away from the 38 other war crimes suspects from the former Yugoslavia.

He is under 24-hour observation to ensure he does not attempt to kill himself - as both his parents did.

Mr Milosevic is accused of having ultimate responsibility for the mass deportation of 740,000 Kosovo Albanians and for the murder of hundreds of individually named Albanians, said to have been committed by Serb soldiers and militias.

Further charges are also being drawn up against him relating to the wars in Croatia and Bosnia.