LONDON, April 1 (AFP) - Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic promised Thursday
that three American soldiers reportedly captured by Serbian forces would not be
ill-treated but could "face justice on a normal democratic procedure."
In a telephone interview with the BBC, Draskovic said: "Nothing wrong could happen
to them. Probably they are going to face justice on a normal, democratic procedure."
He did not elaborate on this.
Asked if the Serbs would respect Geneva convention rules on the treatment of war
prisoners, Draskovic said: "Absolutely. You can be sure about that."
British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said earlier Thursday that NATO would hold
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic personally responsible for the safety of the three
US soldiers reportedly captured Wednesday.
Cook said the US servicemen had been on a UN observer mission in Macedonia, and were
not part of NATO forces there.
Serbian state television earlier showed footage of three soldiers in US uniforms whose
faces were smudged with what appeared to be bruises, and said they were American troops
who had been captured on Yugoslav territory.
The Geneva convention stipulates that war prisoners are entitled to visits by the Red
Cross. They should also be detained in war prisoner camps and allowed to write letters to
their families through Red Cross intermediaries.
War prisoners must be released at the end of a war.
