(Man, does this story sequence sound contrived! Maybe Miolsevic either has already gone to "join the choir invisible" or has been whisked away to some safe place.)

Saturday March 31 4:04 AM ET
Milosevic Vows 'I Will Not Go to Prison Alive'

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia said on Saturday it had authorized police to arrest former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic for abuse of office but that Milosevic had vowed he would ``not go to prison alive.''

It was the authorities' first substantial comment on a night in which two attempts were made to detain Milosevic in the official villa he still occupies in Belgrade despite having been toppled in a popular revolt in October. In the second attempt, masked commandos clashed with Milosevic's bodyguards amid gunfire.

Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic told a news conference police were authorized to arrest Milosevic on charges of abuse of office and financial crimes.

But he said there was no current intent to extradite him to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which has indicted him over atrocities committed in Kosovo in 1999.

``When employees of the Ministry of Interior estimate that it is possible to carry out the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, it will be done. And they have the proper authorization to do so,'' Mihajlovic said.

He said Milosevic had told police who went to see him that ''he will not be taken to prison alive.''

The commando raid came just before the expiry of a deadline set by U.S. legislation for President Bush to declare whether Yugoslavia is cooperating with the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal, which has indicted Milosevic.

It faces the prospect of U.S. economic sanctions if it is not deemed to be cooperating, but the State Department appears likely to accept the attempts to put Milosevic behind bars -- even if it is not for extradition to The Hague -- as evidence of cooperation.

Political sources had said the Yugoslav army had thwarted the arrest by police overnight.

Mihajlovic, a member of the reformist coalition that has taken power in Belgrade since Milosevic was overthrown, said the head of an army unit which officially guards the residence had handed over the keys to the main gate of the compound to members of a private guard loyal to Milosevic.

``By such behavior, the Yugoslav Army was obeying unauthorized people in the service of Milosevic,'' he added.

He said a meeting had been held to address the issue, ``but the problem could not be solved because of Yugoslav Army obstruction.''

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