Nebojsa Pavkovic

He has also said that he favours early release from prison for Milorad 'Legija' Ulemek and Zvezdan Jovanovic, who are serving sentences for the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003. He said that they should be freed because "they are heroes" who fought on behalf of Serbs.

On May 9, retired Yugoslav Army general Vladimir Lazarevic, a convicted war criminal, headed a World War II Victory Day parade through the streets of the southern Serbian city of Nis. The showpiece event was organised by Russian war veterans with the backing of the Serbian authorities.

The Serbian Defence Ministry organised an event at the Belgrade Book Fair on Friday to promote a new book by former senior Yugoslav Army officer Nebojsa Pavkovic, who is currently serving a prison sentence for war crimes in Kosovo.

A new report by the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre, published on Wednesday, said there has been no progress this year so far in the implementation of Serbia's national strategy for the prosecution of war crimes.

The Serbian Defence Ministry has published a book by the former Yugoslav Army chief of staff Nebojsa Pavkovic, who is currently serving a prison sentence for war crimes in Kosovo.

Former Yugoslav Army general Nebojsa Pavkovic, convicted of murders and deportations in Kosovo in 1999, will serve his 22-year sentence in Finland, rather than in Serbia as Belgrade would like.