Yugoslav authorities on Tuesday raised the possibility that Slobodan Milosevic could be charged with offences that carry the death penalty, such as ordering the murders of political rivals during his 13 years in power.

Serbia's interior minister joked that Milosevic may even volunteer to go to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, which is not empowered to order executions. Milosevic, however, remained defiant, denouncing his arrest on Sunday as politically staged. In a written statement, the deposed president admitted for the first time that he financed Serb rebellions that bloodied Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s.

Milosevic has been jailed at Belgrade's central prison for at least 30 days as authorities try to build a case of alleged corruption and abuse of power against him. He was also charged with inciting his bodyguards to shoot at police who tried to arrest him last weekend. In Vienna, Serbia's interior minister, Dusan Mihajlovic, said that the investigation against Milosevic is being widened to include much more serious charges.

There are, meanwhile, indications that Slobodan Milosevic was involved in severe criminal acts for which the death penalty is provided, Mihajlovic told reporters. He joked that Milosevic might even choose to go to the Hague voluntarily to escape execution at home. Mihajlovic did not elaborate. However, Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic told the Boston globe in an interview that Milosevic will be charged within two months of ordering the murders of personal and political enemies. Bureau Report