Serbia arrests top war crimes suspect Karadzic
ELITSA VUCHEVA
22.07.2008 @ 09:21 CET
Serbian security forces arrested Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic on Monday night (21 July) - a development the European Union called a "very important" step for Serbia's EU hopes.
"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight … [He] was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade," a Serbian presidential statement announced late on Monday.
Radovan Karadzic has been on the run for over ten years (Photo: Wikipedia/Mikhail Evstatief)
The former Bosnian Serb leader is charged with "genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, wilful killing, persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, and other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians" during the 1991-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the massacre in 1995 of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the small town of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia.
He has been a fugitive for more than ten years, and, together with Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, was one of the two most wanted war crimes suspects that Belgrade was pushed to arrest – both by the EU and by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"On behalf of the Office of the Prosecutor, I would like to congratulate the Serbian authorities … on achieving this milestone in co-operation with the ICTY," UN prosecutor Serge Brammertz said in a statement following the arrest.
"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade," he added.
Capturing Karadzic and General Mladic was key to Serbia being judged as fully co-operating with the UN war crimes tribunal – a requirement for closer ties with the EU.
A boost for EU ties?
Both the European Commission and the French EU presidency – on behalf of the bloc's member states – also welcomed the arrest.
"On behalf of the European Commission, I welcome the news of the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. It proves the determination of the new Serbian government to achieve full cooperation with the ICTY. It is also very important for Serbia's European aspirations," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement.
For his part, the French president and EU president-in-office, Nicolas Sarkozy, stated: "This development illustrates the commitment of the new Belgrade government to contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans region. It marks an important step on the way to Serbia's drawing nearer to the European Union."
The Netherlands – one of the most demanding countries with regards to Serbia's ICTY co-operation– also welcomed the move, with the Dutch foreign ministry calling it "an immense step forward," AFP reports.
"We will have to see in the weeks to come the consequences the EU must draw as to its relations with Serbia," the Dutch statement says.
The arrest follows that of another top war crimes suspect – Bosnian Serb police commander Stojan Zupljanin – last month. But General Mladic, as well as former Croatian Serb rebel leader Goran Hadzic, remain at large.
The capture of Radovan Karadzic is likely to be used by Serbia as leverage to try and get EU candidacy country status by the end of this year. This goal will probably be brought up during a meeting between Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic and EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn today (22 July).