War crimes prosecutor Brammertz presses Belgrade (Roundup)

Sep 10, 2008, 17:16 GMT

Belgrade - UN war crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz urged Serbian officials Wednesday to arrest two remaining fugitives sought by his tribunal.

Brammertz, on a two-day visit to Serbia to press for the capture of Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, expressed 'cautious optimism' they would be caught soon.

'The arrest of Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic is still the key condition for Serbia's full cooperation with The Hague Tribunal,' Brammertz told journalists after meeting war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic and members of the national panel for cooperation with The Hague.

Mladic and Hadzic are still at large 13 years after the war that sealed the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

Brammertz plans to report his findings to the European Union later this month.

Serbia has been hoping a positive report will lead to fast-track negotiations with Brussels, fololowing the arrest the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, another major war crimes suspect.

Belgrade ratified a pre-membership treaty with EU on Monday, but the treaty needs to be approved by all 27 member states to come into effect and launch membership talks.

That is unlikely without the arrest of the two remaining fugitives, as several of the 27 EU nations insist on Belgrade's full compliance with The Hague tribunal as a condition for progress toward membership.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has indicted Mladic for genocide and other crimes against humanity in Bosnia and Hadzic for crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war.

During his visit, Brammertz will meet Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, President Boris Tadic, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Justice Minister Snezana Malovic.