Serbian fugitive Ratko Mladic arrested on genocide charges

May 26, 2011, 12:23 GMT

(FILE) A file photograph dated 15 November 1995 of then Bosnian Serb Army chief, General Ratko Mladic, taken during a session of the parliament of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb parliament in Pale, Bosnia and Herzegowina. According to media reports on 26 May 2011, a man thought to be the alleged fugitive war criminal Ratko Mladic has been captured in Belgrade, Serbia. EPA/STR BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Belgrade - Ratko Mladic, the Serb general wanted for genocide during the 1990s war in Bosnia, was arrested Thursday, removing a major obstacle to Serbia's ambitions for European Union membership, President Boris Tadic said.

'I believe that today we ended a difficult period,' Tadic said at a news conference at which he confirmed Mladic's arrest. 'We cleared a blemish off Serbia and the Serbian people.'

Mladic, 69, had been a fugitive since the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) charged him in 1995 for such atrocities as the massacre of 8,000 Muslim in Srebrenica.

The procedure for Mladic's extradition to the ICTY has already been initiated, Tadic said. Serbian war crimes prosecutors meanwhile denied reports that Mladic was already transferred to The Hague.

A prosecution spokesman, Bruno Vekaric, said that the 'usual' extradition procedure was underway, including an interrogation and a 3-day appeal period following the decision to hand him over.

Tadic and other officials refused to divulge details of the arrest, but local media reported that Mladic was caught in a 5:30 am (0330) raid on the home of his relative in Lazarevo, a village 60 kilometres north of Belgrade.

Mladic commanded Serb forces in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. His political chief, Radovan Karadzic, was arrested in Belgrade in July 2008 and is already on trial for genocide at the ICTY.

The arrest of Mladic has been a key condition for Serbia's progress towards European Union membership. Tadic made it clear Thursday that he now expects the EU to officially recognize Serbia as a membership candidate.

Mladic was captured just hours ahead of a scheduled visit by the EU's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, and days before the ICTY's chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, was expected to chide Serbia for its failure to arrest Mladic in a report to the United Nations.

'The critical points by Serge Brammertz have been shot down,' Tadic said. Brammertz meanwhile welcomed the arrest and thanked the authorities in Belgrade, but said that it was 'overdue.'

'With the news of the arrest, we think first and foremost of the victims of the crimes ... in former Yugoslavia,' he said. 'These victims have endured unimaginable horrors - including the genocide in Srebrenica - and redress for their suffering is long overdue.'

But the Serbian president dismissed speculation that Belgrade timed the arrest for diplomatic benefit, saying it was 'crystal- clear' that the authorities in Belgrade were committed to bringing fugitives to justice.

The sole remaining ICTY fugitive in Serbia is the former leader of the Serb insurgency in Croatia, Goran Hadzic.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the news, saying 'as Bosnian Serb military commander, General Mladic played a key role in some of the darkest episodes of Balkan and European history,' including the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre.

'Almost sixteen years since his indictment for genocide and other war crimes, his arrest finally offers a chance for justice to be done,' the NATO chief said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt 'warmly congratulated' Tadic on the arrest. Tweeting from a conference in Istanbul, Bildt said: 'I never doubted his determination and know how hard he worked on this.'

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, 'today should mark the beginning of a new chapter for the countries of Western Balkans.'

Amnesty International, the human rights group, commented: 'It took more than 15 years but at last the people who suffered have hope that he will be brought to justice.'

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