WAITING FOR MLADIC

After some excitement a few days ago, it is silent again around the arrest of Ratko Mladic. It seemed that the arrest of the former general that was leading the army of the Bosnian-Serbs during the war in Bosnia, and who’s accused of crimes against humanity, would be a matter of hours.

The Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs states that it takes time to negotiate about the surrender, but since it is already 11 years ago that the war in Bosnia was finished and since Mladic and his fellow fighter Radovan Karadzic are still free, the whole situation already is an absolute mockery for the international community. When the last two suspected Serbian war criminals are brought before the international tribunal in The Hague, it would mean that the people that have been suffering under the consequences of the cruelties committed at the time, will finally get some satisfaction and rest.

The 63 year old Mladic, with the nick name the ‘butcher of the Balkan’, is the most wanted suspect of the Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague, after the leader of the Bosnian Serbs Karadzic. Both have been accused of genocide by the tribunal more than 10 years ago. Mladic was in command of the Serbian army in Bosnia during the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo (1992-1995). In 1992 and 1993 Mladic managed to conquer and to cleanse large parts of Bosnia ethnically. In 1995 he was in charge of the seizure of the Bosnian Muslim enclave Srebrenica. The men where separated from the women and at least 7000 Bosnian Muslims were brutally killed. The mass murder is considered as the worst war crime in Europe after the Second World War.

After the peace agreement of 1995, Mladic could freely walk around until he needed to go into hiding after the fall of president Milosevic. The international community asked for his arrest and the USA even offered a reward of 5 million dollars on Mladic’s head. Over the last years there were many rumours that the arrest of Mladic would be near, especially around crucial data like international deadlines or the 10 th commemoration of the mass murder in Srebrenica. But until now nothing really happened.

Former Serbian president Milosevic was handed over after enormous pressure of the United States, now it is the European Union that puts pressure on the Serbs. If they do not extradite Mladic before the end of the month the negotiation about Serbia joining the European will not be held. It is the question if the Srebian leaders will give in to the pressure. It will be difficult since Mladic is still very popular. But it would be an example of a awakening European pragmatism that is so needed in the poor and frustrated Serbian nation. It would finally mean that the region can start the process of the closing the Balkan wars book. more features

March 3, 2006