By Stefan Bos
Budapest
21 July 2008

Serbia Says Ex-Bosnian-Serb Leader and War Crimes Suspect Radovan Karadzic Arrested

Serbia says it has arrested one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects, Radovan Karadzic, who has been linked to Europe's worst massacre since World War Two.

The office of Serbian President Boris Tadic says former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested late Monday in a raid by Serbian security forces.

Officials say Karadzic was transferred to an investigative judge of Serbia's War Crimes Court in Belgrade.

Prosecutors of The Hague-based United Nations War Crimes Tribunal charged

Karadzic with genocide and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian war. He is accused of masterminding the killing of more than 7,000 Muslims in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.

In the United States, the White House welcomed the arrest and said it is atribute to the victims of the war's atrocities.

Karadzic's wartime military commander Ratko Mladic, who is also among the most wanted men by the war crimes court, remains at large.

The executive director of the Belgrade-based Balkan Trust for Democracy, Ivan Vejvoda, says Karadzic's arrest was the right move for the Serbian government.

The arrest "also shows very importantly that the new government in Belgrade has demonstrated in practice what it said rhetorically, that it has the political will to move forward and make the arrests of the remaining (war crimes) indictees a priority of its government."

The U.N. Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz also welcomed the arrest of Karadzic, saying it is an "important day for international justice because it clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law."

Serbia had been under pressure from the European Union, Washington and the United Nations to turn Karadzic and other war time suspects over to The Hague tribunal.

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UPDATE: 22 JULY 2008

By Stefan Bos
Budapest

22 July 2008

Karadzic Lived In Belgrade Under False Identity

Serbia says war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic avoided capture for some 13 years by living under a false identity in the Serbian capital Belgrade and practicing alternative medicine.

People in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, many of whom lived through the Balkan conflict, have celebrated the arrest of one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects, Radovan Karadzic.

The former leader of Bosnian Serbs had been in hiding since 1995, when he allegedly oversaw the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Europe's worst single atrocity since World War II took place after Serb forces under his control overran the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Prosecutors say it was part of a plan to carry out ethnic cleansing and bring Muslim areas under Serbian control.

Karadzic was charged by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal with genocide and and a number of other crimes against humanity for these and other atrocities.

Until Monday, Karadzic, who was a trained psychiatrist, managed to escape capture by living under a false name and hiding his face behind a white long beard. So convincing was his false identity, Serbian officials say, he had moved freely in public without being recognized.

He practiced alternative medicine at a private clinic and lived in Belgrade, says Serbia's minister for UN Tribunal relations, Rasim Ljajic. "Karadzic used a false identity and a false document. He used the name Dragan Dabic. He worked in a private practices. And the last place where he had a residence was in New Belgrade."

Karadzic's detention has been welcomed by the European Union, United Nations and the United States.

Washington's former Balkan peace negotiator, Richard Holbrooke, said in televised remarks that his arrest can be compared with the search for Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States. "Karadzic was of all the bad men in the Balkans, he was the one I personally thought was the worst. I don't think there is anyone on earth other than bin Laden who is better to capture than this guy," he said.

Karadzic's war time commander Ratko Mladic, who tops the most-wanted list, remains at large, although Western and Serbian officials suggests his days at large are now numbered.

Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic has told reporters it will take time before the wounds are healed of the Balkan's recent history and his country can become a multi-ethnic society. "For justice to be complete we must erase the consequences of this genocide in Bosnia. [Former Serbian President] Milosevic's and Karadic's projects still live on in Bosnia," he said.

But survivors of the Srebrenica massacre say Karadzic's arrest will help them to grieve over the loss of those they loved with more peace in their heart, as justice may finally be done.

A Serbian judge has ordered Karadzic's transfer to the UN war crimes court in The Hague, but his lawyer has said he will appeal against that ruling within the next three days.

Karadzic's supporters staged a noisy protest in Belgrade, skirmishing with police and denouncing the pro-Western Serbian government as "traitors."

ENDS

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