London
22 July 2008
European politicians have welcomed the arrest of former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is wanted for war crimes committed in Bosnia during the 1990's. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London Karadzic is expected to be extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
After being on the run for more than a decade, Radovan Karadzic was arrested by Serb security forces and is in custody in Belgrade.
Former British foreign secretary and Balkans peace negotiator David Owen says the EU approach of supporting democratic forces in Serbia by opening a dialogue with Belgrade on possible EU membership has borne fruit.
"I think the political judgment was you had to show more warmth and more recognition of the problems they face if you were going to get results and they have now got results," said Owen.
Owen was interviewed on British radio. He said that while Belgrade has taken an important step in arresting Karadzic, it faces an even more daunting task of tracking down and arresting Mladic.
Speaking for the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said the arrest of Karadzic should serve as a warning to others.
"It clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law, and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice," she said.
Karadzic remains in custody in Belgrade as legal requirements are fulfilled to allow his transfer to the U.N. tribunal.