ex-Serbian General Ratko Mladic arrested

[NBC]

This has been a long time coming. Not as globally significant as the death of Osama bin Laden, but to the families of the victims of Srebrenica, this is very big news. Plus it could very well be the removal of the final hurdle for Serbia's entry into the EU. Their record for arresting and detaining individuals wanted for war crimes is poor at best.

Ratko Mladic arrested: Bosnia war crimes suspect held

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13561407

[WilsonFourTwo]

The Yugoslav wars never seemed to generate the attention they deserved. Perhaps it's because Western Troops weren't directly involved (Eventually some air power was, allowing for one sweet movie idea).

The crimes (rape, torture, genocide) were committed with a level of extreme brutality, yet they seem to be almost passed over by most Westerners. Dunno....

Anyhow, glad they caught the guy.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

Anyhow, glad they caught the guy.

They probably could have gotten him a lot sooner if they really wanted to. There are videos all over the internet of him at soccer games, at a ski resorts, a wedding, etc... His daughter went to school in Russia and when she was there, she gained access to information not readily available at the time in Serbia about her father. She committed suicide over it and allegedly until recently, Mladic had been visiting her grave regularly.

There have always been people who knew where he was, at least until 2008. I don't find it a coincidence that the arrest came a day after the chief prosecutor of the ICTY scolded Serbia for not cooperating. There are also rumours out there that British and American intelligence were recently tipped off as to his wearabouts. After the whole Pakistan thing, I doubt that Serbia wanted a covert operation on their soil. To Tadic's defense though, he seems like a good leader and like he does care about the process, it's just that the corruption runs deep (not just in Serbia, but in all the former Yugoslav republics). You can read the whole indictment here: http://www.icty.org/x/cases/mladic/i...-ai021010e.pdf


I think Mladic will kill himself before he ever gets convicted though. He must be almost 70 now. I believe Goran Hadzic is the last remaining figure from the war wanted for warcrimes.

[Table 5]

Nevermind the Hague, they should hand him over to the people of Srebrernica and let them do with him as they see fit.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Nevermind the Hague, they should hand him over to the people of Srebrernica and let them do with him as they see fit.

I don't know if you have ever seen The Hunting Party, but your post reminds me of it. It's a theatrical Hollywood movie about a reporter who goes into Bosnia to search for a war criminal. It's a fictional movie, but you can tell that it is obviously based on Mladic right down to the looks. I wouldn't recommend anyone takes it as a historical account of anything though.