At last!

Ratko Mladic has been arrested, in Serbia, details still unknown. President Tadic is quoted by the New York Times:

Extradition is happening. This is the end of the search for Mladic. It’s not the end of the search for all those who helped Mladic and others to hide and whether people from the government were involved…this is happening on the day Catherine Ashton is coming to Serbia.

Yes, the moment is a good one, not only for the occasion of Ashton’s visit but also just as Chief Prosecutor Brammertz was to release his report on Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Convenient, but welcome nevertheless. So too Tadic’s reference to searching for those who helped Mladic all these years, and his reference on NPR this morning to the importance of this arrest for regional reconciliation.

But the main thing this morning is just this: at last Ratko Mladic is headed for justice.

PS:  Compliments to Nenad Pejic of RFE/RL for his well done “flash analysis.”

PPS: Too bad President Tadic can’t even mention “Kosovo” without adding something incomprehensible about “our autonomy Kosovo.” And too bad The Guardian couldn’t find a Bosnian Muslim who thought Mladic has a right to be defended:

Daniel Serwer

Share
Published by
Daniel Serwer
Tags: Balkans

Recent Posts

A sharp break in Western Balkans policy

An Administration that favors stability over security, fails to mention democracy and the EU, and…

18 hours ago

The best available alternative is the EU

Accession of Montenegro and Albania would help the EU stake its claim to leadership of…

3 days ago

Montenegro in the final lap

I am going to repeat that hope that Montenegro will be an EU member in…

4 days ago

Trump is making America weak again

Trump touted the Beijing meetings as maybe "the biggest summit ever." That's his usual hyperbole.…

2 weeks ago

Trump is losing two wars, one is in Iran

This clip reveals two things about Trump. He has downgraded his goals for the Iran…

3 weeks ago

International mistakes in Bosnia and Kosovo

The international community, as it used to be called, could be generous. It also makes…

3 weeks ago