SARAJEVO, March 12 (Hina) - After international organisations in Bosnia began an extensive action aimed at destroying a network harbouring Serb war-lord Radovan Karadzic, indicted by the U.N. war crimes court, the Bosnian Serb
entity's intelligence service, OBS, faced grave accusations that it was participating in illegal activities and instead of protecting the law, was in fact assisting fugitives.
SARAJEVO, March 12 (Hina) - After international organisations in
Bosnia began an extensive action aimed at destroying a network
harbouring Serb war-lord Radovan Karadzic, indicted by the U.N. war
crimes court, the Bosnian Serb entity's intelligence service, OBS,
faced grave accusations that it was participating in illegal
activities and instead of protecting the law, was in fact assisting
fugitives. #L#
Along with Momcilo Mandic and Milovan Bjelica, OBS director Risto
Zaric was directly accused of financing and harbouring Karadzic.
Zaric is mentioned in a press release by the U.S. Department of the
Treasury as a person cooperating with Karadzic, now a notorious
Karadzic helper.
Citing unnamed intelligence sources, Sarajevo's "Dnevni avaz"
daily of Wednesday writes that the Americans discovered how Zaric
and several of his closest assistants were spying on international
organisations in Bosnia and informing Karadzic about all
activities which might lead to his arrest.
Also, Zaric and OBS are allegedly constantly planting red herrings
by issuing misinformation about Karadzic's movements and his
hideouts.
The information collected by the OBS, says the same source, is
delivered to a mysterious persons from the leadership of the Serb
Democratic Party (SDS), which, in turn, forwards them along to
Karadzic.
Another key person at OBS in charge of providing Karadzic support
could be a Goran Radovic. Doubt was shed on this agent because of his
good connections with Momcilo Mandic from even before the war in
which both of them worked in the then State Security Service at the
Bosnian interior minister.
Despite Constitutional changes which should guarantee the
influence of Bosniaks and Croats in all bodies of authority in
Republika Srpska, these changes still have not affected the OBS.
Vice-president of the entity's parliament, Sefket Hafizovic, said
the legislative authority in Banja Luka had no insight into what the
OBS was doing, not did the intelligence service have any Bosniak or
Croat employees. Hafizovic said he did now know whether OBS was
informing anybody about its work at all.
Zaric himself categorically refutes all allegations pertaining to
himself. In an interview issued by Banja Luka's "Nezavisne novine"
daily, he said he did not know of anybody officially accusing him
for aiding war criminals, and added that such interpretations were
"arbitrary opinions of individuals".
(hina) lml