SARAJEVO, June 17 (Hina) - Radovan Karadzic must be arrested before October so that his trial for war crimes can begin, and the government in Republika Srpska has to stop harbouring him and finally help with his arrest, the chief
prosecutor with the Hague war crimes tribunal, Carla del Ponte, stated on Monday.
SARAJEVO, June 17 (Hina) - Radovan Karadzic must be arrested before
October so that his trial for war crimes can begin, and the
government in Republika Srpska has to stop harbouring him and
finally help with his arrest, the chief prosecutor with the Hague
war crimes tribunal, Carla del Ponte, stated on Monday. #L#
Republika Srpska must stop protecting Karadzic and especially the
government in that entity, she said, adding the UN tribunal
expected Karadzic to be extradited by October so that he could
appear before the court together with Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana
Plavsic.
Del Ponte spoke to journalists following a meeting she and the Hague
tribunal president Claude Jorda held with the High Representative
for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown.
Del Ponte and Jorda are heading a large delegation that arrived on a
five-day visit to Bosnia with the objective of ascertaining whether
conditions existed for the local judiciary to try some war crimes
cases which have already been investigated by the tribunal.
Like the chief prosecutor, High Representative Ashdown announced
that the Republika Srpska government had to expect additional
pressure by the international community with the aim of arresting
Karadzic.
The special message to the government of Republika Srpska is that
international law obliges it to assist with the arrest of Karadzic,
Ashdown said, stressing that the arrest of war criminals was the
last uncompleted task in Bosnia.
Jorda confirmed that he and del Ponte completely agreed that some
war crimes cases could be handed over to the judiciary in Bosnia.
(hina) sp sb