Serbia arrested the last major war crimes suspect from the 1990s Yugoslav conflicts on Wednesday, closing what its president called a "burdensome" page in the country's history and boosting its hopes of joining the European Union.
Goran Hadzic, a Croatian Serb wartime leader indicted for crimes against humanity during the 1991-95 Croatian war, was seized by Serb forces in the Fruska Gora national park region about 65 km (40 miles) north of Belgrade.
"We nabbed him while he was about to meet a helper. He had changed his appearance somewhat and had fake papers on him," an operative familiar with the case told Reuters. "He did not resist arrest, but we were ready for all contingencies."
The arrest of the 52-year-old is key for the European union future of Serbia because it removes the shadow of war crimes that has plagued Belgrade's bid for membership.
"I will be looking our European counterparts in the eye and seeing whether they make good on what they have promised," Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters. Hadzic, 52, was a key figure in the breakaway Krajina Serb republic in Croatia, and after the arrest of wartime Serb General Ratko Mladic earlier this year, he was the last suspect sought by the United Nations war crime tribunal in The Hague.
Comments
Comments are closed.