 SERBIA'S government knows where top war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic is hiding and is considering how to arrest him without causing casualties, the respected Belgrade newspaper Danas reported yesterday. Quoting what it called an "impeccable source", the paper said Mladic's whereabouts were determined during the visit to Belgrade of the Hague tribunal's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte on 2 June.
| Was the determination made because of Carla's visit? In honor of her visit? Coincidentally with her visit? Or did they discover that Carla is secretly Ratko Mladic in drag? |
He is said to have met "very co-operative associates" inside the Serbian leadership. Belgrade later denied the report which was described as "completely unfounded", but the newspaper's editor-in-chief Grujica Spasovic stood by the story.
| They would prob'ly deny it because they wouldn't want to tip him off. If he knows they know he's one place, it's relatively easy for him to be another place. See below. |
Mladic has twice been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia over the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims in July 1995, and for the siege of Sarajevo that claimed some 12,000 lives.
| But that was a long time ago, and we were much younger then, and, really, it was only 20,000 people, many of them civilians, so what's the rush? After all, Ramsey Clark needs a little time to put together his defense... |
He is said to have heavily armed protection from hard-liners in the army or secret service. "We know which town he's in and how long he has been under the control of certain security bodies," Spasovic said. Disclosing the town's name would be irresponsible, he said.
| Disclosing that you know the town's name is irresponsible. Even though we don't know which town he's in, since you don't tell us, unless he's been hit hard on the noggin, I guarantee he knows what town he's in... |
There is a reward of $5 million for the capture of Mladic. Danas reported rumours that Mladic was ready to surrender were wrong, and added that the government had made up its mind to arrest him as soon as it could do so without causing casualties.
| Actually, I'd say any number of casualties less than 20,000 would be pretty well justified... |
"Our paper was told the name of the town where Mladic has been located but we assessed it was not opportune to unveil it now because of tensions it may create. We can only say that it is a town inside Serbia," said the report.
| Somehow I couldn't imagine him hiding out in Croatia or Bosnia... |
Serbia's failure to arrest Mladic has been the main obstacle for Belgrade's progress toward the European Union and NATO. "The sooner he's in the Hague the better," said NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, yesterday. Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian prime minister, initially a critic of the UN court, has so far this year persuaded 12 fugitives to surrender and says Serbia will fulfil all its obligations to the tribunal soon. The United States has lifted a freeze on a $5.5 million aid package to Serbia following its recent co-operation with the Hague tribunal. Mladic has been rumoured to have the protection of men from the army or the secret service, and is often described as travelling with heavily armed security. |