Hague tribunal envoy discusses plans for Mladic arrest
A UN war crimes tribunal envoy met with Serbian officials today to discuss efforts to capture one of the court’s most wanted suspects – former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic.
Patrick Lopez-Perres, a Hague court investigator tasked with dealing with Belgrade over Mladic, met with Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, who is leading the operation for the general’s arrest, a Serbian government official said.
Rasim Ljajic, Serbian minister in charge of co-operation with the Netherlands-based court, said Lopez-Perres’ visit is part of increased cooperation aimed at locating and apprehending Mladic.
Mladic is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslims from Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb troops, as well as for other atrocities during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. The government’s failure to capture him led the European Union to suspend pre-membership talks with Serbia.
Faced with EU isolation, Belgrade recently drafted a plan for Mladic’s capture that envisages close co-operation with The Hague-based court, the European Union and the US.
The wartime Bosnian Serb commander is believed to be hiding in Serbia, under the protection of hardliners.
The UN prosecutor’s spokesman, Anton Nikiforov, said the investigator was the tribunal’s “key man for co-operation” with Belgrade on Mladic’s arrest. Lopez-Perres’ had worked with the Croatian government when it arrested its own key suspect, General Ante Gotovina, last year.
Both Nikiforov and Ljajic refused to reveal any details about Lopez-Perres’ meetings in Belgrade. Nikiforov said Lopez-Perres will remain in the region until the end of the week.
