Ex BIA chief offered to negotiate Mladić’s surrender

Former Security-Information Agency (BIA) Director Rade Bulatovic offered to negotiate surrender of Ratko Mladic, Serbia's war crimes prosecutor told daily Blic. War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, however, refused to elaborate on this. Ex BIA chief offered to negotiate Mladic’s surrender When asked whether it meant that Bulatovic had been aware of Mladic’s whereabouts but had chosen not to arrest him, the war crimes prosecutor said that helping the perpetrator was a crime according to the law. He also added that this opened up possibility for all those who had been helping the Hague fugitives to stand trial. Vukcevic pointed out that one person was currently standing trial for hiding Stojan Zupljanin, that a pre-trial procedure for hiding of Radovan Karadzic was underway and that everybody else who were helping the Hague indictees would be prosecuted. When asked what was preventing the government from locating and extraditing Mladic since June 2008 when Bulatovic was dismissed, he said that it was “a good organization of his hiding”. The war crimes prosecutor stressed that a lot had changed since Bulatovic and added that Head of the ICTY Office in Belgrade Dejan Mihov and a Hague investigator had been included in Serbia’s action team set up to locate the Hague fugitives. “They have witnessed a large number of searches, operations to look for financiers, as well as checking whether information received from Rade Bulatovic was used in a right way,” he explained. According to the daily, the former BIA director had made the offer before July 2006, i.e. before the Action Team for Cooperation with The Hague was formed. The prosecution and Vukcevic were ready to negotiate but Bulatovic went to then PM Vojislav Kostunica’s cabinet the same day and the negotiations fell through, the daily has learned. The war crimes prosecutor stated a few days ago that the best opportunity to arrest Mladic had been in 2006 but that they had missed it due to obstructions. “Mladic's arrest fell through when Rade Bulatovic, who was then chief of the Security-Information Agency, arrested Stanko Ristic, who was hiding Mladic, which was a disastrous move that allowed Mladic to escape. We had Mladic within our reach and it was only a matter of technical issue how to make the arrest,” Vukcevic said. Vladimir Vukcevic (Beta, file)

Ex BIA chief offered to negotiate Mladić’s surrender

When asked whether it meant that Bulatović had been aware of Mladić’s whereabouts but had chosen not to arrest him, the war crimes prosecutor said that helping the perpetrator was a crime according to the law.

He also added that this opened up possibility for all those who had been helping the Hague fugitives to stand trial.

Vukčević pointed out that one person was currently standing trial for hiding Stojan Župljanin, that a pre-trial procedure for hiding of Radovan Karadžić was underway and that everybody else who were helping the Hague indictees would be prosecuted.

When asked what was preventing the government from locating and extraditing Mladić since June 2008 when Bulatović was dismissed, he said that it was “a good organization of his hiding”.

The war crimes prosecutor stressed that a lot had changed since Bulatović and added that Head of the ICTY Office in Belgrade Dejan Mihov and a Hague investigator had been included in Serbia’s action team set up to locate the Hague fugitives.

“They have witnessed a large number of searches, operations to look for financiers, as well as checking whether information received from Rade Bulatović was used in a right way,” he explained.

According to the daily, the former BIA director had made the offer before July 2006, i.e. before the Action Team for Cooperation with The Hague was formed.

The prosecution and Vukčević were ready to negotiate but Bulatović went to then PM Vojislav Koštunica’s cabinet the same day and the negotiations fell through, the daily has learned.

The war crimes prosecutor stated a few days ago that the best opportunity to arrest Mladić had been in 2006 but that they had missed it due to obstructions.

“Mladić's arrest fell through when Rade Bulatović, who was then chief of the Security-Information Agency, arrested Stanko Ristić, who was hiding Mladić, which was a disastrous move that allowed Mladić to escape. We had Mladić within our reach and it was only a matter of technical issue how to make the arrest,” Vukčević said.