Search for Mladić in western Serbia

A few years ago (2002/2003) a Belgrade frind of mine from Valjevo told me all about Mladic and his protectors in Valjevo.

He told me that a some local businessmen were financing him and sometimes hiding him on their land. He also said that the property they owned was large and that it was a no go zone for police. He never said who the businessmen were, but this fits the bill.

I get the feeling that Mladic is long gone from here though, although who knows?

Peggy there is a simple and logical answer to your question. In that period there was a battle going on - which came out in the open after Djindjic was assasinated. In other words elements of the security services and the army (supported by SRS, DSS and the Hague lobby) would have rebelled and it might have led to a coup. So I'm saying it was much more risky trying to arrest Mladic

What you have to remember is that as late as 2004 Dusan Mihajlovic former police minister admitted that they knew Mladic was on Serbian territory and that some members of the army were protecting him.

Post 2004 is another long story that we can all theorise about. ie does Serbia have something to hide etc?

Bganon, If your friend had all this information how come Mladic was not arrested before?
Seemed like common knowledge back then.

Somehow I find this unbelievable. If Mladic's whereabouts were known by people like your friend who were speaking about it to others, Mladic would've been arrested long time ago.
Also, if Hague knew where to look how come this factory wasn't raided before?

I think they all are on a wild goose chase and Mladic has been out of the country for a very long time now. He wouldn't be staying there especially since Karadzic's arrest but I suspect way before that too.

Perhaps you are trying to say that Serbian government was aware of his whereabouts but refused to do anything about it. With all these others like your friend knowing where he is, don't you think it was a bit too risky for any government not to do something about him?

As usual when the international community turns up the heat, Serbia runs a show to pretend that it's actually trying to catch Mladic. After yesterday's show we can be sure that they're not looking for him, because when Karadzic was arrested, no one knew in advance, it came at a time when no one was looking for him and the government kept repeating that it wasn't their responsibility to catch him. In other words, I will believe that they're looking for Mladic only AFTER his arrest, not before.

Peggy,

r.m. could be hiding because he could be more afraid of some of his own than of Hague. Or maybe he has to hide in order not to be killed. War is the dirtiest business and we don't want to know, who are all the "бизнисмен" involved. These "бизнисмен" could be well Albanian, Serb, Russian, Bosnian, American... they are ethnically unbiased. Like the Serb who killed the Croatian journalist, a main witness against milo djukanovic.

Ataman, I know what you are trying to say and I didn't mean to come accross as someone trying to be funny but I was doubting that he was in the country since it seemed like it was common knowledge where he was.

If ordinary citizens like bganon's friend knew of his whereabouts then the government must've for sure and if they did why not arrest him?

It all just seems fantastic to me.
I'm sure there is a lot more here than meets the eye and like you say organized crimes has no loyalty to any particular ethnic group. These "businessmen" could be anyone so as soon as people started talking about where he is I'm sure he would've been moved out of the country.
Why target the address which was known about all those years ago? Did they really expect to find him there?

A few years ago (2002/2003) a Belgrade frind of mine from Valjevo told me all about Mladic and his protectors in Valjevo.

He told me that a some local businessmen were financing him and sometimes hiding him on their land. He also said that the property they owned was large and that it was a no go zone for police. He never said who the businessmen were, but this fits the bill.

I get the feeling that Mladic is long gone from here though, although who knows?

As usual when the international community turns up the heat, Serbia runs a show to pretend that it's actually trying to catch Mladic. After yesterday's show we can be sure that they're not looking for him, because when Karadzic was arrested, no one knew in advance, it came at a time when no one was looking for him and the government kept repeating that it wasn't their responsibility to catch him. In other words, I will believe that they're looking for Mladic only AFTER his arrest, not before.

Bganon, If your friend had all this information how come Mladic was not arrested before?
Seemed like common knowledge back then.

Somehow I find this unbelievable. If Mladic's whereabouts were known by people like your friend who were speaking about it to others, Mladic would've been arrested long time ago.
Also, if Hague knew where to look how come this factory wasn't raided before?

I think they all are on a wild goose chase and Mladic has been out of the country for a very long time now. He wouldn't be staying there especially since Karadzic's arrest but I suspect way before that too.

Perhaps you are trying to say that Serbian government was aware of his whereabouts but refused to do anything about it. With all these others like your friend knowing where he is, don't you think it was a bit too risky for any government not to do something about him?

Ataman, I know what you are trying to say and I didn't mean to come accross as someone trying to be funny but I was doubting that he was in the country since it seemed like it was common knowledge where he was.

If ordinary citizens like bganon's friend knew of his whereabouts then the government must've for sure and if they did why not arrest him?

It all just seems fantastic to me.
I'm sure there is a lot more here than meets the eye and like you say organized crimes has no loyalty to any particular ethnic group. These "businessmen" could be anyone so as soon as people started talking about where he is I'm sure he would've been moved out of the country.
Why target the address which was known about all those years ago? Did they really expect to find him there?

Peggy,

r.m. could be hiding because he could be more afraid of some of his own than of Hague. Or maybe he has to hide in order not to be killed. War is the dirtiest business and we don't want to know, who are all the "бизнисмен" involved. These "бизнисмен" could be well Albanian, Serb, Russian, Bosnian, American... they are ethnically unbiased. Like the Serb who killed the Croatian journalist, a main witness against milo djukanovic.

Peggy there is a simple and logical answer to your question. In that period there was a battle going on - which came out in the open after Djindjic was assasinated. In other words elements of the security services and the army (supported by SRS, DSS and the Hague lobby) would have rebelled and it might have led to a coup. So I'm saying it was much more risky trying to arrest Mladic

What you have to remember is that as late as 2004 Dusan Mihajlovic former police minister admitted that they knew Mladic was on Serbian territory and that some members of the army were protecting him.

Post 2004 is another long story that we can all theorise about. ie does Serbia have something to hide etc?