Cvetković calls on remaining fugitives to surrender

BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković has called on the remaining Hague fugitives to surrender voluntarily.

Mirko Cvetković (FoNet, archive)

Cvetković expects the Hague Tribunal to act fairly and treat all war crimes suspects equally.

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić was the first Serbian official to comment publicly on Radovan Karadžić’s arrest. Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac and Parliamentary Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović have also spoken about the news. The majority of parties have welcomed the arrest.

“One of the basic principles during the formation of the government was the principle of respecting international law. By meeting our obligations to the Hague, we are complying with both domestic and international law,” said Cvetković in a statement to the media.

“The Serbian state has taken a big step, and I call on the remaining Hague fugitives to turn themselves in, which will be much better for them and the Serbian people,” said the prime minister.

He added that compliance with international law was a universal principle, and that it would allow reconciliation in the region, and would ensure for Serbia the basis for a better standard of living, and effective defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity on the basis of international law.