"Mladić is alive, and he's in Serbia"

The key to arrest of Ratko Mladic is in Belgrade, thinks Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. He also said that he did not wish to “play a role of somebody who is slowing down” Serbia’s progress toward the EU. "Mladic is alive, and he's in Serbia" “When it comes to arrest of Ratko Mladic, the Hague is asking Serbia to do what is reasonable to expect from a country,” Brammertz told daily Novosti. He said that that there had always been a question whether Serbia’s obligation was to do everything it could or to show results. The chief prosecutor repeated that the EU Council of Ministers had pointed out in its conclusions in October that the arrest of the fugitives would be the best proof of good will. “However, it’s not like that. What we’re requesting is that what’s reasonable to expected from a country should be maximally done. We think, however, that there are still deficiencies and weaknesses and that it can be done more and better,” he was quoted as saying. Brammertz also pointed out that there could be people who kept pushing the investigation in wrong direction and that information should not only be investigated but also actively looked for. “That shouldn’t only be the job of operative services but, if this is the country’s main priority, there has to be a unique strategy,” he stressed. The Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor repeated that he believed that Mladic was in Serbia and that the key to his arrest was in Belgrade. Commenting on attempt of Mladic’s family to have him legally pronounced dead, Brammertz said that “it does not have any effect on our work and our conviction that Mladic is in Serbia and that he is alive, of course”. When asked whether he sometimes went outside legal context while writing reports and choosing words that could affect Serbia’s progress toward the EU, he said that he refused to play the role of somebody who was slowing down Serbia’s EU progress. “I don’t want and refuse to play that role. My bureau’s credibility depends on it. There are enough people in Brussels, Belgrade and other capitals that deal with politics. I want to stay within a technical domain, to say what’s working and what isn’t and it’s up to political authorities to draw conclusion they want from it,” the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor explained. Serge Brammertz (FoNet, file)

"Mladić is alive, and he's in Serbia"

“When it comes to arrest of Ratko Mladić, the Hague is asking Serbia to do what is reasonable to expect from a country,” Brammertz told daily Novosti.

He said that that there had always been a question whether Serbia’s obligation was to do everything it could or to show results.

The chief prosecutor repeated that the EU Council of Ministers had pointed out in its conclusions in October that the arrest of the fugitives would be the best proof of good will.

“However, it’s not like that. What we’re requesting is that what’s reasonable to expected from a country should be maximally done. We think, however, that there are still deficiencies and weaknesses and that it can be done more and better,” he was quoted as saying.

Brammertz also pointed out that there could be people who kept pushing the investigation in wrong direction and that information should not only be investigated but also actively looked for.

“That shouldn’t only be the job of operative services but, if this is the country’s main priority, there has to be a unique strategy,” he stressed.

The Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor repeated that he believed that Mladić was in Serbia and that the key to his arrest was in Belgrade.

Commenting on attempt of Mladić’s family to have him legally pronounced dead, Brammertz said that “it does not have any effect on our work and our conviction that Mladić is in Serbia and that he is alive, of course”.

When asked whether he sometimes went outside legal context while writing reports and choosing words that could affect Serbia’s progress toward the EU, he said that he refused to play the role of somebody who was slowing down Serbia’s EU progress.

“I don’t want and refuse to play that role. My bureau’s credibility depends on it. There are enough people in Brussels, Belgrade and other capitals that deal with politics. I want to stay within a technical domain, to say what’s working and what isn’t and it’s up to political authorities to draw conclusion they want from it,” the Hague Tribunal chief prosecutor explained.