| OHR: Arrest good for Serbia, region |
| 22 July 2008 | 10:29
| Source:
B92, Beta, BBC, Tanjug |
SARAJEVO --
Miroslav Lajčak says “the news that Radovan Karadžić has been arrested is very positive for Bosnia and the region.”
 | Miroslav Lajčak (FoNet, archive)
|
“Even though two fugitives, Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić, are still at large, it’s clear that this is the beginning of the end of the the most tragic chapter in Bosnia’s history,” said the international high representative for Bosnia-Hercegovina, adding that “today’s arrest proves that justice catches up with everyone.”
Karadžić’s arrest will bring relief to the families of the victims of the genocide in Bosnia-Hercegovina, said Chairman of the tripartite Bosnian Presidency Haris Silajdžić.
“This is a good day for justice. At the same time, we have to remind ourselves that though Karadžić has been arrested and that [Slobodan] Milošević is dead, that project is alive, and that hundreds of thousands of people are living in Bosnia who were driven from their homes,” he said.
“It’s the duty of all of us to eliminate the consequences of that genocide. [Ratko] Mladić is still at large, and I must admit that I was very sceptical before this arrest, but now there is more hope that he will be arrested. I’m glad that the Serbian government and President [Boris] Tadić have summoned up the courage to do this,” said Silajdžić.
Bosnian Party of Democratic Action leader Sulejman Tihić welcomed the arrest of Karadžić, and said that the “Republic of Srpska (RS) is his work”.
Tihić told Bosnian state television that “the very proceedings that will be led against Karadžić will provide a lot of answers to the character of the war in Bosnia, as well as of his role in it.”
He expressed the hope that his trial would encourage a reassessment of the survival of his work—namely, the RS.
In a survey conducted by state broadcaster BHT1 in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the citizens of the two cities expressed contrasting views on the arrest.
Several hundred Sarajevo citizens, driving through the city, sounding their horns, and shouting “This is Bosnia”, celebrated the news.
Meanwhile, several hundred Banja Luka citizens termed the arrest as a “tragedy for the RS”, while those in the suspect’s home town of Pale expressed their conviction that “the pressure on the RS and Karadžić's family living in Pale will now come to an end.”
President of the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa Association Munira Subašić said that she had been “visiting mass graves for 13 years, and expecting to hear the news that Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić are in The Hague.”
“Because, until there’s justice, there’ll be no reconciliation in Bosnia,” said Subašić, reacting to the news that Karadžić had been arrested.
She said that this was important news for all Bosnia-Hercegovina’s citizens, but for many Serbs too that had had to “endure the policy pursued by Karadžić and Mladić.”
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