Locals in arrest village want it renamed after Mladić

Locals in the village of Lazarevo are preparing a petition asking for the village, or "at least" the street where Mladic hid, to be named after him. A day after the arrest of the war crimes indictee, the situation in the village in northern Serbia is peaceful. Locals in arrest village want it renamed after Mladic Several regular policemen are still posted in front of the house in Vuka Karadzica St. where Mladic was found. Several foreign reporters and cameramen are still there, too. Neighbors were willing to talk to them and their domestic colleagues, but on condition of anonymity. They are angry about reports in what they referred to as "Belgrade newspapers", and said claims that Mladic was arrested there were nothing short of "farcical". The villagers all claim that police "secretly sneaked Mladic into the village from somewhere, and then 'arrested' him there". They also insist that they are not refugees from Bosnia, but rather settlers who arrived there decades before the wars. And they all maintain they had never seen Mladic among them. Considering, however, that the whole village knew Mladic's relatives lived there, the locals are now curious to know why police never once searched the house while Mladic was a fugitive for 16 years. Asked whether they would have reported the general to the police had they seen him, a villager said, "never". "We're all of Bosnian origin here and we would never betray our general. They are lying over there in Belgrade, saying that ours is a treasonous village." Foreign journalists wanted to know about the locals' "political attitude regarding Mladic's responsibility", to which they received the same answer: if guilty, he should be held responsible. When reporters challenged this by asking "why then wish to name a street or the whole village after someone charged with the deaths of thousands of people", the villagers said they would be taking a leaf out of the Croats' book - where there were proposals to name a town square after war criminal Ante Gotovina. Lazarevo villagers pose for reporters (Beta)

Locals in arrest village want it renamed after Mladić

Several regular policemen are still posted in front of the house in Vuka Karadžića St. where Mladić was found.

Several foreign reporters and cameramen are still there, too.

Neighbors were willing to talk to them and their domestic colleagues, but on condition of anonymity.

They are angry about reports in what they referred to as "Belgrade newspapers", and said claims that Mladić was arrested there were nothing short of "farcical".

The villagers all claim that police "secretly sneaked Mladić into the village from somewhere, and then 'arrested' him there".

They also insist that they are not refugees from Bosnia, but rather settlers who arrived there decades before the wars.

And they all maintain they had never seen Mladić among them.

Considering, however, that the whole village knew Mladić's relatives lived there, the locals are now curious to know why police never once searched the house while Mladić was a fugitive for 16 years.

Asked whether they would have reported the general to the police had they seen him, a villager said, "never".

"We're all of Bosnian origin here and we would never betray our general. They are lying over there in Belgrade, saying that ours is a treasonous village."

Foreign journalists wanted to know about the locals' "political attitude regarding Mladić's responsibility", to which they received the same answer: if guilty, he should be held responsible.

When reporters challenged this by asking "why then wish to name a street or the whole village after someone charged with the deaths of thousands of people", the villagers said they would be taking a leaf out of the Croats' book - where there were proposals to name a town square after war criminal Ante Gotovina.