EU, Hague welcome Župljanin arrest

The Hague Tribunal and the EU have welcomed the arrest of war crimes fugitive Stojan Zupljanin. EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Chief Javier Solana said in Brussels that Zupljanin’s arrest was good news. EU, Hague welcome Zupljanin arrest Solana said that it was not up to him to say whether the arrest could lead to a positive appraisal at the EU Council of Ministers on Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague, but depended rather on Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. “It’s up to him to give the first reaction, but the news is very good,” Solana said. “The arrest of fugitives and bringing them to justice is good for everyone. It is one of the forms of cooperation Serbia has committed to, so this is good news,” Solana told the press. “Zupljanin’s arrest is an important step towards Serbia’s full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, which is the key to lasting reconciliation in the Balkans,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Slovenian media report. Hague Tribunal spokeswoman Olga Kavran expressed similar views. She hopes that the remaining fugitives will also soon be caught. “The prosecution welcomes the arrest of Zupljanin and the fact that now, the number of the remaining fugitives has fallen from four to three,” Kavran told B92. She said that she did not know the exact date of Zupljanin’s extradition to the Tribunal, but she expected it to be very soon. At the same time, Kavran said that the fact that Zupljanin had been arrested near Belgrade indicated that the Serbian authorities had known his whereabouts, as Brammertz himself asserted recently. The Hague Tribunal is still searching for the remaining Serb leaders from Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia—Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic—with full cooperation with the Tribunal remaining the key condition for Serbia’s further European integration. Javier Solana (FoNet, archive)

EU, Hague welcome Župljanin arrest

Solana said that it was not up to him to say whether the arrest could lead to a positive appraisal at the EU Council of Ministers on Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague, but depended rather on Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz.

“It’s up to him to give the first reaction, but the news is very good,” Solana said.

“The arrest of fugitives and bringing them to justice is good for everyone. It is one of the forms of cooperation Serbia has committed to, so this is good news,” Solana told the press.

“Župljanin’s arrest is an important step towards Serbia’s full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, which is the key to lasting reconciliation in the Balkans,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Slovenian media report.

Hague Tribunal spokeswoman Olga Kavran expressed similar views. She hopes that the remaining fugitives will also soon be caught. “The prosecution welcomes the arrest of Župljanin and the fact that now, the number of the remaining fugitives has fallen from four to three,” Kavran told B92.

She said that she did not know the exact date of Župljanin’s extradition to the Tribunal, but she expected it to be very soon.

At the same time, Kavran said that the fact that Župljanin had been arrested near Belgrade indicated that the Serbian authorities had known his whereabouts, as Brammertz himself asserted recently.

The Hague Tribunal is still searching for the remaining Serb leaders from Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia—Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić—with full cooperation with the Tribunal remaining the key condition for Serbia’s further European integration.