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Bosnian Serb Faces War Crimes Charges Over Srebrenica
THE HAGUE, April 16 (News Agencies) - The United Nations war crimes court here on Monday welcomed the arrest of Bosnian Serb officer Dragan Obrenovic, wanted for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity of the Bosnian war.
Obrenovic was in U.N. custody here over the killing of thousands of Muslims in the Bosnian town. Charges include crimes against humanity and being an accomplice to genocide.
"It's a welcome signal of the resumption of arrests by SFOR forces [NATO-led Stabilization Force]," said chief war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who three weeks ago pressed NATO commanders in Bosnia to intensify efforts to arrest suspects.
Meanwhile, several thousand demonstrators in the Bosnian Serb town of Zvornik where Obrenovic was held protested against his arrest.
"This detention occurs less than a week after the confirmation of the indictment of Dragan Obrenovic and is the first since June, 2000," Del Ponte said in a statement welcoming the speedy SFOR action.
Del Ponte warned on March 28th that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) could raise the issue of the mandate of peacekeepers at the U.N. Security Council "if they are not arresting fugitives ... in the next few months."
A spokesman for Del Ponte said SFOR troops had previously indicated various problems in the way of arrests.
The development renewed hopes here for the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his notorious army commander General Ratko Mladic.
Karadzic and Mladic were indicted by the ICTY for crimes against humanity and genocide during the war.
Karadzic is believed to be hiding in eastern Bosnia, while Mladic allegedly recently fled Yugoslav territory and was reported to have found shelter in eastern Bosnia.
The charges against them include personal and official responsibility in the Srebrenica massacre. "There is on reason why they should not be arrested," said Del Ponte's spokeswoman Florence Hartmann.
NATO chief George Robertson said in Brussels Obrenovic had been arrested under a sealed indictment from the ICTY for war crimes committed between July and November 1995.
Obrenovic, 43, a lieutenant colonel who was commander of special Serb brigades during the war, was arrested by NATO troops on Sunday near Zvornik.
He was transferred overnight to The Hague and handed over to ICTY officials.
Following the December 1998 arrest of Bosnian Serb General Radislav Kristic, Obrenovic is the second suspect to appear before the ICTY in connection with the Srebrenica massacre.
An attempt last October to arrest another suspect charged with rape and torture of Muslim women ended in his suicide.
Obradovic's brother, Slobodan, and lawyer Krstan Simic, said they were outraged at the arrest, saying the suspect had been questioned by war crimes investigators in Banja Luka and was willing to go The Hague voluntarily to answer charges.
Obrenovic was commander in nearby Zvornik during the Srebrenica siege and subsequent massacre when Bosnian Serb forces overran it in July 1995.
Some 7,000 were believed to have been executed in the weeks that followed.
Several thousand people protested Monday in Zvornik against the arrest. An open letter to Bosnian Serb leaders, read out at a rally organized by Bosnian Serb war veterans, said: "We are embittered and deeply shocked by the brutal arrest of an honorable Serb officer."
Mirko Sarovic, president of the Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska, condemned the arrest, telling Tanjug news agency: "The activities of the Hague tribunal and existence of secret indictments do not contribute to strengthening of peace and confidence in this region."
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