Balkans: Serbia knows the whereabouts of top Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic and could arrest him within hours if it wanted to, according to UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte.
"They know exactly where he is and they could provide the arrest and transfer of Mladic in hours," Ms Del Ponte said yesterday. "It is just a question of political will."
Mladic and Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic were indicted almost a decade ago by The Hague tribunal for the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, which claimed thousands of civilian lives.
Ms Del Ponte said Mladic, Karadzic's military chief, was sheltered in Serbia. Serbia denies this.
The EU has warned Serbia that it must improve its co-operation with The Hague if it wants to get the green light later this month to start talks on an association agreement.
Ms Del Ponte, a former Swiss prosecutor, also accused Croatia of not doing enough to arrest Gen Ante Gotovina, whose arrest the EU has demanded as a condition for entry talks.
The West has moved to break what it calls the "support network" of Mladic and Karadzic by cutting financial support and freezing assets of alleged helpers and some family members.
Mladic is being protected by a group of former military loyalists, Ms Del Ponte said, but his support had declined since the 2003 killing of reformist prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
"Today they can provide an arrest," she said. "I think it's absolutely possible to do it," she said.
Ms Del Ponte said she did not know whether Karadzic was in Bosnia, Serbia or his native Montenegro but she was certain he was still in the region, although she was not sure who was trying to find him.
Former Serb army general Momcilo Perisic yesterday became the fourth suspect in six weeks whom Serbia has persuaded to go voluntarily to the Hague tribunal.
"I am asking Belgrade, please go and arrest these accused who are not willing to voluntarily surrender," said Ms Del Ponte. - (Reuters)