Key Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect's arrest welcomed

12/06/2008

Stojan Zupljanin, one of four remaining war crimes fugitives still sought by the UN tribunal, was arrested on Wednesday near Belgrade. Welcoming the news, Western officials urged Serbia to make sure the other three will also face justice.

(Blic - 12/06/08; Reuters, AP, AFP, DPA, AKI, BBC, CNN, Beta, B92, UN News Centre, Office of the High Representative, US Department of State - 11/06/08)

Republika Srpska special police stand guard during a search of the home of the parents of fugitive war crimes suspect Stojan Zupljanin in Banja Luka in April. Police arrested Zupljanin on Wednesday (June 11th). [Getty Images]

Serbian authorities won praise Wednesday (June 11th) for the capture of a key fugitive sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) since 1999.

Former Bosnian Serb police commander Stojan Zupljanin, 56, one of four remaining war crimes fugitives wanted by the UN tribunal, was arrested by Serbian police and security agents in an apartment in Pancevo, a town just outside Belgrade. The suspect, who narrowly escaped detention in Nis about two months ago, was armed but offered no resistance, officials said.

A spokesman for Serbia's special war crimes prosecutor's office said Zupljanin would be transferred to The Hague within 72 hours.

When taken before an investigative judge, he denied being the person sought by the ICTY and presented documents identifying him as Branislav Vukadin from the northern Serbian town of Backa Palanka. A DNA test, however, confirmed he was Zupljanin.

Serbian officials say the arrest demonstrates that Belgrade is doing all it can to meet its obligations to the UN tribunal.

"This arrest shows clearly that we are seriously co-operating [with the ICTY] and that there is the political will for full co-operation," special war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, who co-ordinated the operation, told Belgrade-based B92.

The ICTY issued its initial indictment against the former commander of the Regional Security Services Centre in Banja Luka in December 1999 but kept it sealed for the next 19 months. The initial charges of genocide and complicity in genocide were not confirmed in a second, amended indictment issued against Zupljanin in October 2004. He now faces a total of 12 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war for his alleged involvement in a host of atrocities committed against non-Serbs in the early phase of the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Zupljanin, UN prosecutors alleged, participated in a joint criminal enterprise, the objective of which was "to eliminate and permanently remove, by force or other means, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from the territory" of the self-proclaimed Autonomous Region of Krajina.

Western officials hailed the arrest, which EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called "good news".

"To have the people prosecuted, arrested and being placed in front of an international tribunal, having a fair trial, is something beneficial for everybody," AFP quoted him as saying.

Full co-operation with the ICTY is a key condition for Serbia's further progress along the path of EU accession. Still sought by The Hague tribunal are wartime Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, his military commander, Ratko Mladic, and Croatian Serb rebel leader Goran Hadzic.

Welcoming Zupljanin's arrest, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said it "is an important step towards Serbia's full co-operation with The Hague tribunal, which is the key to bringing justice and lasting reconciliation in the Balkans".

ICTY and US officials also hailed the capture and called for the remaining suspects to be brought to justice.

"His arrest is another positive step towards ensuring those responsible for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia are held accountable," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.

Last week, chief UN prosecutor Serge Brammertz told the UN Security Council that the fugitives still sought by The Hague were "within reach of the Serbian authorities".

"We hope the others will also end up in The Hague soon," ICTY prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said on Wednesday.

She also told reporters that "within a day or two" following his transfer to The Hague, Zupljanin "will make his first appearance before the judges, and he will be given the opportunity to enter a plea".

In BiH, the Bosniak member of the country's tripartite presidency, Haris Silajdzic, praised Wednesday's arrest as "a step in the right direction," while High Representative Miroslav Lajcak pledged that "pressure on the fugitives' support networks will continue".

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, meanwhile, voiced hope that Zupljanin's arrest will prove that Serbia is doing its best to meet its international obligations and will facilitate the ratification of his country's Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU.

But the Dutch government has indicated that it will not submit the accord to parliament for ratification as long as another key war crimes fugitive remains at large.

"The best proof of the full co-operation with the tribunal shall be the arrest and extradition of Ratko Mladic," Belgrade-based B92 quoted Ron van Dartel, the Dutch ambassador to Serbia, as saying.