Ratko Mladic

[SOCCERROO FOX]

About time any one who has been to Bosina and especially Srebrencia will understand the news of Mladics capture is massive news and long overdue.

Ratko Mladic Caught

UPDATE 6.30am: RATKO Mladic's first appearance before the Serbian war crimes court has been halted after his lawyer said the former Bosnian Serb army chief was unable to communicate.

Mladic was arrested overnight in a small Serbian village.

Now 68, he is accused of masterminding the 44-month siege of Sarajevo that left 10,000 people dead in 1995 and the massacre in July of the same year of around 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica.

Doctors were scheduled to assess his fitness to appear in court and report back later today.

"The investigative judge tried to interrogate Ratko Mladic but he failed because he (Mladic) is in a difficult psychological and physical condition. It is difficult to establish any kind of communication with him," lawyer Milos Saljic told reporters.

"The judge stopped the interrogation, during the day tomorrow doctors will report if he is capable of being heard in court," he added.

Mladic, who was arrested overnight after 16 years on the run, was dressed in a blue jacket and a baseball cap and walked into the courtroom with difficulty, flanked by two prison guards.

Before Mladic entered the room, he was overheard asking his lawyer, "Is the judge here?" He said "good day" as he walked in.

The judge must verify Mladic's identity and present him with the indictment against him issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The next step would be deciding whether to remand him in custody while the court decided if he can be extradited to The Hague, where the ICTY is based.

That decision can be appealed and the whole process was expected to take up to seven working days, according to Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric.

At the G8 summit in Deauville, France, US President Barack Obama issued a statement saying,"Fifteen years ago, Ratko Mladic ordered the systematic execution of some 8,000 unarmed men and boys in Srebrencia. Today, he is behind bars.

"I applaud President (Boris) Tadic and the Government of Serbia on their determined efforts to ensure that Mladic was found and that he faces justice. We look forward to his expeditious transfer to The Hague."

Obama said the arrest was an "important day for the families of Mladic's many victims, for Serbia, for Bosnia, for the United States, and for international justice."

He has been on the run since 1995 when he was indicted for genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

"On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, I can announce the arrest of Ratko Mladic. The extradition process is underway," Boris Tadic told reporters last night (Australia time).

He confirmed that Mladic was arrested on Serbian soil but refused to give a more precise location or say where inside the country the fugitive was detained.

However, the B92 radio station reported that Mladic was detained in the village of Lazarevo, in the northern Serbian municipality of Zrenjanin.

It is anticipated that Mladic will be moved to The Hague, where the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is based.

"Today, we close a chapter of our recent history that will bring us one step closer to reconciliation," Mr Tadic said.

"All crimes have to be fully investigated, and all war criminals must face justice. I call for independent investigation with a mandate from the UN Security Council on these serious allegations."

Rewards of up to $19 million were in place for information leading to Mladic's arrest.

The chief UN war crimes prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, had said repeatedly that Serbia wasn't doing enough to capture Mladic, who was widely thought to be hiding inside the country.

In a report by Mr Brammertz sent to the UN Security Council, the chief war crimes prosecutor said the capture of Mladic and another accused Bosnian War fugitive, Goran Hadzic, was Serbia's "most critical outstanding obligation".

"To date, Serbia's efforts to apprehend the fugitives have not been sufficient ... Without a notable improvement in the level of cooperation, the fugitives will not be arrested," Mr Brammertz said in his report.

Mr Tadic said that Mr Brammertz's comments were disproved by the Serbian authorities' action to arrest the fugitive.

The US said it was "delighted" with the arrest of Mladic, adding that it looked forward to him facing trial in The Hague.

"The United States is delighted to hear the announcement of the Serbian Government that they have captured Ratko Mladic," Ben Rhodes, a deputy US national security adviser said.

"We look forward to an expeditious transfer to the tribunal in The Hague."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We should remember why the international community has been pursuing this man. He is accused of the most appalling crimes, in terms of what happened in Srebrenica and what happened in Sarajevo."

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he "strongly welcomed" the news of Mladic's arrest.

"As Bosnian Serb military commander, General Mladic played a key role in some of the darkest episodes of Balkan and European history, including the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of thousands of Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995," he said.

"Almost sixteen years since his indictment for genocide and other war crimes, his arrest finally offers a chance for justice to be done.

"NATO has been a guarantor of security in the Balkans for the best part of two decades, and today we have seen an important step towards a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. We remain committed to assisting the whole region on the way to Euro-Atlantic integration."

Col. Bob Stewart, a former UN commander in Bosnia, told Sky News he was delighted with the news of Mladic's arrest.

"It is very important that this man is in The Hague fast, that the trial is held quickly and that there is a quick outcome. We must display that justice can be done," he said.

"Everyone knows that this man has been in Serbia or on Bosnian Serb territory for a long time. This has been going on far too long."

Relatives of those killed in the Srebrenica massacre, which occurred over several days in 1995 and saw thousands of Muslim men and boys slaughtered and buried in mass graves, said they felt relief over Mladic's arrest.

"After 16 years of waiting, for us, the victims' families, this is a relief," Hajra Catic, head of the Srebrenica Women association, said.

"For us, this is really very important." Her son and husband were killed in the massacre.

Serbia came under increasing international pressure while Mladic remained at large, with his capture slated to be a key step in the country's moves to join the European Union.

Mladic is likely to quickly join former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, his close ally during the war, who is currently on trial at the ICTY.

Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 in Belgrade, where he had been living under the assumed name Dragan Dabic and working as an alternative therapist. He stands accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Croats.

Mr Tadic has also vowed to arrest Hadzic, the former Croatian Serb leader.

Hadzic is wanted for the alleged forced removal and murder of thousands of Croatian civilians between 1991 and 1993.

He is notably targeted over the 1991 Vukovar massacre of 250 civilians, mostly Croats, from the Vukovar hospital.

There are rewards of up to $14 million offered for his arrest

[zubi]

Great news! Was in Mostar, Bosnia a few months back, my yugoslavian mate will be very happy

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Great news! Was in Mostar, Bosnia a few months back, my yugoslavian mate will be very happy

Did Srebinica, Mostar and Sarajevo as well i can imaging they will be a few quiet celebrations in Bosnia tonight.

Did you jump off the bridge in Mostar?

[zubi]

Haha nah I didn't get the chance

Mostar was absolutly stunning though, I was dissapointed with Sarajevo, although it was covered in snow when we went.

In Mostar we stayed in the muslim side of town (My friend said its segregated to some extent) so I know how the locals feel, as well as walking past their homes which still have bullet holes in them. Can't even imagine what the war would have been like in such a gorgeous town.

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Yeah all the buildings still with all the bullet holes make it surreal, i took a photo of two houses side by side one newly rendered and the other one with hundreds of bullet holes. Sarejvo was not bad went to a nice Muslim reasturant there with some boys and almost cried when i couldn't get a beer. Sniper Alley was a bit full on tho and the mass cementrys every where.

[OzFox]

Yeah all the buildings still with all the bullet holes make it surreal, i took a photo of two houses side by side one newly rendered and the other one with hundreds of bullet holes. Sarejvo was not bad went to a nice Muslim reasturant there with some boys and almost cried when i couldn't get a beer. Sniper Alley was a bit full on tho and the mass cementrys every where.

Sarajevo...not your most obvious holiday destination. What made you go there?

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Sarajevo...not your most obvious holiday destination. What made you go there?

That very reason, was part of a tour and a real eye opener. Where the high School i went to had a bit of a bosnian community as well and all though a bit rough around the edges they were decent blokes so thought i might aswell. I lived a prettty privlidged life as have most Australians so wanted to get a bit of a culture.

If any one doesn't know or understand about the Genocide at Srebrenica i would recommend it but in short it was classified as a UN safe zone and had Dutch UN forces guarding the city but not enough. But Mladic sent men down the valley and attacked forcing all the men of Srebrenica up the valley never to be seen again boys as young as 11 got murdered. Over 8000 people killed in 2 days the place is now a ghost town.

[OzFox]

That very reason, was part of a tour and a real eye opener. Where the high School i went to had a bit of a bosnian community as well and all though a bit rough around the edges they were decent blokes so thought i might aswell. I lived a prettty privlidged life as have most Australians so wanted to get a bit of a culture.

If any one doesn't know or understand about the Genocide at Srebrenica i would recommend it but in short it was classified as a UN safe zone and had Dutch UN forces guarding the city but not enough. But Mladic sent men down the valley and attacked forcing all the men of Srebrenica up the valley never to be seen again boys as young as 11 got murdered. Over 8000 people killed in 2 days the place is now a ghost town.

Top stuff

People asked me the same question when I took in the shot-up Branch Davidian compound at Waco on a holiday. Can't beat doing something slightly out of the ordinary!

[zubi]

Yeah all the buildings still with all the bullet holes make it surreal, i took a photo of two houses side by side one newly rendered and the other one with hundreds of bullet holes. Sarejvo was not bad went to a nice Muslim reasturant there with some boys and almost cried when i couldn't get a beer. Sniper Alley was a bit full on tho and the mass cementrys every where.

Haha i'm surprised, every muslim restaurant I went too, the elder muslim locals were downing pints! I found that really strange.

Did you go to any of the villages outside of mostar for some lamb on spitroast? Bloody amazing, ate 1 kilo of lamb to myself

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Haha i'm surprised, every muslim restaurant I went too, the elder muslim locals were downing pints! I found that really strange.

Did you go to any of the villages outside of mostar for some lamb on spitroast? Bloody amazing, ate 1 kilo of lamb to myself

Went to a restaurant in town sat on the main street near the tourist stalls and the owner spoke no english so we just left it up to him and he brought out a stein of Sarajevska and this lovely meal

Cevapi with grilled onions and spuds with the nice fresh bread

[Father Ted]

Went to a restaurant in town sat on the main street near the tourist stalls and the owner spoke no english so we just left it up to him and he brought out a stein of Sarajevska and this lovely meal

Cevapi with grilled onions and spuds with the nice fresh bread

Cevape They are a Serb cuisine mate

On another note, did you visit anywhere with majority Serbs or any part of Republika Srpska?

The Serbian government have known where he's been for ages, just Boris Tadic the prime minister has sold him out in return for a place in the EU. Pretty similar to how the Serbs from Serbia sold us Serbs from Croatia out during the war by sending our people dud bullets and guns.

I wouldn't believe everything see or read, there are two parts to the story. Unfortunately, the British media, particularly BBC are biased and only tell one side of the story because they sided with NATO against the Serbs, just like in Libya where they've sided with the rebels which will also ultimately be the wrong decision.

You hear all this about Srebrenica, well the reason it occurred was because of the thousands of Serbs in the surrounding villages that were murdered in their sleep on Christmas Eve/Morning in the middle of the night. And what about the hundreds of thousands of Serbs who were ethnically cleansed from Croatia? You don't hear that on the news.

As you went to Bosnia, I'm sure you've heard of Republika Srpska - the Serb region which is 51% of Bosnia&Herzegovina. They want independence, will they ever get it? No. The Albanians in Kosovo, a tiny tiny part of Serbia want independence, do they get it? Yes (but I don't ****ing recognise it).

If you ever go over again, head towards Knin in Croatia near to where I come from and you will see all of the Serbs houses that were destroyed, burnt down and with bullet holes. It was the same for both sides but its never made to look that way.

[Father Ted]

Oh and btw, forget Bin Laden, this man was King of Hide and Seek! He even caught Bin Laden when he was in Bosnia but was forced to release him!

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Went to Serbia walking around Belgrade in my Socceroos top after the World Cup was a highlight

Of course it happened on both sides but it was the fact that Serbia wanted to take over the whole region and invaded these countries all because they wanted to ethnically cleanse Bosnia was shocking. Also went to Montnegro and there story is very similar to Bosnias just not as extreme hence why they fought for independence.

Certantly a bad part of history and i'm glad it's over for the most part.

Oh and also we don't get the bbc over here

[Guest Bilo]

Went to a restaurant in town sat on the main street near the tourist stalls and the owner spoke no english so we just left it up to him and he brought out a stein of Sarajevska and this lovely meal

Cevapi with grilled onions and spuds with the nice fresh bread

Had that in Croatia, absolutely bloomin' lush.

[Father Ted]

Went to Serbia walking around Belgrade in my Socceroos top after the World Cup was a highlight

Of course it happened on both sides but it was the fact that Serbia wanted to take over the whole region and invaded these countries all because they wanted to ethnically cleanse Bosnia was shocking. Also went to Montnegro and there story is very similar to Bosnias just not as extreme hence why they fought for independence.

Certantly a bad part of history and i'm glad it's over for the most part.

Oh and also we don't get the bbc over here

Haha you joker! If only we had a decent goalkeeper eh!

Just to clear this up:

'Serbia wanted to take over the whole region and invaded these countries'

Incorrect. Serbia were happy with what is currently Serbia. Just that the Serbs of Croatia which were all gathered together in a large area (Krajina) and the Serbs of Bosnia (Republika Srpska) wanted their own independence as well.

As for Montenegro, they were with us all along and we allowed them to have independence and we didn't mind at all. We are still good neighbours!

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Haha you joker! If only we had a decent goalkeeper eh!

Just to clear this up:

'Serbia wanted to take over the whole region and invaded these countries'

Incorrect. Serbia were happy with what is currently Serbia. Just that the Serbs of Croatia which were all gathered together in a large area (Krajina) and the Serbs of Bosnia (Republika Srpska) wanted their own independence as well.

As for Montenegro, they were with us all along and we allowed them to have independence and we didn't mind at all. We are still good neighbours!

Will be interested to see how friendly the relationship becomes with the uncertainty that remains with Kosovo

[Finnegan]

Plenty of Bosniaks and Croats have been charged by the Hague, nobody's saying it's all one sided.

That doesn't make Mladic any less an animal or this any less a triumph for humanity.

[Father Ted]

Plenty of Bosniaks and Croats have been charged by the Hague, nobody's saying it's all one sided.

That doesn't make Mladic any less an animal or this any less a triumph for humanity.

So what about Ante Gotovina only getting 24 years? The hague is full of crap.

As for your last sentence. What about the thousands of innocent people that have been killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc? Who's responsible for that then? Should the people responsible for ordering those atrocities be sent to the hague?

[Finnegan]

Yes. Next question.

[Father Ted]

Yes. Next question.

No answers? I thought not.

[Finnegan]

... What? I know you tend to struggle with your reading but I would have thought even you could figure out 'yes' is a fairly simple answer to the obvious one of those questions.

[Father Ted]

... What? I know you tend to struggle with your reading but I would have thought even you could figure out 'yes' is a fairly simple answer to the obvious one of those questions.

I asked 4 questions... You can only answer one with a 'Yes'. Therefore, if I do my maths, something that you must struggle with, you get 3 unanswered questions. Therefore, you had no answers to 3 of my questions and so my comment still stands.

[Finnegan]

I asked 4 questions... You can only answer one with a 'Yes'. Therefore, if I do my maths, something that you must struggle with, you get 3 unanswered questions. Therefore, you had no answers to 3 of my questions and so my comment still stands.

Ughhhh, you're so frustratingly dense.

In regards Gotovina, do you really want to go down the list of some hundred and fifty odd names and debate the outcomes of every indictment in the interest of fairness? Are you honestly implying that every Serb has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice and that every Bosniak and Croat has been let off light? Twenty four years is a long time, far shorter sentences have been handed out by the Hague over Yugoslavia and there are relatively very few life sentences.

And yes the perpetrators of mass civilian death should always be brought before a war crimes tribunal. The keyword being "should." It's fairly obvious that lead powers in NATO carry far more political weight than a bunch of militia roughnecks in the former Yugoslavia. If you think NATO generals are going to stand for trial any time soon then you're especially naive. Is that fair? No but the world isn't.

That said, I have to say there's a slight difference between an invasive force failing to recognize the difference between civilian and military targets and straight-up ethnic cleansing. I appreciate there's little in your recent history to actually be proud of but being in denial isn't exactly productive either.

Oh, and if you were being less cynical than I anticipated and didn't mean Western powers, then Saddam WAS tried and Gaddafi no doubt would be on capture.

[SOCCERROO FOX]

What ever punishment they give Mladic is too lenient

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Wankers!