IRISH REACTION:THE ARREST of war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has been welcomed by the Government and campaign groups in Ireland.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore said he looked forward to the former Bosnian Serb commander’s swift transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
“The arrest of Mladic represents another important step in addressing the appalling atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s,” Mr Gilmore said. “True reconciliation . . . can only be helped by this arrest.”
He noted that Ireland and its EU partners had consistently urged the Serbian government to take all necessary measures to apprehend those indicted by the The Hague war crimes tribunal. “Co-operation with the ICTY by the governments in the region is an essential part of the process of securing . . . peace and stability in the Western Balkans,” he added.
Campaign group Ireland Action for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had heavily lobbied the Government to exert pressure on Belgrade to apprehend Gen Mladic, also welcomed the news.
“In addition to seeking redress for the victims of the many crimes for which he stands accused, this momentous event will now we hope prepare the ground for the beginnings of genuine reconciliation within the region,” it said.
Amnesty International’s Ireland branch said the arrest was the first step towards justice for those whose relatives had perished in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.
“It took more than 15 years but at last the families of the victims of Srebrenica can have hope that justice will be done,” said executive director Colm O’Gorman. “We hope that the Serbian authorities will continue to track down suspected war criminals. In particular . . . Goran Hadzic, believed to be at large in either Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to bring him to justice.”
The arrest was also welcomed by Colm Doyle, a retired Irish Army colonel who served as head of the EU’s monitoring mission in Bosnia during the war. He was also a special envoy of Lord Carrington, who chaired the International Peace Conference for the former Yugoslavia.
Col Doyle has testified at the war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at The Hague. “Karadzic provided the political impetus for what happened, but Mladic was the man who put it into practice,” he said. “He was an extremely arrogant military commander and I expect he will not go down in court without fighting, just as Karadzic has done.”
Col Doyle said Gen Mladic’s trial would allow survivorsto tell their story, to remind the world of what happened.