THE HAGUE: World leaders yesterday united in hailing Serbia for the arrest of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, with only Russia sounding a contrary note over whether he would receive a fair trial. In Brussels, the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana sounded hopeful that the arrest would unblock Serbia's EU accession talks, which had been made conditional on Belgrade's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He urged Belgrade to quickly arrest the one big war crime suspect still on the run - Ratko Mladic.
Karadzic, wanted for genocide and crimes during the Bosnian war, was arrested near Belgrade after 11 years on the run, in disguise and working as a doctor, officials said.
Serbian officials said he was arrested on Monday evening while moving from one Belgrade suburb to another. They showed a photograph of an unrecognisable Karadzic, thin, with a long, white beard, flowing hair and thick glasses.
While on the run in Serbia, he worked at a private clinic and wrote for a Belgrade magazine. Karadzic also used a false name, Dragan Dabic.
Russia's envoy to Nato called for Western leaders to join Karadzic in the dock.
"If the Karadzic case merits being considered in The Hague, then next to him in the dock should be those who took the decision to bomb entirely innocent people, hundreds of whom died during the 'democratisation' of the Balkans by the West," Dmitry Rogozin said in Brussels. Russia also urged the closure of a "biased" UN war crimes tribunal. It stressed that any trial should be "impartial," accusing the tribunal of "an often biased approach."
The US congratulated Serbia, calling the arrest a "tribute" to the victims of atrocities there.
"The timing of the arrest, only days after the commemoration of the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnians in Srebrenica, is particularly appropriate, as there is no better tribute to the victims of the war's atrocities than bringing their perpetrators to justice," a White House statement said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, hailed the arrest a "historic moment for the victims."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also hailed it as a "historic moment."
"The victims must know: massive human rights violations will not go unpunished," she said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in Brussels: "At last! We've been waiting 13 years for this. A page has been turned."
Amnesty International called the capture "a major victory". The London-based human rights group said it was essential that the ICTY, which was set up by the UN Security Council in 1993, had sufficient time and resources to establish the truth and deliver justice in his and other cases.
Meanwhile, Karadzic's lawyer said he would appeal a judge's decision to transfer the former Bosnian Serb leader to the UN court in The Hague.
Vujacic estimated Karadzic might be transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal "not before the end of next week."
Karadzic's daughter said family members want their travel restrictions lifted so they can visit the war crimes suspect in a Belgrade jail.
Sonja Karadzic said family members have asked to spend at least a few hours with him.
Meanwhile, riot police dispersed a group of at least 100 hardline nationalists gathered in central Belgrade to protest against Karadzic's arrest.
Mostly members of the ultra-nationalist right-wing organisation Obraz, the protesters shouted "betrayal" and chanted the names of Karadzic and Mladic. They also threw fire-crackers at the policemen.
For the families of those massacred, relief at the arrest of Karadzic is profound but not deep enough to drown the memories of the past.
The streets of the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica were deserted and, among the few passers-by, Serbs refused to comment on the long-awaited capture, while Muslim delight was tempered by sadness.
