Meron: ICTY Will Work Until Chief Indictees Are Tried

17/03/2005

ICTY President Theodor Meron, visiting Belgrade on Tuesday, said that the tribunal would cease to operate only when the trials of Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina are concluded.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 17/03/05

ICTY President Theodor Meron called on Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to extradite the remaining fugitives, including Ratko Mladic. [AFP]

The president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Theodor Meron, said during a visit to Belgrade on Tuesday (15 March) that the surrender of a considerable number of indictees has created a favorable climate for co-operation between Serbia and the tribunal. But, he added, the ICTY would cease to operate only when the trials of Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina are concluded.

In Belgrade, Meron met with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Justice Minister Zoran Stojkovic and President Boris Tadic. "The departure of a large number of indictees to The Hague tribunal was rated positively" during the talks between Meron and Kostunica, according to a Serbian government announcement.

"Co-operation with The Hague is moving in a very good direction, enabling Serbia to meet its international obligations," Kostunica said following the talks. However, the tribunal president also urged him to extradite the remaining fugitives, including Mladic.

During Meron's visit, the government announced that Drago Nikolic, the former security chief in the Zvornik Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, would surrender to The Hague on Thursday. Nikolic is charged with war crimes in Srebrenica. He is the ninth indictee from Serbia and Republika Srpska to surrender in the last six months.

Meeting Monday with Kostunica, ambassadors from the EU countries said Serbia had made considerable progress in meeting its international obligations and is within a step of obtaining a positive feasibility study from the EU. For his part, Kostunica said he hoped the study would be released by the end of March. He also told the ambassadors that the cabinet is "determined to meet its international obligations in full".

The chief of the OSCE mission to Serbia-Montenegro, Maurizio Massari, has cited "visible progress in Serbia's co-operation with the Hague tribunal". At the same time, the Council of Europe indicated that authorities must continue to boost co-operation, as well as resolve outstanding issues concerning the Serbia-Montenegro state union and sign or ratify a number of European charters and conventions.

Kostunica held talks Wednesday in Belgrade with Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Pero Bukejlovic and RS President Dragan Cavic. They agreed that recent developments had been positive and that further activities should be anticipated.

The same day, the RS police searched the house of Petar Pandurevic, brother of fugitive indictee Vinko Pandurevic, in Bijeljina. According to a police statement, the action was aimed at collecting information.