SERBIA: President Boris Tadic says he believes Serbia will soon arrest its second war crimes fugitive Goran Hadzic and launch a war on organised crime in the region

Record ID: 573812

  • Title: SERBIA: President Boris Tadic says he believes Serbia will soon arrest its second war crimes fugitive Goran Hadzic and launch a war on organised crime in the region
  • Date: 28th May 2011
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (MAY 27, 2011) (REUTERS) SERBIAN PRESIDENT BORIS TADIC SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) SERBIAN PRESIDENT, BORIS TADIC, SAYING: "Serbia and its state security forces were doing absolutely everything in their power. One can never be one hundred percent sure such a complex job will be completed, but there was a big chance of success and in the end this is exactly what happened. I was quite sure we would arrest Ratko Mladic and today, after Mladic's arrest, I am sure we will soon conclude the other big case, the case of Goran Hadzic. I am sending a message to the people involved in organised crime that we now have much better potential to fight such crime, which is present globally and also here in the west Balkans region, in all western Balkans countries. Our capacities are much bigger now and I am absolutely certain that we will launch a fight and deal a deadly blow to the organised crime until the end of this government's mandate." TADIC LISTENING TO REPORTER'S QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) SERBIAN PRESIDENT, BORIS TADIC, SAYING: "My impression today is that we have accomplished a big mission. We, all the societies in the Balkans, chronically suffer from the syndrome of not finishing what we start well we have finished this process. Now we have big and complex reforms ahead of us. This problem (Mladic) was one of the biggest challenges and I think we have now closed one chapter in our history." SERBIAN FLAG TADIC LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) SERBIAN PRESIDENT BORIS TADIC SAYING: "We have now laid a good grounding for the rule of law in the region too. The arrest of Ratko Mladic is not only about arresting someone who is accused of war crimes it is also a condition to establish the rule of law in Serbia. We have also raised the bar now for the other countries in the region, now everybody will have to show that they are able to seriously process war crimes and that they can process war crimes without any bias and bring to justice those who were participating in the killing of people belonging to other ethnic groups." REPORTER TALKING TO TADIC
  • Embargoed: 12th June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Serbia, Serbia
  • Country: Serbia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5CZVIGXN944WMK7J27J3HBGCZ
  • Story Text: Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Friday (May 27) that, just as he was sure Ratko Mladic would one day be arrested, he is confident of the capture of war crimes fugitive Goran Hadzic.
    "I was quite sure we would arrest Ratko Mladic and today, after Mladic's arrest, I am sure we will soon conclude the other big case, the case of Goran Hadzic," he said.
    He also said Serbian security forces did "everything in their power" to find the 'Bosnian butcher.' Speaking to a Reuters reporter, Tadic declared his ambition to end organised crime in the region.
    "I am sending a message to the people involved in organised crime that we now have much better potential to fight such crime, which is present globally and also here in the west Balkans region, in all western Balkans countries. Our capacities are much bigger now and I am absolutely certain that we will launch a fight and deal a deadly blow to the organised crime until the end of this government's mandate," he said.
    The arrest of war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic looks set to provide Serbian President Boris Tadic with a much-needed political boost as it promises progress towards EU membership and the economic aid that brings.
    Serbian officials have repeatedly said Belgrade expected to gain EU candidate status in October and a date to begin membership talks by the end of the year. Those expectations were seen as key to boosting Tadic's Democratic Party's (DS) fortunes in an early 2012 vote.
    Mladic's arrest seems perfectly timed to realise that goal.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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