BOSNIA: NATO TROOPS ARREST FORMER BOSNIAN SERB MAJOR MOMIR NIKOLIC INDICTED BY THE U.N. WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

Record ID: 647256

  • Title: BOSNIA: NATO TROOPS ARREST FORMER BOSNIAN SERB MAJOR MOMIR NIKOLIC INDICTED BY THE U.N. WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
  • Date: 1st April 2002
  • Summary: BRATUNAC, BOSNIA (APRIL 1, 2002) (REUTERS (A) - ACCESS ALL) 1. PAN: TRAFFIC IN STREET IN BRATUNAC 0.10 2. SLV/SCU: AREA OF THE ARREST; FLAG (2 SHOTS) 0.20 3. VARIOUS OF THE STREET SCENES (2 SHOTS) 0.33 4. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING: "It is always the same. They arrest only Serbs. That is not fair." 0.50 5. WIDE OF STREET/ CU SIGNS FOR BELGRADE AND SARAJEVO (2 SHOTS) 1.04 6. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING: "If this continues I think we would have to raise our guns again and fight with them." 1.20 7. LV: PEOPLE ON THE STREET IN BRATUNAC 1.27 SARAJEVO, BOSNIA (APRIL 1, 2002) (REUTERS(A) - ACCESS ALL) 8. LV: SFOR HEADQUARTERS IN SARAJEVO; MAIN GATE 1.31 9. WIDE OF SFOR SPOKESPERSON ABOUT TO GIVE INTERVIEW 1.34 10. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR SCOTT LUNDY, SFOR SPOKESMAN SAYING: "Mr. Nikolic is under indictment for war crimes committed in and around the Srebrenica enclave from July to November 1995. As an officer in the Bratunac Brigade during this time, Nikolic contributed to the opportunistic killing and systematic execution of Bosnian Muslim men while attempting to ethnically cleanse the Srebrenica enclave area. Nikolic is accused of genocide, forcible transfer and inhumane acts as crimes against humanity; and murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war. Mr. Nikolic is now being processed for immediate movement to The Hague. There were no SFOR casualties sustained during the operation. The action was undertaken in accordance with SFOR's duties." 2.09 11. LV: SFOR HQ 2.14 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 16th April 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BRATUNAC AND SARAJEVO, BOSNIA
  • Country: Bosnia
  • Reuters ID: LVA9H94H9ABDJQQMUDMZODJAL3S5
  • Story Text: NATO troops in Bosnia have arrested a former Bosnian
    Serb major indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal, Bosnian
    Serb police said.


    The suspect, Momir Nikolic, was arrested in his house
    near the eastern Bosnian town of Bratunac at noon local time
    (1000 GMT), the local police chief in nearby Zvornik, Mane
    Curic, said on Monday ( April 1).

    NATO did not confirm the arrest, but the spokesman for
    the Bosnian Serb Interior Ministry, Zoran Glusac, said he
    believed the 18 foreigners belonged to the NATO-led
    peacekeeping force stationed in the country.

    Curic said they rang the door bell, and when Nikolic came
    out, the officers drove off with him in a convoy made up of
    two vans and a passenger car.

    There were no reports of any injuries.

    Nikolic, a major in the Bosnian Serb army during the
    1992-95 war, was allegedly involved in the massacre of Bosnian
    Muslims in the east Bosnian village of Glogova in 1992, some
    10 kilometers west of Bratunac on the border with Serbia.

    He is also accused of taking part in the 1995 massacre of
    Muslims from nearby Srebrenica, where up to 8,000 boys and men
    were systematically executed within a few days.

    Bosnian Serb authorities have for years refused to
    cooperate with the U.N. war-crimes tribunal, protecting
    suspects indicted by the court in The Hague, Netherlands.

    Under international pressure, authorities last year passed
    a law on cooperation with the tribunal, but have not made any
    arrests so far. However, Bosnian Serb authorities recently
    announced that suspects had 30 days to surrender.

    Suspects were told that they could await trial at home if
    they turned themselves in. The offer expired on Sunday, but no
    suspects came forward.

    Major Scott Lundy, SFOR Spokesman said: "Mr. Nikolic is
    under indictment for war crimes committed in and around the
    Srebrenica enclave from July to November 1995. As an officer
    in the Bratunac Brigade during this time, Nikolic contributed
    to the opportunistic killing and systematic execution of
    Bosnian Muslim men while attempting to ethnically cleanse the
    Srebrenica enclave area. Nikolic is accused of genocide,
    forcible transfer and inhumane acts as crimes against
    humanity; and murder as a violation of the laws or customs of
    war."
    "Mr. Nikolic is now being processed for immediate movement
    to The Hague. There were no SFOR casualties sustained during
    the operation. The action was undertaken in accordance with
    SFOR's duties," he added.



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