NETHERLANDS/FILE: Serbian general Vlastimir Djordjevic, accused of war crimes in Kosovo, is taken to a detention centre in the Netherlands

Record ID: 723421

  • Title: NETHERLANDS/FILE: Serbian general Vlastimir Djordjevic, accused of war crimes in Kosovo, is taken to a detention centre in the Netherlands
  • Date: 18th June 2007
  • Summary: SECURITY OFFICER ROLLS A UN FLAG WIDE OF THE TRIBUNAL
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA679S1N4UDFM44TS8713624KMS
  • Story Text: Serbian general Vlastimir Djordjevic, accused of war crimes in Kosovo, is taken to a detention centre in the Netherlands. A Serb police general indicted for crimes against humanity for ordering the killings of Kosovo Albanians in 1998-99 was arrested on Sunday (June 17) and handed over to The Hague war crimes tribunal.
    Vlastimir Djordjevic is the second Serb fugitive to be held in three weeks.
    His arrest marks a change of course by Serbia's month-old government after a year of inaction and defiance and raises the question of whether the tribunal's most wanted fugitive, Ratko Mladic, might at some point follow him into custody.
    Refik Hodzi, spokesman for the International Crime Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, confirmed Djordjevic was in its custody and a date for his first court appearance would be announced in due course.
    "Vlastimir Djordjevic, one of our indictees, who was on the run for more that three years is accused for crimes against humanity in Kosovo, against Kosovo Albanians, was arrested in Montenegro today. His arrest came as a result of the cooperation between office of the prosecutor of the Tribunal and authorities in Montenegro and Serbia. He is a very senior police officer from Serbia, and his arrest means that there are only four fugitives to go, and we hope that this arrest an introduction of the arrest for remaining four, without whom Tribunal will not be able to successfully complete its mandate,"
    Rasim Ljajic, head of Serbia's council for cooperation with The Hague said Djordjevic was arrested in the coastal resort of Budva in Montenegro.
    Montenegro had not been mentioned as a possible hiding place for Djordjevic, who was believed to have escaped to Russia years ago. Moscow is backing Belgrade's bid to prevent the independence of Kosovo.
    The arrest was apparent confirmation of Serbia's new willingness to engage with the West, which wants to see Serbia join the European Union and NATO but also strongly supports independence for Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.
    Djordjevic was indicted in October 2003 for his role in a brutal Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in 1998-99.
    "The indictment alleges that Djordjevic was a member of the Joint Command of Yugoslav and Serbian armed forces that deported some 800,000 Albanians from Kosovo, killed over 700 named Kosovo Albanians, sexually assaulted many women, and looted and destroyed civilian property," the Tribunal said in a statement.
    At least 10,000 civilians, overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians, died in the Kosovo conflict, which prompted NATO's first war and ended with the United Nations taking control of the province eight years ago.
    The arrest of Djordjevic is sure to please Hague chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who is due to report to the United Nations Security Council on Monday on Serbia's cooperation with the court, her last report before stepping down in September.
    It is also likely to feed speculation that the net is closing around Mladic, indicted for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
    Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army chief who remains a hero to Serb ultranationalists, is still at large, along with his political boss Radovan Karadzic and two more ethnic Serbs wanted for crimes during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia.
    Del Ponte says all four are in Serbia under the protection of hardliners in the army and police, and has called on the European Union to use the lure of closer ties -- and the threat of isolation -- to push Serbia into handing them over.
    A Tribunal spokesman said he hoped the detention of Djordjevic would lead to the arrest of the remaining four.
    After more than a year of no action, Belgrade gave way at the end of May and arrested fugitive Zdravko Tolimir.
    That arrest was enough to unfreeze talks on closer ties between Serbia and the EU, but Brussels has said it wants more fugitives behind bars before signing a deal.
    A spokeswoman for EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed Djordjevic's arrest and said: "This is a good sign of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and the Commission is looking forward to seeing more of that in weeks to come."
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