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| Ratko Mladic 'resigned to extradition' on war crimes | Ratko Mladic 'resigned to extradition' on war crimes |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic knows he will be transferred to a UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, his lawyer says. | Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic knows he will be transferred to a UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, his lawyer says. |
| Milos Saljic said his client was "in some confusion" and wanted to recover. He is to appeal against the transfer. | Milos Saljic said his client was "in some confusion" and wanted to recover. He is to appeal against the transfer. |
| Gen Mladic urged calm as ultra-nationalists prepare to protest against his arrest, Mr Saljic said. | Gen Mladic urged calm as ultra-nationalists prepare to protest against his arrest, Mr Saljic said. |
| He was indicted in 1995 for the killing of about 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and other crimes. | He was indicted in 1995 for the killing of about 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and other crimes. |
| Mr Saljic said Gen Mladic had appealed to his supporters not to cause trouble. | Mr Saljic said Gen Mladic had appealed to his supporters not to cause trouble. |
| "He knows he will go to The Hague," said Mr Saljic. | "He knows he will go to The Hague," said Mr Saljic. |
| "He does not know when but he would like to recover a little bit first."Gen Mladic was declared fit to be extradited from Serbia to face trial, although his family and legal team say he is in poor health. | |
| Mr Saljic said his client "is still in some confusion but is satisfied with the treatment in detention". | Mr Saljic said his client "is still in some confusion but is satisfied with the treatment in detention". |
| He has expressed a desire to visit the grave of his daughter who committed suicide some years ago, he added. | He has expressed a desire to visit the grave of his daughter who committed suicide some years ago, he added. |
| Serbian police chief Ivica Dacic said security had been tightened across the country ahead of a rally by the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party scheduled for Sunday in Belgrade. | Serbian police chief Ivica Dacic said security had been tightened across the country ahead of a rally by the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party scheduled for Sunday in Belgrade. |
| The Serbian newspapers this weekend have pages of coverage devoted to Mladic's arrest. | |
| There are pictures of the village, ground plans of the house where he hid, interviews with neighbours and some improbable sounding anecdotal detail. Slightly reminiscent, in fact, of the media reports when Osama Bin Laden was found, in a similarly quiet and incongruous location in Pakistan. | |
| Though there's no sense of a definitive account yet, the papers seem to agree Gen Mladic had been hiding out for at least a couple of years, short of money and in poor health, in a relative's house in the obscure village in northern Serbia where he was captured. | |
| According to one account, he told the police who found him: "Well done, boys, you've found the man you're looking for", before asking a relative to bring them brandy and snacks. | |
| But the papers also ask questions about the years before he is thought to have retreated to his village hideaway, about suspected powerful backers in the military and a mysterious shooting in which two military guards were killed in Belgrade in 2004. The daily Blic demands to know in its editorial who protected him and paid his way during those years. | |
| Extreme right-wing groups have called for their supporters - many of them said to be known football hooligans - to join the rally outside parliament. | Extreme right-wing groups have called for their supporters - many of them said to be known football hooligans - to join the rally outside parliament. |
| "Additional attention has been focused on the extremist groups. We are taking measures to prevent the escalation of extremist behaviour," Mr Dacic said. | "Additional attention has been focused on the extremist groups. We are taking measures to prevent the escalation of extremist behaviour," Mr Dacic said. |
War in the former Yugoslavia 1991 - 1999The former Yugoslavia was a Socialist state created after German occupation in World War II and a bitter civil war. A federation of six republics, it brought together Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians, Slovenes and others under a comparatively relaxed communist regime. Tensions between these groups were successfully suppressed under the leadership of President Tito. After Tito's death in 1980, tensions re-emerged. Calls for more autonomy within Yugoslavia by nationalist groups led in 1991 to declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav army lashed out, first in Slovenia and then in Croatia. Thousands were killed in the latter conflict which was paused in 1992 under a UN-monitored ceasefire. Bosnia, with a complex mix of Serbs, Muslims and Croats, was next to try for independence. The Serbs, the largest community in Bosnia, resisted. Led by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, they threatened bloodshed if the country's Muslims and Croats - who outnumbered Serbs - broke away. Despite European blessing for the move in a 1992 referendum, war came fast. Yugoslav army units, withdrawn from Croatia and renamed the Bosnian Serb Army, carved out a huge swathe of Serb-dominated territory. Over a million Bosnian Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in ethnic cleansing. Serbs suffered too. The capital Sarajevo was besieged and shelled. UN peacekeepers, brought in to quell the fighting, were seen as ineffective. International peace efforts failed to end the war, the UN was humiliated and over 100,000 died. The war ended in 1995 after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs and Muslim and Croat armies made gains on the ground. A US-brokered peace divided Bosnia into two self-governing entities, a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation lightly bound by a central government. In 1995 the Croatian army stormed areas in Croatia under Serb control prompting thousands to flee. Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia were all now independent. Macedonia had already gone. Montenegro left later. In 1999 Kosovo's ethnic Albanians fought Serbs in another brutal war to gain independence. Serbia ended the conflict beaten, battered and alone. BACK {current} of {total} NEXT | |
| "Security has been increased, but the situation in Serbia is stable," he added. | "Security has been increased, but the situation in Serbia is stable," he added. |
| Mr Saljic said Gen Mladic had issued "a public appeal" to his supporters not to resort to violence. | Mr Saljic said Gen Mladic had issued "a public appeal" to his supporters not to resort to violence. |
| "He is calling for there to be no bloodshed," said the lawyer after meeting Gen Mladic in his cell in Belgrade. | "He is calling for there to be no bloodshed," said the lawyer after meeting Gen Mladic in his cell in Belgrade. |
| "He does not want to be the cause of unrest." | "He does not want to be the cause of unrest." |
| Gen Mladic was seized in the village of Lazarevo, about 80km (50 miles) north of Belgrade, in the early hours of Thursday, reportedly as he walked in his garden shortly before dawn. | Gen Mladic was seized in the village of Lazarevo, about 80km (50 miles) north of Belgrade, in the early hours of Thursday, reportedly as he walked in his garden shortly before dawn. |
| Although he had two guns with him, he put up no resistance, officials said. | Although he had two guns with him, he put up no resistance, officials said. |
War in the former Yugoslavia 1991 - 1999The former Yugoslavia was a Socialist state created after German occupation in World War II and a bitter civil war. A federation of six republics, it brought together Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians, Slovenes and others under a comparatively relaxed communist regime. Tensions between these groups were successfully suppressed under the leadership of President Tito. After Tito's death in 1980, tensions re-emerged. Calls for more autonomy within Yugoslavia by nationalist groups led in 1991 to declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav army lashed out, first in Slovenia and then in Croatia. Thousands were killed in the latter conflict which was paused in 1992 under a UN-monitored ceasefire. Bosnia, with a complex mix of Serbs, Muslims and Croats, was next to try for independence. The Serbs, the largest community in Bosnia, resisted. Led by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, they threatened bloodshed if the country's Muslims and Croats - who outnumbered Serbs - broke away. Despite European blessing for the move in a 1992 referendum, war came fast. Yugoslav army units, withdrawn from Croatia and renamed the Bosnian Serb Army, carved out a huge swathe of Serb-dominated territory. Over a million Bosnian Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in ethnic cleansing. Serbs suffered too. The capital Sarajevo was besieged and shelled. UN peacekeepers, brought in to quell the fighting, were seen as ineffective. International peace efforts failed to end the war, the UN was humiliated and over 100,000 died. The war ended in 1995 after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs and Muslim and Croat armies made gains on the ground. A US-brokered peace divided Bosnia into two self-governing entities, a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation lightly bound by a central government. In 1995 the Croatian army stormed areas in Croatia under Serb control prompting thousands to flee. Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia were all now independent. Macedonia had already gone. Montenegro left later. In 1999 Kosovo's ethnic Albanians fought Serbs in another brutal war to gain independence. Serbia ended the conflict beaten, battered and alone. BACK {current} of {total} NEXT | |
| When told to confirm his identity he simply replied "I am Ratko Mladic" and congratulated the authorities for finding their target. | When told to confirm his identity he simply replied "I am Ratko Mladic" and congratulated the authorities for finding their target. |
| Serbian President Boris Tadic said anyone thought to have helped Gen Mladic avoid arrest for 16 years would face prosecution. | Serbian President Boris Tadic said anyone thought to have helped Gen Mladic avoid arrest for 16 years would face prosecution. |