This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-europe-13592285
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ratko Mladic to file appeal against Hague extradition | Ratko Mladic to file appeal against Hague extradition |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic is set to file an appeal on Monday against his extradition to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. | Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic is set to file an appeal on Monday against his extradition to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. |
| His family says Gen Mladic is too sick to go, but the Serbian government is widely expected to reject the appeal. | His family says Gen Mladic is too sick to go, but the Serbian government is widely expected to reject the appeal. |
| Gen Mladic is accused of committing war crimes during the Bosnian war, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 7,500 Muslim men and boys. | Gen Mladic is accused of committing war crimes during the Bosnian war, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 7,500 Muslim men and boys. |
| Thousands of people rallied in Belgrade on Sunday against Gen Mladic's arrest. | Thousands of people rallied in Belgrade on Sunday against Gen Mladic's arrest. |
| The demonstrators hailed the general as a Serbian national hero. About 100 people were arrested during clashes with police in the Serbian capital. | The demonstrators hailed the general as a Serbian national hero. About 100 people were arrested during clashes with police in the Serbian capital. |
| Health 'worsened' | Health 'worsened' |
| The BBC's Mark Lowen in Belgrade says it could take up to three days for the ministry of justice to decide on the appeal but he adds that it is likely to be rejected earlier, with Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor already dismissing the claim of ill health as a delaying tactic. | The BBC's Mark Lowen in Belgrade says it could take up to three days for the ministry of justice to decide on the appeal but he adds that it is likely to be rejected earlier, with Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor already dismissing the claim of ill health as a delaying tactic. |
| Our correspondent says the government will hope Gen Mladic's departure will quell any further demonstrations by his supporters. | Our correspondent says the government will hope Gen Mladic's departure will quell any further demonstrations by his supporters. |
| The Hague tribunal says it will not specify on which day Gen Mladic will arrive, but our correspondent says there is speculation he could be sent on a night-time flight, without prior warning. | The Hague tribunal says it will not specify on which day Gen Mladic will arrive, but our correspondent says there is speculation he could be sent on a night-time flight, without prior warning. |
| Gen Mladic's lawyer, Milos Saljic, said on Sunday that his client's health had deteriorated, despite an earlier decision by a Belgrade court that he was fit to be handed over to the UN court. | Gen Mladic's lawyer, Milos Saljic, said on Sunday that his client's health had deteriorated, despite an earlier decision by a Belgrade court that he was fit to be handed over to the UN court. |
| "I can tell you that his health condition today is much worse than yesterday. It is worse psychologically," Mr Saljic told the Associated Press. | "I can tell you that his health condition today is much worse than yesterday. It is worse psychologically," Mr Saljic told the Associated Press. |
| Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said that "my impression is that he is acting in a very composed manner". | Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said that "my impression is that he is acting in a very composed manner". |
| "As far as his mental state is concerned, believe me, he looks more normal than many others," Mr Vekaric said. | "As far as his mental state is concerned, believe me, he looks more normal than many others," Mr Vekaric said. |
| He also dismissed as ungrounded media reports that Gen Mladic had hearing difficulties and that his right arm was paralysed. | He also dismissed as ungrounded media reports that Gen Mladic had hearing difficulties and that his right arm was paralysed. |
| 'Treason' | 'Treason' |
| At least 7,000 supporters of Gen Mladic rallied in central Belgrade on Sunday to hear speeches from nationalist politicians and decry Mr Mladic's arrest. | At least 7,000 supporters of Gen Mladic rallied in central Belgrade on Sunday to hear speeches from nationalist politicians and decry Mr Mladic's arrest. |
| "Co-operation with The Hague tribunal represents treason," said Lidija Vukicevic of the Serbian Radical Party. | "Co-operation with The Hague tribunal represents treason," said Lidija Vukicevic of the Serbian Radical Party. |
| "This is a protest against the shameful arrest of the Serbian hero." | "This is a protest against the shameful arrest of the Serbian hero." |
| The demonstrators also denounced Serbia's pro-Western President Boris Tadic. | The demonstrators also denounced Serbia's pro-Western President Boris Tadic. |
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 | 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 |
| Gen Mladic's arrest is considered crucial to Serbia's bid to join the European Union. | Gen Mladic's arrest is considered crucial to Serbia's bid to join the European Union. |
| He evaded capture for 16 years after the end of the Bosnian conflict - just one of the ethnic wars unleashed in the 1990s by the break up of Yugoslavia. | He evaded capture for 16 years after the end of the Bosnian conflict - just one of the ethnic wars unleashed in the 1990s by the break up of Yugoslavia. |
| As the rally ended, the mood turned ugly. Some of the demonstrators clashed with police, throwing stones and flares. | As the rally ended, the mood turned ugly. Some of the demonstrators clashed with police, throwing stones and flares. |
| About 3,000 people, many of them former Bosnian Serb soldiers, earlier held a separate protest against Gen Mladic's arrest in the Bosnian village of Kalinovik, where he was born. | About 3,000 people, many of them former Bosnian Serb soldiers, earlier held a separate protest against Gen Mladic's arrest in the Bosnian village of Kalinovik, where he was born. |
| On Sunday, Gen Mladic's son, Darko, said that despite the tribunal's indictment, his father had told him he was not responsible for the killings in Srebrenica, committed after his troops overran the town. | On Sunday, Gen Mladic's son, Darko, said that despite the tribunal's indictment, his father had told him he was not responsible for the killings in Srebrenica, committed after his troops overran the town. |
| "He said that whatever was done in Srebrenica, he had nothing to do with it," he said after visiting Gen Mladic. | "He said that whatever was done in Srebrenica, he had nothing to do with it," he said after visiting Gen Mladic. |
| Reconciliation hopes | Reconciliation hopes |
| Gen Mladic was seized in the village of Lazarevo, about 80km (50 miles) north of Belgrade. | Gen Mladic was seized in the village of Lazarevo, about 80km (50 miles) north of Belgrade. |
| Following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in 2008, Gen Mladic had become the most prominent Bosnian war crimes suspect still at large. | Following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in 2008, Gen Mladic had become the most prominent Bosnian war crimes suspect still at large. |
| He was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for genocide over the killings that July at Srebrenica - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and other alleged crimes. | He was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for genocide over the killings that July at Srebrenica - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and other alleged crimes. |
| Having lived freely in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, he disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001. | Having lived freely in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, he disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001. |
| President Tadic has said the arrest brought the country and the region closer to reconciliation, and opened the doors to EU membership for Serbia. | President Tadic has said the arrest brought the country and the region closer to reconciliation, and opened the doors to EU membership for Serbia. |