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Karadžić arrest brings optimism to Serbia
Symbolic justice for all victims of the 1990's wars. This is Serbian civil society's reaction to the long due arrest of the war criminal.
Two days after the arrest of Radovan Kara Karadžic, one of the three remaining Hagua fugitives accused by the Hague Tribunal on nine counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, we have the first reactions of the Serbian civil sector.
The Civic Initiativies believe that the arrest is a reason for increased optimism of the citizens of Serbia, noting that its importance lies, above all, in the express determination of the Government to meet its international obligations, establish functional rule of law and accelerate the European integration processes.
“This act takes away the great burden from Serbia and her citizens”, comments the Civic Initiatives.
The Centre for Politics and Euro-Atlantic Partnership also greets the arrest which it saw as a sign of Government`s will to honour its obligations from the road-map to Euro-Atlantic community.
“The arrest was an act of symbolic justice for all victims of the wars of 1990s and an act of symbolic relaxation of difficult political relations between Serbia and International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia. That is an important step forward on the long road to introspection and important requirement for regional stability and reconciliation”, comments CPEP, inviting all relevant political institutions to make the necessary effort to apprehend the remaining two fugitives from justice.
A group of six NGOs – YUCOM, Helsinki Human Rights Committee, CZKD, Women in Black, Belgrade Circle and Impunity Watch joined the greetings saying that the arrest resulted from a clear political decision, expressing hopes that it will bring to the table a change of approaches to the recent past, which is required to satisfy the need for justice for the victims of crimes committed in the name of Serbian people (Srebrenica, Sarajevo, Foca, Omarska…).
The six NGOs say it is clear that Serbian authorities respond only to strong external pressure and act only if they see a move as necessary to protect national interests and achieve desired political goals. They add that the arrest of Radovan Karadžic speaks volumes about the need to reform the national security services which act only if given political instructions, and not to meet their constitutional obligation to protect the safety of the state and its citizens, under strict democratic civil control.
“The arrest will be reduced to mere denial of hospitality he enjoyed in Serbia if not followed by true reforms of the security system and honest and serious attempt to deal with recent past by Serbian elites”, conclude the NGOs in a joint statement.
Zagreb based Centre for Peace Studies comments that the arrest is an important event and believes the news will bring some consolation to the victims of his policies.
CMS invited the Government of Croatia to help its counterparts in Serbia and BIH, as well as the Hague Tribunal, so that the arrest could result in a lasting peace in the region and justice for war crimes victims. CMS hopes Karadžic will be extradited to the Hague as soon as possible.
