Date:26/11/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/11/26/stories/2004112603411402.htm

International

`Difficult to arrest Karadzic'

London: British defence officials conceded on Wednesday that military action to bring Serb and Croat war crimes suspects to trial would probably fail because of the sophisticated support network surrounding them. Political pressure on Balkan Governments to hand over fugitives such as the Bosnian wartime leader Radovan Karadzic might be the best way forward, they said. The officials referred specifically to Mr. Karadzic and his military chief, General Ratko Mladic, wanted for genocide in connection with the Srebrenica massacres in 1995, when an estimated 7,000 Muslims were killed. He has been indicted for war crimes including the deaths of Serbs in Krajina, part of Croatia ethnically cleansed in 1995. A senior British defence official described Mr. Karadzic as having developed a ``very successful and effective support system''. He was ``a hard nut to crack'', who was ``on the move all the time.'' — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004