Karadžić arrested

Radovan Karadžić was arrested in Belgrade yesterday. Barely two weeks after Vojislav Koštunica was replaced as prime minister, it proved possible to arrest a man who has been successfully hidden from the Hague Tribunal for 13 years.

Trying Karadžić and Ratko Mladić (still on the loose) for the Srebrenica genocide has always been the most important single measure for bringing any kind of closure to the Bosnian war, for giving a sense of justice to the victims, and for Serbia to make a real break with the past. (Not counting the abortive trial of the late Slobodan Milošević, of course.)

The news is all the more welcome since for years, the international community has been more keen on keeping Serbia on the track to EU talks and political stability than on insisting that its secret services stop aiding and abetting a fugitive from international justice.

Three cheers, and here’s hoping for a speedy extradition and that Mladić will be joining him soon.

• Reuters: Top Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Karadzic arrested
• Oslobodjenje: Nakon 13 godina skrivanja
• B92: Uhapšen Radovan Karadžić!