Western diplomats on Tuesday described the capture of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as an encouraging sign both for United Nations war crimes tribunals and for the European Union.
They also hoped it would soon be followed by the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime commander Gen. Ratko Mladic.
"It shows that you can hide for a long time, but ultimately what you've done catches up with you," the American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said "He was responsible for some of the worst crimes committed on the continent of Europe since World War II, so we rejoice in his arrest, and hope that Mr. Mladic will have a similar fate, and soon."
Karadzic, who was nabbed Tuesday after eluding capture for more than a decade, has been sought on 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his actions during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. He is accused of masterminding the deadly wartime siege of Sarajevo and 1995 executions of about 8,000 Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica.
Speaking for the European Union, Jean-Maurice Ripert, the French ambassador, said Karadzic's arrest is "a very important proof of the commitment of the new government of Serbia to contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans."
"We also think that it is a new sign of the commitment of Serbia to continue the rapprochement to the European Union," added Ripert, whose nation holds the EU's rotating presidency for the second half of this year. "Europeans want Serbia to be part of the European Union, and this last development is certainly a very good sign of this willingness."
Serbia's parliament approved a new government this month that includes a pro-Western group and the political party of the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who also was tried for genocide but died of a heart attack in 2006.
Serbian coalition leaders plan to speed the Balkan country's integration into the European Union, but also to fight statehood for Kosovo, which broke from Serbia in February with support from Western powers. The previous government had adopted anti-Western and anti-EU policies after the U.S. and many EU nations recognized Kosovo's statehood.
The West has been hoping the new Cabinet would help deliver the Serbian suspects to the U.N. war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia.
British Ambassador John Sawers said peace can only be sustained when accompanied by justice, and Karadzic's arrest "underlines that there is no escape from justice. It's also a reminder that war crimes take place in every continent."
"There is no one continent that is blighted more by war criminals than any other," Sawers added.
