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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Mladic's arrest a mere question of time, says Kostunica

London, 28 June 2006

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica gave an interview today to British BBC television and reiterated that the Serbian government has done everything it can to get Ratko Mladic to The Hague and added that his arrest is only a question of time.

Vojislav Kostunica

"It is absolutely certain that authorities in Belgrade have the political willingness to fully cooperate with the Hague Tribunal which is best proven by the number of indictees that have already been sent to The Hague", said Kostunica.

He recalled that in less than a year, the Serbian government extradited 16 war crime indictees, adding that as many as 108 Serbs are currently in The Hague.

According to Kostunica, Serbia should not be obstructed in its European orientation, development and efforts to enable a better life solely because of one man. It is therefore clear that this is not just a "technical issue", he added.

Kostunica voiced his dissatisfaction because the talks on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU have been called off owing to the fact that Mladic is still not in The Hague, and added that Serbia should have been given the chance to continue looking for Mladic.

"I am certain we have done all we can with the means and instruments we had at our disposal", he said and stressed that there is no reason why Mladic should be treated differently from other indictees.

Speaking about the reasons for his visit to Kosovo today, Kostunica recalled the difficult situation Serbs in the province are faced with, since ethnically motivated crimes are committed daily, buses are stoned, houses are burnt and minorities have no freedom of movement.

“It is due to this that these people are looking for some kind of support or at least the presence of someone from Belgrade,” said Kostunica.

Looking back on the period post October 5, 2000, he said that today the people in Serbia live better and their living standard has improved, though it will take some time to make more significant progress.

According to Kostunica, it is important to resume the talks with the EU as a way of encouragement to the people in Serbia.

Kostunica added that he had discussed this matter with Prime Minister Blair who also agreed that the negotiations with the EU should be resumed since a European perspective is of great importance to the people in Belgrade.