Translated material
Next after Milosevic?
On April 30, the ultimatum presented by the European Union to the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro (S&M), which allegedly sheltered Mladic, expired: either he will be extradited to The Hague, or negotiations on the prospects for European integration of S&M will be interrupted. Negotiations were scheduled for May 11, but it is unknown whether they will take place.
There are versions that Mladic is already in the hands of Belgrade, but there is no unity among the Serbian leadership on his extradition. Erhard Busek, coordinator of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, is confident that Mladic will be extradited on May 10, the day before the start of negotiations with the EU. The head of the Center for the Mediterranean and Black Sea at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alla Yazkova, in an interview with Vremya Novostey, agreed with this opinion: “Despite the very strong internal political confrontation, the issue of Mladic’s extradition will be resolved, although, as often happens, belatedly.”
The expert explained that there is a confrontation between Prime Minister Kostunica, “connected with military circles – opponents of the general’s extradition, especially after the death of Slobodan Milosevic in the ICTY prison in March,” and Serbian President Boris Tadic. There are also deeper differences between Serbian “Europeans” and “soilers who prefer to stew in their Balkan cauldron” rather than in the United Europe. According to Ms. Yazkova, for Sich, the breakdown of negotiations with the EU will aggravate the already difficult situation on the eve of the upcoming Montenegrin referendum on independence on May 21.
Borislav Milosevic, a lawyer, ex-diplomat and brother of the late Slobodan Milosevic, told VN yesterday: “It is absolutely clear that the authorities wanted to extradite Ratko Mladic, but were unable to.” Commenting on the EU ultimatum to Belgrade itself, Mr. Milosevic emphasized that “this is not the first time such blackmail” has been undertaken in order to “extend the life of the ICTY, which has compromised itself.” He recalled that the tribunal is politicized, “has a clearly anti-Serb bias” and is trying to “adapt the norms of international law to suit itself.”
“Elements of discrimination” in the case of Ratko Mladic were also noted by Ms. Yazkova. After all, many Serbs believe that the general’s crimes relate to the Bosnian war, where war crimes were also committed by Bosnian Muslims, “but the Hague is most active in relation to the Serbian military command.” During the war, according to Borislav Milosevic, 93 Serbian villages were destroyed in Bosnia.