Serge Brammertz, the ICTY Chief Prosecutor said the day before yesterday that the arrest of the four remaining war crimes indictees is of critical importance, and Serbia needs to make some headway in its cooperation with the International Tribunal.

Brammertz, who succeeded Carla Del Ponte on 1 January 2008 as Chief Prosecutor of ICTY, the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, urged the Serbian authorities to arrest Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, Stojan Zupljanin, and Goran Hadzic and bring them to justice.

On his first official visit to the Serbian capital, Brammertz said that Rasim Ljajic, who heads the National Council on Cooperation with the ICTY, Prosecutor Vukcevic and himself had discussed a number of important issues related to documentation, access to Serbian archives, witness protection, and investigations into the groups helping the indictees evade capture.

Expressing their anger over the acquittal of former KLA leader and Kosovo premier Ramush Haradinaj, President Boris Tadic and Ljajic emphasized that Serbia is ready to wrap up the process of cooperation with the ICTY.

Claiming Serbia is doing what it can to meet its obligations to the international court,  Tadic said, “Serbia has a clear view that every person who committed war crimes in the former Yugoslavia has to be prosecuted in The Hague regardless of ethnic origin.”

Tadic also described the Haradinaj verdict as an injustice, adding that the Serbian public has a right to be angry. “I hope that the Prosecution will file an appeal,” Tadic added. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica called the Haradinaj verdict “a mockery of justice that questions the very legitimacy of the international tribunal.”

Brammertz said that ICTY prosecutors are no less discontent with the outcome of the Haradinaj trial. He said, they are carefully investigating the 300-page indictment to determine if there are grounds for an appeal.