U.S. Statement On Arrest Of Radovan Karadzic

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
July 21, 2008

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

U.S. Statement on Arrest of Bosnian Serb Wanted for War Crimes; Karadzic Indicted By ICTY On Charges Of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity

Today, Serbian authorities conducted a successful operation to arrest Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, on charges of war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Karadzic, who has long been a fugitive from justice, has been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including crimes relating to the sniping campaign against civilians in Sarajevo and the taking of UN peacekeepers as hostages.

These offenses include a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing directed at non-Serbs, organized attacks on places of worship, the operation of concentration camps, and the mass murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians.

We congratulate the Government of Serbia, and thank the people who conducted this operation for their professionalism and courage.

This operation is an important demonstration of the Serbian Government’s determination to honor its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The timing of the arrest, only days after the commemoration of the massacre of over 7,000 Bosnians committed in Srebrenica, is particularly appropriate, as there is no better tribute to the victims of the war's atrocities than bringing their perpetrators to justice.

ENDS

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