On these video clips, it is evident how the war criminal fugitive, Ratko Mladic, who is regarded by many Serbs as a war hero, dances at weddings, socialises with other indicted former officers and relaxes with his family.
The Serbian government official in charge of relations with the U.N. tribunal, Rasim Ljajic, said at an urgently called news conference yesterday, that the footage was part of the material that was impounded last December from Mladic’s Belgrade home, and handed over to U.N. prosecutors.
Olga Kavran, spokeswoman for the U.N. tribunal’s prosecutor, confirmed that the prosecution possesses the same Mladic videos, but refused to comment on their context to avoid jeopardizing the search for the fugitive.
However, Ljajic re-focused the attention to other issue. He alleged that the release of the videos was designed to "minimize a recent positive assessment about Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague tribunal" by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz.
"This is no coincidence," he said. "The timing suggests it was not done with good intention," Ljajic added.
Ljaljic was referring to EU foreign ministers who are they to meet on Monday to discuss Serbia’s progress with the United Nations tribunal for the former Yugoslavia – a condition for the country’s pre-accession process to move forward.
Serbian officials, anxious to minimise any damage to their hopes of joining the European Union, vigorously deny any suggestion that they know where the general was hiding. In the same time, a former Mladic bodyguard, on trial for obstruction of justice, confirmed in a Serbian court this week that the former general had moved openly in Belgrade until 2002.
The guest of the special edition of the TV magazine "60 minuta", was a member of B&H Presidency, Zeljko Komsic. Mr. Komsic was in due time (2001), an ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Serbia. Komsic said that he is not surprised by these videos, because he knew that Mladic was not hiding at all these years, and that he has been tracked on regular basis by Serbian protective forces.
"This is no secret. It was always well known where were the wanted war criminals. It was a political decision to give Karadzic away, as well as it will be political decision to give Mladic away. However, the problem with Mladic is that he is more protected than Karadzic was. The structure that stands behind Mladic is very closed and well organized. Mladic was before under protection of Yugoslav army and now he’s under protection of the Serbian army. The political structure of Republic of Serbia strongly supports him, and thus he lives and has been living, his normal, everyday life very freely", said Komsic.
He also added that he is glad because these footages reached the public, "because they will also be a real eye-opener for some people in B&H, and in the region as well".
More info:
Videos and Photos – video clips and TV screenshots ;
60 minuta – full video of the TV magazine, special edition.
