Karadzic arrest signals big change

BELGRADE, Serbia – Just a few months ago, thugs outraged at Kosovo’s independence set part of the US.

Embassy in Belgrade on fire, and ultra nationalists prepared to seize power. Now, having defied doomsayers’ predictions that it was about to sink into unprecedented isolation, darkness and despair, Serbia appears to be undergoing an astonishing turnaround.Genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic – long hailed by many here as a hero – is finally behind bars just weeks after the inauguration of a new pro-Western government.And there’s a palpable sense on the streets of Belgrade that nationalism may be losing its grip on hearts.”The state of Serbia has made a giant leap forward,” Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic declared triumphantly after Karadzic’s capture this week.Many Serbs say their country simply reached a breaking point.After decades of frustration with nationalists, the nation gave a chance in May elections to Western-leaning forces who promised to bring the impoverished nation closer to mainstream Europe.’WHY NOW?’ With Karadzic’s capture, the volatile republic’s image has changed virtually overnight from that of a hoodlum in Europe’s most rough-and-tumble neighbourhood to a country well on its way to joining the continent’s club of responsible democracies.”It’s a positive step.I think Serbia is going to move forward,” Belgrade resident Sreten Tasic said Wednesday.What’s changed? Why now? Serbia has had pro-Western forces before, notably Zoran Djindjic, a reformist prime minister who was assassinated outside the main government building in Belgrade in 2003.And President Boris Tadic, who wants to bring his nation into the European Union, has just begun his second four-year term.Braca Grubacic, a prominent political analyst, offers a simple answer: After years of Slobodan Milosevic’s ruinous rule, and the entrenched nationalism that survived his ouster by pro-democracy activists in 2000, Serbia’s leaders finally realised the international community is fed up with their rabble-rousing rhetoric.”Serbia finally decided to do something,” he said.”We realised the West is sick and tired of this old Balkan story.Enough was enough.”Tadic’s new pro-Western government took power only two weeks ago.One of the president’s first acts was to appoint a new security chief to replace one who was a close ally to former nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica.Within days, Karadzic – rumoured, despite denials, to have enjoyed Kostunica’s protection for nearly a decade – was tracked down with no-nonsense efficiency and bundled into a police van.The former Bosnian Serb leader soon is expected to be extradited to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor, said the change of government inspired the team that was working to hunt down Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, another genocide suspect who remains at large.”There was a whole new energy that came with the victory of the pro-European forces” in May’s elections, Vekaric said.The ultra nationalist Radical Party was widely expected to win that vote and steer Serbia away from the EU and toward Russia.Instead, Tadic’s bloc pulled off a stunning upset, although it needed to join forces with Milosevic’s loyalists to form a government.’ELECTIONS DO MATTER’ “The arrest of Karadzic shows that elections do matter,” said Thomas O Melia, deputy head of the US-based Freedom House democracy watchdog group.”It’s no coincidence.”Kostunica is gone, but the nationalist fervour he stirred up still simmers.Dozens of hard-liners threw stones at police in central Belgrade this week to protest Karadzic’s arrest.”There will always be a part of Serbian society who will be unhappy,” said Grubacic.”We will always have these people.The key difference is that now we have the possibility to shed Milosevic’s legacy and solve our problems.”But so far, there has not been the widespread explosion of violence that many had feared.This week’s protests have drawn only a few hundred demonstrators – a mere shadow of the up to 250 000 angry Serbs who jammed central Belgrade in mid-February to condemn the declaration of independence by Kosovo, which even today’s Serbia considers its territory by profound historical rights.The payoff could be swift in coming: EU leaders made clear that Karadzic’s arrest could speed Serbia’s bid to join the 27-nation bloc, and suggested that capturing Mladic would help even more.”The new government in Belgrade stands for a new Serbia, for a new quality of relations with the EU,” said Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign affairs chief.”We have always said that Serbia has a place in the European family,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband added.Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the French daily Le Monde that Karadzic’s arrest proves that the government respects international law “and its pro-European commitment”.Although authorities say the elusive Mladic may prove to be a tougher target than Karadzic, because Mladic is even more popular among the most die-hard of Serbia’s nationalists, many insist it’s just a matter of time.Others predict the new government soon will lift key aspects of its opposition to independence for Kosovo, a former province many Serbs consider their ancient homeland.Yucom, a Belgrade human rights organisation, said yesterday it is hopeful that Karadzic’s arrest “will exercise considerable influence on Serbia’s transition to democracy and rule of law, as well as her path to Europe.””Karadzic’s arrest took place as a result of a political decision to put an end to many years of political hide-and-seek,” it said.Nampa-APNow, having defied doomsayers’ predictions that it was about to sink into unprecedented isolation, darkness and despair, Serbia appears to be undergoing an astonishing turnaround.Genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic – long hailed by many here as a hero – is finally behind bars just weeks after the inauguration of a new pro-Western government.And there’s a palpable sense on the streets of Belgrade that nationalism may be losing its grip on hearts.”The state of Serbia has made a giant leap forward,” Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic declared triumphantly after Karadzic’s capture this week.Many Serbs say their country simply reached a breaking point.After decades of frustration with nationalists, the nation gave a chance in May elections to Western-leaning forces who promised to bring the impoverished nation closer to mainstream Europe.’WHY NOW?’ With Karadzic’s capture, the volatile republic’s image has changed virtually overnight from that of a hoodlum in Europe’s most rough-and-tumble neighbourhood to a country well on its way to joining the continent’s club of responsible democracies.”It’s a positive step.I think Serbia is going to move forward,” Belgrade resident Sreten Tasic said Wednesday.What’s changed? Why now? Serbia has had pro-Western forces before, notably Zoran Djindjic, a reformist prime minister who was assassinated outside the main government building in Belgrade in 2003.And President Boris Tadic, who wants to bring his nation into the European Union, has just begun his second four-year term.Braca Grubacic, a prominent political analyst, offers a simple answer: After years of Slobodan Milosevic’s ruinous rule, and the entrenched nationalism that survived his ouster by pro-democracy activists in 2000, Serbia’s leaders finally realised the international community is fed up with their rabble-rousing rhetoric.”Serbia finally decided to do something,” he said.”We realised the West is sick and tired of this old Balkan story.Enough was enough.”Tadic’s new pro-Western government took power only two weeks ago.One of the president’s first acts was to appoint a new security chief to replace one who was a close ally to former nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica.Within days, Karadzic – rumoured, despite denials, to have enjoyed Kostunica’s protection for nearly a decade – was tracked down with no-nonsense efficiency and bundled into a police van.The former Bosnian Serb leader soon is expected to be extradited to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor, said the change of government inspired the team that was working to hunt down Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, another genocide suspect who remains at large.”There was a whole new energy that came with the victory of the pro-European forces” in May’s elections, Vekaric said.The ultra nationalist Radical Party was widely expected to win that vote and steer Serbia away from the EU and toward Russia.Instead, Tadic’s bloc pulled off a stunning upset, although it needed to join forces with Milosevic’s loyalists to form a government. ‘ELECTIONS DO MATTER’ “The arrest of Karadzic shows that elections do matter,” said Thomas O Melia, deputy head of the US-based Freedom House democracy watchdog group.”It’s no coincidence.”Kostunica is gone, but the nationalist fervour he stirred up still simmers.Dozens of hard-liners threw stones at police in central Belgrade this week to protest Karadzic’s arrest.”There will always be a part of Serbian society who will be unhappy,” said Grubacic.”We will always have these people.The key difference is that now we have the possibility to shed Milosevic’s legacy and solve our problems.”But so far, there has not been the widespread explosion of violence that many had feared.This week’s protests have drawn only a few hundred demonstrators – a mere shadow of the up to 250 000 angry Serbs who jammed central Belgrade in mid-February to condemn the declaration of independence by Kosovo, which even today’s Serbia considers its territory by profound historical rights.The payoff could be swift in coming: EU leaders made clear that Karadzic’s arrest could speed Serbia’s bid to join the 27-nation bloc, and suggested that capturing Mladic would help even more.”The new government in Belgrade stands for a new Serbia, for a new quality of relations with the EU,” said Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign affairs chief.”We have always said that Serbia has a place in the European family,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband added.Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the French daily Le Monde that Karadzic’s arrest proves that the government respects international law “and its pro-European commitment”.Although authorities say the elusive Mladic may prove to be a tougher target than Karadzic, because Mladic is even more popular among the most die-hard of Serbia’s nationalists, many insist it’s just a matter of time.Others predict the new government soon will lift key aspects of its opposition to independence for Kosovo, a former province many Serbs consider their ancient homeland.Yucom, a Belgrade human rights organisation, said yesterday it is hopeful that Karadzic’s arrest “will exercise considerable influence on Serbia’s transition to democracy and rule of law, as well as her path to Europe.””Karadzic’s arrest took place as a result of a political decision to put an end to many years of political hide-and-seek,” it said.Nampa-AP