Statement by the NATO Secretary General on the arrest of Ratko Mladic

  • 26 May. 2011 -
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  • Press Release (2011) 065
  • Issued on 26 May. 2011
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  • Last updated: 26 May. 2011 14:09

I strongly welcome the news that Ratko Mladic has been arrested and that his extradition to the Hague is underway. As Bosnian Serb military commander, General Mladic played a key role in some of the darkest episodes of Balkan and European history, including the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of thousands of Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. Almost sixteen years since his indictment for genocide and other war crimes, his arrest finally offers a chance for justice to be done.

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen

NATO has been a guarantor of security in the Balkans for the best part of two decades and today we have seen an important step towards a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.  We remain committed to assisting the whole region on the way to Euro-Atlantic integration.