Turkey welcomes arrest of accused war criminal Karadzic

Turkey yesterday welcomed the arrest by Serbian authorities of accused Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic, whose delivery to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has been long awaited by the international community. "The trial of Karadzic will ease the pains which occurred in the former Yugoslavia, which constituted one of the most terrible incidents of the 20th century," said a Foreign Ministry statement. "This trial will also demonstrate that the perpetrators of such tragedies can not escape justice." It added, "This historic step by the newly established Serbian government is a milestone in the integration of Serbia with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. This step proves that the new Serbian government is genuinely cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia. It will also consolidate stability in the Balkans and develop further friendly relations among the countries and peoples of the region." The statement also said, "Turkey hopes that the remaining war criminals, and particularly Ratko Mladic, will be brought to justice, and that this will help heal the wounds."