SERBIA-MONTENEGRO: Washington told Serbia-Montenegro yesterday to capture alleged war criminals now or face prolonged international isolation.
US Undersecretary of State Mr Marc Grossman heavily criticised Belgrade's lack of co-operation with the UN tribunal in The Hague, particularly its failure to arrest Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic over his role in the murder of some 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-5 war in Bosnia.
Mr Grossman said he wanted Belgrade to act immediately upon warrants issued locally this week to arrest former police chiefs Sreten Lukic and Vlastimir Djordjevic and retired army generals Nebojsa Pavkovic and Vladimir Lazarevic.
Three of the wanted generals have been living openly in Serbia while the fourth disappeared in 2001 and is believed to be in Russia. Western diplomats believe Mladic is being shielded by the Serb military with the collusion of political leaders, who insist that they have no idea where he is.