In einem Versuch, die Gunst von Brüssel zu gewinnen, liefern serbische Behörden einen der am meisten gesuchten mutmaßlichen Kriegsverbrecher nach Den Haag aus und schließen einen Kompromiss mit Montenegro. Hierüber schreibt Aleksandar Mitic in Transitions Online.
Belgrade rushed to meet criteria for a European Union progress report in recent days. But progress may be blocked unless authorities arrest one of the country’s most wanted war-crime suspects soon.
Belgrade won kudos from EU officials when on 4 April it transferred another key war crimes suspect, police general Sreten Lukic, to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
This move, along with a compromise between the governments of Montenegro and Serbia on changes to the joint constitution, brings Belgrade very close to meeting the requirements for a positive assessment of its integration efforts, but may not be enough if Serbian police fail to arrest and extradite to The Hague the former army chief of staff, General Nebojsa Pavkovic, by 25 April. Provided the European Commission gives its approval on 12 April, the EU Council of Ministers is to decide then whether to give Belgrade a green light to make its first formal steps toward European integration.
Observers agree that the EU is certain to approve the assessment, known as a feasibility study, if Pavkovic is transferred to The Hague, opening the door for negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement, a key step toward talks on full EU membership.
Serbian authorities say they don’t know where Pavkovic is and will arrest him when found unless he surrenders voluntarily to the police and agrees to be transferred to the tribunal.
A policy colloquially known as “voluntary surrenders” is behind the recent success of the government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in its cooperation with the Hague tribunal. State guarantees and assistance to the families of those indicted are the two pillars of the policy.
Following the example of General Vladimir Lazarevic in late January, a dozen Hague indictees have since reached a deal with the Serbian authorities to surrender to the tribunal in exchange for state guarantees that they will be given assistance and allowed to remain free until their trials begin.
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