July 22, 2008
No. 163
The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed the arrest of Radovan Karadzic by Serbian security forces last night in Belgrade. Mr. Karadzic was a fugitive from the International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and is under ICTY indictment for genocide and other crimes while he was president of the Bosnian Serb administration during the Bosnian wars of 1992-95.
"The Government of Serbia is to be congratulated for this arrest," said Minister Emerson. "It will help bring closure to those who suffered so much during the terrible wars of the 1990s. It will also promote respect for international law as represented by the ICTY process and demonstrates Serbia's acceptance of its international responsibilities."
The Balkans were a major engagement for Canada in the 1990s. The country provided approximately 40,000 peacekeeping troops to advance its commitment to human rights, democracy and stability in the region. Minister Emerson hailed Karadzic's arrest as an important contribution to those enduring goals.
The Minister also called for redoubled efforts to track down and arrest the key remaining fugitives from the ICTY, former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic and former Croatian Serb political leader Goran Hadzic.
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Lynn Meahan
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Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
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613-995-1874
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