Sarajevo, 7 February 2002 (RFE/RL) -- The government of the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska today called on accused Bosnian Serb war criminals to surrender to the UN international war crimes tribunal. The government set a 30-day deadline for the surrender to The Hague-based tribunal.
More than 30 Bosnian Serb war criminals are still at large in the Serb entity, including the most wanted -- former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
It was not immediately clear what the consequences will be for those wanted by the tribunal who do not heed the surrender deadline, and conflicting reports emerged concerning government bail guarantees for suspects.
Sinisa Djordjevic, an adviser to Srpska's prime minister, was quoted as saying last night that those individuals should give themselves up or forfeit bail guarantees ahead of any trial in The Hague, Serbian news agency Beta reported. But the same agency cited Srpska Republika Justice Minister Mladjen Mandic as saying today that the entity's law on cooperation with the tribunal includes no such deadlines or conditions for bail.
More than 30 Bosnian Serb war criminals are still at large in the Serb entity, including the most wanted -- former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
It was not immediately clear what the consequences will be for those wanted by the tribunal who do not heed the surrender deadline, and conflicting reports emerged concerning government bail guarantees for suspects.
Sinisa Djordjevic, an adviser to Srpska's prime minister, was quoted as saying last night that those individuals should give themselves up or forfeit bail guarantees ahead of any trial in The Hague, Serbian news agency Beta reported. But the same agency cited Srpska Republika Justice Minister Mladjen Mandic as saying today that the entity's law on cooperation with the tribunal includes no such deadlines or conditions for bail.