Serbian demonstrators protest against arrest of war-time Bosnian general
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Several hundred demonstrators on Friday gathered before the Austrian embassy in Sarajevo to protest against the arrest of the former general of the Bosnian Army, Jovan Divjak, reported Radio Television Serbia (RTS).
Divjak, 74, was arrested on Thursday on an extradition warrant issued by Serbia for his role in what Serbian officials regard war crimes committed by members of the Muslim-led leadership with its attack on the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) convoy as it made its way out of Sarajevo on May 3, 1992, resulting in the death 40 soldiers.
Frederick Kell, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office in Korneuburg, where Divjak will be detained for two weeks, said the court was now waiting for Serbia to produce supporting documents for the extradition.
Not surprisingly, the reaction to Divjak's arrest has reopened the debate about how the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) began, and has once again brought to the fore the ethnic divisions within the country.
Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, the Serb- dominated Bosnian entity, said the arrest of Divjak was "long overdue" and said he hoped the Serbian government's prosecution was better prepared for the Divjak case, unlike the extradition warrant issued against Ejup Ganic, a war-time member of the Muslim- led presidency. In July, 2010, the extradition request for Ganic was rejected by the Westminster Magistrate's Court in London, saying it was a misuse of the process and motivated by "political purposes" in Serbia. Divjak, like Ganic, was born in Serbia.
The Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) members of the BiH Presidency, Zeljko Komsic and Bakir Izetbegovic, announced at a special news conference on Friday that they had spoken with Divjak and were working on his release. A protest note had been sent to Serbia after Divjak's arrest.
"He was calm and in good spirits,"said Komsic, adding"I must say that this case definitely has a political dimension."
They stated that the BiH Foreign Ministry was in regular contact with its embassies in Austria and Serbia.
"If Divjak's custody is extended, we will request that he be allowed bail," said Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj. "The BiH Foreign Ministry will do its best to protect the BiH citizens, especially in the cases of unfair indictments like this one." Alkalaj also stated that the arrest was politically motivated.
Meanwhile, in Belgrade, Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic said he was awaiting a conclusion of the legal case against Divjak.
"If you arrest a Serb, everyone thinks this is normal," said Dacic, "but if someone from another nationality is arrested, then it is regarded as a political process."
Source: Xinhua
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