B4-0638/97

Resolution on the arrest of war criminals in former Yugoslavia

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on former Yugoslavia and on the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague,

A. whereas soldiers from the Nato-led Stabilization Force arrested the indicted war criminal Kovacevic and killed Mr Drljaca, as he resisted arrest, on 10 July 1997,

B. whereas only a handful of the 75 persons officially listed as indicted war criminals by the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, along with two persons secretly listed, have been brought to The Hague,

C. whereas a failure to bring suspected war criminals to justice undermines the credibility of the peace-keeping mission and jeopardizes the entire implementation of the Dayton Agreement,

1. Welcomes the new decisiveness of the Stabilization Force and the Hague Tribunal in bringing suspected war criminals to justice, and calls on them to continue their efforts to arrest all indicted war criminals, while giving priority to indictees with the most serious charges, including Dr Karadicz and Mr Mladic;

2. Repeats its call to the governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to extradite indicted persons to the Hague Tribunal as they have undertaken to do in the Dayton Agreement;

3. Urges the Council to stress once again that cooperation with the War Crimes Tribunal is a condition for the development of future relations with the EU;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague and the governments of FRY, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.