AMSTERDAM -- The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal was awaiting the arrival of a key Bosnian Serb genocide suspect, as the net closed on the most wanted suspect of all -- former President Radovan Karadzic.
"The prosecution is ready to go whenever Karadzic arrives in The Hague," United Nations' chief prosecutor Louise Arbour told reporters Thursday as news broke of the latest arrest by NATO peacekeeping troops.Gen. Radislav Krstic, a close military ally of Karadzic, was snatched from his chauffeur-driven car by American troops on Wednesday on the road between Bijeljina and Brcko in Bosnia.
He will be transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague once bad weather lifts around Tuzla, a court spokesman said. His initial appearance to enter a plea to the genocide charge is likely next week.
U.N. prosecutors secretly indicted Krstic one month ago on charges linked to the 1995 fall of the U.N. "safe haven" Srebrenica, where Dutch peacekeepers watched helplessly as Bosnian Serbs rounded up thousands of Moslems for slaughter.
Krstic's detention for his alleged in- volvement in one of the most notorious incidents of the 1992-1995 Bosnia war takes Arbour a step nearer her prime target, Karadzic.
"All the indications are that there is more chance that (Karadzic's arrest) will happen than not," Arbour said. "I believe we have to do everything in our power to achieve that result, and discretion is what pays off."
Karadzic and his former military commander Ratzko Mladic are both wanted on genocide charges and are believed to be holed up in southeastern Bosnia, where French peacekeepers patrol.
Prosecutors say the assault on Srebrenica was orchestrated by politicians and spearheaded on the ground by Mladic, under the watchful eye of the world's press. They say Krstic was commander of the Drina Corps during the Srebrenica siege.
When Krstic finally takes the stand before the three U.N. judges assigned to his case, experts say his testimony may tighten the noose around Karadzic and Mladic.
"For the first time, we will hear a Bosnian Serb account of what happened in Srebrenica, under oath," a Yugoslav source said.
Arbour says she is intent on following the chain of command as high as the evidence will allow. By arresting Krstic, the NATO-led stabilization force has also sent a message of its intent. He is the ninth suspect NATO troops have taken and the fourth under a sealed indictment.
The Bosnian Serb republic reacted with fury to Krstic's detention, accusing the NATO force of overstepping its mandate and threatening to reduce relations with the force.