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Sarajevans Greet Arrest with Joy and Some Regret

Sarajevo, 22.07.2008.

22 July 2008  Wonderful news - but what a pity it didn’t happen back in 1995. That’s the word on the streets of Sarajevo after news broke of the arrest.

By: Merima Husejnovic (Sarajevo)

Most Sarajevans can barely believe that Radovan Karadzic has indeed been finally arrested, though they hope that if it’s true, it will lead to justice being done.


Although they greeted the news with euphoria, they remain skeptical about the outcome of a trial and want to know why it took so long.


“Why didn’t they arrest him in 1996 or 1997? He will die soon, just like some of the others who were extradited before him. He will die in a couple of months anyway,” said Rasim Kalac.


“They could have done it a long time ago, if they had they wanted to. But it is never too late. Even if he lives for one day only, he should tell what he is supposed to tell.”


Karadzic, former president of the Republika Srspka who was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide and other crimes, was arrested in Serbia after remaining in hiding for 13 years. He was arrested in an operation conducted by Serbian security forces on July 21.

Sarajevo 21.07.2008.

Even though the first news of his arrest broke in the night, large number of people in Sarajevo wasted no time in taking to the streets and forming columns of cars, waving flags and shouting “This is Bosnia”.


Some Bosnian Serb politicians from the Republika Srpska, RS, expressed dismay at the reaction, saying they feared the popular mood might lead to “future attacks against Republika Srpska”, and suggesting the trial of Karadzic could develop into a trial of the entire RS.


Following the initial joy seen on the streets of the Bosnian capital in the evening hours, the morning proved somewhat quieter. “All the people are celebrating today. It is a holiday. Serbia has sold Karadzic,” Zulejha Hrlovic, who has been selling newspapers in the streets of Sarajevo for 15 years, said.


“The newspapers are selling better today than usual,” he added. “People are saying it’s good that this has finally happened, though they wish it happened sooner.


“No punishment can ease people's suffering. I spent the entire war in Sarajevo. What my children and other citizens suffered was horrible. There is no satisfaction for that.”


Karadzic is charged, among other things, as leader of the Bosnian Serbs, with responsibility for the siege of Sarajevo from April 1, 1992 to November 30, 1995. During the siege of the city, which lasted for 1,425 days, a number of terrible massacres occurred. The most infamous included the bombing of the Markale city market in February 1994 and again on August 1995, which killed hundreds of civilians.


Many recall those terrible events. “I was not at work on that day, so I came there to buy something,” Sena Obarlija, who has worked at Markale since before the war, said.

Spomen ploča na Markalama

“As soon as I arrived, the grenade hit the market. I could not see anything. People started shouting. You could hear thousands of cries. Everybody was on the ground. Everything was destroyed. The buyers and sellers were equally injured.”


Obarlija said, with a smile on her face, that everyone had now heard of Karadzic’s arrest, adding that “people are happy that he has been caught”. She maintained that the fugitive had “got what he deserved” and justice would be fulfilled if he never came out of jail.


Uma Lilic managed to escape the tragedy at Markale at the last moment in 1994. She was at work at the market only a day before the massacre.


“I brought some goods and at first I wanted to go back to the market to sell them the following morning,” she recalled. “Had it been that way I might have been killed. But I went there the day before and managed to sell all my goods.”


Lilic was excited when she heard that Karadzic had been arrested, though she also had misgivings. “It’s a shame. He was at liberty, and could go wherever he wanted, eating, drinking and enjoying life while poor mothers are still looking for their children,” she said.


“They search in holes, they find their bones... I could not do to an animal what he did to humans.”
Vahida Karic, a returnee to Kijevo, in eastern Sarajevo, in the RS, said the former leader of Bosnian Serbs was arrested too late and nothing useful could be done about it now.


“This does not mean anything to the victims and those people who died,” he said. “Innocent people and children were killed. I lost my entire family – nine members in seven days. This does not mean much to me now.” However, Karic noted it was “good that he is arrested”.


All our interlocutors agreed that Radovan Karadzic should have been arrested back in 1995.


“They should have done it much sooner. He should have been arrested right after the war,” said Salih Ljubuncic. “Justice has not been fulfilled. As long as other criminals are free, it will never be fulfilled.”


Following the arrest of Karadzic, the list of top ICTY fugitives now comprises Ratko Mladic, commander of the Republika Srpska Army, and Goran Hadzic, charged with war crimes committed in Croatia.

Merima Husejnovic is BIRN - Justice Report journalist. merima@birn.eu.com. Justice Report is BIRN online publication.