Pale, 14 August 1997 (RFE/RL) - The supreme commander of NATO, U.S. General Wesley Clark, made an unannounced visit yesterday to Pale -- the home of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic -- and called on Karadzic to give himself up.
Clark said Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president, owes it to the people of Republika Srpska to follow through on his pledges to withdraw from public life and surrender to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Clark called on all indicted war crimes suspects to have the "courage" to turn themselves in.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also repeated yesterday that Washington strongly believes Karadzic must face prosecution. She said Karadzic's "day will come."
Correspondents say these statements -- along with a media report that elite troops are being trained to capture war crimes suspects -- are reviving speculation that NATO is preparing to apprehend Karadzic and others.
The U.N. human rights envoy for the former Yugoslavia, Elisabeth Rehn, told reporters in Helsinki yesterday that she would welcome the use of commandos to capture war crimes suspects if that is the only option.
Clark said Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president, owes it to the people of Republika Srpska to follow through on his pledges to withdraw from public life and surrender to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Clark called on all indicted war crimes suspects to have the "courage" to turn themselves in.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also repeated yesterday that Washington strongly believes Karadzic must face prosecution. She said Karadzic's "day will come."
Correspondents say these statements -- along with a media report that elite troops are being trained to capture war crimes suspects -- are reviving speculation that NATO is preparing to apprehend Karadzic and others.
The U.N. human rights envoy for the former Yugoslavia, Elisabeth Rehn, told reporters in Helsinki yesterday that she would welcome the use of commandos to capture war crimes suspects if that is the only option.