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U.S. Welcomes Arrest of War Crimes Indictee Milan Lukic

10 August 2005

Accused of crimes against humanity in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The United States expressed appreciation to the government of Argentina for its work in arresting Milan Lukic, a fugitive accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of war crimes.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said August 10 that the United States calls on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Balkan states to apprehend and transfer to the ICTY “Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Ante Gotovina and all other fugitives on their territories.”

In June, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said “there is no possibility of a normal relationship” between the United States and either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia and Montenegro while the major war criminals – Mladic and Karadzic – are still at large. (See related article.)

According to ICTY statements, Milan Lukic formed a group of local paramilitaries in 1992 that “allegedly worked together with the local police and Serb military units in exacting a reign of terror on the local Muslim population around Visegrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”  

The ICTY says that from about May 1992 to October 1994, Milan Lukic, along with Sredoje Lukic, Mitar Vasiljevic and others “allegedly committed a multitude of crimes in the Visegrad municipality including murder, torture, assault, looting and the destruction of property.”

All three are charged with various counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.  A case information sheet is available on the ICTY Web site under ICTY Cases, and then searching under the accused name Vasiljevic, Mitar.

Following is Ereli’s statement:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
August 10, 2005

Statement by Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman

ARREST OF WAR CRIMES INDICTEE MILAN LUKIC

The U.S. welcomes the arrest on August 8 by Argentinean authorities of Milan Lukic, a fugitive indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.  We appreciate the Government of Argentina's work to bring fugitive war crimes indictees to justice.  Together, we remain committed to denying safe haven anywhere for indicted war criminals.  Every indictee will face justice.

The U.S. continues to call on all authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly within the Republika Srpska, as well as in Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro to fulfill their international obligations to the Tribunal at The Hague without further delay.  This includes the apprehension and transfer of Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Ante Gotovina and all other fugitives on their territories.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)