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Bildt Says Karadzic Will Not Stand in Elections After an unscheduled meeting with Serbia’s president Milosevic, the high representative to Bosnia says talk of Karadzic candidacy is childish -- and dangerous. BELGRADE, June 24 (Reuters) - The international community's high representative to Bosnia Carl Bildt said on Monday that the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will not be nominated as a candidate in upcoming elections, local media reported. After talks with the Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic about the implementation of the Dayton peace accord, Bildt told journalists Karadzic "will not put out his nomination for the elections." "All speculation about that is not only childish, but can also be very dangerous," the independent news agency Beta quoted him as saying after meeting Milosevic in the Serbian Presidency building in Belgrade. Milosevic was the Bosnian Serbs' main sponsor during the war, and is regarded as the most influential politician in rump Yugoslavia, which consists of Serbia and Montenegro. Sources who did not wish to be named reported seeing Bildt leave the meeting room with the British Ambassador Ivor Roberts and the Bosnian Serb vice-presidents Biljana Plavsic and Nikola Koljevic. Karadzic last month handed some of his presidential duties to Plavsic, and stepped out of public view, although diplomats say he is still in firm control of the Bosnian Serb parliament. Bildt described his talks as "satisfactory," although he gave no further details. The two-and-a-half hour discussion followed weekend reports that the forced removal of Karadzic was imminent. The meeting also came amid a flurry of talks between Milosevic and other senior Yugoslav leaders. According to Beta the federal president of rump Yugoslavia Zoran Lilic and premier Nikola Sainovic were in the presidency at the same time as Bildt, while a phalanx of other senior state politicians was seen coming and going throughout the day. It was not immediately clear which of the politicians were directly involved in meetings or what they were discussing, but they followed weekend reports that the forced removal of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was imminent. Under the Dayton peace accord which ended the Bosnian conflict, Karadzic must relinquish all power before Bosnian elections expected in mid-September, and surrender to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Diplomats say free and fair elections will be impossible if the unashamed supporter of Serb separatism has any influence in the campaign at all. So far, he has refused to release his grip of Bosnian Serb politics, prompting the international community to pressure Milosevic into exercising his influence over the Bosnian Serbs and force Karadzic out. Karadzic last month handed some of his presidential duties to his vice, Biljana Plavsic, and stepped out of public view, although diplomats say he is still in firm control of the Bosnian Serb parliament.

Berserkistan, June 23 · Karadzic to resign as President
Berserkistan, June 21 · Bildt: World Will Bar Karadzic from Elections
Berserkistan, June 21 · EU Nations Condemn Karadzic Candidacy
Berserkistan, June 20 · Defiant Serbs Nominate Karadzic for President
Berserkistan, June 14 · Karadzic May Run for Office
The Indictment Against Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic War Crimes Tribunal

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