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Close Encounter with Ratko Mladic Called 'Hogwash'
NATO denies reports of a standoff with suspected war criminal
Gen. Ratko Mladic near his army headquarters at Han Pijesak.
Haselock was referring to media reports saying U.S. troops had stumbled upon Mladic, an indicted war criminal, near his army headquarters at Han Pijesak, north of Sarajevo The reports, citing unnamed witnesses, alleged the Americans were in a confrontation with Serb soldiers until Mladic appeared and told the U.S. patrol to leave.
"The truth of the matter is that a Portugese patrol in the broader area came across some Bosnian Serb forces engaged in unauthorised training," Haselock told Reuterss. Rival armies in Bosnia must notify IFOR of any training exercises under terms of the Dayton peace accord.
Haselock said the Portugese took the Serb soldiers back to Han Pijesak, reminding the Serbs that IFOR had to be informed of exercises in advance. There was no stand-off with the Bosnian Serb army and Mladic was not seen or heard issuing threats to American soldiers, he added.
NATO officers and diplomats say the Serb army has generally cooperated with the heavily-armed IFOR contingent and have blamed hardline civilian leaders for trying to obstruct the peace process.
Mladic, the pugnacious commander of the Serb army which laid siege to Sarajevo, has kept out of the public spotlight for the most part since the peace accord was signed in December. Both Mladic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic have so far refused to step down as required by the Dayton pact to face charges before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, patron of the Bosnian Serbs, has come under international criticism for failing to make good on pledges to remove the two men from power.
NATO commanders, whose troops regularly patrol territory around Serb army headquarters, say they will not launch a "manhunt" for war crimes suspects. NATO says peace force troops have orders to make an arrest if they encounter suspects on patrols.
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SARAJEVO, June 11 (Reuters) - NATO officers on Tuesday dismissed as "hogwash" reports that peacekeeping troops had allegedly encountered Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic in a stand-off with Serb soldiers. "The report is pure hogwash," said Major Simon Haselock, spokesman for the NATO-led peace implementation force (IFOR). "There is absolutely no whisper at all of any such incident or even close to what was reported."
Berserkistan, June 4 · Is NATO Increasing Patrols for War Criminals?
Berserkistan, June 2 · Christopher: Only Talk of Karadzic Trial
Berserkistan, June 2 · Karadzic’s Shadow Looms Large over Geneva
Berserkistan, June 1 · Marginalize Karadzic, Says West
Berserkistan, May 31 · US: Cost Cost of Capturing Karadzic, Mladic Too Great
Berserkistan, May 28 · Serbs Said Deciding Fate of Karadzic, Mladic
Berserkistan, May 20 · The Karadzic Proxy: Biljana Plavsic
Berserkistan, May 20 · Bildt: Karadzic Poisoning Political Atmosphere
Berserkistan, May 20 · Kradzic Shifts Some Duties, but Won't Step Down
The Indictment Against Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic
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