BELGRADE, Serbia, May 27 (UPI) -- World leaders hailed the arrest of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic as a sign that Serbia was leaving its legacy of conflict behind.
Mladic is the alleged architect of the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 that left more than 8,000 Muslim teenagers and men dead. The event is considered the worst massacre in post-World War II European history.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement said his arrest was a testament of the durability of the international justice system.
"Mladic's arrest serves as a statement to those around the world who would break the law and target innocent civilians: international justice works," she said.
Mladic commanded Serbian forces in the 1992-95 war in Yugoslavia. He was wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide and war crimes. He was arrested in a village about 50 miles north of Belgrade.
The international courts had blamed Serbia for delays in handing over the commander. His arrest was seen as an obstacle to Serbian plans to join the European Union.
Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, in a statement alongside Serbian President Boris Tadic said Mladic's arrest was a sign of the growing trust between Belgrade and the EU.
"I also wanted to continue the discussions we are having about the future of Serbia and the European Union and to say to the people of this country that we very much believe that it will be of great benefit for Serbia, but also for the European Union, to eventually see Serbia as part of the EU," she said.
