§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the alleged war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have not been arrested, despite the presence of 60,000 IFOR troops in Bosnia, and whether they consider that free and fair elections can be held according to the Dayton Agreement while these and other perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity remain at liberty, frustrating the establishment of the "politically neutral environment" which the agreement demanded.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyIFOR troops are under instructions to detain indicated persons (including Karadzic and Mladic) if they encounter them in the course of their mission, and as circumstances allow. IFOR is increasing its patrolling throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina in preparation for the national elections in September. As a consequence, indicated persons are now at greater risk of arrest.
No one expects Westminster-style conditions to prevail. We will continue to press the parties to ensure that sufficiently free and fair elections take place in September. But social conditions have already 148WA improved, and we expect further progress to be made before the elections. The parties must now ensure that no-one indicted of war crimes is in a position to undermine those elections.