July 22, 2008 – New York – The American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes news of the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in Serbia yesterday.
“This is an extremely important development,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. “It sends a powerful message that suspected war criminals involved in genocide will be pursued as long as required and brought to justice. To be sure, Karadzic’s arrest cannot restore to life the thousands of Bosnian Muslims who were murdered in cold blood in Srebrenica and elsewhere in the 1990’s. But, at the very least, the alleged mastermind will no longer be on the loose and able to escape the long hand of the law. The victims posthumously will have their day in court.”
AJC applauded the efforts of the new Serbian government to locate and seize Karadzic, who had been at large since 1995.
The organization was active in the 1990’s in condemning the aggression in Bosnia. AJC, alone and in coalition, sought to mobilize public support and urge the United States and other governments to take action to stop the genocide, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure political stabilization.