Former Bosnian Serb minister at Hague tribunal

A former Bosnian Serb interior minister arrived at The Hague yesterday to face war crimes charges, the latest in the string of top suspects to surrender to the UN war crimes tribunal in recent weeks.

Mica Stanisic, interior minister in the breakaway Bosnian Serb republic during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, is the fifth Serb or Bosnian Serb to surrender to the tribunal through Belgrade since late January in a drive by the Serbian government to persuade individuals indicted by the tribunal to go voluntarily.

Serbia, like its neighbours Bosnia and Croatia, has to show it is cooperating with the UN court in order to make progress towards eventually joining the European Union.

Late last month, Rasim Delic, wartime commander of Bosnia's Muslim army surrendered to the United Nations tribunal and pleaded not guilty to four counts of violations of laws or customs of war.

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned on Tuesday, arrived at the Hague on Wednesday to face war crimes charges related to the 1998-99 separatist war in Kosovo.