LAZAREVO: Anger and disbelief ran through Serbia's village of Lazarevo Thursday after security forces swooped in and arrested Europe's most-wanted man, war crimes-accused Ratko Mladic.
Some locals said it was an open secret the long-time fugitive – a hero for many Serbians – was living among them, but others claimed the arrest of the man accused of Europe's worst atrocity since World War II was staged.
“Ratko Mladic: hero” read a note stuck to a road sign at the entrance to the typical Serbian provincial village of some 3,000 people. It is a feeling widely shared among the residents, most of whom have Bosnian roots.
“Let's not be coy, we knew very well that Mladic was here,” a man in his forties, who would not give his name, told AFP in hushed tones.
In the cafes and bars, the arrest of the 69-year-old Bosnian Serb former army general in their own back yard was on everyone's lips.
Most residents AFP spoke to said they were convinced Mladic was dropped into Lazarevo just to stage his dramatic arrest in the early hours of Thursday because a relative of his lived here.
“In a village like ours, everyone knows everything about everyone. It is impossible that Mladic was among us without us knowing,” said Miroslav Gacanski, 53, who lives a stone's throw from the house where Mladic was captured.
“Who would hide with his cousin when the entire planet is looking for him? It's not logical,” he said.
“We are shocked, everyone will point the finger at our village,” said Slavujka Predic, 48. “Why us?” she lamented.
Other villagers turned their anger on the mob of journalists who turned up to report on Mladic's last hide-out.
About 100 inhabitants blocked the tiny road leading to the house where Mladic was found, using a big tractor covered in the Serbian flag. The house sits in a quiet neighbourhood, away from the centre.
They chanted “Mladic hero” and hurled insults at Serbia's pro-European President Boris Tadic, who announced the dramatic arrest, calling for his murder.
Heavy police reinforcements from the nearby town of Zrenjanin were deployed to keep apart villagers and journalists. Police had to intervene several times to prevent serious incidents.
“We will be considered as traitors,” said Janko Vracar, a 35-year-old farmer who was convinced, like many in Lazarevo, that “all this was nothing but a sham.” Mladic made a brief appearance in court in Belgrade Thursday but his lawyer said the former army chief was unable to communicate and doctors were due to assess his fitness.
He is to be transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) based in The Hague.
Charges against him include the establishment of camps and detention centres for Bosnian Muslims as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing during the 1990s war, the Srebrenica massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys, and the 44-month siege of Sarajevo.
As world leaders praised his arrest after 16 years on the run and called for a swift trial, many in Lazarevo were angry
“Ratko Mladic is a hero, no Serb should be ashamed of him. I have relatives in Bosnia, and without him they would have been annihilated,” said Mirko Despotovic, 48.
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