Dangerous legends

The presumed war criminal Radovan Karadžić appeared yesterday before the custodial judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung stresses the need for a quick start to the trial, and rejects the idea that Europe should offer a premature reward to Serbia. "It is high time the proceedings began, before new Serbian myths take root and the crimes Karadžić is accused of fade into the past. Legends are already growing up around the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, who managed to hoodwink everyone by adopting a false identity. ... All of this deflects attention from the indictment, which also suits the leadership in Belgrade. But we cannot allow Karadžić the war criminal to be remembered by all as the excentric guru and benevolent miracle healer Dr. Dragan Dabic. ... [The Serbian government] was quick to deliver Karadžić to The Hague, and now expects a reward from the West. It is to be hoped that the EU will remain firm and implement the Stability and Association Agreement, the first rung on the ladder to EU membership, only once Ratko Mladić has also been taken into custody. Brussels must not be too quick to let go of this lever. Serbia is reliant on the EU, and not the other way round."

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