The Hague war-crimes tribunal: Gotcha

A rush of defendants go to The Hague, but the biggest fish still swim free

THE UN's Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal at The Hague must be used to a bad press, especially over the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian leader, which has gone badly. In vain has it touted the completed or continuing trials of 111 other defendants. But the past few weeks have given the tribunal a fillip. Suddenly indictees from all over are pouring in to stand trial - and not one has had to be arrested.

The biggest catch is Ramush Haradinaj, the 36-year-old prime minister of Kosovo, indicted on charges over his time as a commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army during its war with Serbia in 1998-99. Mr Haradinaj had swapped his fatigues for smart suits and his reputation as a hard man for that of an able politician. But prosecutors at The Hague had long been after him. They are keen to disprove the Serb belief that the tribunal is just an anti-Serb kangaroo court. Their problem lay in finding witnesses ready to risk their lives by testifying. In high-profile trials in Kosovo, witnesses have often been silenced - forever.

The indictment, resignation and departure to The Hague of the prime minister has not, so far, provoked violence in Kosovo. On March 8th, when the news broke, Mr Haradinaj urged his fellow ethnic Albanians to remain calm. He knows that a renewal of last March's violence would be a disastrous setback to the cause of independence for Kosovo.

Other new boys settling into the tribunal's detention facilities include: two former Bosnian Serb generals; Momcilo Perisic, once head of the Yugoslav army; and Rasim Delic, a Muslim general who headed the Bosnian army. Mica Stanisic, a Bosnian Serb ex-minister, was due to go to the Hague on March 11th. The tribunal, which is due to finish its work in 2010, thinks the latest indictments could be its last. But 16 indictees are at large, including the biggest fish: Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime leader; Ratko Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb army; and Ante Gotovina, who led the 1995 Croatian campaign against the Serbs. Whether the Serbian or Croatian governments will take the political risk of arresting any of them is uncertain, even though EU entry talks are at stake.

Serbia may win a reprieve. Since last October, six Serbian and Bosnian generals have given themselves up, which may be enough for the country to get a green light later this month to begin talks on an EU association agreement. But nobody has illusions any longer: Messrs Karadzic, Mladic and Gotovina must go to The Hague, otherwise Serbia and Croatia will not go to Brussels.