Gotcha, Mladic!

It’s not all bad; at last that animal Mladic has had his collar felt. So we may now write ‘finis’ over the glorious chapter when UN forces stood by as 8,000 Muslim males were massacred.

I remember that when I was working in Banja Luka after the Dayton agreement, I went to a rally addressed by Arcan, one of the chief assassins. He looked every inch the mafia boss, with his black suit and shades and bodyguard of heavies – a truly sinister figure. He got his come-uppance when someone took him out a while later.

Banja Luka is a miserable grey place, every inch the ex-communist workers’ paradise.  The only building of distinction was the ancient mosque, a magnificent pile built in about the 14^th century. I say ‘was’ because the Serbs had blown it up, and there was no trace of it whatsoever except a green space where it had once stood. Unfortunately, they were none to skilled in the demolition business, because they also succeeded in blowing up a large chunk of the adjacent shopping area.

The only Muslims left were in the graveyard; ethnic cleansing was complete.