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THE arrest of warlord Ratko Mladic should lead to the end of one of the most shameful chapters of European history.

The former commander of the Bosnian Serb army is accused of crimes on a horrific scale – including ordering the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.

It is crucial that not only justice prevails, but that it is swift. Mladic must be brought before the international court in The Hague quickly, and tried efficiently. He must not be allowed to create the circus that surrounded former Serb President Slobodan Milosevic, who insulted the victims of genocide by dragging his hearing out over four years, eventually dying before the trial was completed.

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This arrest, and that in 2008 of former leader Radovan Karadzic, will send a strong message to the leaders of recognised states – and those who follow their orders – that no one suspected of crimes against humanity is immune from justice. And, as the European Union considers Serbia’s application for membership, the capture of Mladic will, hopefully, offer some solace to the families of his many victims.

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