BOSNIA: PALE: ZELEN-KARADZIC AT RALLY

Описание: (6 Apr 2000) Eng/Serbo-Croat/Nat

The wife of Bosnia's most wanted war crimes suspect, Radovan Karadzic, appeared on Wednesday at a rally of the hard-line Serb party once led by her husband.

She is efforting to boost her party`s chances of a comeback in this weekend's municipal elections.

Ljiljana Zelen-Karadzic's appearance came two days after NATO troops arrested her husband's former aide, Momcilo Krajisnik, on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and violating the customs of war.

Karadzic, who was the Bosnian Serb president and head of the Serb Democratic Party during the 1992-1995 war, remains at large.

He is rumoured to be living in the Serb-ruled part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite the presence of NATO troops.

At the rally, Zelen-Karadzic refused to comment on her husband's whereabouts, but admitted her family was afraid he might be arrested.

Her appearance was designed to rally the hard-line party in advance of Saturday's municipal balloting.

Karadzic had to withdraw from politics after he was indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

He has been charged with crimes against humanity and genocide for allegedly masterminding the 1995 slaughter of Muslims in the U-N-protected enclave of Srebrenica in northeastern Bosnia.

Karadzic's Serb Democratic Party lost its grip on absolute power two years ago when some of its prominent members defected and formed an alliance with moderate opposition parties, which took half of the seats in the Bosnian Serb parliament.

SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"In question now are the democratic process. People will support SDS and we will win."
SUPER CAPTION: Dragan Kalinic, SDS Leader

The party's main opponent in the weekend elections is the Bosnian Serb prime minister, Milorad Dodik - blamed by hard-liners for having steered the Bosnian Serbs toward the West and for abandoning the goal of an ethnically pure Bosnian Serb mini-state.

SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
"This is a message from Serb Pale - We will be El Nino, and we will storm through Banja Luka after the elections."
SUPER CAPTION: Dragan Kalinic, SDS Leader

An ethnically pure entity goes against the terms of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the Bosnian war.

Republika Srpska, as the Serb entity is known, is politically divided into the pro-Dodik west, with its headquarters in Banja Luka, and the nationalist-run east, based in Pale.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I expect only a victory."
Q: "What do you think about the arrest of? I think it is very poor situation. People in Pale are very bitter about this. We are decent people and we stay waiting for our results and we hope that we are victorious. "
A: "And are they afraid that they will arrest your husband?"
A: "I am afraid, I am not mad, I am afraid but I have hope in God and I bless God with this."
SUPER CAPTION: Ljiljana Karadzic, wife of Radovan Karadzic

She described the arrest this week of top war crimes suspect Momcilo Krajisnik as a "very bitter" loss for Pale and the
Krajisnik signed the Dayton deal but afterwards advocated Serb secession from Bosnia.
He was arrested on Monday by French peacekeepers.

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