THE WHITE HOUSE | Office of the Press Secretary
July 21, 2008

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Today, Serbian authorities conducted a successful operation to arrest Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime political leader,on charges of war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Karadzic, who has long been a fugitive from justice, has been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including crimes relating to the sniping campaign against civilians in Sarajevo and the taking of UN peacekeepers as hostages.  These offenses include a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing directed at non-Serbs, organized attacks on places of worship, the operation of concentration camps, and the mass murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians. 

We congratulate the Government of Serbia, and thank the people who conducted this operation for their professionalism and courage.  This operation is an important demonstration of the Serbian Government’s determination to honor its commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  The timing of the arrest, only days after the commemoration of the massacre of over 7,000 Bosnians committed in Srebrenica, is particularly appropriate, as there is no better tribute to the victims of the war's atrocities than bringing their perpetrators to justice.

PRESIDENT BUSH MEETS WITH PRESIDENT SEJDIU AND PRIME MINISTER THACI OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO, JULY 21, 2008 

PRESIDENT BUSH: It has been an honor to welcome the President and Prime Minister of an independent Kosovo to the Oval Office. I'm proud you all are here. I welcome you. I'm a strong supporter of Kosovo's independence. I'm against any partition of Kosovo. I believe strongly that the United Nations mission must be transferred to the EU as quickly as possible. I want to thank you very much for your support of minority rights, the full implementation of the Ahtisaari plan (more)
 VIDEO

Friday, July 18, 2008, Tina S. Kaidanow was sworn in as Ambassador to Kosovo by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the Department of State

July, 18, 2008, Remarks with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci 
 video

Secretary Rice: Good morning. I’m honored to welcome President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaci on their first visit to Washington as the leaders of an independent Kosovo. 

More than 40 countries have recognized Kosovo, including over two-thirds of the European Union and NATO, and a majority of UN Security Council members. The United States will continue to assist Kosovo as it builds its multiethnic government and its democratic institutions. We have recently pledged $400 million at – for the next couple of years, during a donors conference. This is, in fact, emblematic of U.S. support, which has been over $1 billion in aid in the last decade. (more)

President Bush to Welcome President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of the Republic of Kosovo

The President will welcome President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of the Republic of Kosovo to the White House on July 21, 2008. The President looks forward to meeting with President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaci during their first visit to the United States as leaders of an independent Kosovo. The visit will provide an opportunity for the President to discuss with President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaci his strong support for the efforts of the Kosovo Government to build a democratic, prosperous, multiethnic state with institutions that serve all of Kosovo's citizens.

BALKANS BREAST CANCER INITIATIVE

The goal of the Balkans Breast Cancer Initiative (BBCI) is to raise breast cancer awareness, reduce cultural taboos on the subject and reach out to women of all ethnicities and religions in the region, emphasizing that cancer knows no borders. As part of this initiative the U.S. Embassy in Pristina brought over U.S. State Department-funded Strategic Speaker, Dr. Balazs “Ernie” Bodai, breast cancer surgeon and creator of the U.S. Breast Cancer Research Stamp, to visit Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania. The BBCI is a broad partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Public Health, the Telemedicine Center, medical experts and the sole breast cancer non-governmental organization in Kosovo. The U.S. Embassies in Pristina, Skopje and Tirana enthusiastically welcomed Dr. Bodai, and he received an overwhelmingly positive reception and a great deal of media coverage. A digital video conference with the U.S. Embassies in Podgorica and Zagreb expanded his reach. In Kosovo, the Director of the Postal Service confirmed that Kosovo will issue the Stamp to coincide with the first-ever Breast Cancer Awareness Walk.

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