ninety's during the balkans conflict but many in serbia see him as a national hero next r.t. special report looks into the controversy surrounding. in late may two thousand and eleven the small serbian village of law as it ever shot to fame leading newspapers in many countries splashed its name across the front pages it was here the serbian police arrested general rack comb luggage this is the place where it happened. the worldwide manhunt for him lasted fifteen years serbia had promised a one million euro ward for his capture. the general's arrests triggered acts of protest in many serbian towns. some of the serbian people are worried because the hague and international media are smearing our hero of. something is

a war criminal others believe he's a victim many events of his life especially in recent years are still shrouded in mystery. the small village of laos it ever is situation in central serbia a repair shop and a couple of cafes or a one and a church a cemetery and a school or of the other the village looks like many others in serbia. brad cohen lederach the general of the serbian army spent the last few days before his arrest hiding here in the house of his brother in law branco. almost often on friendly terms with branco for six years. is garden every day but never saw the general people here are not in the habit of walking on the arcades in homes but

sometime ago brain called began doing just that i thought why do you lock the door as on branco are you hiding your brother to really be a role model he simply laughed off my question. as in many villages all the people in labs are ever know one another everything is out in the open here and yet even neighbors did not suspect that an internationally wanted man was saying in a nearby house. was hiding here before the. place. the international tribunal for the former. genocide and the prisoner and civilians during the conflict in.

the small village of. most of the houses by his close and distant relatives. in this house. a little later. thing for country folk the mountains of specially rigorous. if they want to survive peasants need to till the soil much harder than in the. of course was not over that first cut grass with red hair when i was eight years old one may know he was the best moa here and i learned the skills from him what i thought it was the now on the best and was a place. in accordance with the patriarchal traditions

of peasant families the oldest male is supposed to care for the family. rocklin laddish was born in one nine hundred forty three during world war two his father died in battle when rocco was still a child. from then on he was the man of the house. subcommittee is now went out to hard working people but lazy people always got a dressing down on a field he almost told me to pieces whenever i tried to get out of my chores that in the interim work in the field and school very seriously he always was at the top of his class in military school and we were all very proud of employing the water with your that. recommended began his career as an officer in the yugoslav army is incorporated all ethnic groups live in the balkans. after world war two yugoslavia was a multi-ethnic federation that was made up of states with different ethnic

populations. by three of the few to be the all officers of the former yugoslavia and were yugoslavia as far as their convictions were concerned they became serums or threat only after the breakup of yugoslavia and the area that broadcom law which was one of those who believed in yugoslavia he believed there was still a chance so for evolving it but he changed his views in one thousand nine hundred ninety three after seeing the moslems murdering serbs they were trying to create an islamic country in an area populated by serbs with words he himself had been born. a vicious civil war broke out of the slums republican era ninety ninety two about half of the people have followed is around two columns. muslims a little more than a third a catholic croatians butchered first supported the serbs but ultimately sided with muslims. in april ninety ninety two the serbs surrounded the bosnian capital

sarajevo muslims made up the majority of the city's population. the siege of sarajevo lasted four years. traces of the siege can still be found on the streets of syria. many locals lost relatives here. i was away at work on october the tenth ninety four point zero one hundred twenty five millimeter shell hit my house my son and daughter were critically wounded twenty eight days later they died in hospital. me greatly to see their suffering i really wish they had died right there and then let me but i wouldn't have suffered so much. according to the hague tribunal the siege of sarajevo resulted in more than ten thousand deaths. approximately fifty thousand people were wounded. these

figures were cited and one of the grave ist indictments of rock come adage. to the war in sarajevo started when muslim terrorists attacked the serbian wedding even started to boil when muslim terrorists attacked a column of the former yugoslav people's. street where muslim terrorists were shooting at civilians and soldiers the muslims did everything to involve the world community especially the nato pact to fight on their side for their goals by staging various terrorist. during the war bosnia was divided into two countries. the muslims called their part the republic of bosnia and herzegovina. the serbs called the republic serbska rather than courage previously a practicing psychiatry first became leader of the serbs as well as president he

was also formally known as the commander in chief. rather than courage didn't have the right skills to command troops he had authority humanitarian frame of mind because of his character in occupation running a parliamentary public service good to get that into account when it elected retcon lad it the army's chief of staff. the president and the chief of staff for public service had an uneasy relationship the two men played according to their own rules. then thought in under pressure by the international community card has signed a plan to divide both mia between muslims and serbs american europe had guaranteed peace and all sides involved had promised to lay down their arms if the plan was signed but not it showed a map to members of parliament making clear what the serbs with louis was divided

in that way in the pretty madam as a result parliament refused to ratify the plan it turned it down as it were courage had to renounce his signature. by the end of the war tensions between the president and the chief of staff had reached an all time high rather than courage signed a decree forcing luggage to resign. in july of ninety ninety five the hague tribunal indicted both on similar charges crimes against humanity and genocide. but i have heard those accusations of the hague tribunal against me yes i am a person who belongs to my people. just like my ancestors my people with the first to stop i will. i don't recognize any troilus except the trial of my own people here i don't need to defend myself because these idiotic accusations come from places which have been churning out law is true.

in one nine hundred ninety six nato demanded that current it should be handed over to the hague tribunal. that same year both bosnian leaders disappeared from bosnia . when the carriage was on the wanted list he had no contact with any of his relatives he rented a flat in belgrade posing as dr dragon davidge he grew long hair and beard and more thick rimmed glasses as a disguise. current it openly appeared on the streets and even found employment. often went shopping and frequented the cafe near his house where he spent time sitting among pictures of himself and. the freedom for a camel image. today serbian patriots regard this cafe as

a veritable mecca. here young people are taken on a going to tour. the cafes owner me sharad it was on friendly terms with both carried it around nottage the word of this drink a toast to kurdish and red come alive which let's wish them a fair trial an early release because they are not guilty of what we're charged with but hope that they can join us here soon as possible and we can drink together . rather than carrot it was on a wanted list for twelve years before he was arrested and extradited to the hague in two thousand and eight. was in hiding for fifteen years serbian police arrested him on may twenty sixth two thousand and eleven. could have stayed in hiding much longer had he not used a cell phone and had he not been in touch with relatives even distant ones when you're cut off from all sources of financing you have to turn to people you know

the trouble though is that they may already be under surveillance that's how you get caught. the police are in no hurry to disclose the details of how he was able to evade arrest for fifteen years. to the press claim he frequented his brother in law's house in the village of loss of many times. was in the room behind the second window he saw and heard of the police told me what i was supposed to do during his arrest he was carrying two pistols and. this is what he said to them i could have killed you times over but i didn't do it because you're not guilty of anything. was extradited to the hague in early june two thousand and eleven according to his lawyer the former general had suffered three strokes and a heart attack while he was on the run at the hague tribunal ruled the outcome

luggage was fit to stand trial. on the estimates are new in any way i hear better in my left ear and my head is cool let me put my cap on. my body is not functioning. july the fourth two thousand and eleven sarajevo the capital of the muslim republic of bosnia and herzegovina this rally has gathered on a square to watch a live broadcast from the trial at the hague more than anyone else these people blame. for the deaths of their husbands brothers and children. the same day the s.n.p. thirteen eighty nine youth movement held one of its regular protest actions in serbia's capital belgrade. some still. we are not out to vandalize

buildings or the city this is a political act that would be normal anywhere else s.m.p. thirteen supports the fans are heroes right and rather than carriage with the officer they defended the serbian people on their home soil we founded organization to help protect our heroes from the slander campaign of the hague tribunal. according to a public opinion poll more than half of the serb population were again struck kind of knowledge being handed over to the hague tribunal. but nearly a quarter of the country's population accuse the government of deliberately dragging their feet of the search. when you look for nuclear winter against. in human blood is measured in barrels. brain is most.

have no idea. the quiet provincial town of srebrenica is one of many in bosnia only the walls of several buildings pockmarked with bullets and shells serve as

a reminder of the bitter fighting between serbs and muslims. even though there were many serbian villages around. the town has a predominantly muslim population. but was later called a massacre took place here in one nine hundred ninety five the cooling to different sources anywhere between two thousand and eight thousand people were either killed or went missing. the main blame for the killings is on route co-manage. three scientist all three of my sons northern and silenced my husband. what can i say about it just look around at old these people who are guilty of anything there they were. back in one thousand nine hundred three strober need so was a muslim enclave on the territory of a self declared entity called republika srpska. brain and so was surrounded by

a lot of cheers troops but muslim troops led by now so although each were in control of the situation inside the town. generally the seventh is christmas for the orthodox church on that day in one thousand nine hundred three storage his troops launched a massive attack on nearby serbian villages. the village of cravats is fifteen kilometers from. cristo story on of each a serb has lived here with his family since his birth. on january the seventh one thousand nine hundred three he was on the front line in the afternoon he and fellow soldiers were told that the muslims had captured cravats after attacking it from. the serbs were ordered to retreat. so then this if. i could you know they have to cry it's only after troops liberated the village seventy two days after there was

a very strange of burnt flash in the village i found the body of my father and a hundred meters from the house. had been stabbed in the gut. had backed out his face. this footage filmed by police shows serbs massacred in villages around. various estimates put the number of serbian villages ruined by nussle riches troops during the war more than one hundred. the names of three thousand two hundred sixty two casualties have now been established. post-mortem reports make it clear the most of the people who were tortured the four they were killed. service minister for public health zoran stankovic worked at the institute for forensic studies touring the war he witnessed the inquest into the deaths of the serbs and examinations for mass

graves in bosnia. we saw the bodies of captives military men with their heads chopped off one served for example had been hit on the head with a blunt object and his eyes had been cut out moreover it was clear that his eyes were moved when he was still alive. many of the bodies bore signs of a very cruel method of murder we informed the hague tribunal about it and supplied it with all of a level records. fifty. one of the most popular theories concerning the seizure of stripper need not to choose troops is that it was an act of revenge against muslims . nine hundred ninety three un resolution called on peacekeeping forces to just samba combat formations that had entrenched themselves and strengthen it so the muslim enclave was declared a demilitarized zone. a dutch battalion of brutal race was dispatched to monitor

the cease fire. well most of those not even in the us where instead of disarming the muslim formations as they had committed themselves to under the agreement on srebrenica signed by mean and general more your united nations forces turned those safe areas into terrorist and fundamentalist bases from where the villages and towns were attacked it's a ship and all the starting from nine hundred ninety three we haven't taken a single action against threatening despite watching how the muslims saw it was being in this sometimes they even used helicopters to airlift weapons from iran. to serve ami waited for the disarmament of nassau all riches troops for nearly two years before wrath come luggage decided to storm trip in the summer of one thousand nine hundred five. serbian troops captured the city on july the eleventh. according to another theory the government of bosnia and herzegovina simply gave

strober needs or away to the serbs. passion of this virtual news i lost in one nine hundred ninety three myself and other public figures from srebrenica met with me as president i liaise a bag of it in sarah i will subscribe this is what he said to us if the serbs into trouble and something like five thousand muslims died that would create a good excuse for a nato invasion nato forces would then stop bombarding serbian units. of. thousands of dead bodies on both sides. mothers without children wives without husbands. distrust and hatred between those who were once neighbors. that is the outcome of the standoff in srebrenica. or for thise or pink way said crimes were committed by both sides most of the muslims were shot and killed people

are coming. tests shows that they were killed from a distance may mean that some of them died in battle most of the crimes against serbs were not perpetrated before. they were simply murdered in cold blood or their heads or chopped off. with. the hague tribunal gave the commander of the group of muslim troops. two years in prison after a second trial he was acquitted and orage guilty in two thousand and eight he was arrested by bosnian police for extortion and unlawful possession of. today the former commander feels comfortable in his home in the bosnian town of. the people in my country serbia feel very bitter about the rulings of the hague tribunal simply because there reflect double standards the pertinent question is whether the expertise of the

tribunals. there also questions about the professionalism of those who belittle the gills or the excuses. although read come out it was already on the wanted list up until two thousand and thirty two no special precautions to go into hiding . his government had not even stripped him of his bodyguards. in the ninety's rushed home let it slip in belgrade from the house where his son now has an office for his small firm. from two thousand on woods serbian police began regular roundups and searches in the homes of not at his closest relatives it is still unclear where the general was at that time. i don't think i need to talk about my father's life even today it is the subject of too much speculation i will not say when i saw him last before his arrest i can only say that we stayed here

together during the one nine hundred ninety nine bombardment of belgrade i did see my father after his arrest but i am not allowed to talk with the media about anything relating to the hague tribunal that us on the part. of the serbian population was angered by his arrest there were actions in support of the many cities and. demonstrators demanded to resign because they felt it was betraying the nation's heroes. in belgrade one such protest resulted in a clash with the police. this is a poster from a demonstration we held several years ago calling from lot it's to be handed over to the hague tribunal it reads our years are not for wasting to the hague. activists from the serbian. people who committed crimes in the former yugoslavia to

be handed over to the hague tribunal this petition campaign is just one example of the frequent activities on the streets of belgrade to support the movement. these young people make no distinction between muslim and criminals they feel tensions in the balkans died down once all those wanted by the hague tribunal brought to justice. country in the territory of the former yugoslavia has its own version of history each of them has its own. heroes and criminals if you think this is a very bad situation it is a breeding ground for future conflict. with. the serbian government has now handed over all the main serbs wanted by the hague tribunal in the proceedings in the quran how judge the last suspect on the wanted list was captured on july the twentieth two thousand and eleven. european union want serbia

to me quite a few conditionals before it can become an e.u. member but so far we have been unable to comply with all of them so the arrest of carriage and how to church has paved the way for talks about a possible entry into the a year. serbian society is split over the prospect of merging with great to europe more than half of serbs polled distrust the new. or rather than carriage a true still in hiding from the police the phrase rather than courage it street was written on the house ways lived. and after the rest of ratko a growing number of images of him might be seen clearing on the streets of belgrade .

today's news and this week's top stories the day that divided the world remembering the terror attack that prompted america to launch a global policing mission that many experts claim as made the world more dangerous . forever young russia bids farewell to the players of a top national ice hockey team who perished in a plane crash that killed forty three. and moscow is to send a fact finding mission to syria as president refuses to take sides in the conflict saying talks are the only way to peace. ten am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me where you know josh it was the day that changed history americans and the world were shocked by the worst terrorist attack ever on u.s. soil in the debt.