WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee, released the following joint statement today on the arrest of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander who has been indicted for the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities during the Bosnian war.

“We are very pleased by the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic, who has been indicted for the genocide of almost 8,000 people at Srebrenica in 1995, the long-term shelling of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war which resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 people, and other atrocities.

“The arrest marks a crucial turning point for Serbia, and will help the country move beyond the brutal Balkan wars in the 1990s. Mladic’s arrest and extradition to The Hague to stand trial for his crimes will help achieve justice for the victims and allow for ethnic reconciliation in the region.

“We hope that Serbia will seize the moment and implement a reform agenda that furthers their democratic and economic advancements and ensures their integration into the European Union.”