My former boss, Ejup Ganic, arrested in London

Some of you may have heard on the news that Dr Ejup Ganic, former President of Bosnia, was arrested last week in London on a warrant issued by the Serbian Government. They are asking for an extradition order to try him in Serbia on war crimes charges. His bail has been refused until the case can be discussed on March 29th.

This is such a travesty of justice. Dr Ganic has already been cleared of war crimes by the International Court at The Hague and is a well known academic and man of peace in Bosnia. Since the war he has invested almost all his own money in a technical university in Sarajevo, where students of all ethnicities study computer science, maths, engineering and languages. I worked for him there for two years as Head of the English Department, and I have the greatest admiration for him as one of the people who has really done something to get the country back on its feet after a terrible period. He believes totally that the future of a country lies in the education of its young people.

The Serbs have always hated him and they have done this now in revenge for the trial of their ex-president, Karadzjic, now taking place at the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. Dr Ganic is the highest profile Bosnian they can attack in this way.

I know that the Bosnian war seems a long time ago already, and people get very confused now about who was fighting whom and why. But in the region memories run deep, and are being revived by the current trial. I can only ask for vibes that this particular case will be resolved very quickly and Dr Ganic can return to his work and his students. The thought of this good man in prison in a country he has always regarded as a special friend appals me. When he was arrested he was returning from a university graduation ceremony for some of his ex-students at Buckingham University in the UK.

It is what is called 'diplomacy' at work and the UK trying not to offend a government that it is trying to encourage in new democratic techniques. Unfortunately, when it comes to anything to do with war crimes and 'national honour', no one in the region observes the niceties.

The Serbs are saying that when the International Court decided not to indict Dr Ganic for any war crimes (he was on a list of people whose actions were all investigated but he was cleared), it did not take account of/have sufficient evidence for considering a couple of specific incidents in which Serb soldiers (and possibly civilians, though that has not been proved) were killed by (they allege) Bosniak (read Bosnian Muslim) forces controlled by the Bosnian Government, at the time when he was either Vice-president or President. Are you still with me? The Serbs also want to try another ex-president of Bosnia, llia Izetbegovic and ex-president of Croatia, Dr Tudjman, both of whom are dead!

I do in fact think the UK govt is wrong in pandering to this twisted version of history and it seems to me more like appeasement than anything.

Yes, it is always wrong, and usually makes things worse in the long run. But it is not confined to Europe - the US has done more than its share of appeasing and holding up dictators and evil governments because it suited them for trade or political purposes. Central America comes to mind. In the early days they even supported Saddam in the interests of Middle East Peace. And what is their support of Israel against the Palestinians if not appeasement. I know Joe Biden is there now trying to stop more settlements, but he will not be successful as the govt there are just too used to US support for anything they do and think they can ignore any comments now.

Ejup was released on bail today, amid many protests from Bosnia. The current President came to London to complain about his treatment to the British Foreign Secretary, so this is escalating into a diplomatic row.

No, it was very complicated. And the explanations given depend entirely on what nationality of person you are talking to. I lived in the region for ten years, and there were still aspects of it all that I did not understand. There was intolerance and hate leading to terrible events on every side, but also many good people of all nationalities who abhorred the violence and only wanted to live in peace with their neighbours of a different ethnic nationality/religion.

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a huge topic on its own, and again there is guilt on every side. The British and French governments started it all when they carved up the Middle East with no regard to local sensibilities. The Jews needed a home of course, but it was all done with no thought to the Arabs who originally lived there, and who are the parents and grand-parents of the current Palestinians. They were herded out of their homes, into non-productive areas, and have been fighting for justice ever since. They are refugees in their own land. I do not want to get into all that in this thread, but the US government has supported Israel whatever it has done to these people. I think the settlements are a terrible injustice. But again, there is evil on all sides.