Letter: Secret swoop on accused Serbs

Secret swoop on accused Serbs

Sir: Bill Woodger (letters, 14 July) obviously does not understand the complexities of arresting alleged war criminals if he is questioning the need for secrecy of indictments issued against Bosnian Serbs. The arrest of Kovacevic might well not have been possible had it not been

for the sealed indictment.

Sadly, the chances of the "big fish" being arrested are very slim, despite Nato getting its act together. The chances of arresting Karadzic and Mladic are not helped by the publicised warrants for their arrest, as is the case with another 70 or so. By issuing secret indictments there is less chance of the suspects surrounding themselves with hundreds of bodyguards, thus preventing any kind of arrest - as Karadzic has done.

As regards SAS tactics, it would not have mattered who went to arrest Drljaca: it could have been the Metropolitan Police firearms unit; the result would have been the same. Or does Mr Woodger think it acceptable for a person nearly to kill another for simply issuing a verbal challenge?

JAMES VELUSIE

Nottingham