Bosnian Serbs debate extradition law

Mr Karadzic and Mr Mladic: Wanted for war crimes

The Bosnian Serb parliament is to debate a law on co-operation with the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague which could pave the way for the extradition of leading suspects Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

As the Serb Republic president I am confident that the deputies will endorse the law, as the most acceptable and useful thing to do for the Serb Republic

Bosnian Serb President Mirko Sarovic

It follows last month's decision by the government of neighbouring Serbia to extradite its former president, Slobodan Milosevic.

The Bosnian Serb authorities have been under growing pressure to hand over suspects, notably the civil war leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic.

However, the draft law will not be voted on until September at the earliest. Even then it is likely to face stiff opposition in parliament, says the BBC's Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo.

Indicted

The fact that the Bosnian Serb parliament is even debating co-operation with the war crimes tribunal is an indication of how much pressure it is under, correspondents say.

Slobodan Milosevic has already been extradited to The Hague

Co-operation with the tribunal is written into the Bosnian constitution, but in the five and a half years since the end of the war, the Bosnian Serb authorities have not arrested a single war crimes suspect.

The party founded by Mr Karadzic, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), holds the largest number of seats in parliament and is likely to oppose the draft law.

Willing to co-operate

It has often been accused by the international community of refusing to break with Mr Karadzic, who has been on the run since 1996 when he withdrew from public life due to his indictment.

However, Bosnian Serb President Mirko Sarovic, who represents the SDS, says the authorities are now willing to hand over suspects wanted by the tribunal.

The draft law will only receive a first reading before parliament goes into summer recess.