Referring to Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, Mr Bikas said: “We consider that the logic of unconditional support for Ciller so that [Islamic] fundamentalism does not prevail is simplistic and dangerous.”He continued: “We believe that the same kind of simplistic mistake was made in the 1930s. Mr Chirac also annoyed Mr Papandreou by saying it was time for the EU to develop a closer relationship with Turkey, Greece’s main rival.Greece’s foreign ministry spokesman, Constantine Bikas, responded to Mr Chirac’s criticisms yesterday by deriding the French leader’s understanding of Turkish politics. Diplomats from other EU countries said he felt insulted at the way President Jacques Chirac of France, the summit host, had publicly criticised Greek policies on Tuesday at an end-of-summit news conference.
Mr Chirac, a centre-right Gaullist, laid into Mr Papandreou for breaking ranks with his EU allies and imposing a trade embargo on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a country that Greece refuses to recognise on the grounds that its name and flag imply a claim to Greek territory. Mr Papandreou, 76, returned to Athens from the EU summit in Cannes expressing outrage at what he called “an orchestrated campaign” mounted against Greece by other European countries, notably France. Mr Papandreou, who served as prime minister from 1981 to 1989, said he had “never felt such a stranger within the EU” as at Cannes. Relations between Greece and its 14 European Union allies have plunged this week to perhaps their lowest point since Andreas Papandreou, the socialist Prime Minister, won re-election in October 1993. Promoted to general in April 1992.Last year Mladic’s 23-year-old daughter Ana, a theological student, committed suicide after a spateof criticism of her father in Belgrade newspapers.Named as a war criminal by the US, he says: “It isnot a crime to defend one’s people, it’s a holy duty.”.

In June 1991, he was sent to the Knin region of Croatia, where he consolidated Serb rebel gains. On his second birthday his father, Nedja, died fighting the Ustashe – Croatians allied with the German occupation forces.Ratko is a diminutive of Ratimir, meaning “war and peace”, or Ratislav, meaning “war of the Slavs”.Graduated from Yugoslavia’s military academy in 1965, joined the Communist Party the same year and rose through successive commands in the Yugoslav army. For General Mladic, the battle of Kosovo could be lost again.RATKO MLADICBorn 12 March 1943 in Kalnovik, Herzegovina. He only has to look back to history, as he often does, to see the danger of cracks within the Serbian ranks.

Six centuries ago, on that fateful day at Kosovo, the nobleman Vuk Brankovic withdrew from the battle, thus ensuring that the Serbs were defeated. “Many times as a man I pointed out that I have no political ambitions, because I was never interest in politics except when it concerns the army and the unity of the people.”The threat of disunity is the most serious one for General Mladic. On the other hand, our soldiers and officers in the army lead modest lives”.But he insists that he has no interest in politics. Singling out Mr Karadzic’s now disbanded personal secret police, known as the “Typhoon”, General Mladic said that it was shameful that the disgraced members of that organisation had been rewarded with businesses and restaurants.He saved most of his venom, however, for the paramilitary warlords, whom he accused of enriching themselves on the backs of the people.”They concerned themselves with running around to jewellery stores, banks and well-supplied supermarkets There is not a single hill that they kept or liberated. He instead rails against “marginal persons”, “informers” and “highly rated advisers”. He has also complained about nepotism and official corruption.

He is hesitant, however, to name the names of his enemies within the Bosnian Serb leadership or to speak openly of an internal rift with Mr Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb ”president”, with whom his relations are said to be very cool. More like an old nag.”The only enemy that he really fears are the rogues within his own ranks. It depends on the world potentates who want to impose their interest by the force of arms.”The absolute conviction in the justice of his cause, and that he is waging a righteous war, makes him certain that he will prevail. Although he is not completely unconcerned about the prospect of international military intervention, he makes light of the possibility.At the height of the UN hostage crisis, a international friend warned him that he might have caught a tiger by the tail “Don’t you worry,” he replied “Besides, to me it doesn’t look much like a tiger. Therefore, he cannot and will not do anything to abandon the war while his enemies refuse to admit they are defeated.”As far as we Serbs are concerned, we are close to the end of the war, but the duration of this conflict does not depend on my will or your will, or the will of my people.