International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Is Mladic's trial an opportunity for Serbia?

In war, Ratko Mladic was a feared general; despised and feared by his enemies and revered by his own men.

That is how he was preserved in our memory during all those years he was in hiding; a swaggering, confident, brutal man.

But the Ratko Mladic whom we eventually got a glimpse of this week was much changed.

Impoverished and in bad health, he is a pathetic, sunken figure.

The circle of powerful friends who had protected him had gradually melted away over the years, leaving him with little logistical support outside his immediate family. That is what made his arrest possible, both in practical and political terms.