of Serbia , and thanked the people who arrested Karadzic on a bus in Belgrade for their `` professionalism and courage . '' Paddy Ashdown , the former international administrator in Bosnia , told the BBC that it was a `` longed hoped for day . '' `` The four years that I was working with NATO to try and catch him were peppered by rumors of where he was -- in this cafe , on that mountain , in this valley . '' Watch Karadzic 's lawyer slam arrest '' Ashdown also told Britain 's Daily Telegraph newspaper that it was a `` major breakthrough for the Balkans region . '' `` Karadzic was accused of being the architect of the worst war crimes that have been perpetrated in Europe since the Nazis . `` It is a major credit to Serbia and at last brings the prospect of justice for Bosnia , '' Ashdown said . The arrest brought Serbia 's hopes of joining the EU one step closer to realization , EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana lauding the news . `` This ... gives us immense satisfaction . The new government in Belgrade stands for a
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Radovan Karadzic 's arrest after a decade-long hunt is the equivalent of catching Europe 's Osama bin Laden , the U.S. diplomat who brokered peace in Bosnia says . Radovan Karadzic , seen here in 1995 , has been arrested after a decade-long hunt . Richard Holbrooke , who negotiated the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement , led the chorus of congratulations from around the globe telling reporters it was `` a historic day . '' `` One of the worst men in the world , the Osama bin Laden of Europe , has finally been captured . A major , major thug has been removed from the public scene . '' `` He was at large because the Yugoslav army was protecting him . But this guy in my view was worse than Milosevic -LSB- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic -RSB- ... he was the intellectual leader , '' Holbrooke told CNN . Watch Holdbrooke talk about the arrest '' David Miliband , Britain 's Foreign Secretary , said it would `` pave the way for a brighter , European future for Serbia and the region . '' The White House released a statement congratulating the government