Sarajevo - The chairman of Bosnia's tripartite state presidency Haris Silajdzic said Tuesday in Sarajevo he expects the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague to conduct a fast and efficient trial of top Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic.

"I hope this trial will shed new light and bring new evidence in the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina," said Silajdzic, commenting on news that the former Bosnian Serb leader was transferred early Tuesday morning to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague from Belgrade where he was arrested on July
21.

"Half of Bosnia-Herzegovina's population was moved from their homes, 100,000 killed (during the 1992-95 war) so we cannot allow this to be a one-man-show," said Silajdzic.

Munira Subasic of the Association of Srebrenica Mothers also said she hoped the trial of Karadzic would be fast.

"I expect from The Hague to conduct this trial as fast as it can and to punish the butcher for the crimes he committed against us, against our children," Subasic told media in Sarajevo.

Rajko Vasic of the leading Bosnian Serb Party of Independent Social-Democrats (SNSD) said in Banja Luka he hoped Karadzic's handover would calm down the political situation in neighbouring Serbia.

He said those who were ready to demolish the democratic authorities in Serbia have lost one of their major tools.

Mladen Bosic, president of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) established by Karadzic some 18 years ago, expressed his disappointment with Karadzic's transfer.

He said he expected it to happen, but not before Karadzic's family was allowed to see him in the Serbian capital Belgrade where he was arrested.

Karadzic's closest relatives, living in the former Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale, some 20 kilometres south-east of Sarajevo, were not able to travel to Belgrade to meet him as their personal documents, including IDs and travel documents, were seized in January as they were suspected of being part of a network helping Karadzic to hide from justice.

Earlier Wednesday, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak, repealed in Sarajevo his decision to seize travel documents from Radovan Karadzic's family members.

"Bosnia-Herzegovina's authorities can now return documents seized from Radovan Karadzic's wife Ljiljana Zelen-Karadzic, daughter Sonja Karadzic-Jovicevic, son Aleksandar Karadzic and son-in-law Branislav Jovicevic," Lajcak said in the statement.

"Following consultations with relevant international and domestic partners and institutions, the High Representative has concluded that the reasons for the seizure of the travel documents of the above mentioned four individuals no longer apply. This decision shall have immediate effect," read the statement.

It said that restrictions against other persons remain in effect.

Lajcak added his decision "does not prejudice any ongoing or future investigation" against members of the Karadzic family.

The ICTY indicted Radovan Karadzic for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and severe breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Karadzic was on the run for nearly 13 years before he was arrested in Belgrade. (dpa)