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Hardline Milosevic ally charged by Hague war crimes tribunal
The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague yesterday indicted the Serb ultranationalist, Vojislav Seselj, for alleged war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia. Mr Seselj, once a key ally of Slobodan Milosevic, said he knew the UN court had been preparing a warrant for his arrest, but said he planned to surrender voluntarily. "I will not let anyone arrest me," Mr Seselj, 48, told reporters in Belgrade. "I shall go when it pleases me." Shortly thereafter -- "Hi Voji. This is Mike, Tom, Bob, Jim, Clarence and D'Wayne. I'm Frank, and I'm from the CIA. These are my guys. Why don't you come with us." "Get away you rotten American scum. I shall go when it pleases me." "D'Wayne, would you please explain this to Voji?" WHACK WHACK WHACK "Owww! Okay, I'm pleased to go!" A prosecution spokeswoman, Florence Hartmann, said the indictment only became public yesterday and she could not explain how Mr Seselj had prior knowledge. He is charged with eight counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of violations of the laws or customs of war. Each count is punishable by up to life imprisonment. The indictment alleges Mr Seselj incited ethnic hatred and encouraged troops to commit violent acts against non-Serbs in the Balkans in the 1990s. "In almost daily rallies and election campaigns, he called for Serb unity and war against Serbia's 'historic enemies', namely ethnic Croat, Muslim and Albanian populations in the former Yugoslavia," it says. UN prosecutors allege that he participated in a "joint criminal enterprise" to expel large portions of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and parts of the Vojvodina region in the Republic of Serbia. Mr Seselj, who has said he has booked a flight to the Netherlands for February 24, declined to comment on the specific charges, saying he had not yet seen the indictment himself. He has denied allegations that his troops committed war crimes, claiming they were under army command. Ah, the "dutiful soldier" defense. Mr Milosevic has been on trial in the Hague for the past year, charged with 66 counts of war crimes and genocide in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Mr Seselj became an unofficial leader of the Serbian nationalist movement after Mr Milosevic was ousted in 2000. He criticises the new, pro-democracy authorities in Serbia for working against the country's interests. He won 36% of the vote in presidential elections in December. Serbia risks losing western support because of its reluctance to arrest the former Bosnian Serb military commander, Ratko Mladic, and two former Yugoslav army officers sought by the tribunal. More trash that ought to be hauled away. Posted by: Steve White 2003-02-15 |
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