SERB HARDLINER REFUSES TO PLEA

CNN ^ | 26 February, 2003

[kosta50]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands --Serbian ultra-nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj has declined to plead at The Hague to war crimes charges, echoing the defiance of his former ally Slobodan Milosevic.

Seselj, a burly nationalist who came second in last December's Serbian presidential election, said he wanted to exercise his right to delay his plea by up to 30 days to allow clarification of terms in the indictment that he said he did not understand.

[kosta50]

Pretty spunky, I would say. Any comments?

[bobi]

One thing about Serbs is that when they say something or do something they mean it.

If NATO expected them to get down on their knees and plead for mercy they just simply wrong.

[Burkeman1]

The American involvement in the Balkans is one of the most shameful episodes of the Clinton era- and by default remains so for the current President. The Clinton Kosovo/Serbia bombing campaign is the most disgusting foreign policy action this nation has ever engaged in. I am against going to war with Iraq- but even if we do- it will at least have a justification (I still believe it is not in our interests). What Clinton did in Kosovo has zero justification. We murdered people for no reason.

[lone star annie]

I agree. That entire fiasco in Kosovo stinks. I think the only reason we are there is to protect Old Europe from a further invasion of Muslims into their countries. The Serbs wanted to rid their countries of those that wanted to kill them. Geesh what a novel idea.

[F-117A]

Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, of Germany, said he would enter a "not guilty" plea for him if Seselj continued to refuse to enter a plea to the charges.

Germany starts the wars and now judges the victims!

[Burkeman1]

No- The Europeons show no sign of stopping muslem immigration to their countries (they are hopeless and a dead self hating culture). We went there because Clinton needed a distraction (the Cox reprot had just come out and the Juanita interview had aired just prior to the bombing.) But also- Neo Cons supported the war as well for their own "American Greatness" doctrine silliness that is now leading us into a new perpetual war in the middle east.

[illumini]

I agree. The Hague should be abolished and called "dumb and dumber", or just "East France".

[ABrit]

"I'm not at all in a hurry in these proceedings,"

That suits me. He can spend as long as he wants waiting in prison, and then serve a life sentence!

[DestroyEraseImprove]

"I'll blast them to pieces. I will come back from The Hague victorious."

Sure, he will, but this 'court' will convict him anyways.

[DestroyEraseImprove]

A german judge, a german Gauleiter in Kosovo and not too long ago a Britt replaced the austrian Gauleiter in Bosnia. Besides, Republika Srpska Krajina was forcefully incorporated into Croatia, emptied of Serbs and is ruled by Poglavnik from Zagreb now. And the Serbs are prosecuted.

[kosta50]

Any thouths on this?....

[kosta50]

Recently Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjich told a German magazine that he is worried about Radicals becoming a major political force in Serbia and reminded them that they got 30% of the vote in the last presidential elections, placing second, behind Voyislav Koshtunitsa.

Djindjich's unusually "patriotic" politicing recently indicates that he considers Radicals as a more serious threat than he did Koshtunitsa's DSS.

Djindjich paid a visit to Republika Srpska recnetly and gave a speech on patriotism vs nationalism, has demanded that RS be allowed to secede from Bosnia is Kosovo becomes independent, has demanded from the US that the Kosovo issue be resolved now, and he is behind the current move by the Serbian groups in Kosovo to form an parallel government there, and stop cooperation with the Albanian authorities and the NATO-backed UNMNIK. These are very unusual "patriotic" acitivities for a politician who has been extremely opposed to stressing anything Serbian, and has surrounded himself with people who are essentially globalist, internationalist in thinking.

It has been my position that the US intervention and involvement in the Balkans, whatever the reasons, has only done what post WWI has done to Germany -- radicalize the society, and provided fertile political ground for nationalist extremes to gain popularity.

In my mind, there is every parallel to be drawn between today's servile Serbia and Montenegro, and the post-WWI Weimar Republic.

Voyislav Sheshel' is scoring points for his political organization at home. It's the David vs the Goliath scenairo all over. Bad move on Carla del Ponte's thinking in my opinion. Sheshel' was indicted because of frustration of not having gotten Mladich and Karadzhich (yet, maybe?), and because Sheshel' has been "daring" the hague since 1995 to indict him.

And those who rejoice about him or others being in the Hague, I hope they realize that the current "solution" for the Balkans is just that -- current. I wouldn't be making plans on long term investments. Things are bound to change.

I must admit I like his choice of the trial language, and his objections to Croatian terminology, most of which are intentional constructs that didn't exist before. It's a slap in the face to both the Hague and the Croatians who have been trying for ever to make the Serbian language they use into something called "Croatian."

[vooch]

A obvious vote getting ploy :)

VS understands that the ICTY is a great opportunity for free airtime courtesy all paid for by Soros and his minons over at B92 & FreeSerbia.

VS knows that the ICTY has been utterly discredited in Yugoslavia as well as the rest of the thinking world.

Standing up to the ICTY is a freebie for VS

[Destro]

The Kangaroo Court can't even get the language right!!

[Destro]

VS and SM are sacrificing themselves at the Hague for a greater good. Their performance at the Kangaroo Court just boosted their political parties popularity back home.

The Third Way leftists assume the world thinks like they do and hoped that this court would break the Serbian nationalist movement. They did not understand the Serbian/Yugoslavian mentality.

Ever see the movie Casino? The scene where Joe Pesci is threatening the banker who owes him money and how "he doesn't care about going to jail if he cracks the mans head open for double crossing him". Pesci's character adds "just as you are recovering from your coma, I will be getting out of jail and I get to crack your head open again".

From my readings Yugoslavs and Eastern Europeans grew up with the threat of prison - Tudjman and Izebegovic were both jail birds. When going to prison is an everyday fear you stop to fear it. It is a price for doing "business" in the Balkans.

In these countries where the Ottoman empire created hell on earth the family and then your extended family where a man's guarantee for the future, a man lives on through his family and clan (for lack of a better word-Serbs have no clans). Your individual fate does not matter as it would matter to an individualistic Westerner.

We keep reading that he UN Court will heal the wounds of the Yugoslav wars by trails. This is a Western liberal concept. It is meaningless to those people and thus a failure in this respect also.

In other words the Serbs and the Balkan people in general are not respectful of authority (a result of geography and the Ottoman occupation). The Serbs are not like authority respecting Germans or Japanese who snapped to respectful attention even when they were on trail in allied courts.

[Tamodaleko]

To counter Radical's 30%< (and steadily rising), I hear a lot of flirting between Koshtunitsa's DSS and Labus's G-17 (now a political party) to strengthen their side of the voting base (both missing a punch).
True, Djindjich's latest unusual "patriotic" politicking was his attempt to turn the tide on his diminishing base. However, Dj.'s request to the West to start resolving K&M was the 1st formal request from Serbia to the West and should be unanimously supported across the Serbian political spectrum. Parties should not see this as a threat, rather an opportunity to build onto when they are in position to do so. I mean, can opposition in Serbia distinguish a Serbian National security policy from position's political affinity?

[Tamodaleko]

After October 2000, B92 was cut promptly from Soros's budget.

[vooch]

sure, after getting nearly $10 million a year from Soros for close to a decade, I guess B92 had enough loot to pay for more than a few seaside villas

[Gael]

I expect Round Two, but no predictions on the timing.

Until then, if I may paraphrase another fulfilled prophecy, "next year in Kosovo".

[Tamodaleko]

No, no, vooch, c'mon, you know better! The looting of millions of $$$ was from Slobo's party. Didn't they charge B92 frequently with extraordinary fees to run them out of business? Slobo's party got the Soros's money to pay for their seaside villas. B92 got to stay in business. I say they had the win-win deal.