Serbia's prime minister lashed out Friday at the UN war crimes court that tried Ultranationalist Serb leader Vojislav Seselj, accusing it of being "political" and failing to reconcile the Balkans.
Seselj was acquitted Thursday on nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts after "what was without a shadow of a doubt a political trial", according to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
He told reporters in Belgrade that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague had "acted mainly as a political court, not a legal institution".
Many Serbs feel the court has unfairly targeted them in its quest to bring alleged Balkan war criminals to justice. Croats and Muslims, on the other hand, reacted angrily to Seselj's surprise acquittal.
A week before the verdict, the tribunal's judges sentenced wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in jail for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Vucic said reconciliation had been one of the main goals of the court but "there is no doubt that The Hague tribunal has not fulfilled this goal".
"Instead the court has repeatedly hammered nails into the coffin of the sleepy Balkans, which is expected to continue in the future to deal with its past -- wars, blood and conflicts -- and do nothing else," he said.
While Seselj's supporters celebrated his acquittal, the ruling sent shock waves though much of the Balkans, with Croatia promptly banning him from entering the country.
Prosecutors had alleged Seselj was behind the murder of large numbers of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of "tens of thousands" from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia during the 1990s wars.
The judges ruled that while "Seselj was driven by an ardent political ambition to create a Greater Serbia" this was in "principle a political plan, not a criminal plan".
- 'Behave differently' -
Analysts warned the not-guilty verdict could threaten already fragile relations in the former Yugoslavia.
"No one is satisfied, no one feels that justice will be served," Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac told N1 television, referring also to the court's earlier acquittal of prominent Croat and Kosovo Albanian figures.
Vucic however called on Serbs to "behave differently" to others in the region by understanding the suffering of their neighbours.
"We citizens of Serbia will probably not see others respect our (war) victims in the manner we are obliged to respect their victims," he said.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, 61-year-old Seselj spent nearly 12 years in detention at The Hague before returning to Serbia for cancer treatment in 2014.
He plans to stand in a general election later this month and has publicly burned EU and NATO flags, although his anti-Western and pro-Russian rhetoric hold less sway in Serbia today than Vucic's pro-European line.
The pair were once staunch ultranationalist allies until Vucic split from the Radicals.
Although Vucic criticised Seselj's trial, he said he would "strongly oppose" his politics, which "push Serbia into the past".
Serbia’s prime minister lashed out Friday at the UN war crimes court that tried Ultranationalist Serb leader Vojislav Seselj, accusing it of being “political” and failing to reconcile the Balkans.
Seselj was acquitted Thursday on nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the 1990s Balkan conflicts after “what was without a shadow of a doubt a political trial”, according to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
He told reporters in Belgrade that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague had “acted mainly as a political court, not a legal institution”.
Many Serbs feel the court has unfairly targeted them in its quest to bring alleged Balkan war criminals to justice. Croats and Muslims, on the other hand, reacted angrily to Seselj’s surprise acquittal.
A week before the verdict, the tribunal’s judges sentenced wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to 40 years in jail for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Vucic said reconciliation had been one of the main goals of the court but “there is no doubt that The Hague tribunal has not fulfilled this goal”.
“Instead the court has repeatedly hammered nails into the coffin of the sleepy Balkans, which is expected to continue in the future to deal with its past — wars, blood and conflicts — and do nothing else,” he said.
While Seselj’s supporters celebrated his acquittal, the ruling sent shock waves though much of the Balkans, with Croatia promptly banning him from entering the country.
Prosecutors had alleged Seselj was behind the murder of large numbers of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians, as well as the forced deportation of “tens of thousands” from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia during the 1990s wars.
The judges ruled that while “Seselj was driven by an ardent political ambition to create a Greater Serbia” this was in “principle a political plan, not a criminal plan”.
– ‘Behave differently’ –
Analysts warned the not-guilty verdict could threaten already fragile relations in the former Yugoslavia.
“No one is satisfied, no one feels that justice will be served,” Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac told N1 television, referring also to the court’s earlier acquittal of prominent Croat and Kosovo Albanian figures.
Vucic however called on Serbs to “behave differently” to others in the region by understanding the suffering of their neighbours.
“We citizens of Serbia will probably not see others respect our (war) victims in the manner we are obliged to respect their victims,” he said.
The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, 61-year-old Seselj spent nearly 12 years in detention at The Hague before returning to Serbia for cancer treatment in 2014.
He plans to stand in a general election later this month and has publicly burned EU and NATO flags, although his anti-Western and pro-Russian rhetoric hold less sway in Serbia today than Vucic’s pro-European line.
The pair were once staunch ultranationalist allies until Vucic split from the Radicals.
Although Vucic criticised Seselj’s trial, he said he would “strongly oppose” his politics, which “push Serbia into the past”.
