Serbia's Radicals rally for jailed leader

01/03/2010

Supporters of ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj gather in Belgrade, marking their leader's seventh year in detention. On February 19th, the UN war crimes panel rejected Seselj's request that all charges be dropped.

By Bojana Milovanović for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 01/03/10

Seselj still wields influence over the Serbian Radical Party from his detention cell at The Hague. [Nikola Barbutov/SETimes]

Several thousand supporters of Vojislav Seselj from Republika Srpska and Montenegro joined their Serbian counterparts in Belgrade late last month in a show of support for the ultranationalist firebrand, who faces war crimes charges at The Hague.

Demonstrators wore badges showing Seselj's face and the word "winner". The crowd marched to the theme song of the chetniks, the Serbian nationalist movement. In a speech, Radical Party Vice President Dragan Todorovic attacked the UN war crimes tribunal as a "political institution created solely to destroy the Serbian people".

Seselj's leadership is sorely needed in Serbia, Todorovic declared, describing him as "the only one who can bring change to this tormented people and country". The head of Seselj's legal team, Zoran Krasic, told supporters that Seselj's prosecution is an "unequal fight and a violation of human rights".

The 55-year-old politician has been in custody since 2003 for crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war. The charges stem from his alleged role in atrocities that took place in Vukovar, Vojvodina and Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1993.

On January 21st 2009, Seselj was indicted for contempt of court after he revealed the names and other personal details of three witnesses whose identities had been protected at the order of the Trial Chamber. Seselj was sentenced to 15 months in prison on July 24th 2009, a verdict he appealed.

Just last month, on February 19th, the UN war crimes tribunal rejected Seselj's request to drop all charges against him.

Even without its leader, the Radical Party remains a political force to be reckoned with. In recent elections, it gained the largest share of votes by any single party. In 2008, however, the party split up: de facto leader Tomislav Nikolic left to form a new political grouping, with several other key figures joining him. Seselj subsequently branded them "traitors".

Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party argues that Seselj and his hardline beliefs are now obsolete.

Aleksander Vucic, one-time confidante and colleague of Seselj, is the new party's vice president. "The unconditional worship of [one person's] character is an ideology that does not make for a better life of the Serbian citizens," he said in a statement to SETimes.