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Special to The Washington Post
Monday, February 24, 2003; Page A18
BELGRADE, Feb. 23 -- A Serbian politician accused of being one of the
principal instigators of the wars that tore apart Yugoslavia was given a hero's
farewell today, hours before he was scheduled to fly to the U.N. tribunal in The
Hague to face 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. More than 10,000 people packed into Belgrade's main Republic Square in
freezing temperatures to listen to Vojislav Seselj before his departure. Seselj,
who is expected to appear before the international war crimes court on Monday,
has rejected the U.N. charges and vowed to prove his innocence. "I am going on a long business trip," Seselj told the crowd. "I am going to
defend the Serbian state." Seselj, 48, became an unofficial leader of Serbia's nationalists after former
president Slobodan Milosevic was extradited to The Hague court in 2001 on
charges of war crimes and genocide. Seselj is seen as one of the most important
people to be pursued by the tribunal, which announced his indictment this
month. Seselj is accused of whipping up much of the ethnic tension that led to the
breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He also recruited thousands of volunteers in
Bosnia and Croatia -- fighters who were subsequently accused of ethnic cleansing
and other war crimes. "He bears criminal individual responsibility for crimes which were part of a
widespread or systematic attack directed against the Croat, Muslim and other
non-Serb civilians," according to a tribunal statement. Seselj also gained publicity for his friendship with Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein and has made several trips to Baghdad. Iraq's ambassador to Belgrade,
Sami Sadoun Al Kinani, attended a separate event on Saturday night in Seselj's
honor. Seselj, who said he would voluntarily surrender to the tribunal, announced
early this month that he had booked a flight to the Netherlands, where the
tribunal is based. He will be one in a string of high-profile Serbian
politicians to appear before the tribunal. Last month the former Serbian
president, Milan Milutinovic, pleaded not guilty to charges of crimes against
humanity for his alleged involvement in the war in Kosovo. Seselj's surrender, some Serbs say, is a sign of the republic's willingness
to cooperate with the international criminal court. But the size of the rally
today -- and the chants and signs displayed during it -- suggested a rejection
by many Serbs of the tribunal's vision of international justice. Many Serbs say
the tribunal is biased against them. "Vojo bring back Slobo," read one placard, calling on Seselj to clear his
name and return to Belgrade with Milosevic. Other supporters waved black flags
showing a skull and crossbones, and the slogan: "Trust in God, freedom or
death." Last year Seselj won more than 36 percent of the vote in a Serbian
presidential election, coming in second after Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica. Backed by Milosevic from his jail cell, Seselj received about 1
million votes, an indication that nationalists still enjoy considerable support
in Serbia. The ballot, however, was declared invalid because of a low
turnout. Former fighters recruited by Seselj turned out at the rally, some wearing
military fatigues. Jovo Jovanovic, 38, said he was recruited by Seselj's radical
party to fight in Croatia and Bosnia. "It's not possible to find anyone who committed war crimes among us. When we
arrested someone we always treated them properly," Jovanovic said. "Tonight Serbia is seeing off its warrior to another battle with fear but
also with pride," Tomislav Nikolic, deputy head of Seselj's Serbian Radical
Party, told the crowd, according to the Reuters news service. "Voja will fight
the battle against Serbian enemies at The Hague." Seselj asked his followers to remain committed to Serb nationalist goals and
not to allow the hand-over of two top Serb suspects -- Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic and army commander Ratko Mladic -- to The Hague court. "Brothers and sisters, don't let any other Serb
go after me," Seselj said. "Don't give them Radovan Karadzic and General
Mladic."
