Milorad Pupovac comments on yesterday’s acquittal of Vojislav Šešelj.
President of the Serbian National Council in Croatia and Member of Parliament Milorad Pupovac (SDSS) has commented on yesterday’s acquittal of Vojislav Šešelj at the ICTY in The Hague, reports n1info.com on April 1, 2016.
“The Hague tribunal and prosecutor’s office unfortunately did one more thing which has hurt the feelings of the victims, of those who fought for a different democratic political culture and those who expected that the court and the prosecution would create conditions for a sense of justice, reconciliation and trust. With this judgment, it did not happen”, said Pupovac.
When he returned to Serbia, you said that he was isolated in the public. Is that the case today?
In the meantime, the space for his political activities and operations has been very much expanded. He has become a player in public and political life, and we see that he is still using the war rhetoric from the 1990s.
How much can such rhetoric be dangerous? He spoke about Greater Serbia just last night.
It is devastating for Serbia and Serbs. Those who are resentful due to their economic situation and other circumstances could start believing once again, just like they did in the 1990s. At the same time, for other peoples such rhetoric constitutes a threat and certainly an insult to their sufferings.
How will this affect relations between Serbia and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina?
This verdict will not affect favourably these relations. The Hague tribunal and the prosecution have unfortunately started to make decisions which create ever growing disappointment, distrust and a sense of injustice in relation to what was expected of them. For many people, they have only deepened the sense of injustice.
Is this verdict different from the verdicts in the Gotovina and Haradinaj cases?
Unfortunately, I do not know the details of these three verdicts, but it is in line with what has been happening for years: the court is abandoning its function and reason why it has been established. It acts as a shopkeeper which has some leftover goods in its shop. No one is happy, no one has the feeling that justice may be served and that the court will do its job.
What do you expect from the second-instance judgment? Can something be changed?
I find it hard to believe it. However, that possibility remains open. We have some processes that are related to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Mladić case, and we will see how it will develop. It is obvious that we will have to be more active and agile in the future, because we might be left with feelings which are traumatized and which may have a hellish potential for those who will come after us.
