The Serbian politician, who was inexplicably acquitted by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes, continues with provocations.
A few months ago, Vojislav Šešelj announced that he would visit Zagreb as soon as he got his new passport. Now he bragged that he had received his diplomatic passport as a member of Serbian Parliament, and claimed that he would soon come to Zagreb. That is just one in a series of provocations made by this Serbian politician, who is considered by many to be one of the most responsible people for many of the crimes committed during the war in Croatia. He was indicted by the ICTY in The Hague for war crimes, but was recently acquitted, which understandably caused shock among war victims. He has continued with provocations against Croatia ever since, reports Večernji List on August 24, 2016.
“I have received my diplomatic passport. I will soon be in Zagreb”, wrote Šešelj on Twitter, adding that he expected that Croatian government will not cause any problems to him. He also described himself as “a prominent Serbian diplomat”.
Šešelj has a right to a diplomatic passport as a newly-elected member of Serbian Parliament, but it is valid only for diplomatic missions, and must be returned and deposited at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately upon the return to the country. The user is not allowed to use is to travel to other countries.
Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepić said there was no possibility that Šešelj could enter Croatia without being arrested, regardless of the fact that he has a diplomatic passport. At the end of March, the Interior Ministry used the provision of the Law on Aliens and the Law on the Schengen Borders to ban Šešelj entry into Croatia.
The International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia acquitted Šešelj of all charges for war crimes in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ICTY ruled that some of the speeches made by Šešelj at the time were inflammatory, but determined that a casual relationship between the speeches and specific crimes had not been proven.
