Posted on 02/28/2006 10:04:29 AM PST by kronos77
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Nationalists in a Serbian town are calling on local authorities to send back a donated Dutch bus because it comes from the country hosting the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which is prosecuting prominent Serb suspects.
Local members of the opposition Radical Party, whose leader Vojislav Seselj is in detention awaiting trial at the tribunal, say the tulip-painted bus given to the town of Pirot in southeastern Serbia is an insult.
"They should not even think of putting that trash on the streets," said local Radical leader Boban Vojinovic. "Serbian Radicals want no charity from those who are keeping our bravest and most honourable men."
But Mayor Milan Popovic said the donation could not be returned because Pirot needed buses. Several Western countries have donated buses to Serbian towns to help them recover from the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Popovic agreed that "our people shouldn't be tried abroad, and I'm against everything that is happening" at the tribunal jail in Scheveningen, but added that this "doesn't mean we should not cooperate and accept assistance".
Thousands of Radical supporters demonstrated against the tribunal in Belgrade last week, as the Serbian government faced further censure from the European Union for failing to arrest Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, a top war crimes fugitive.
The failure of the Hague to prosecute Ramush, Ceku and Thaci is also considered. The Serbs are doing a much better job. Six witnesses against Ramush have already been murdered. It's in the best interest of the Serbs to judge as it gives them a better light in the eyes of the EU and UN.
The ICTY are just bungling along and being made fools of by another crook, ole Milo himself.....
I'm hearing some very nasty rumors, (at the moment), that Ceku might take the place of Kosumi at the negotiation table. That would be letting the fox in the hen house....Let's hope it's just an unconfirmed rumor........but, it's a recent one....
Tom
If roumor from Balkan is nasty, disgusting and anti-christianic, it is true.
I bet he can say "Yes sir, pancakes coming right up!" in every language in NATO or along its borders.
One reason to bring Ceku to the table is for intimidation. Regarding the possible appointment of Ceku to the negotiation table, I understand that Antisaari stated to the news via his japanese spokesman,"the first to leave the table will lose Kosovo".
If Ceku joins the negotiation, I hope the serbs sit and laugh, rather than be stubborn and aggressive and walk away. This could be the reason for appointing ceku, if true, to try and anger serb side enough for them to walk away. This is all psychology, It would benefit the serbs to learn their enemy a lot faster...
Hoplite however, has made a point that both the Serbian authorities are not following through with their indictments. The MSM is using the term mass graves quite loosely, however, the Bytyqi Brothers Execution has stalled and I don't remember reading about any resolution or indictments that have been issued. The media protrayed them as being Americans citizens, however, they were apparently members of the KLA and of Albanian background. This does not give an excuse to execute, however.
It is thought that many police station commanders were involved in or ordered killings on low levels. Many have remained at their posts, it seems. The Hague indicted senior Serbian leaders while the Serbian courts have focused on midranking officers. This leaves a large number of senior officers that have not been challenged.
Along those same lines, the ICTY has failed horribly on indicting those members of the KLA for their murders or being responsible for murders of both Serbs and Albanians. Thaci, Ramush H., Ceku, Fatmir L. have not been indicted with one that has stuck. Most of the witnesses have either been murdered or threatened.......what a mess.....
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/Archive/200602/FOR20060223a.html
Just as there are many senior level American officials that will never sit in the Hague trial chair and by their definition of war crimes, should.
This is the price you pay for sticking your neck out and doing the right thing -
Welcome to the club.
To use an old Air Force expression - no good deed goes unpunished.
westly comes to mind.......
One of many.
aren't the Bityqi brothers American citizens?
Because they are the three most prominent European nationalists. Of course Hitler was a nationalist --- the fact that we're even arguing this seems ludicrous. He was the leader of the national socialists. What do you think his concept of volk, of German national superiority was? It's textbook nationalism and it was the core of nazi ideology. No, not all European nationalists were bad (why are you ideolizing that anarcho-socialist snake Garibaldi?), but enough were bad enough.
There were Serbs in Napoleon's army, because Napoleon's empire included the Illyrian provinces. I was told once by a Serb-American whose ancestors came from the Lika region, not far from Tesla's birthplace, that he had an ancestor who served in the French army.
Serbs did fought napoleon,
Most of them in Maria Theresia army and later in her sons. Serbs from Krajina, nowdays ethnicly cleamsed by Croates.
Also Montenegrins, who concidered themselves as serbs fought them around Dubrovnik. French general promissed to change name of Montenegro in "Monterosso" by serb blood. during napoleonic wars in 1804 Serbians are uprising in First Serbian revolution fighting turks until 1813 and crash of revolutiona, but in 1815 again and suceeded in geting authonomy and christian hereditary dukedood which led in 1878 to indipendence after Serb-Turk war.
Austrian Empire was large and Serbs and Croates were fighting for Austria. French hade an expression "We will throw back Maria Theresia and her Croates back in Danube"
Also, in ages before in XVI and XVII century Croates were fighting in german States and in many cathedrals doors is enscription "God save us from plague and the Croates"
just to know some fact that could halp yu understand today...
I wonder when the history books will reflect the fact that the Serbians were the first civilized people who had to take on the Muslims in World War IV?
It depends on who writes the history books. If it is written by folks like us still living in a free republic where we can choose to follow the religion of our choice, then the West's actions against the Serbs will be recognized as the blunder that they were.
If it's written by the leftists and so-called neocons who supported Bill Clinton's foreign policy, they'll be acknowledging their dhimmitude when they portray the Serbs as evil.
Yes, of course Napoleon fought the Austrians...I had forgotten that the Austrian army would have many Serbs.
One time I was in Vienna and saw a poster in a church where someone had written a graffiti that the Croats should get out. Maybe they had long memories from the 16th and 17th centuries. (More likely it referred to the guest workers.) Actually it was a Croat general who helped save the Habsburgs in 1848 when they had to fight the Hungarians.
Actualy ban Jelacic ans Serbian troops under his command. Serbs mainly in Vojvodina fought on Austrian side and in return Vojvodina was created as "Serbian Dukedoom and Tamis`s banat" Serbian word for Dukedoom is Vojvodina, and gives name to present day authonomous region.
Interesting fact, Austro-Hungarian emperor held from that time title "Serb Duke" up until 1918!
My grandmother's two brothers were conscripted into the Austrian army around 1905. An Austrian unit came through her village and one of the officers informed my great-grandfather that his sons were now soldiers.
No one in the family ever heard from either one again.
The Habsburgs liked to keep all their territories separate. There's an inscription over a gateway at the palace in Vienna from 1502, I think, listing the titles of the Habsburg ruler of that time, and it was already quite a long list...of course got even longer later when they acquired more territories. It was the old philosophy of "divide and rule"--play off one group against another so they would stay in control.
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