Bolstered by his release from the Hague and the European refugee crisis, the man who once sought, and faces charges for a mono-ethnic "Greater Serbia" told Sputnik about his new plans for the upcoming Serbian election.
Having
gained conditional release from an inconclusive, decade-long trial
on charges of crimes against humanity, godfather of modern Serbia's
politics Vojislav Šešelj told Sputnik Serbia about his plans for the
country's future.
Serbia's current prime minister and president are members of a splinter of Šešelj's Radical Party, which split after Šešel's objections to Serbia's membership of the European Union. While opinion polls show that the party could gain seven percent in the upcoming parliamentary elections, it could gain as much as 20 percent, according to the party's own data.
Commenting on the influx of Iraqi and Afghani refugees going through Serbia, Šešelj said that the United States' desire to install Western-style democracy leads to bloobaths.
Election Prospects
Šešelj drew most of his election prospects from his relationship
with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, of the splinter Serbian
Progressive Party. A former Minister of Information under Slobodan
Milosevic, Vučić's difficulties come from his inability to resolve
issues in Kosovo because of his pro-EU stance, according to Šešelj.
However, he believes that convincing Vučić to abandon the pro-EU path is still possible.
In
terms of foreign policy, he said that he wants Serbia to have an
alliance with Russia, apparently similar to the one from 1999, when
Serbia's parliament voted to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus
on the first day of NATO bombing.
"We would like to rely on Russia, and have a status like Belarus,
that is, to be an independent state, firmly tied to Russia politically,
economically and militarily," Šešelj told Sputnik.
Asked on what he would do if the trial against him reaches a guilty verdict during his campaign, Šešelj said that he expects it to bolster his campaign.
"Will he change his mind? We will see. I can say one thing. I will not run or hide anywhere. If they come for me, they will have to carry me to the airport, so a spectacle is guaranteed," Šešelj added.
Šešelj's past, as well as his ties with Vučić in the "Greater Serbia" project pursued during the Yugoslav breakup wars could bolster his popularity among voters, who supported Vučić in 2012. In the 2008 split, current Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić formed a splinter of the party, which focused on a path toward EU integration.
War Crimes Trial
Šešelj voluntarily turned himself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for trial in 2003, but the court has been unable to reach a verdict, finally releasing him in 2014 on health grounds.
He is accused of deportation, murder, torture and other crimes against Bosnian Muslim, Croat and other non-Serb civilians between 1991 and 1993, as part of what the court calls a criminal organization involving top members of the then-Yugoslavian government. The court trying him has been accused of impartiality when handing lighting verdicts for similar accusations to non-Serbian perpetrators of crimes against humanity in the conflict.
On August 28, 2013, one of the judges on the tribunal was disqualified for demonstrating "unacceptable appearance of bias in favour of conviction," according to the case information sheet.
Serbia's current prime minister and president are members of a splinter of Šešelj's Radical Party, which split after Šešel's objections to Serbia's membership of the European Union. While opinion polls show that the party could gain seven percent in the upcoming parliamentary elections, it could gain as much as 20 percent, according to the party's own data.
"I think that Serbia has opened its doors too
widely for migrants, and it's already becoming a serious danger. There
is also the danger that the EU could demand that we keep 100,000
to 200,000 migrants," Šešelj told Sputnik.
Šešelj
was the ideological architect of Serbia's politics in the 1990s,
although his party was in opposition to Slobodan Milosevic's rule
between Milosevic's participation in the Bosnian Peace Talks and the
upsurge in violence in Kosovo in 1998. Although initially advocating a
mono-ethnic, Christian Serbian state taking up most of former
Yugoslavia, Šešelj has reportedly reformed his views.
"I have nothing against helping women and children, but there are
also many Syrian men, who are capable of fighting. We would return them
to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, so that he would mobilize them
to defend their country," Šešelj added.
Commenting on the influx of Iraqi and Afghani refugees going through Serbia, Šešelj said that the United States' desire to install Western-style democracy leads to bloobaths.
"If they really wanted to defend democracy and
human rights, they would have started with Saudi Arabia, the most dismal
country in the modern world," Šešelj told Sputnik.
However, he believes that convincing Vučić to abandon the pro-EU path is still possible.
"Everything is possible. This may not be the
most obvious option, but you have to understand that Vučić is currently
in a most unenviable position. He realized that he can't enact sanctions
against Russia, but the EU is exerting very strong pressure on him. The
EU constantly blackmails him because of Kosovo, creating new
conditions, but he has already conceded beyond what is appropriate,"
Šešelj told Sputnik.
For his campaign program, Šešelj said that his party promotes
Serbia's economic self-reliance and protection of domestic
manufacturers.Asked on what he would do if the trial against him reaches a guilty verdict during his campaign, Šešelj said that he expects it to bolster his campaign.
"We already started the campaign, so this verdict could be a new wind in its sails," Šešelj told Sputnik.
He added that Vučić has vowed not to extradite him, although he is prepared for any outcome."Will he change his mind? We will see. I can say one thing. I will not run or hide anywhere. If they come for me, they will have to carry me to the airport, so a spectacle is guaranteed," Šešelj added.
Šešelj's past, as well as his ties with Vučić in the "Greater Serbia" project pursued during the Yugoslav breakup wars could bolster his popularity among voters, who supported Vučić in 2012. In the 2008 split, current Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić formed a splinter of the party, which focused on a path toward EU integration.
The
borders of "Greater Serbia" as proposed by Šešelj in 1992. Šešelj faces
charges for crimes against humanity for his attempts to turn the idea
into a reality.
Šešelj voluntarily turned himself in to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for trial in 2003, but the court has been unable to reach a verdict, finally releasing him in 2014 on health grounds.
"This cannot be normal in principle," Šešelj
commented on the lengthy trial, "Even in the US with its Anglo-Saxon
court system, which is also used in the Hague, a criminal trial can last
more than two years. In my case, the Hague tribunal has sunk
in quicksand," Šešelj said.
The
trial, which only began in 2006, three years after Šešelj gave himself
up, was marred with inconclusive verdicts, as well as sentences against
Šešelj for contempt of court, when he leaked the names of key witnesses
against him.
Šešelj's release was revoked in January 2015, mere months after he
was freed, on grounds that his health condition was exaggerated, and
that Šešelj later said that he would never return to the Hague,
according to court documents.
He is accused of deportation, murder, torture and other crimes against Bosnian Muslim, Croat and other non-Serb civilians between 1991 and 1993, as part of what the court calls a criminal organization involving top members of the then-Yugoslavian government. The court trying him has been accused of impartiality when handing lighting verdicts for similar accusations to non-Serbian perpetrators of crimes against humanity in the conflict.
On August 28, 2013, one of the judges on the tribunal was disqualified for demonstrating "unacceptable appearance of bias in favour of conviction," according to the case information sheet.
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