Rapes And Sugar

It was announced on Thursday that the Serbian Ministry of the Interior had brought criminal charges against 17 persons, who were referred to as ``the members of Chetnik paramilitary formations and armed groups.'' All of them are either the members of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) or the Serbian Chetnik Movement, or both. Television Serbia dedicated two prime time news bulletins to this event, while the press reports were either coldly objective (the Belgrade daily ``Politika'') or hypocritically appalled (the Belgrade daily ``Politika Ekspres'' wrote, ``A long list of crimes,'' and the Belgrade daily ``Vecernje Novosti'' carried a headline, ``Looters, Rapists, Murderers.''). In other words, ``brave Serb volunteers'' have turned into ``paramilitary soldiers'' overnight. This should not be surprising especially after Slobodan Milosevic, the President of Serbia, and Vojislav Seselj, the leader of SRS, had fallen out. Even before their breakup, Seselj complained that he would be blackmailed on account of shady business of his people. It's been only a week that he made a preventive accusation against the police, claiming that they were cooking something up for him.

Criminal charges refer to crimes against civilian population, terrorism, firstdegree murders, rape, looting and pillaging, illegal arrests, creating the atmosphere of insecurity as well as illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Milenko Petric, the Vice President of SRS in Sid, is suspected of possessing arms, and a criminal inquest on spreading fear among the population and blackmailing, and murdering four ``Yugoslav citizens'' in Sot and Kukunjevci, the act committed together with four other members of the Serbian Chetnik Movement, is underway. Aleksandar Radojevic from Indjija, a liaison officer of the Serbian Chetnik Movement, is suspected of illegal possession of arms, ammunition and military equipment, and also of possession of 25 tons of sugar, a large quantity of washing powder and a considerable amount of hard currency. Gradimir Milosevic from Sremska Mitrovica, a local commander of the Serbian Chetnik Movement, who was found to have some ammunition and radioequipment, as well as ``propaganda material'' is under investigation for ``having organized paramilitary formations.'' Apart from Srem, the Serbian police also struck at southern Serbia: three members of ``the Movement of Chetniks of Old Serbia'' Dragan Mihajlovic, Dragan Ilic and Sasa Jovic are suspected of having launched an armed attack against a refugee camp in Velika Kolesnica, injuring a number of people. Two members of the Serbian Chetnik Movement were arrested in Leskovac, one in Leban, and Branislav Vakic, a former MP of the Serbian Radical Party, was arrested in Nis. In Belgrade the Serbian police arrested Dusan and Vojin Vuckovic on suspicion of ``crime against the civilian population in the area of the Zvornik municipality,'' rape and illegal possession of arms. Dusan Vuckovic is also suspected of having partook in banditry against the refugees in Mali Zvornik. Two Radicals from Mali Zvornik are suspected of having planted a bomb in front of the house of a local official.

Politically speaking, the announcement is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, the authorities are well aware which of the above listed crimes have been committed on the warfronts and on the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since 1991 and who has committed them. Even the mere existence of crimes against humanity and war crimes had been strongly denied by the regime propaganda all until a conflict with the Radicals took place. ``The policy of persecution'' has always been enforced, but the work was done quietly and efficiently. However, as soon as the relationship between the Radicals and the Socialists broke up, the Radicals were given an example of what might ensue later. Milosevic will not lose anything by persecuting war criminals. On the contrary, he will score points both on the domestic and the international scene. Secondly, a choice of crime, the Chetniks are being charged with, as well as the wording of the announcement are indicative: repeating the name of ``the Serbian Chetnik Movement'' and its derivative (Chetniks) clearly hints at Seselj and his well calculated rhetoric (We, Serbian Chetniks...); the selection of crimes testifies to the intention to portray the Radicals as tyrants and wimps, who only robbed the refugees, shot at the unarmed and the unprotected, while piling up sugar and washing powder.

It still remains to be seen how everything will turn out in court. The suspects are most likely to raise the question of authority, counting on their ``voluntary'' membership in the armed forces, which is now generally used as an excuse. Heroic tales will be heard and all the rest, but the victims are there, and someone will have to bear the responsibility. Everybody knew about the attack on the refugees in the area of Zvornik and Mali Zvornik (mid 1992). Everybody also knew about what the Serbian police called ``crime against the civilian population in the area of the municipality of Zvornik'' (MayJune 1992), only the list of suspects was slightly longer. Yet, nothing was done in both cases. However, it still catches the eye that this is the first time that someone was arrested on suspicion of having committed the crime on the territory of a different state, although the persecution of crimes against humanity is compulsory regardless of the territorial authority. If this continues, it may mean trouble for a number of ``weekend fighters'' and liberators of movable property, which belonged to somebody else. A deceitful attack on the Muslim refugees from Bosnia in the camp Velika Kolesnica which took place on June 30th forced the authorities to move them to Rtanj. The killing of four Yugoslav citizens near Sid is also common knowledge...

Vojislav Seselj told VREME that the two persons from Leskovac suspected of having attacked the refugees are Bokan's people, and that his people (the other two) were at the time ``on the front near Nevesinje, which their commander can confirm.'' ``Milenko Petric did have a rifle but he received it from the authorities, since the then official policy of that of arming the Serbs in the border areas,'' Seselj said and concluded, ``All of this is a part of the election campaign.''

It seems that he is right unfortunately.