Radicals On Trial

Seselj and the deputies were charged with obstructing parliament security officers in the perfomrance of their duties while they were trying to throw out Drasko Markovic who had just poured water over Parliament Speaker Radoman Bozovic.

The insult came as Seslj's only defence statement before the tree member court in Belgrade. ``We agree with the defence of Dr. Vojislav Seselj,'' Drasko Markovic, Filip Sotjanovic, Milorad Jevric and Slobodan Petricevic told the court.

A relly in the courtroom, as Seselj expected, did not happen nor was the police kept bust after having surrounded the building for a day and night. Still, some 150 Radical sympathizers met Seselj and the four deputies with cries of ``Vojo, Vojo'' when they left the building.

The hastily drawn up charges were written before Bozovic's pants were dry and caused sharp debates among lawyers as to whether Seselj and the accused deputies committed a crime after parliament voted to eject Drasko Markovic. The prosecutor obviously assessed that there were enough elements for criminal charges under the law on Public Order. But can public order be endangered by the unkempt behavior in the federal Parliament?

The temporary rulebook for the Parliament says only that the Chamber can vote on ejecting a deputy who is obstructing its work and that parliament security will remove him.

The next article in the rulebook says that if that procedure can not be carried out the Chamber President will pause the session. That is all it says.

When Seselj called President Milosevic a criminal the prosecutor quickly expanded the charges and made a mistake invoking article 98 of the criminal code which covers insults of the republic of Serbia. This is something which Seselj did not do. He insulted a state official and the public prosecutor is obliged to prosecute him.

A new court session has been scheduled for July 6.