Suing CNN

Raznatovic came with his son Mihajlo, an officer in his father’s Serb Volunteer Guard, and Giovanni Di Steffano, a businessman with a dubious reputation who was presented as the SSJ spokesman abroad. The press conference was mainly in English and was obviously more for the foreign ears than for the local public.

Di Steffano spoke first in his Cockney English to explain that the documentary aired by CNN was a tool of political pressure aimed at forcing President Milosevic to take steps which he would even think about in normal conditions. He didn’t specify the measures but did do his best to deny the main claims in CNN’s Wanted. He said it’s not true that Arkan had been in Croatia heading a group of killers because the Croatian court that tried him wouldn’t pass a sentence of just 20 months in 1991. He said that it’s not true Arkan was a paid killer for the Tito regime and added that CNN could ask the late Yugoslav President for a comment. He said it’s not true that Raznatovic voted with the SPS in parliament, that on the contrary he frequently voted against it. And finally the Serb Volunteer Guard never committed crimes against civilians and the best proof of that is that Salihbegovic, a CNN witness in the documentary, is still alive. Finally, Di Steffano said the airing of footage of Raznatovic’s three-month-old son is "low and degrading" and mentioned that CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour isn’t married and has no children.

Then Raznatovic commented ironically on the fact that the warrant for his arrest is being aired by CNN and he’s gaining importance in President Clinton’s eyes. In the next hour, Arkan patiently and calmly answered questions, trying to leave the impression of a man with a clean conscience who has nothing to fear. First he spoke of his assets, claiming that he wasn’t as wealthy as he is reported to be, but is in debt. "The house I’m living in has been mine for 13 years," he said, and continued that he has to repay a debt of 4,000 DEM, and that he owes one businessman 500,000 DEM and 350,000 to another, he supports children, widows and orphans. Everyone was touched and it’s a pity that Arkan didn’t reveal his bank account number because some reporters were prepared to give him money. "I never sold a single liter of gasoline," he said and added that if need be the director of Serbia’s Oil Industry can testify to that.

As proof of his innocence, Raznatovic passed out copies of a letter he got from Christian Chartier, the spokesman for the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, which says no charges have been raised against him (yet). We knew that before and CNN never disputed that. He said several times that his Guard was known for its bravery, discipline and chivalry. "That Cherrife, whatever his name is, isn’t telling the truth," he said commenting on what Basouni, the head of a UN expert team said on CNN. "I respect the Moslem people and the Moslem faith," he said and explained that in Bijeljina he was fighting against "mad dogs who are called Moslem extremists" and adding that he doesn’t regret that. He also said he would sue CNN for libel.

Arkan said he was "a good soldier and officer" and that he never met President Milosevic personally; the photographs from the funeral of Serbian Police Chief Radovan Stojicic Badza are a trick because Arkan was well behind Milosevic. He didn’t strike a photographer at a memorial service but only took his film away "because he was turning the memorial into a circus".

Among other things, Raznatovic said he "respects the Croatian army very much" because they were dignified opponents and because they fought for and won their own state. He feels that Serbia lost the war in the former Yugoslavia and blames the JNA for that because "it was asleep". He recalled that the Croatians did massacre four of his guardsmen in 1991 and that might be a war crime but he wasn’t insisting on it.

A reporter asked him is he was afraid Milosevic could order his trial in Serbia under American pressure and Arkan said: "Let it be as it must be, as Njegos said". He would not go to the Hague because that court is political and anti-Serb. No, he won’t run for Serbian President but he will run in the parliamentary elections.

Raznatovic avoided a direct response to a question about Interpol warrants for crimes committed in western Europe in the 1970s. "Even if that’s true, what does it have to do with the Hague tribunal," he said. He repeated Di Steffano’s claim that he never worked for the police and first heard that claim on CNN. When the reporter asked why he had introduced himself as a member of the Yugoslav federal police at a trial in 1983, Arkan said that wasn’t true.

Finally, he got into his Chevrolet 2500 which had been parked illegally during the press conference and drove home.