Westendorp's Closing Time

Republic Srpska's (RS) president and vice-resident Nikola Poplasen and Mirko Sarovic prepared a formal reception in honor of the inauguration at Hotel Bosna, whose owner is one of the first members of the Radical Party--Pantelija Damjanovic. Almost until the beginning of the reception, no one knew that among the official delegates from the Serbian government was it's vice-president, Vojislav Seselj, who, has been forbidden entry into the RS since the September elections. High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Carlos Westendorp, lit this red light with the reasoning that the head of the Radicals had "released statements during and after the war that were contrary to the decrees of the Dayton Peace Agreement."

THE LETTER: While Seselj sat in the Piano Bar in the Hotel Bosna almost an hour after midnight, officials, locals among them, were already considerably divided. Then, SFOR soldiers blocked all access to the hotel and entrances to the center of town. The first floor and the area around the reception were quickly blocked. That is to say, it was necessary to obtain Westendorp's orders and deliver General Jacques Klein's letter to Seselj. Westendorp used the authority given to him by Article 10 of the Dayton Agreement, and, per his interpretation of the Bonn decree, declared Seselj persona non grata in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We learned from diplomatic sources that the letter, directly addressed to Seselj, literally stated (the original version was reported by the Sarajevan media) "you are ordered to leave the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Immediately. Never return again." General Klein was far more courteous to Nikola Poplasen so "he reminded him that Seselj is undesirable."

Like any good host, Damjanovic, the owner of the hotel, was on the scene quickly in order to ascertain "what was the problem". Damjanovic wanted to know "why and who was bothering him and the guests," when he , who already has security, asked the SFOR soldiers to leave the hotel. The response: "We're not leaving here until otherwise ordered. After all, we're also guests of the hotel," upon which Damjanovic invited them to the Piano Bar for a drink. The invitation was declined, no one bothered Seselj further while he sat in the Piano Bar. Members of the international military force were telephoning as far as the eye could see. Because the president of RS quickly appeared at the hotel, the soldiers left the hotel building and spread out around it. Poplasen chatted with "his president" for a time (the conversation didn't last long), after which Seselj read a brief statement about "democracy, the occupiers, and not making problems for Nikola Poplasen" who is making important decisions these days. One thing is certain: two pictures from the intoxicated November reception will never be pleasing to international officials. The first is the group photo at the cabinet. The second depicts the exiled vice-president of the Serbian government with a hug and a kiss from the new president of the RS. Meanwhile, a few of Seselj's fired up political supporters gathered in front of the hotel, at the head of which was Banjaluka's mayor Djordje Umisevic who was followed by applause while he theatrically spread his arms in a sign of greeting to his worshippers. Back in Belgrade, Seselj was "himself" again: "I will once again travel to RS when I want to. If needed, I will order 10,000 baseball bats. We will beat NATO with weapons for which they don't have a response. We know that it is futile to oppose airplanes and tanks, but because of that we will fight with bottles, rocks, hoes; then we'll see who will withstand the most! We'll see if they are in a condition to shoot at people who have no weapons on hand!"

PARISH: Anyhow, upon arriving at the reception, reporters asked Seselj how he entered RS in light of Westendorp's prohibition. "I simply walked in," he tried to joke. But he also tried to respond in a spirited way to the question of whether he encountered Westendorp on the way, a few hours later he became a brutal realist ("Who is that. Where did he go?”). In front of the unseen Westendorp, Seselj nevertheless yielded. The problem of bad visibility followed the radical leader, and when the question arose of whether he had met with Dodik, who was also Poplasen's guest that evening: "Which Dodik? When he is next to me there is no chance. He is in my shadow." Dodik, however, noticed Seselj thus, which we were given to see by his harsh comments some days after "the SFOR incident."

For the current RS prime minister, Seselj's entry into RS has a deep, political background. Remembering the fall of Knin and Seselj's border from Karlovac to Vitrovica, Dodik warned that "the vice-president of the Serbian government thinks that the RS is his kingdom and that he can do whatever he wants. "But, if Serbia sees its future in what Seselj is, then there is nothing to hope for," considered the Republika Srpska prime minister.

The public in Srpska has once again divided itself. One large part, according to independent surveys, complain that "the SFORs didn't better accompany Seselj." Another part judged the "brutality" of SFOR because that "isn't democracy, rather occupation." The third is ashamed of "Seselj's shameful talk about clubs" because "clubs aren't Serbian beings in nature."

Be that as it may, Seselj had to leave Srpska--he was accompanied to the border by local Serb policemen. The sound of a helicopter indicated the presence of international forces on that small, night trip which, in any case, looked ahead at the road toward Serbia.