Vojislav Seselj - Photo: BBC news

Closing arguments in the ICTY trial that started in 2007 against Vojislav Seselj are to commence in the Hague March 5. Seselj, a Serb radical leader in 1990’s is accused of crimes against humanity, persecution, ethnic cleansing and murder in early 1990’s of Croats, Muslims, and other non-Serbs across Croatia, Bosnia  and Herzegovina.

Seselj, a Serbian ultranationalist and the figurehead of the Serbian Radical Party in early 1990’s, considered himself as the successor of the World War II Serb nationalist butchers – Chetniks. Seselj and his Serbian Radical Party participated in the formation of the Serbian paramilitary unit “White Eagles” (Beli Orlovi) who are responsible for countless war crimes across Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1990’s.

“Many claim, he was responsible for “dirty job” on Milosevic’s behalf that concluded in organizing paramilitary units for the fronts in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as heating up ethnic intolerance among the local Serbs. Allegedly, the volunteers led by Seselj committed numerous crimes between 1991 and 1993 (including those in Vukovar, Samac, Zvornik, etc.). Inside Serbia he was widely believed to be in fierce opposition to Milosevic, and this reputation enabled SRS to gain high percentage of votes in all parliamentary elections held in Serbia in the 1990s.”

He hated all non-Serb populations of former Yugoslavia with a passion and made sure everyone knew it. He spread that hatred vigorously, wherever he went.

In short, Seselj is one of many faces of absolute evil Serbia thrust against Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990’s.  The following video from Serbian TV Politika from 1991 demonstrates how evil Seselj was and Serbs looked up to him, applauded, laughed approvingly at  his evil ways.

Transcript of above video is translated into English for my readers’ benefit as many, I believe, may have never experienced the utter inhumanity that comes from unadulterated evil dressed-up in humour:

Seselj: “Well I think that the Croatians are at the moment very dangerous for us, because Croatia has become a nuclear power (laughter, applause), they obtained atominc weapons, the contaminated with radiation Kalashnikovs from Hungary, and for us Serbs it’s going to be most dangerous when they throw them into (river) Sava and the radiation reaches us in Belgrade” (laughter , applause).

“As as far as their army is concerned, you know, 20 or 30 Chetniks quickly solve that problem (laughter, applause), When from a Thompson a bullet hits a Croat in the forehead both of his eyes pop out and when a bullet hits him in the neck he becomes headless and there’s no need to slaughter him “(laughter applause)

Show host: “This is now in the domain of a bit of black humour.”

Seslj: “There’s no humour here, I’m answering the questions seriously. We’re not joking…”

Show host: “I’m trying…to brighten up things …this is an entertainment show and well OK…”

Question from audience: “I was asking about Tihomir (Abdic  or Avdic – pronunciation not clear on audio)

Show host: “Mr Seselj, You said that the real border between Croatia and Serbia would be Italy”.

Seslj: “There’s no Croatia (applause) and Dalmatia is Serbian, There’s no legal document…Croatia does not exist (applause) … according to international plan it does not exist…”

Show host: “OK so you go to Karlobag, over Ogulin to Karlovac … Osijek is going to be in Serbia…”

Seselj: “Well Osijek is a Serbian city, old Serbian city, everybody should know that…”

Show host: “…then to Sisak …”

Seselj: “You’ll need to learn geography all over again (laughter, applause)…

Show host: “… ok then tell me (applause)… then that means that Split is going to be a Serbian city…”

Seselj: “Yes Split too…”

Show host: “…everything then …Zadar…(applause) Sibenik…”

Seselj: “Everything…according to European pact Split was to be Serbian city…large Serbian port (applause)… at time of Yugoslavia there was about 1 million Serb Catholics …Italians had everything from Karlobag to north …”

Show host: “ …that’s to do with the agreement from 1915…”

Seselj: “yes that’s it…”

Show host: “well how can that be, there was war in 1915 and it’s known borders don’t change during a war…”

Seselj: “ah..yeah…the winners were planning how to proceed…”

Show host: “I have another question from Zoran Milanovic – what do you think about the situation in Croatia?”

Seselj: “There is a second alternative in case the Italians don’t accept to agree with us there’s a second alternative that Yugoslavia breaks up into three states Big Serbia, small Slovenia and even smaller Croatia (laughter, applause) …”

Show host: “OK you haven’t mentioned Bosnia and Herzegovina …”

Seselj: “What Bosnia and Herzegovina, that’s a Serbian country (laughter, applause) I know that best, I was born there …”

Show host: “You haven’t mentioned Macedonia…”

Seselj: “Macedonia is a Serbian country, currently we are preparing in Kumanovo a large meeting I think it’s going to be soon … couple of hundred thousand people…Serbs from Macedonia… “

Show host: “Let me ask Dragana if she agrees with these things, with all these borders …  (laughter, applaude)that would be a very large Serbia…we’ll go like from Sumadija to Split …(laughter, applause) then Serbs will need to start buying cars they now use bicycles …they’ll go Nis, Sibenik, Split, Makarska…”

Seselj:  “half an hour by phone…”

Female Voice from audience: “no medical help from them…”

Seselj: “I’m present there constantly, already two three times three times I’ve gone there besides you’ve heard Vucurevic president of the Trebinje Council that there is no need to send volunteers from this narrowed Serbia, there’s enough Serbs there ready to fight and when needed they’ll fight, and besides, that we are constantly present over there is best evidenced by the fact that many Muslims and Croats don’t sleep in their houses that they are on watch day and night  (laughter, applause)…and so they’re telling stories how our Chetnics are marching around over there …they say how I give them some tablets (pills) with which they don’t need to sleep nor eat for five days and five nights …”

Male voice from audience: “they just slaughter”

Seselj: “yes … (laughter, applause) …  as far as the slaughtering is concerned, again you may not like it…we have perfected new methods, yes, we now slaughter with shoehorns, rusty ones and then an autopsy can never conclude the cause of death if it was slaughter or tetanus…”

Show host: “well good idea but then why is there an announcement for witnesses…other orientations…(laughter)…”

Seselj: “you seem to be in a pacifist mood…”

Show host: “Well I need to be for all, I need to explain to everybody in a nice way ….I don’t know … in fact I didn’t vote … as no one appealed to me a lot …”

Seselj: “you should have kept that to yourself…”

Show host: “about voting?…let me ask now something lighter and brighter… “(turns to Dragana for questions…at 5min40sec of video clip)

The truth is that even through Serbian laughter and evil wit the Serbian resolve to destroy Croatians, Muslims and non-Serbs in former Yugoslavia was frightening, let alone the actual slaughters, tortures, rapes, destruction…

Closing arguments in Seselj’s case at the Hague will most likely last a few days and start with the Prosecution’s arguments. I think that Seselj’s part of the closing arguments should be very swift indeed. It should only contain one short phrase and that phrase should be formed in the meaning of begging for mercy – from humanity. The whole of humanity, not just the ICTY should work hard at ridding itself of such evil. I would not recommend the taking of one of those “Seselj pills” in order to succeed at that for the “Seselj pill” referred to in Seselj’s TV appearance above is a metaphor for pure evil, pure hate, pure determination to destroy. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A. Ps. (Syd)