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Seselj verdict complicates the situation in Serbia | Europe | DW.COM | 30.03.2016 Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) Vojislav Seselj has said again and again that he will not return <http://www.dw.com/en/seselj-defies-uns-order-to-return-to-the-hague/a-18480 627> to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague voluntarily. Currently, he is at home in Serbia: In November 2014, after almost 12 years of imprisonment in The Hague, he was released so that he could undergo cancer treatment in Serbia. But his provisional release has been repealed. <http://www.dw.com/en/icty-revokes-vojislav-seseljs-provisional-release/a-18 349382> An ultranationalist and Greater Serbia ideologue, Seselj voluntarily appeared before the Tribunal in 2003, after the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia brought charges against him. He is accused of having committed crimes against humanity during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. After returning to Serbia in 2014, he once again began disseminating his nationalist slogans - and suffered no political consequences for his actions. Although Seselj considers Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to be "traitors," he has largely spared them in his criticism. Though both were close confidants in his Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in the 1990s, they unexpectedly left to form the pro-European, Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in 2008. 'Political circus' <http://www.dw.com/en/seselj-verdict-complicates-the-situation-in-serbia/> Seselj burning a Croatian flag Though Seselj made headlines after returning to Serbia - only a few extremely radical nationalists were enthusiastic about his theatrics - such as his tirades against Croatians, or his public burning of EU-, Nato- and Croatian flags. "What has gone on over the last 12 months has been more circus than serious politics," as Aleksandar Popov, director of the Center for Regionalism in Novi Sad, Serbia, told DW. "The only thing that Seselj can do is help his Radical Party clear the five-percent hurdle required to win seats in parliament. If the nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) can do the same, there will then be two political groups in parliament fighting against the European integration of Belgrade - and for closer cooperation with Russia," Popov said. New elections along the way to joining the EU In early March, President Nikolic dissolved parliament and announced that early elections would be held on April 24 - two years before the end of the legislative period. Elections, he said, were necessary for the completion of reforms. Aleksandar Vucic's government wants another four-year mandate in order to "guarantee a European standard of living." <http://www.dw.com/en/seselj-verdict-complicates-the-situation-in-serbia/> The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague The economically challenged country has been an official candidate for EU membership since March 2012. The Kosovo conflict has long hindered accession talks. The first two chapters of membership negotiations were not officially opened until December of last year. To this day, Serbia has refused to recognize the independence of its Kosovo province, but now - under pressure from Brussels - it seeks to normalize relations with Kosovo. Penalizing Belgrade? "The situation in Serbia and the rest of the region will become additionally complicated regardless of the verdict in the Seselj case," says Djordje Pavicevic, professor of political science at the University of Belgrade. "If Seselj's sentence is longer than the time that he has already served, it will create headaches for the Serbian government because Seselj will most likely be elected to parliament along with three other members of his Radical Party accused of contempt at the Hague Tribunal." Domestically, an extradition would be precarious for Belgrade, as Seselj's supporters would no doubt view the government's leaders as traitors. The other three politicians are accused of having threatened witnesses against party-leader Seselj during their trials. They also refuse to report to The Hague voluntarily. Thus Belgrade could find itself in the unenviable situation of having to extradite four of its parliamentarians to The Hague. The Serbian government can expect sanctions should it fail to cooperate with The Hague, says Aleksandar Popov: "Serbia's European integration could be slowed." Yet the expert does not foresee this happening: he expects that Belgrade will extradite Seselj to the Hague after the verdict is handed down. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "serbia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/serbia. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
