BELGRADE (AP)--Hardline supporters of Slobodan Milosevic rallied Tuesday in the Serbian capital to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the former Yugoslav president's extradition to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
The rally organizers, from Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia, handed out copies of a printed statement to about 3,000 supporters at Belgrade's main Republic Square.
The statement demanded Milosevic "be set free instantly" and called for the "arrest of those who committed the act of kidnapping and unlawful" handover of Milosevic to the U.N. court at The Hague, Netherlands.
The protesters held Socialist Party banners and gold-framed photographs and posters of their former leader.
Milosevic's popularity has increased amid a resurgence of hardline Serb nationalism, which helped trigger the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s.
Following his ouster in October 2000, Milosevic was extradited to The Hague tribunal on June 28, 2001, to face charges of genocide for atrocities committed by Serb troops in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Belgrade media reported that Milosevic himself coordinated the organization of the rally from his detention cell at The Hague.
However, it was a far cry from the frenzied nationalist gatherings staged by Milosevic during his years in power, when tens of thousands attended.
The reformists who removed Milosevic from power have failed to live up to citizens' expectations that they would substantially improve the republic's economic and political situation.
Milosevic has been regaining popularity in Serbia, with almost a third of people saying they trust him despite his war crimes trial, a recent survey showed.
The survey, conducted by Faktor Plus polling agency, also said that Milosevic - who was ousted in a massive popular revolt - enjoys more popular backing than the current prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, who took over Milosevic's presidency in 2000.
Intermixed with Milosevic posters at the Tuesday rally were pictures of two top fugitive war crimes suspects sought by the U.N. court - Bosnian Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander Ratko Mladic. [ 28-06-05 1635GMT ]
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3 comments:
Chris, do you have a job? Moreover who are you to say the the majority
of Serbians support Milosevic, do you have a God given gift that you can see into peoples minds.
You and people like you are the reason why Kosovo is such a mess, you just cant let it go.
It is funny to see that the poster above states that Kosovo is such a mess without ever considering the mess that Serbia is in. I never go look into my neighbor’s house without taking care of my own. If I was in some sort of denial then maybe I would, which is probably what is happening with the poster above. You cannot deny Genocide my Serb comrade. And rest assured that I, as a witness of the Serb crimes, and all the 20 millions Balkans people as witnesses will fight to keep this memory alive. Your kids and your grand kids will pay for it. Don’t forget it took the Germans an entire generation until the guilt really sunk in. I will sleep well at night knowing that my kids will not carry any guilt of GENOCIDE, but your surely will because the Balkans people will make sure of it. Enjoy the future.
Please define Genocide and explain to me where this has happened?
Interested bystander.
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