After death had found him on 11 March 2006 in his detention cell in The Hague, Slobodan Milosevic (right), a former president of Serbia and the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia was buried in his hometown of Pozarevac on 18 March 2006. Reactions from the region to the death of Slobodan Milosevic varied. While some expressed frustration and regrets that the main player and the mind behind crimes had not lived to be punished by the Tribunal, which led to another case of justice not done, others glorified the personality of Slobodan Milosevic. (21-MAR-06)

This article draws upon a number of other articles, already published in both Bosnian and international news media. The editing and rewriting into one, new article for publication here has been done by HRH / Mirsad Pandzic.

The United Nations had established the ad hoc tribunal in The Hague already in 1993, with the goal to try perpetrators of the most serious crimes and violations of international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide . Milosevic was undoubtedly The Hague’s most important suspect.

Indictment
Under the indictment, which was confirmed by the Court in 2001, Milosevic was charged with 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo in the period from 1991 to 1999. These crimes have affected hundreds of thousands of victims across former Yugoslavia.

During the prosecution case, 295 witnesses testified and 5000 exhibits were presented to the court. This represents a wealth of evidence that is on the record. After the presentation of the prosecution case, the Trial Chamber, on 16 June 2004, rejected a defence motion for dismissal of charges due to insufficient evidence, thereby confirming that the prosecution case contained sufficient evidence capable of supporting a conviction on all 66 counts.

–  It is a great pity for justice that the trial will not be completed and no verdict will be rendered. However, other senior leaders have been indicted for the crimes for which Slobodan Milosevic was also accused. Later this year, the trial of eight senior leaders accused of the Srebrenica genocide will begin. Furthermore, also this year, six most senior former Serbian leaders will be tried for crimes committed in Kosovo. But the most senior perpetrators are still at large. Now more than ever, I expect Serbia to finally arrest and transfer Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic to The Hague as soon as possible – Carla Del Ponte, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia has said.

History
The war in former Yugoslavia lasted from 1991 to 1995 and was fought on the territories of former Republics – Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Slobodan Milosevic stands out as the main player and initiator of all these conflicts. His army, together with para-military formations, started another conflict in the Balkans in 1999 and exiled almost the whole Albanian population from the province of Kosovo (in Serbia-Montenegro), when the cruellest crimes were committed. In Kosovo, around one million people were exiled and several tens of thousands killed; in Bosnia and Herzegovina, over 100,000 people were killed and around 2.25 million were exiled from their homes. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, around 17,000 men, women and children are still regarded as missing, although peace had been established over 10 years ago, while two thirds of refugees and displaced persons have not yet returned to their homes.

The consequences of Milosevic’s feast have not affected only the citizens of former Yugoslav republics (Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina), but also the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro. The non-governmental organisation Humanitarian Law Fund (Serbia) has been stressing that the period of his rule (1987 – 2000) was also the period of the total destruction of Serbian economy and obliteration of the Serbian society, as well as the period of full excommunication from the world and Europe, and a moral and social failure. At the same time, Milosevic, members of his family and his closest cooperatives increased their wealth enormously. They have also been blamed for ordering a number of assassinations of political and public persons in Serbia.

Present day
The world media have been referring to Slobodan Milosevic as to “the Balkans’ butcher”. He has been compared with Stalin, Mao and Hitler. Only now, after his death, his master plan is fully disclosed and analysed. Since it is a known fact that his wars have affected millions, this represents clear evidence that all massacres, all ethnic cleansings, all destroyed villages and raped women, were consequences of his evil plan.

Reactions from the region to the death of Slobodan Milosevic varied. The Chairman of Bosnian Presidency Sulejman Tihic, who is a Muslim and had been imprisoned in a camp established by Milosevic’s followers and subordinates, said that Milosevic would be remembered as a negative historical figure, the most responsible for the bloody break-up of the Yugoslav federation and victims among all its peoples, including the Serb people. The Croat member of the Bosnian Presidency Ivo Miro Jovic said that Milosevic had taken many truths away with him. The mothers and widows of Srebrenica, where the Serb troops had killed over 7,800 boys and adult men, regretted the fact that Milosevic would not get the deserved punishment and that justice would not be seen. The crime in Srebrenica was undisputedly the biggest crime committed in Europe after the Second World War.

And while the frustration and regrets are expressed in one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the fact that the principal player and the mind behind the crimes has not lived to be convicted by the Tribunal, which led to another case of justice not done, the personality of Slobodan Milosevic is being glorified in some towns of Republika Srpska. In statements of leaders of Serb nationalist parties, a recurring theme is the one on Milosevic having simply served to the defence of his people, while he is frequently given attributes of the greatest Serb son and even a mythical hero.

The reactions in Serbia also varied. The public is divided among those who are aware of Milosevic’s direct and negative role in the events in the Balkans in the nineties of the previous century, and those who glorify his deeds, call him a patriot and a hero.

The controversies around Milosevic therefore feature the reality in which the region of South-eastern Europe has lived for over ten years after the end of the war.

In place of a conclusion
Milosevic was without any doubt the most important suspect on trial in The Hague. Due to this fact, the unbiased viewers here, who cannot be qualified as supporters of nationalisms of any kind, have assessed that a chance was missed, with the death of Milosevic, for truth to be exposed and the Balkans events in the recent wars to be given proper names. Also, it is considered that the victims of crimes deserved to see Milosevic feel justice, which would at least partly give them satisfaction and would put off some future adventurers inspired by Milosevic and his objectives.

The only adequate response to Milosevic’s death today should be the extradition of Karadzic and Mladic, who are also important players in crime, to The Hague court, for rectification of the unfinished Milosevic case.