Svilanović: Supporting war crimes is tragic

Svilanović: Supporting war crimes is tragic

“I believe that if encouraged by the government, state officials will do their job well, in other words, they will carefully, in line with the law, look into the [Mladić] posters business,” Svilanović told B92.

“If there they feel that there is some sort of a political crack [in the cabinet], they will become silent and step aside since it is not their job to solve political problems. The government must back its justice minister in his efforts to treat this incident as a case to be investigated just like any other.”

Svilanović also called on the Serb Radical Party (SRS) to present their policies in the Parliament and to refrain from abusing young people for their political gains.

He warned the young men who put up posters inscribed with the name of the Hague indictee that they were damaging Serbia’s international standing.

“I don’t have any doubts as to their patriotism, but I will not allow my own, or your patriotic feelings to be questioned in this way. We can express our love for our country, but we must keep the end results in mind. No one in this world will look at this event favorably, people will see Serbia as much worse than it in fact is,” Svilanović concluded.

Political campaign

Meanwhile, two ministers in the neophyte government commented yesterday’s events while attending a Police Day ceremony in Belgrade.

Minister of the Interior Dragan Jočić told journalists in the MUP training center Makiš that placing Mladić posters on B92 building was not a felony, but expression of a political attitude.

Jočić, however, added police would submit its report on yesterday’s rally to the judiciary organs.

Asked why police officers present did not stop the Radicals from putting up contested posters, Jočić said the gathering was organized according to the law.

Deputy prime minister Božidar Đelić, attending the same ceremony, said he believed it was necessary for Serbia to either arrest and extradite Mladić or prove it was working to achieve those results.

Đelić said Mladić’s arrest was one of the new cabinet’s top five priorities, “although the [Hague] Tribunal proved many times it engaged in politics, not only justice”.

Đelić said Radicals’ campaign in New Belgrade Saturday was political.