Mladic in Hague, Serbia towards EU, reopening Srebrenica
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From
historical perspective the Mladic'n arrest and the Hague trial serves
as formation of a more comprehensive picture of events in the Balkans in
the 90's after the procecutor and the defense have made their case.
Issues related to the underlying policy objectives of Srebrenica, events
before Srebrenica and the number and the PR game around Srebrenica.
Realization of the right however is only theatrical minor point for the
EU and for the current Serbian government as both see it only as a
formal step towards Serbia's EU membership.
Since
Serbia's EU application has its position improved, particularly related
with energy issues. When the EU favored Nabucco is practically already
dead project e.g. after events on the Arab Street (pipe has political
support, but no gas available) and when the Italians and now also the
French and German companies are backing Russia's South Stream are
Serbia's changes to become an energyhub growing. Russia but also Turkey
have been activated to wide their economic cooperation with Serbia and
for example, last autumn came into force a free trade agreement with
Turkey.
My opinion of the membership negotiations has remained relatively the same as follows: In
my previous articles, still and now even more than before I have a view
that Serbia should think if joining to EU is worth of time, money and
bureaucracy it demands, could the main benefits of EU membership be
achieved via “third way”. Despite this I think that at this moment it is
good idea to continue EU process but not only to fulfill EU needs but
especially the needs of the beneficiaries aka Serbs not EU elite in
Brussels. More about Serbia's EU perspective in my earlier article: Serbia’s EU association is not a Must
In
my opinion more that fast track to EU the Mladic's trial in Hague will
be a fast track to discover what really happened in Srebrenica 1995 and
before that. Todays picture about Srebrenica is still heavily
manipulated. To me its clear that thousands of Muslims were killed in
Srebrenica once this place fell to Bosnian Serbian forces as well that
some of them were innocent civilians. It is clear too that thousand(s)
Serbs were butchered around Srebrenica during Bosnian War 1992-95 e.g.
by the 3rd Corps 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade lead by Bosnian Muslim
leader of Srebrenica forces Naser Oric. To the Brigade mentioned were
subordinated foreign Muslim fighters, also known as mujahedeen, who came
from Islamic countries and it operated from “demilitarized safe area of
Srebrenica”. One possible scenario is that when the Bosnian Serb Army
responded to this terror and attrocies the remaining fighters attempted
to escape towards Tuzla, 38 miles to the north. Many were killed while
fighting their way through; and many others were taken prisoner and
executed by the Serb troops.One
explanation to the cruelty in Srebrenica can be found from the
testimony of French General Philippe Morillon, the UNPROFOR commander
who first called international attention to the Srebrenica enclave, at
The Hague Tribunal on February 12, 2004. He testified that the Muslim
commander in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, “engaged in attacks during Orthodox
(Christian) holidays and destroyed villages, massacring all the
inhabitants. This created a degree of hatred that was quite
extraordinary in the region.”
More in my earlier article Srebrenica again – Hoax or Massacre? .
The
western mainstream media has demonized Serbs and their action in Bosnia
and later also in Kosovo. The attrocies implemented by others have
widely ignored. At
the start of the 1992-95 Bosnia war, Muslims and Croats were allies
against the Bosnian Serb forces, but they fought each other briefly when
Croat forces tried to create a separate Croat statelet in northeastern
Bosnia. Only a couple days ago it was reported thatBosnia's
warcrimes court has jailed a Croat ex-soldier for 15 years for the
killing of more than 60 Muslim civilians during a brief 1993-94 war
between Bosnian Muslims and Croats. Miroslav Anic received a reduced
sentence under a plea bargain after pleading guilty to all charges. He
was convicted of taking part in a series of attacks by a Croat militia
on Bosnian Muslim villages from June to October 1993, it said. Anic had
served as a member of the special unit Maturice, operating within the
Croat Defence Council (HVO) under the command of Ivica Rajic who was
sentenced in 2006 to 12 years in prison by the Hague-based United
Nations war crimes tribunal. (Source: Trust.org/Reuters)
Mladic
arrest and theatre in Hague will bring Srebrenica again front of a
stage and this will have its effect in already fragmented and fragile
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Probably confrontation between three ethic groups
will increase and this could lead to the final dissolution of BiH.
Serbia is keen to secure EU candidate status and Mladic's arrest may be
one step forwards for this aim while same time the trial of Mladic may
be one step backwards in Bosnia-Herzegovina for its EU membership
aspiration.¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
P.S.
Finally a skeptical description - by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey/Pravda - how EU makes Serbia blessed:And congratulations, Serbia. Now you can join the European Union. Wonderful! Stand back and watch your industry destroyed as what you export is assimilated by German industries, watch your agriculture decimated as you are paid not to produce and your production goes to France before you are left with barren fields, stand back and watch the EU label Slivovica illegal because some idiot in Brussels doesn't like it. Stand back and watch your unemployment rate skyrocket, watch a clique of elitists whisked off to cushy jobs in Brussels, watch your prices treble and your salaries stagnate and watch your customs destroyed as you become assimilated first by the EU and then by NATO. You will have to pay for it, you know. The people, not the leaders, of course... Nobody will ask you if you want to join NATO but you will be expected to buy its equipment and participate in its wars.