Belgrade, March 11, 2006 1.p.m
Slobodan Milosevic Died
by Jasmina Tesanovic
B92 is unofficially reporting this news from Hague prison.
His family is contacted.
Few days ago a Milan Babic Serbian leader convicted of war crime
committed suicide in Hague, before he managed to testify against
others indicted for war criminals, Milosevic too…
Three years ago the prime minister Zoran Djindjic who arrested
Milosevic and sent him to Hague in 2001 was killed almost on the same
day.
Few days ago Milosevic was denied to travel to Russia for medical
care.
It is a bad moment for justice and war tribunal. The first judge May
in the trial against Milosevic died too some time ago. But the trial
goes on.
Milosevic
was accused of genocide in Bosnia,among other crimes elsewhere. Those
people are missing too, unable to plead justice. Someone else will
have to do it for them all.
Backlash is expected in this much criticized process, as well as on
the local grim political scene. Serbia is divided, the two sides in
the historical postwar trial are consolidating, streets may get hot
as when Milosevic seized power, waged wars and was toppled by million
of Serbian people . This so called transition towards truth and
reconciliation may become a dangerous transition to nowhere.
2.30 p.m.
Milosevic lawyer is raving live on B92 TV; he was
killed by medical neglect. the journalist is arguing
that the trial was interrupted often because of his
health condition and that he always refused help of
lawyers to share the burden but insisted on self
defense. The highest ranged officer in the first
war
crime tribunal in the world accused of 66 different
crimes will not be there to face his verdict.
My father has a sentimental tone while he is telling
me the breaking news. My daughter is phoning me too,
she says, Nobody gives a damn really among my
friends,
he was a dead man anyway.
His party members here are officially declaring:
Milosevic was killed in hague by Hague.
Vuk Draskovic, current minister of foreign affairs
says; he killed a lot of people , politicians and
tried to kill me too several times. I don't feel
sorry.
A mother from Srebrenica whose family was killed
by
serbian military says: God's justice has got him
A serbian journalist is commenting on CNN, we Serbs
are sentimental when it comes to death. we always
feel
sorry whoever it may be. Why is she using this word
WE…I am among her WE people.
A writer who wrote 4 books about Slobodan Milosevic
criticizing him severely is speaking live, he says
he
feels awkward because notwithstanding his political
opinions he thinks that he was not the only one to
blame and take the burden of all crimes. He claims
that Hague tribunal is proving to be failure and
that
Serbia is being victimized objectively by
international pressures. it s a pity that serbs
could
not afford and organize their own war tribunals.
I have a deja vue feeling as all media in different
languages are repeating the same news; we are the
center of the world… a country which hardly exists
except for the amount of bad news it can produce.
Milosevic was my biggest marketing really, his myth
has nothing to do with his death, today or yesterday
or tomorrow. What he did cannot be undone.
Serbian doctors will take part in the autopsy in Hague and speculations are already going on as to where is he going to be buried. Hopefully not next to the politicians and journalists he murdered, in the graveyard of heroes in downtown Belgrade.
Update: Milosevic's lawyer and family claim that one day before he died he wrote a note to the Russian embassy in Hague saying that he was being poisoned in the prison. Thus they demand the toxic autopsy to be performed by Russian pathologists tomorrow.
– – – – –
Jasmina Tesanovic is an author, filmmaker, and wandering thinker who shares her thoughts with BoingBoing from time to time. Link to previous posts about her work.
Image: This is one of my favorite photographs of all time. It was taken in 2000 by a photographer working for independent news network Radio B92 in Belgrade, and depicts elated crowds who have just learned that Slobodan Milosevic conceded defeat to presidential election winner
Vojislav Koštunica. It ran with this story in Silicon Alley Daily.
Reader comment: I-Ball says,
Thank God he's dead. As one of the many soldiers who went across the Sava into Bosnia, first to save the U.N. folks there and then to "keep the peace", I've seen the terror and destruction he left behind.
My squad found the first mass graves. I'm glad he's dead.
