‘There Were No Angels in The Former Yugoslavia,’ Says Serbia’s Crown Prince
In an exclusive interview at Belgrade’s Royal Palace, Serbia’s Crown Prince Alexander II spoke candidly with W!LD RooSTeR about the intense weight of responsibility and discipline that a military man must carry on his shoulders. Addressing the issue of justice and the on-going ICTY tribunal of Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladić, the Crown Prince said: “You pay the price if justice comes after you”.
“I work on the principle that, if you are an officer, you are responsible for yourself and your action and those of your men,’ said the Crown Prince, who was trained at the British Royal Military Academy. “You are in charge. If you lose control of yourself and your men, you pay the price. It’s as simple as that.
“If this (principle) is not kept by any country, you’re in deep trouble. So there’s no excuse for a bunch of people committing acts of terror or whatever without the discipline. It is absolutely vital. These people who committed these acts never asked the Serbian people, ‘Could we go and murder people left and right, young men and young boys?’
“Also, to be fair, it happened everywhere. There were no angels in the former Yugoslavia. But one death is one too many. People saying to me, ‘Oh, not 7,000 – 222.5. That is one too many. It’s as simple as that. So let’s have some discipline and show who we are. Let’s have some guts. People have to pay the price.
“I think the General realises that, because he did say, ‘It wasn’t me, it was them’. But when you’re a general, you’re a general. Or else the army would collapse. Next thing you know, they’d be going around raping people and stealing people’s houses and things like that. The police, too: everybody has to act correctly. At the moment we have a very good police force, who are doing pretty well, and I think we’re moving along. It’s taken some time but we’re going ahead.”
The Crown Prince went on, addressing some criticisms aimed at the Hague tribunal. “People argue about the legality of this tribunal or not,’ he said. “It’s not perfect, it’s not crystal shining clear, but it is a tribunal which is international.
“There are many fine judges, there are some whom we could argue about but, we live in Serbia and we don’t want to see this happen ever, ever again. And we don’t want to see any other entities of the former Yugoslavia, our neighbours, do the same thing. We don’t want any more of that. The people who live here, in the Croatias, in the Serbias, in the Bosnias, are fed up with it.”
He also had strong words about the extremists and some religious elements in Serbia who have taken to the streets in protest and even go as far as to proclaim Mladić a hero in graffiti sprayed across the country.
“You get the extremists, who revere on it, who are swimming in the glory of murdering people. I say: no, no, no! And then religion has to be very careful. Religion has to be very pure. Religion is good for everybody. Belief Christianity, in Islam, in Buddhism or whatever, they are all good. But if you use it against each other… No! You pay the price if justice comes after you.”
Hear HRH Crown Prince Alexander II of Yugoslavia talking about General Ratko Mladić.
7 / 4 / 2011 1:34 pm
I’ve just heard a clip from the trial on the radio and Mladic has been denied legal representation and expelled from the courtroom. This doesn’t look good for his receiving a fair trial does it?
7 / 4 / 2011 1:49 pm
I was watching live. He was not denied legal representation. He applied for two alternative representatives to be appointed to him, leaving the attorney already attached to his defence powerless. The tribunal said that their credentials are not yet checked/approved by the tribunal but meetings with Mladic were to be scheduled. He was removed from court because of his behaviour and refusal to listen to the charges being read. My understanding is that he will now meet with his chosen representatives and process can continue.
7 / 5 / 2011 10:51 pm
Den Haag tribunal is all fake, a modern colonialism tool, to serve rich and enslave the poor and defenseless. If it was an international court, a far bigger war criminals; like Bush, Balkenende and Blair, would be the first ones to be on trial and get life-long.
7 / 8 / 2011 10:58 am
@Alexander: That’s right!