The Hague Tribunal Verdict for Top Political, Military and Police Leaders’ Crimes in Kosovo and Reactions in Serbia

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s first verdict ever to deal with crimes committed in Kosovo, which acquitted former President of Serbia Milan Milutinović of all charges, sentenced former FRY Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Šainović, Commander of Army of Yugoslavia’s (VJ) 3rd Corps Nebojša Pavković and Police General Sreten Lukić to 22, whereas former General Staff Chief Dragoljub Ojdanić and VJ General Vladimir Lazarević received 15 years’ imprisonment each, caused much turmoil in political circles and the media and general public alike.

Hate Speech and Proclamation of the Srebrenica Memorial Day by the European Parliament

On January 15, the European Parliament in Strasbourg, with 556 votes in favor and 9 against, adopted the resolution which officially proclaimed July 11th Day of Commemoration of the Srebrenica Massacre Victims (LINK). The Resolution was adopted following a motion by Jelko Kacin, Slovenian MEP and rapporteur for Serbia. The text of the Resolution: „With this resolution, the EP calls on the European Commission and the Council to commemorate appropriately the anniversary of the Srebrenica-Potočari act of genocide and to call on all the countries of the western Balkans countries to also mark July 11th as the date of commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide”, adding that the crime in Srebrenica was the biggest war crime in Europe after World War II, which took the life of 8,000 men and that the persons most responsible were Ratko Mladić, Radislav Krstić and Radovan Karadžić.