"Šešelj is symbol of ethnic cleansing"

"Šešelj is symbol of ethnic cleansing"

BELGRADE -- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia President Sonja Biserko says SRS party leader Vojislav Šešelj is "a symbol of ethnic cleansing."

On the day Šešelj was released by the Hague Tribunal, Biserko added that it was worrying his return was presented "in a reduced manner, with no mention of the crimes for which he was on trial."

"Vojislav Šešelj was a symbol of ethnic cleansing, looting, Slobodan Milošević was the designer, but he was operational on the ground when Croats were expelled from Srem, when lists were made of unfit persons," she told journalists during a gathering in Belgrade dubbed, "Resistance to Extremism."

She pointed out that Šešelj's return is only spoken about in two ways - as the return of a victim of the Hague Tribunal, but also as part of "a paranoid picture," where he is seen destabilizing the government of Serbia.

According to her, no one comments on how much Šešelj is responsible for the fact there has been no verdict in his case at the Hague.

"He saw all the weaknesses of the Hague Tribunal, but the court is also responsible because it failed to finish the trial in a proper way by producing a ruling, which is very important for us, but also the region," said Biserko.

President of the Committee for European Integration and International Cooperation in the Vojvodina Assembly Maja Sedlarević said she was terrified of "the relativization of the return of Šešelj," where he is portrayed as a victim.

"I come from Hrtkovac and I remember what Šešelj did, I remember my neighbors Croats who had to return to Croatia," she said during the gathering.

President of the Independent Journalists'...