Sociologist: Šešelj advocated violence

A U.S. sociologist has appeared as the first prosecution witness at the trial of Vojislav Seselj at the Hague Tribunal. Anthony Oberschall said that the Serb Radical Party (SRS) leader had incited violence against non-Serbs in the former Yugoslavia with his “xenophobic-nationalist“ speeches for the purpose of creating a Greater Serbia. Sociologist: Seselj advocated violence He explained that, at the request of the prosecution, he had analyzed some 400 of Seselj’s speeches and public appearances that the SRS had published in ten collections. The defendant is accused of persecution, murder, torture, deportation, forced deportation, harsh treatment, looting, and destruction of villages in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as persecution of Croats from the village of Hrtkovci in Vojvodina. “A typical Seselj speech would begin by glorifying Serbs, of whom he would say they were a great people, but victims of earlier crimes committed by enemies from abroad and within who were once again threatening them,“ the sociologist said. “The reaction to this was to take steps to eliminate the source of the threat, both aggressively and forcefully,“ continued Oberschall. He added that the SRS leader, “despite saying that a non-violent solution would be better,and could be reached,“ preached “violence, not compromise.“ In the sociologist’s opinion, Seselj, in his speeches, stressed as an aim “the complete submission of opponents to the idea of a Greater Serbia,“ and viewed violence – including ethnic cleansing and “annexing large parts of Croatian territory and other parts of Yugoslav territory – as “acceptable“ and “suitable“ in achieving this goal. “In many of his texts, Seselj threatens other nationalities, mentioning persecution, exchange of living space, revenge and reprisals. He also blames other nationalities for what’s going on,“ stated the witness. Repeating this in his speeches, the defendant, according to Oberschall, “sewed fear“ among those who listened to him, and the result would be “public support for a politician who preached violence as a means of dispelling a threat.“ As an example of such incitement, Prosecutor Christina Dahl played footage of an interview with the SRS leader from 1991, where he speaks of the danger to Serbs from the “Ustasha sickles“ of new Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and of a repeat of the genocide of the Second World War. During the clip, he says that every Serb victim will be avenged. The sociologist, as he told the court, assessed translations of Seselj’s speeches written by a native-Serbian speaking PhD student at the University of North Carolina, where he was a professor. Vojislav Seselj (FoNet, archive)

Sociologist: Šešelj advocated violence

He explained that, at the request of the prosecution, he had analyzed some 400 of Šešelj’s speeches and public appearances that the SRS had published in ten collections.

The defendant is accused of persecution, murder, torture, deportation, forced deportation, harsh treatment, looting, and destruction of villages in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as persecution of Croats from the village of Hrtkovci in Vojvodina.

“A typical Šešelj speech would begin by glorifying Serbs, of whom he would say they were a great people, but victims of earlier crimes committed by enemies from abroad and within who were once again threatening them,“ the sociologist said.

“The reaction to this was to take steps to eliminate the source of the threat, both aggressively and forcefully,“ continued Oberschall.

He added that the SRS leader, “despite saying that a non-violent solution would be better,and could be reached,“ preached “violence, not compromise.“

In the sociologist’s opinion, Šešelj, in his speeches, stressed as an aim “the complete submission of opponents to the idea of a Greater Serbia,“ and viewed violence – including ethnic cleansing and “annexing large parts of Croatian territory and other parts of Yugoslav territory – as “acceptable“ and “suitable“ in achieving this goal.

“In many of his texts, Šešelj threatens other nationalities, mentioning persecution, exchange of living space, revenge and reprisals. He also blames other nationalities for what’s going on,“ stated the witness.

Repeating this in his speeches, the defendant, according to Oberschall, “sewed fear“ among those who listened to him, and the result would be “public support for a politician who preached violence as a means of dispelling a threat.“

As an example of such incitement, Prosecutor Christina Dahl played footage of an interview with the SRS leader from 1991, where he speaks of the danger to Serbs from the “Ustasha sickles“ of new Croatian President Franjo Tuđman and of a repeat of the genocide of the Second World War. During the clip, he says that every Serb victim will be avenged.

The sociologist, as he told the court, assessed translations of Šešelj’s speeches written by a native-Serbian speaking PhD student at the University of North Carolina, where he was a professor.