I thought that the claim that dictators are people with funny personalities and unbalanced attitudes even on the social level was a political defamation by their foes. However, I began to believe the claim right when I saw, on TV, parts of The Hague trial of “the Butcher of Belgrade”, Slobodan Milosevic. I now agree with what I have read and heard about Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini.
Milosevic, a war criminal who faces very serious charges and, as a result, could receive the death penalty, appeared on TV as a comedian. It was evident that he was aware neither of his words nor of his weak defense. It appeared to me that the person sitting before judges in the court was the “real” Milosevic — without authority, power or powerful staff around him.
Of course, Milosevic is not the only political criminal in the world. But he is the only leader who has been forced to appear before an international tribunal. It is, thus, an opportunity to tackle such racial attitudes on the part of the international community. Moreover, it is also an opportunity to question why many criminals have escaped such tribunals and remained in power or fled to unknown safe havens.
The question and answer process in The Hague is a lesson that could benefit many politicians around the world who have not yet been made accountable for their abuse of power. The Butcher of Belgrade has appeared as a totally disturbed person to the extent that he is unable to realize what the trial is all about. In spite of allegations forwarded by the tribunal, Milosevic tends to interpret issues in his own way, as if he were still a head of state. He justifies the ethnic cleansing of the Albanians in this way and he sees no problem whatsoever in forcing them to comply with his educational curriculum and laws. “Aren’t they citizens like other Serbs within one country?” he asked.
It is true that they live within Serbia but they are a minority living within a majority of Serbs. In other words, the Albanians should have at least some form of respect shown to their religion, language and administration in greater Serbia. The ruling clique in Belgrade had designed a government that was dedicated completely to the Serbs, their national thinking and way of life without giving any recognition to minorities living in the country. In fact, Milosevic is facing a hard time in answering questions that he never thought he would be obliged to give responsible answers to. The trial that is taking place in The Hague may mean little to us in the Arab world. However, the proceedings of the tribunal are aired on daily basis on Yugoslavia’s TV station. This is to enable the Yugoslavs and anti-coexistence Serbs to see their ousted president defending himself while he is, in effect, in prison.
We all saw the man responsible for the death of thousands of people claiming that his European foes were pushing hard to extradite him. Ironically, moments later, he forgot what he said and then claimed that he had been fighting Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network before the US ever thought of such a task.
This is the sick and power-hungry Milosevic. He is trying to defend himself and justify his acts in the same way that he abused power when he launched his war atrocities in Bosnia, Croatia and finally Kosovo.
