Croatia

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</div><div>=</div><div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr;"><div class="mw-parser-output" style="">The Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a> was heard before the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice" title="International Court of Justice" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">International Court of Justice</a>.The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Croatia" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Croatia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Republic of Croatia</a> filed the suit against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a> on 2 July 1999, citing Article IX of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Prevention_and_Punishment_of_the_Crime_of_Genocide" class="mw-redirect" title="Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-PreliminaryObjections-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[2]</a> The application was filed for Croatia by American lawyer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W.Rivkin" title="David W. Rivkin" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">David Rivkin</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[3]</a> With the transformation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro" title="Serbia and Montenegro" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Serbia and Montenegro</a> and the dissolution of that country in 2006, Serbia is considered its legal successor.The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbia" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republic of Serbia</a> counterfiled a suit charging the Republic of Croatia with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">genocide</a>, on 4 January 2010.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-b92.net-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> The application covers missing people, killed people, refugees, expelled people and all military actions and concentration camps with historical account of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_persecution_of_Serbs" class="mw-redirect" title="World War II persecution of Serbs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World War II persecution of Serbs</a> committed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_State_of_Croatia" title="Independent State of Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Independent State of Croatia</a>, puppet state of Nazi Germany, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e" class="mw-redirect" title="Ustaše" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustaše</a> during World War II.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a>Both applications had a financial aspect, seeking compensation of damages. Opening arguments began on Monday, 3 March 2014 and lasted until 1 April 2014.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> On 3 February 2015, the International Court of Justice ruled that neither Serbia nor Croatia proved sufficient evidence that either side committed genocide, thereby dismissing both cases.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-8" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Facts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Facts</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Preliminary_objections" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.1Preliminary objections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Serbia_v.Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.2Serbia v. Croatia</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Relation_to_ICTY" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.3Relation to ICTY</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Timeline" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.4Timeline</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Notes</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Facts</h2>Croatia waited until the conclusion of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Genocide_Case" class="mw-redirect" title="Bosnian Genocide Case" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bosnian Genocide Case</a> before it proceeded with its own case. Sakib Softić, who worked on the Bosnian case, stated that Croatia was in a much better position than his country was in its own court suit.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Preliminary objections</h3>The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia returned its preliminary objections on 1 September 2002.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> On 18 November 2008, the court decided on preliminary objections to the case filed by Serbia. The court ruled against Serbia's three objections to the case, while finding that one of these objections was not purely preliminary. Finally, the court decided that it had jurisdiction over the case.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-PreliminaryObjections-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a> Croatia was represented at the proceedings by its justice minister, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan%C5%A0imonovi%C4%87" title="Ivan Šimonović" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Ivan Šimonović</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[11]</a> The decision made headlines in Croatia and Serbia, especially as it fell on the anniversary of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vukovar" title="Battle of Vukovar" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">fall of Vukovar in 1991</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serb" class="mw-redirect" title="Serb" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Serb</a> forces.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a>Serbian officials sought for Croatia to withdraw from the lawsuit on multiple occasions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[13]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[14]</a> Then President of Serbia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Tadi%C4%87" title="Boris Tadić" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Boris Tadić</a> said that "Serbia considered in previous years, and still believes, that it is always better for all conflicts from wars during the 1990s to be solved in extra-judicial processes, through peaceful means, however, for such an approach of Serbia, partners on the other side are needed" and the Foreign Minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuk_Jeremi%C4%87" title="Vuk Jeremić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Vuk Jeremić</a> said that "I think it would be better for Croatia for it to never come to this process. Our main goal and wish is not to sue each other, but to cooperate on the road towards EU integration, to build good neighborly relations, to solve problems which we have inherited."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> In November 2013 Serbia's Prime Minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivica_Da%C4%8Di%C4%87" title="Ivica Dačić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Ivica Dačić</a> reiterated a wish for mutual withdrawal of lawsuits between the two countries.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Serbia v. Croatia</h3>Following the court ruling that it had the jurisdiction in Croatia's case, Serbian foreign minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuk_Jeremi%C4%87" title="Vuk Jeremić" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Vuk Jeremić</a> announced a plan to file a counter-suit against Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[18]</a> The application was submitted on 4 January 2010. The document included information on crimes committed against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs_of_Croatia" title="Serbs of Croatia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Serbs</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospi%C4%87_massacre" title="Gospić massacre" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Gospić</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisak" title="Sisak" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Sisak</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakrac" title="Pakrac" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Pakrac</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlovac" title="Karlovac" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Karlovac</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osijek" title="Osijek" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Osijek</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulin_Dvor_massacre" title="Paulin Dvor massacre" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Paulin Dvor</a> and during the operations <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flash" title="Operation Flash" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Operation Flash</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Storm" title="Operation Storm" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Operation Storm</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Medak_Pocket" title="Operation Medak Pocket" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Operation Medak Pocket</a>. The lawsuit also covered all those victims murdered after the war as they tried to return to the homes which they had left as refugees. The lawsuit against Croatia contained a historical account, with a focus on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_persecution_of_Serbs" class="mw-redirect" title="World War II persecution of Serbs" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">World War II persecution of Serbs</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-b92.net-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>A public opinion poll in Serbia by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blic" title="Blic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Blic</a> found that 69.7% of people supported the counter-suit, while 9.1% opposed it.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a> The lawsuit has been opposed by the minor opposition <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party(Serbia_2005)" class="mw-redirect" title="Liberal Democratic Party (Serbia 2005)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Liberal Democratic Party</a> whose leader said that "Serbia needs a smart foreign policy, which will not respond with a mistake to a mistake that was made in the last century by Croatia".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a>President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomislav_Nikoli%C4%87" title="Tomislav Nikolić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tomislav Nikolić</a> of Serbia called for a mutual withdrawal of the genocide suits in January 2014.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Relation to ICTY</h3>In the final verdict of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_Former_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia</a> in the case of Prosecutor v. Gotovina et al. was an acquittal, some German media have speculated that this opens a possibility for Serbia to pay large reparations to Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> However, Serbian media pointed out that several main suspsects involved in the war such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mom%C4%8Dilo_Peri%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Momčilo Perišić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Momčilo Perišić</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovica_Stani%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Jovica Stanišić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Jovica Stanišić</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franko_Simatovi%C4%87" title="Franko Simatović" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Franko Simatović</a> have been acquitted by the ICTY, leading to speculation on pending likely the closure of Serbia's potential criminal responsibility.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">clarification needed</a>]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Timeline[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Timeline" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><table class="wikitable" width="100%" style="background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 1em 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr><th width="125" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center;">Date</th><th style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center;">Event</th></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2 July 1999</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Croatia files against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a>.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">1 March 2001</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Croatia submits a memorial to the ICJ, ahead of the March 14 deadline to do so.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">1 September 2002</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia submits a counter-memorial to the ICJ, ahead of the September 16 deadline to do so.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">4 February 2003</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is reconstituted as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro" title="Serbia and Montenegro" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbia and Montenegro</a>.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">25 April 2003</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Croatia submits its written statement, ahead of the 29 April deadline.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">5 June 2006</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Serbia and Montenegro separate into individual countries with Serbia succeeding the state in all legal capacity.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">26 February 2007</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">A judgment is delivered in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_the_Convention_on_the_Prevention_and_Punishment_of_the_Crime_of_Genocide(Bosnia_and_Herzegovina_v.Serbia_and_Montenegro)" class="mw-redirect" title="Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)</a>.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">26–30 May 2008</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Public hearings on the preliminary objections in the case.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">18 November 2008</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">The court rules that it has jurisdiction over the case.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">4 January 2010</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Serbia files a counter-memorial against Croatia.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">20 December 2010</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Croatia's submits its reply to the Serbian counter-memorial on the day of the deadline.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">4 November 2011</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Serbia submits its rejoinder on the day of the deadline.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">30 August 2012</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Deadline for Croatia to submit its additional reply to the Serbian counter-memorial.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">3 March 2014</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Start of the hearing of the case.</td></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">3 February 2015</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Croatia v. Serbia ruling delivered - both cases dismissed.</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence" title="Croatian War of Independence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian War of Independence</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_International_Court_of_Justice_cases" title="List of International Court of Justice cases" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">List of International Court of Justice cases</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Notes[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="reflist columns references-column-width" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<cite class="citation web" style="font-style: inherit; word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&code=cry&case=118&k=73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">"Contentious Cases - International Court of Justice"</a>. Retrieved 24 August 2016.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Contentious+Cases+-+International+Court+of+Justice&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icj-cij.org%2Fdocket%2Findex.php%3Fp1%3D3%26p2%3D3%26code%3Dcry%26case%3D118%26k%3D73&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACroatia%E2%80%93Serbia+genocide+case" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-PreliminaryObjections-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;">^ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-PreliminaryObjections_2-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:a</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-PreliminaryObjections_2-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/118/14891.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" upload.wikimedia.org="upload.wikimedia.org" wikipedia="wikipedia" commons="commons" icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif="Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Preliminary Objections</a></li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/118/7125.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" upload.wikimedia.org="upload.wikimedia.org" wikipedia="wikipedia" commons="commons" icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif="Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Application Instituting Proceedings</a></li><li id="cite_note-b92.net-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;">^ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-b92.net_4-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up to:a</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-b92.net_4-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=04&nav_id=64226" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Serbia files genocide lawsuit against Croatia</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110608090309/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=04&nav_id=64226" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Archived</a> June 8, 2011, at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayback Machine</a>.</li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://english.blic.rs/News/5785/No-court-trial-would-be-better-for-Zagreb" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">No court trial would be better for Zagreb</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101222014958/http://english.blic.rs/News/5785/No-court-trial-would-be-better-for-Zagreb" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Archived</a> December 22, 2010, at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayback Machine</a>., english.blic.rs; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/118/18032.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" upload.wikimedia.org="upload.wikimedia.org" wikipedia="wikipedia" commons="commons" icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif="Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">ICJ: Public hearings from Monday 3 March to Tuesday 1 April 2014</a></li><li id="cite_note-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<cite class="citation web" style="font-style: inherit; word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://news.yahoo.com/icj-croatia-accuses-serbia-genocide-101103902.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">"At ICJ, Croatia accuses Serbia of genocide"</a>. Retrieved 24 August2016.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=At+ICJ%2C+Croatia+accuses+Serbia+of+genocide&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Ficj-croatia-accuses-serbia-genocide-101103902.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACroatia%E2%80%93Serbia+genocide+case" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31104973" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">U.N. court: Serbs' actions in Croatia not considered genocide</a>, bbc.co.uk; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dnevniavaz.ba/dogadjaji/teme/softic-prijatno-iznenadjen-odlukom-suda" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Softić prijatno iznenađen odlukom suda</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnevni_avaz" title="Dnevni avaz" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dnevni avaz</a>, dnevniavaz.ba; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/118/14522.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" upload.wikimedia.org="upload.wikimedia.org" wikipedia="wikipedia" commons="commons" icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif="Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif" right="right" center="center" no-repeat="no-repeat" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Preliminary Objections of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a></li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vecernji.hr/newsroom/news/croatia/3196327/index.do" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Šimonović: Odluka Međunarodnog suda pravde veliki je uspjeh Hrvatske</a>, vecernji.hr; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vecernji.hr/newsroom/news/croatia/3196169/index.do" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Srbiji sude za genocid</a></li><li id="cite_note-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<cite class="citation web" style="font-style: inherit; word-wrap: break-word;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=03&nav_id=77170" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">"Serbia favors withdrawal of genocide lawsuits - - on B92.net"</a>. Retrieved 24 August 2016.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Serbia+favors+withdrawal+of+genocide+lawsuits+-++-+on+B92.net&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.b92.net%2Feng%2Fnews%2Fpolitics.php%3Fyyyy%3D2011%26mm%3D11%26dd%3D03%26nav_id%3D77170&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACroatia%E2%80%93Serbia+genocide+case" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/01/08/Official-Serbia-will-not-drop-Croatian-genocide-lawsuit-unilaterally/UPI-88491389216754" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Official: Serbia will not drop Croatian genocide lawsuit unilaterally</a>, upi.com; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=03&nav_id=64210" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Jeremić: Serbia doesn’t want to go to court</a>, b92.net; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/9/Srbija/411141/Kontratu%C5%BEba+protiv+Hrvatske" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Kontratužba protiv Hrvatske</a>, rts.rs; accessed 28 April 2015.(in Serbian)</li><li id="cite_note-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2013&mm=11&dd=14&nav_id=88349" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">PM favors withdrawal of genocide lawsuits</a>, b92.net; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2008&mm=11&dd=19&nav_id=329555" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Jeremić: Tužba zbog "Oluje"</a>, b92.net; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.blic.co.rs/temadana.php?id=67073" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Stanje nacije</a></li><li id="cite_note-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/cedo-jovanovic-protutuzbom-srbija-nastavlja-pogresnom-politikom-clanak-75127" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Čedo Jovanović: Protutužbom Srbija nastavlja s pogrešnom politikom</a>, vecernji.hr; accessed 28 April 2015. (in Croatian)</li><li id="cite_note-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mondo.rs/s157198/Info/ex-YU/Srbija_podnela_tuzbu_protiv_Hrvatske.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Srbija podnela tužbu protiv Hrvatske</a>, mondo.rs; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2014&mm=01&dd=08&nav_id=88911" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">"Unconditional withdrawal of genocide lawsuits"</a>, b92.net; accessed 28 April 2015.</li><li id="cite_note-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<cite class="citation news" style="font-style: inherit; word-wrap: break-word;">Brey, Thomas (16 November 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://search.salzburg.com/news/artikel.html?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.salzburg.com%2Fnews%2Fresource%2Fsn%2Fnews%2Fsn1706_17.11.2012_41-43542043" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">"Ein Freispruch mit Folgen"</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburger_Nachrichten" title="Salzburger Nachrichten" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Salzburger Nachrichten</a> (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2012.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Salzburger+Nachrichten&rft.atitle=Ein+Freispruch+mit+Folgen&rft.date=2012-11-16&rft.aulast=Brey&rft.aufirst=Thomas&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.salzburg.com%2Fnews%2Fartikel.html%3Furi%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fsearch.salzburg.com%252Fnews%252Fresource%252Fsn%252Fnews%252Fsn1706_17.11.2012_41-43542043&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACroatia%E2%80%93Serbia+genocide+case" class="Z3988" /></li><li id="cite_note-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; break-inside: avoid-column;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case#cite_ref-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Hronika/385635/Presuda-stiti-Srbiju-od-tuzbi-za-genocid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Presuda štiti Srbiju od tužbi za genocid</a>, blic.rs; accessed 28 April 2015.</li></ol></div></div></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: <ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 0px; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Croatian_War_of_Independence" title="Category:Croatian War of Independence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian War of Independence</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:International_Court_of_Justice_cases" title="Category:International Court of Justice cases" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Court of Justice cases</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_relations" title="Category:Croatia–Serbia relations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatia–Serbia relations</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div></div><div>
</div><div>The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats" title="Croats" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Croat</a> forces loyal to the government of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Croatia</a>—which had declared independence from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" title="Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a> (SFRY)—and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serb" class="mw-redirect" title="Serb" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Serb</a>-controlled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_People%27s_Army" title="Yugoslav People's Army" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Yugoslav People's Army</a> (JNA) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs_of_Croatia" title="Serbs of Croatia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">local Serb</a> forces, with the JNA ending its combat operations in Croatia by 1992. In Croatia, the war is primarily referred to as the "Homeland War" (Domovinski rat) and also as the "Greater-Serbian Aggression" (Velikosrpska agresija).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Darko_Zubrinic-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-HRV-name-VSA-Biland%C5%BEija-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a> In Serbian sources, "War in Croatia" (Рат у Хрватској / Rat u Hrvatskoj) and "War in Krajina" (Рат у Крајини / Rat u Krajini) are used.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-B92-RUH-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a>A majority of Croats wanted Croatia to leave Yugoslavia and become a sovereign country, while many ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, supported by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbia(1992%E2%80%932006)" title="Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbia</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Annex_IV-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a>opposed the secession and wanted Serb-claimed lands to be in a common state with Serbia. Most Serbs effectively sought a new Serb state within a Yugoslav federation, including areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with ethnic Serb majorities or significant minorities,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Borders-Redraw-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a> and attempted to conquer as much of Croatia as possible.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Iceland-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Presidency-RumpYugPlan-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991, but agreed to postpone it with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brioni_Agreement" title="Brioni Agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brioni Agreement</a> and cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia on 8 October 1991.The JNA initially tried to keep Croatia within Yugoslavia by occupying all of Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Kadijevi%C4%87134-135-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBjelajac_et_al.2009241-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a> After this failed, Serb forces established the self-proclaimed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbian_Krajina" title="Republic of Serbian Krajina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republic of Serbian Krajina</a> (RSK) within Croatia. After the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Agreement" class="mw-redirect" title="Sarajevo Agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ceasefire of January 1992</a> and international recognition of the Republic of Croatia as a sovereign state,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Germany-23Dec91-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYT-UN-membership-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a> the front lines were entrenched, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Protection_Force" title="United Nations Protection Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United Nations Protection Force</a> (UNPROFOR) was deployed,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-UN_SRES7431992-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a> and combat became largely intermittent in the following three years. During that time, the RSK encompassed 13,913 square kilometers (5,372 sq mi), more than a quarter of Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Profil-RSK-Dokumenti-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a> In 1995, Croatia launched two major offensives known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flash" title="Operation Flash" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Operation Flash</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Storm" title="Operation Storm" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Operation Storm</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-LATimes-Storm-Complete-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Flash-May2-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a> which would effectively end the war in its favor. The remaining <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Transitional_Authority_for_Eastern_Slavonia,Baranja_and_Western_Sirmium" class="mw-redirect" title="United Nations Transitional Authority for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United Nations Transitional Authority for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium</a> (UNTAES) zone was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia by 1998.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-ErdutAgr-12Nov95-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-UNTAES-16Jan98-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a>The war ended with Croatian victory, as it achieved the goals it had declared at the beginning of the war: independence and preservation of its borders.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-LATimes-Storm-Complete-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-ErdutAgr-12Nov95-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a>Approximately 21–25% of Croatia's economy was ruined, with an estimated US$37 billion in damaged infrastructure, lost <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Output(economics)" title="Output (economics)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">output</a>, and refugee-related costs.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Europe-Review-2003-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[42]</a> A total of 20,000 people were killed in the war,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-autogenerated3-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[43]</a> and refugees were displaced on both sides. The Serb and Croatian governments began to progressively cooperate with each other but tensions remain, in part due to verdicts by the ICTY and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia%E2%80%93Serbia_genocide_case" title="Croatia–Serbia genocide case" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">lawsuits filed by each country against the other</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-UNHCR-Croatia-Serbia-Refugees2010-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-BBC-Josipovi%C4%87-Belgrade-2010-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a>
In 2007, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia</a> (ICTY) returned a guilty verdict against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Marti%C4%87" title="Milan Martić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Milan Martić</a>, one of the Serb leaders in Croatia, for having colluded with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Slobodan Milošević" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Slobodan Milošević</a> and others to create a "unified Serbian state".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-icty_martic-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a> Between 2008 and 2012, the ICTY had prosecuted Croatian generals <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Gotovina" title="Ante Gotovina" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Ante Gotovina</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mladen_Marka%C4%8D" title="Mladen Markač" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Mladen Markač</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan%C4%8Cermak" title="Ivan Čermak" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Ivan Čermak</a> for alleged involvement in the crimes related to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Storm" title="Operation Storm" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Operation Storm</a>. Čermak was acquitted outright, and the convictions of Gotovina and Markač were later overturned by an ICTY Appeals Panel.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-gotovina_judgement-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-BBC-2012-11-16-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice" title="International Court of Justice" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">International Court of Justice</a> dismissed mutual claims of genocide by Croatia and Serbia in 2015. The Court reaffirmed that to an extent, crimes against civilians had taken place, but ruled that specific genocidal intent was not present.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a>
<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Background</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Political_changes_in_Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.1Political changes in Yugoslavia</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Civil_unrest_and_demands_for_autonomy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.2Civil unrest and demands for autonomy</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Military_forces" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Military forces</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Serb_and_Yugoslav_People's_Army_forces" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.1Serb and Yugoslav People's Army forces</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Croatian_forces" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2Croatian forces</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Course_of_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Course of the war</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#1991:Open_hostilities_begin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.11991: Open hostilities begin</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#First_armed_incidents" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.1.1First armed incidents</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Declaration_of_independence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.1.2Declaration of independence</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Escalation_of_the_conflict" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.1.3Escalation of the conflict</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Peak_of_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.1.4Peak of the war</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#1992:Ceasefire" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.21992: Ceasefire</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#1993:Croatian_military_advances" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.31993: Croatian military advances</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#1994:Erosion_of_support_for_Krajina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.41994: Erosion of support for Krajina</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#1995:End_of_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.51995: End of the war</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Reintegration_of_Eastern_Slavonia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.5.1Reintegration of Eastern Slavonia</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Impact_and_aftermath" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Impact and aftermath</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Assessment_of_type_and_name_of_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.1Assessment of type and name of the war</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Casualties_and_refugees" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.2Casualties and refugees</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Wartime_damage_and_minefields" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.3Wartime damage and minefields</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#War_crimes_and_the_ICTY" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.4War crimes and the ICTY</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Serbia's_role" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Serbia's role</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#During_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5.1During the war</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#After_the_war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5.2After the war</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Role_of_the_international_community" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Role of the international community</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Annotations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8Annotations</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9Notes</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10References</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Books" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10.1Books</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#Other_sources" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10.2Other sources</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">11External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Background[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatian_War_of_Independence&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia" title="Breakup of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Breakup of Yugoslavia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_of_Croatia" title="Independence of Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Independence of Croatia</a></div><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Political changes in Yugoslavia[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatian_War_of_Independence&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Political changes in Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Since the 1970s, Yugoslavia's Communist regime became severely splintered into a liberal-decentralist nationalist faction led by Croatia and Slovenia that supported a decentralized federation to give greater autonomy to Croatia and Slovenia, versus a conservative-centralist nationalist faction led by Serbia that supported a centralized federation to secure Serbia's and Serbs' interests across Yugoslavia – as they were the largest ethnic group in the country as a whole.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a> From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Spring" title="Croatian Spring" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1967 to 1972 in Croatia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_protests_in_Kosovo" class="mw-redirect" title="1968 protests in Kosovo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1968</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_protests_in_Kosovo" title="1981 protests in Kosovo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1981 protests in Kosovo</a>, nationalist doctrines and actions caused ethnic tensions that destabilized Yugoslavia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEJovi%C4%87200919-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a> The suppression by the state of nationalists is believed to have had the effect of identifying nationalism as the primary alternative to communism itself and made it a strong underground movement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEJovi%C4%87200921-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a>A crisis emerged in Yugoslavia with the weakening of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Bloc" title="Eastern Bloc" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Communist states in Eastern Europe</a> towards the end of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cold War</a>, as symbolized by the fall of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall" title="Berlin Wall" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Berlin Wall</a> in 1989. In Yugoslavia, the national communist party, officially called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Communists_of_Yugoslavia" title="League of Communists of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">League of Communists of Yugoslavia</a>, had lost its ideological potency.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPe%C5%A1i%C4%87199612-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Kosovo-Repression-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Slovenia" title="Socialist Republic of Slovenia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SR Slovenia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Croatia" title="Socialist Republic of Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SR Croatia</a> wanted to move towards decentralization.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYT-Croatia-Prosperity-1985-63" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Serbia" class="mw-redirect" title="SR Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SR Serbia</a>, headed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Slobodan Milošević</a>, adhered to centralism and single-party rule, and in turn effectively ended the autonomy of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_Vojvodina" class="mw-redirect" title="SAP Vojvodina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vojvodina</a> by March 1989, taking command of their votes in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Presidency" class="mw-redirect" title="Yugoslav Presidency" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav federal presidency</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Annex_IV-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Kosovo-Repression-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-RFERL-Vojvodina-Autonomy-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a> The nationalist ideas started to grow within the ranks of the still-ruling League of Communists, while Milošević's speeches, notably the 1989 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan_speech" title="Gazimestan speech" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gazimestan speech</a> in which he talked of "battles of quarrels", favored continuation of a unified Yugoslav state — one in which all power would continue to be centralized in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade" title="Belgrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Belgrade</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Annex_IV-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Brown116-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Guardian-Gazimestan-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a>In the fall of 1989, the Serbian government pressured the Croatian government to allow a series of Serb nationalist rallies in the country, and the Serbian media and various Serbian intellectuals had already begun to refer to the Croatian leadership as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e" class="mw-redirect" title="Ustaše" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustaše</a>", and began to make reference to crimes committed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e" class="mw-redirect" title="Ustaše" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustaše</a> between 1941-45. The rhetoric was approved by the Serbian political leadership, and accused the Croatian leadership of being "blindly nationalistic" when it objected.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a>Having completed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-bureaucratic_revolution" title="Anti-bureaucratic revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-bureaucratic revolution</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojvodina" title="Vojvodina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vojvodina</a>, Kosovo, and Montenegro, Serbia secured four out of eight federal presidency votes in 1991,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Brown116-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a> which rendered the governing body ineffective as other republics objected and called for reform of the Federation.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Frucht433-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a> In 1989, political parties were allowed and a number of them had been founded, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Democratic_Union" title="Croatian Democratic Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian Democratic Union</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_language" title="Croatian language" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian</a>: Hrvatska demokratska zajednica) (HDZ), led by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franjo_Tu%C4%91man" title="Franjo Tuđman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Franjo Tuđman</a>, who later became the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Croatia" title="President of Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">president of Croatia</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Independent-Tu%C4%91man-Obituary-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[62]</a>In January 1990, the League of Communists broke up on ethnic lines, with the Croatian and Slovene factions demanding a looser federation at the 14th Extraordinary Congress. At the congress, Serbian delegates accused the Croatian and Slovene delegates of "supporting separatism, terrorism and genocide in Kosovo".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[63]</a> The Croatian and Slovene delegations, including most of their ethnic Serb members, eventually left in protest, after Serbian delegates rejected every proposed amendment.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Brown116-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-LondonTimes-Ra%C4%8Dan-Obituary-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a>January 1990 also marked the beginning of court cases being brought to Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court on the matter of secession.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Igor_Primoratz_2006.p158-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a> The first was the Slovenian Constitutional Amendments case after Slovenia claimed the right to unilateral secession pursuant to the right of self-determination.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a> The Constitutional Court ruled that secession from the federation was only permitted if there was the unanimous agreement of Yugoslavia's republics and autonomous provinces.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Igor_Primoratz_2006.p158-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a> The Constitutional Court noted that 1974 Constitution's Section I of the Basic Principles of the Constitution identified that self-determination including secession "belonged to the peoples of Yugoslavia and their socialist republics".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Igor_Primoratz_2006.p158-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a> The matter of Kosovo secession was addressed in May 1991 with the court claiming that "only the peoples of Yugoslavia" had the right to secession, Albanians were considered a minority and not a people of Yugoslavia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-Igor_Primoratz_2006.p158-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 152px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FranjoTudman.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Croatian President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franjo_Tu%C4%91man" title="Franjo Tuđman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Franjo Tuđman</a> sought Croatia to become independent from Yugoslavia.</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 152px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Serbian President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Slobodan Milošević</a>wanted to retain Serb-claimed lands in Croatia within a common state with Serbia.</div></div></div>In February 1990, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovan_Ra%C5%A1kovi%C4%87" title="Jovan Rašković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jovan Rašković</a> founded the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serb_Democratic_Party(Croatia)" title="Serb Democratic Party (Croatia)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serb Democratic Party</a> (SDS) in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knin" title="Knin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Knin</a>, whose program aimed to change the regional division of Croatia to be aligned with ethnic Serb interests,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-g214-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a> Prominent members of the RSK government including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Babi%C4%87" title="Milan Babić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milan Babić</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Marti%C4%87" title="Milan Martić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milan Martić</a>, later testified that Belgrade directed a propaganda campaign that portrayed the Serbs in Croatia as being threatened with genocide by the Croat majority.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> On 4 March 1990, 50,000 Serbs rallied at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrova_Gora" title="Petrova Gora" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Petrova Gora</a>, and shouted negative remarks aimed at Tuđman,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-g214-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a> chanted "This is Serbia",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-g214-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a> and expressed support for Milošević.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_parliamentary_election,1990" title="Croatian parliamentary election, 1990" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">first free elections in Croatia</a> and Slovenia were scheduled for a few months later.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Elections1-HRV1990-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a> The first round of elections in Croatia were held on 22 April, and the second round on 6 May.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Elections2-HRV1990-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a> The HDZ based its campaign on greater sovereignty (eventually outright independence) for Croatia, fueling a sentiment among Croats that "only the HDZ could protect Croatia from the aspirations of Milošević towards a Greater Serbia". It topped the poll in the elections (followed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivica_Ra%C4%8Dan" title="Ivica Račan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ivica Račan</a>'s reformed communists, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Croatia" title="Social Democratic Party of Croatia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Social Democratic Party of Croatia</a>) and was set to form a new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="Croatian Government" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian Government</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-NYTimes-Elections2-HRV1990-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a>A tense atmosphere prevailed on May 13, 1990, when a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinamo_Zagreb-Red_Star_Belgrade_riot" class="mw-redirect" title="Dinamo Zagreb-Red Star Belgrade riot" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">football game was held at Zagreb</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksimir_Stadium" class="mw-redirect" title="Maksimir Stadium" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Maksimir Stadium</a> between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreb" title="Zagreb" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Zagreb</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinamo_Zagreb" class="mw-redirect" title="Dinamo Zagreb" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dinamo</a> team and Belgrade's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star_Belgrade" title="Red Star Belgrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Red Star</a>. The game erupted into violence between the Croatian and Serbian fans and between the police.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a>On 30 May 1990, the new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Parliament" title="Croatian Parliament" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatian Parliament</a> held its first session. President Tuđman announced his manifesto for a new Constitution (ratified at the end of the year) and a multitude of political, economic, and social changes, notably to what extent minority rights (mainly for Serbs) would be guaranteed. Local Serb politicians opposed the new constitution. In 1991, Croats represented 78.1% and Serbs 12.2% of the total population of Croatia,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a> but the latter held a disproportionate number of official posts: 17.7% of appointed officials in Croatia, including police, were Serbs. An even greater proportion of those posts had been held by Serbs in Croatia earlier, which created a perception that the Serbs were guardians of the communist regime.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBjelajac_et_al.2009239-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a> This caused discontent among the Croats despite the fact it never actually undermined their own dominance in SR Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPe%C5%A1i%C4%87199612-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a> After the HDZ came to power, many Serbs employed in the public sector, especially the police, were fired and replaced by Croats.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a> This, combined with Tuđman's remarks, i.e. "they declare that my wife is Jewish or Serbian. Luckily for me, she never was either",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a> were distorted by Milošević's media to spark fear that any form of an independent Croatia would be a new "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustashe" title="Ustashe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustashe</a> state". In one instance, TV Belgrade showed Tuđman shaking hands with German Chancellor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kohl" title="Helmut Kohl" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Helmut Kohl</a> (who would be the first government leader in the world to recognise independent Croatia and Slovenia) accusing the two of plotting "a Fourth Reich".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-86" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence#cite_note-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Civil unrest and demands for autonomy[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Croatian_War_of_Independence&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Civil unrest and demands for autonomy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_Revolution" title="Log Revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Log Revolution</a></div></div><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">...</div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87</a></div><div>
</div><div><table class="infobox vcard" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 22em;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Slobodan Milošević</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="Slobodan Milosevic Dayton Agreement.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg/220px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg" width="220" height="290" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg/330px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg/440px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Dayton_Agreement.jpg 2x" data-file-width="472" data-file-height="623" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><div>Milošević at the signing of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Agreement" title="Dayton Agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dayton Agreement</a> in 1995</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;" /></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">3rd <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
23 July 1997 – 7 October 2000</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Prime Minister</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radoje_Konti%C4%87" title="Radoje Kontić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Radoje Kontić</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momir_Bulatovi%C4%87" title="Momir Bulatović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Momir Bulatović</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Preceded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoran_Lili%C4%87" title="Zoran Lilić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Zoran Lilić</a>
Srđa Božović (acting)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Succeeded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojislav_Ko%C5%A1tunica" title="Vojislav Koštunica" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vojislav Koštunica</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">1st <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Serbia" title="President of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President of the Republic of Serbia</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
11 January 1991<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#endnote_term" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[a]</a> – 23 July 1997</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Prime Minister</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragutin_Zelenovi%C4%87" title="Dragutin Zelenović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dragutin Zelenović</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radoman_Bo%C5%BEovi%C4%87" title="Radoman Božović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Radoman Božović</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola%C5%A0ainovi%C4%87" title="Nikola Šainović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nikola Šainović</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirko_Marjanovi%C4%87" title="Mirko Marjanović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mirko Marjanović</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Preceded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Position established</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Succeeded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragan_Tomi%C4%87" title="Dragan Tomić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dragan Tomić</a> (acting)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Milutinovi%C4%87" title="Milan Milutinović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milan Milutinović</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">7th <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Presidency_of_SR_Serbia" title="President of the Presidency of SR Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
8 May 1989 – 11 January 1991<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#endnote_term" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[a]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Prime Minister</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Desimir Jeftić
Stanko Radmilović</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Preceded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_Gra%C4%8Danin" title="Petar Gračanin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Petar Gračanin</a>
Ljubiša Igić (acting)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Succeeded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Position abolished</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">11th <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_League_of_Communists_of_Serbia" title="President of the League of Communists of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President of the League of Communists of Serbia</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
15 May 1986 – 8 May 1989<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#endnote_term" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[a]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Prime Minister</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Desimir Jeftić
Stanko Radmilović</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Preceded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Stamboli%C4%87" title="Ivan Stambolić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ivan Stambolić</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Succeeded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Bogdan Trifunović</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Personal details</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Born</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">20 August 1941
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%C5%BEarevac" title="Požarevac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Požarevac</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_the_Military_Commander_in_Serbia" title="Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">German-occupied Serbia</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Died</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">11 March 2006 (aged 64)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hague" title="The Hague" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Hague</a>, Netherlands</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Resting place</th><td class="label" style="vertical-align: top;">Požarevac, Serbia</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Nationality</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Serbian</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Political party</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Communists_of_Yugoslavia" title="League of Communists of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">League of Communists of Yugoslavia</a> (1959–1990)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_Serbia" title="Socialist Party of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Socialist Party of Serbia</a>(1990–2006)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Spouse(s)</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirjana_Markovi%C4%87" title="Mirjana Marković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mirjana Marković</a> (<abbr title="married" style="border-bottom: 0px; cursor: help;">m.</abbr> 1971; his death 2006)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Children</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><div class="hlist hlist-separated"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marko_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Marko Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Marko</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;">Marija</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Relatives</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borislav_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Borislav Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Borislav Milošević</a> (brother)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milisav_Koljen%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Milisav Koljenšić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milisav Koljenšić</a> (uncle)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater" title="Alma mater" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alma mater</a></th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Belgrade_Faculty_of_Law" title="University of Belgrade Faculty of Law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of Belgrade Faculty of Law</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Signature</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png" class="image" title="Slobodan Milošević's signature" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png/128px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png" width="128" height="70" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png/192px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png/256px-Slobodan_Milosevic_Signature.png 2x" data-file-width="316" data-file-height="173" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">a. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#ref_term" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">^{</a>&nbsp};Became "President of the Presidency" of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Serbia" title="Socialist Republic of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Socialist Republic of Serbia</a> (a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_state" title="Federated state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">constituent country</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" title="Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SFR Yugoslavia</a>) on 8 May 1989. After <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia" title="Breakup of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SFR Yugoslavia collapsed</a>, he continued as the first President of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbia(1990%E2%80%932006)" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Serbia (1990–2006)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republic of Serbia</a>(a constituent of the newly formed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro" title="Serbia and Montenegro" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">FR Yugoslavia</a>) from 11 January 1991.</td></tr></tbody></table>Slobodan Milošević (pronounced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Serbo-Croatian" title="Help:IPA/Serbo-Croatian" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none !important;">[slobǒdan milǒːʃeʋitɕ]</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sr-SlobodanMilosevic.ogg" title="About this sound" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="About this sound" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg/11px-Loudspeaker.svg.png" width="11" height="11" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg/17px-Loudspeaker.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg/22px-Loudspeaker.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px;" /></a> <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Sr-SlobodanMilosevic.ogg" class="internal" title="Sr-SlobodanMilosevic.ogg" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">listen</a>); <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Cyrillic_alphabet" title="Serbian Cyrillic alphabet" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian Cyrillic</a>: Слободан Милошевић; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav</a> and Serbian politician and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Serbia" title="President of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbia(1990-2006)" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Serbia (1990-2006)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbia</a> (originally the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Serbia" title="Socialist Republic of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Socialist Republic of Serbia</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_state" title="Constituent state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">constituent republic</a> within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" title="Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a>) from 1989 to 1997 and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_and_Montenegro" title="Serbia and Montenegro" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Federal Republic of Yugoslavia</a> from 1997 to 2000. He also led the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_Serbia" title="Socialist Party of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Socialist Party of Serbia</a> from its foundation in 1990. He rose to power as Serbian President after he and his supporters claimed the need to reform the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Yugoslav_Constitution" title="1974 Yugoslav Constitution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia</a>due to both the marginalization of Serbia and its political incapacity to deter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanians" title="Albanians" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Albanian</a> separatist unrest in the province of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Autonomous_Province_of_Kosovo" title="Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kosovo</a>.Milošević's presidency of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was marked by several major reforms to Serbia's constitution in the 1980s to the 1990s that reduced the powers of the autonomous provinces in Serbia and in 1990 transitioned Serbia from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titoism" title="Titoism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Titoist</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-party_state" title="One-party state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">one-party system</a> to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-party_system" title="Multi-party system" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">multi-party system</a>, attempted reforms to the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia" title="Breakup of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">breakup of Yugoslavia</a> and the outbreak of the subsequent wars, the founding of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the former SFRY republics of Serbia and Montenegro, negotiating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Agreement" title="Dayton Agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dayton Agreement</a> on behalf of the Bosnian Serbs that ended the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War" title="Bosnian War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bosnian War</a> in 1995, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">his overthrow</a> in 2000.In the midst of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia" title="NATO bombing of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NATO bombing of Yugoslavia</a> in 1999, Milošević was charged by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia</a> (ICTY) with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crimes" class="mw-redirect" title="War crimes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">war crimes</a> in connection to the wars in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War" title="Bosnian War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bosnia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence" title="Croatian War of Independence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croatia</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War" title="Kosovo War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kosovo</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a> Milošević resigned the Yugoslav presidency amid demonstrations, following the disputed presidential election of 24 September 2000. He was arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities on 31 March 2001 on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embezzlement" title="Embezzlement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">embezzlement</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a> The initial investigation into Milošević faltered for lack of evidence, prompting the Serbian Prime Minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoran%C4%90in%C4%91i%C4%87" title="Zoran Đinđić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Zoran Đinđić</a> to extradite him to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia</a> (ICTY) to stand trial for charges of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime" title="War crime" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">war crimes</a> instead.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> At the outset of the trial, Milošević denounced the Tribunal as illegal because it had not been established with the consent of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly" title="United Nations General Assembly" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United Nations General Assembly</a>; therefore he refused to appoint counsel for his defence.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a> Milošević conducted his own defence in the five-year-long trial, which ended without a verdict when he <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Death of Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">died</a> in his prison cell in The Hague in 11 March 2006.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> Milošević, who suffered from heart ailments and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension" title="Hypertension" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">hypertension</a>, died of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocardial_infarction" title="Myocardial infarction" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">heart attack</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-autogenerated1-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-autogenerated2-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> The Tribunal denied any responsibility for Milošević's death, and stated that he had refused to take prescribed medicines and medicated himself instead.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>After Milošević's death, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice" title="International Court of Justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Court of Justice</a> (ICJ) concluded separately in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Genocide_Case" class="mw-redirect" title="Bosnian Genocide Case" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bosnian Genocide Case</a> that there was no evidence linking him to genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian War. However, the Court did find that Milošević and others in Serbia had committed a breach of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_Convention" title="Genocide Convention" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Genocide Convention</a> by failing to prevent the genocide from occurring and for not cooperating with the ICTY in punishing the perpetrators of the genocide, in particular General <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratko_Mladi%C4%87" title="Ratko Mladić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ratko Mladić</a>, and for violating its obligation to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the Court.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Early_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Early life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Rise_to_power" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Rise to power</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Anti-bureaucratic_revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.1Anti-bureaucratic revolution</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Constitutional_amendments" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2Constitutional amendments</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Civil_and_political_rights_under_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.3Civil and political rights under Milošević</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87's_role_in_the_Yugoslav_Wars" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Milošević's role in the Yugoslav Wars</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87's_views" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Milošević's views</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Murders_of_political_opponents" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Murders of political opponents</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Downfall" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Downfall</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Relations_with_other_countries" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7Relations with other countries</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7.1Russia</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#China" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7.2China</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Trial_at_The_Hague" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8Trial at The Hague</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Death" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9Death</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Legacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10Legacy</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Published_books" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">11Published books</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">12See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">13References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Sources" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">14Sources</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#Further_reading" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">15Further reading</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">16External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Early life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Early life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tmulti tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto;"><div class="thumbinner" style="background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 326px; max-width: 326px;">
<div style="clear: left;"><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left; clear: left; background-color: transparent;">
Milošević's father Svetozar and mother Stanislava with brother <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borislav_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Borislav Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Borislav</a> and Slobodan as children
.</div></div></div>Milošević had roots from the Lijeva Rijeka village in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podgorica" title="Podgorica" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Podgorica</a> and was of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasojevi%C4%87i" title="Vasojevići" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vasojevići</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegrin_clans" class="mw-redirect" title="Montenegrin clans" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">clan</a> from Montenegro. He was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%C5%BEarevac" title="Požarevac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Požarevac</a>, four months after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_Powers" class="mw-redirect" title="Axis Powers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Axis</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Yugoslavia" title="Invasion of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">invasion</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia" title="Kingdom of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kingdom of Yugoslavia</a>, and raised during the Axis <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_the_Military_Commander_in_Serbia" title="Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">occupation</a>of World War II. He had an older brother <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borislav_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Borislav Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Borislav</a>who would later become a diplomat.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a> His parents separated in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_World_War_II" title="Aftermath of World War II" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">aftermath of the war</a>. His father, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Orthodox_Church" title="Serbian Orthodox Church" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian Orthodox</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology" title="Theology" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">theologian</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Svetozar_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Svetozar Milošević (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Svetozar Milošević</a> (<a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetozar_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" class="extiw" title="nl:Svetozar Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">nl</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide" title="Suicide" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">shot himself</a> in 1962.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> Svetozar's father Simeun was an officer in the Montenegrin Army. Milošević's mother Stanislava (née Koljenšić), a school teacher and also an active member of the Communist Party, committed suicide in 1972.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> Her brother (Milošević's maternal uncle) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milisav_Koljen%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Milisav Koljenšić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milisav Koljenšić</a>was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major-general" class="mw-redirect" title="Major-general" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">major-general</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_People%27s_Army" title="Yugoslav People's Army" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav People's Army</a> who committed suicide in 1963.Milošević went on to study law at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Belgrade" title="University of Belgrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of Belgrade</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Belgrade_Faculty_of_Law" title="University of Belgrade Faculty of Law" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Law School</a>, where he became the head of the ideology committee of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Communists_of_Yugoslavia" title="League of Communists of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav Communist League</a>'s (SKJ) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Communist_League_of_Yugoslavia" class="mw-redirect" title="Young Communist League of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">student branch</a> (SSOJ). While at the university, he befriended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Stamboli%C4%87" title="Ivan Stambolić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ivan Stambolić</a>, whose uncle <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_Stamboli%C4%87" title="Petar Stambolić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Petar Stambolić</a> had been a president of Serbian Executive Council (the Communist equivalent of a prime minister). This was to prove a crucial connection for Milošević's career prospects, as Stambolić sponsored his rise through the SKJ hierarchy.After his graduation in 1966, Milošević became an economic advisor to Mayor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade" title="Belgrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Belgrade</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branko_Pe%C5%A1i%C4%87" title="Branko Pešić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Branko Pešić</a>. Five years later, he married his childhood friend, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirjana_Markovi%C4%87" title="Mirjana Marković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mirjana Marković</a>, with whom he had two children: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marko_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Marko Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Marko</a> and Marija. Marković would have some influence on Milošević's political career both before and after his rise to power; she was also leader of her husband's junior coalition partner, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Left" title="Yugoslav Left" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav Left</a> (JUL) in the 1990s. In 1968, Milošević got a job at the Tehnogas company, where Stambolić was working, and became its chairman in 1973. By 1978, Stambolić's sponsorship had enabled Milošević to become the head of Beobanka, one of Yugoslavia's largest banks; his frequent trips to Paris and New York gave him the opportunity to learn English. He was 6 feet 1¼ inches (186 cm) tall.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Rise to power</h2><div class="thumb tright" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 197px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stevan_Kragujevic,Slobodan_Milosevic,portret.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stevan_Kragujevic,Slobodan_Milosevic,portret.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Milošević in the 1980s.</a></div></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stevan_Kragujevic,Slobodan_Milosevic,portret.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">On 16 April 1984, Milošević was elected president of the Belgrade League of Communists City Committee.</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a> On 21 February 1986 the Socialist Alliance of Working People unanimously supported him as presidential candidate for the SKJ's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Communists_of_Serbia" title="League of Communists of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian branch</a> Central Committee.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a> Milošević was elected by a majority vote at the 10th Congress of the Serbian League of Communists on 28 May 1986.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a>Milošević <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Session_of_the_Serbian_Communist_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="8th Session of the Serbian Communist Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">emerged in 1987</a> as a force in Serbian politics after he declared support for Serbs in the Serbian autonomous province of Kosovo, who claimed they were being oppressed by the provincial government which was dominated by Kosovo's majority ethnic group, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Albanian people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ethnic Albanians</a>. Milošević claimed that ethnic Albanian authorities had abused their powers, that the autonomy of Kosovo was allowing the entrenchment of separatism in Kosovo, and that the rights of the Serbs in the province were being regularly violated. As a solution, he called for political change to reduce the autonomy, protect minority Serb rights, and initiate a strong crackdown on separatism in Kosovo.Milošević was criticized by opponents, who claimed he and his allies were attempting to strengthen the position of Serbs in Yugoslavia at the expense of Kosovo Albanians and other nationalities, a policy they accused of being nationalist, which was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo" title="Taboo" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">taboo</a> in the Yugoslav Communist system and effectively a political crime, as nationalism was identified as a violation of the Yugoslav Communists' commitment to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_and_Unity" class="mw-redirect" title="Brotherhood and Unity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brotherhood and Unity</a>. Milošević always denied allegations that he was a nationalist or that he exploited Serbian nationalism in his rise to power. In a 1995 interview with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_magazine" class="mw-redirect" title="Time magazine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">TIME</a>, he defended himself from these accusations by claiming he stood for every nationality in Yugoslavia (though he notably made no direct or indirect mention of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonians(ethnic_group)" title="Macedonians (ethnic group)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Macedonians</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegrins" title="Montenegrins" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Montenegrins</a> who are often seen by nationalist Serbs as being Serbs by ethnic heritage): "All my speeches up to '89 were published in my book. You can see that there was no nationalism in those speeches. We were explaining why we think it is good to preserve Yugoslavia for all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs" title="Serbs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbs</a>, all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats" title="Croats" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Croats</a>, all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslims" class="mw-redirect" title="Muslims" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Muslims</a> and all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenes" title="Slovenes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Slovenians</a> as our joint country. Nothing else."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a>As animosity between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo deepened during the 1980s, Milošević was sent to address a crowd of Serbs at the historic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_field(Kosovo)" title="Kosovo field (Kosovo)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kosovo field</a> on 24 April 1987. While Milošević was talking to the leadership inside the local cultural hall, demonstrators outside clashed with the local Kosovo-Albanian police force. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a> reported that "a crowd of 15,000 Serbs and Montenegrins hurled stones at the police after they used truncheons to push people away from the entrance to the cultural center of Kosovo Polje."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a>Milošević heard the commotion and was sent outside to calm the situation. A videotape of the event shows Milošević responding to complaints from the crowd that the police were beating people by saying "You will not be beaten".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> Later that evening, Serbian television aired the video of Milošević's encounter.In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_LeBor" title="Adam LeBor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Adam LeBor</a>'s biography of Milošević, he says that the crowd attacked the police and Milošević's response was "No one should dare to beat you again!"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor200479%E2%80%9384-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a>The Federal Secretariat of the SFRY Interior Ministry, however, condemned the police's use of rubber truncheons as not in keeping within the provisions of Articles 100 and 101 of the rules of procedure for "conducting the work of law enforcement", they had found that "the total conduct of the citizenry in the mass rally before the cultural hall in Kosovo Polje cannot be assessed as negative or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremism" title="Extremism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">extremist</a>. There was no significant violation of law and order."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a>Although Milošević was only addressing a small group of people around him – not the public,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a> a great deal of significance has been attached to that remark. Stambolić, after his reign as President, said that he had seen that day as "the end of Yugoslavia"....<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Milošević's role in the Yugoslav Wars</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;">Main articles: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_in_the_Yugoslav_Wars" title="Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_of_the_media_in_the_Yugoslav_wars" class="mw-redirect" title="Role of the media in the Yugoslav wars" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Role of the media in the Yugoslav wars</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_historiography#Post_communist_Serbian_historiography(1980s-present)" title="Serbian historiography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian historiography § Post communist Serbian historiography (1980s-present)</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_criminal_enterprise" title="Joint criminal enterprise" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Joint criminal enterprise</a></div>The Hague indictment alleges that, starting in 1987, Milošević "endorsed a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_nationalism" title="Serbian nationalism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian nationalist</a> agenda" and "exploited a growing wave of Serbian nationalism in order to strengthen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralization" class="mw-redirect" title="Centralization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">centralised rule</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SFRY" class="mw-redirect" title="SFRY" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SFRY</a>".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-autogeneratedmil-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a>ICTY prosecutors argued that "the [Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo] indictments were all part of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Criminal_Enterprise" class="mw-redirect" title="Joint Criminal Enterprise" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">common scheme, strategy or plan</a> on the part of the accused [Milošević] to create a 'Greater Serbia', a centralized Serbian state encompassing the Serb-populated areas of Croatia and Bosnia and all of Kosovo, and that this plan was to be achieved by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation" title="Deportation" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">forcibly removing</a> non-Serbs from large geographical areas through the commission of the crimes charged in the indictments. Although the events in Kosovo were separated from those in Croatia and Bosnia by more than three years, they were no more than a continuation of that plan, and they could only be understood completely by reference to what had happened in Croatia and Bosnia."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a>Milošević's defenders claim that the Prosecution could not produce a single order issued by his government to Serbian fighters in Croatia or Bosnia. Near the end of the Prosecution's case, a Prosecution analyst admitted under cross-examination that this was indeed the case. Theunens, however, was quick to point out, "the fact that we don't have orders doesn't mean that they don't exist" to which Milošević replied "There are none, that's why you haven't got one."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a>Since the wars, Milošević's political behaviour has been analyzed as politically <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunist" class="mw-redirect" title="Opportunist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">opportunist</a> in nature.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHenriksen2007181-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a>Claims that Milošević was principally motivated by a desire for power have been supported by many people who had known or had worked for him.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESell2002170-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> Some believe his original goal until the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia" title="Breakup of Yugoslavia" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">breakup of Yugoslavia</a> was to take control of Yugoslavia, with the ambition of becoming its next great leader, a "second <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Broz_Tito" class="mw-redirect" title="Joseph Broz Tito" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Tito</a>".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHenriksen2007181-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHagan200311-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a>According to this, Milošević exploited nationalism as a tool to seize power in Serbia, while not holding any particular commitment to it.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESell2002170-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> During the first twenty-five years of his political career in the communist government of Yugoslavia, Milošević was a typical civil servant who did not appear to have nationalist aims.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESell2002170-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> Later, he attempted to present himself as a peacemaker in the Yugoslav Wars and abandoned support of nationalism.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESell2002170-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> He returned to support nationalism during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War" title="Kosovo War" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Kosovo War</a> and appealed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-imperialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-imperialist" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">anti-imperialist</a> sentiments.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESell2002170-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[68]</a> The spread of violent nationalism has also been imputed to <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/indifferent" class="extiw" title="wikt:indifferent" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">indifference</a> to it by Milošević.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPostGeorge2004184-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a>The source of Milošević's nationalistic agenda is believed to have been influenced by the policies of the popular prominent Serbian Communist official and former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Partisan" class="mw-redirect" title="Yugoslav Partisan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yugoslav Partisan</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Rankovi%C4%87" title="Aleksandar Ranković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Aleksandar Ranković</a> who was known to promote Serbian national interests in Yugoslavia and hardline police actions against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTECohen200198-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a> He supported a centralized Yugoslavia and opposed efforts that promoted decentralization that he deemed to be against the interests of Serb unity.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBokovoy1997295-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a> Ranković imposed harsh repressive measures on Kosovo Albanians based on accusations that they there were sympathizers of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinism" title="Stalinism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stalinist</a> rule of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enver_Hoxha" title="Enver Hoxha" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Enver Hoxha</a> in Albania.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-Kosovo.2000.Pp.35-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> In 1956, a show trial in Pristina was held in which multiple Albanian Communists of Kosovo were convicted of being infiltrators from Albania and were given long prison sentences.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-Kosovo.2000.Pp.35-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> Ranković sought to secure the position of the Serbs in Kosovo and gave them dominance in Kosovo's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenklatura" title="Nomenklatura" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">nomenklatura</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHagan200311-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a> Under Ranković's influence, Islam in Kosovo at this time was repressed and both Albanians and Muslim Slavs were encouraged to declare themselves to be Turkish and emigrate to Turkey.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-Kosovo.2000.Pp.35-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> At the same time, Serbs and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegrins(ethnic_group)" class="mw-redirect" title="Montenegrins (ethnic group)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Montenegrins</a> dominated the government, security forces, and industrial employment in Kosovo.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-Kosovo.2000.Pp.35-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> The popularity of Ranković's nationalistic policies in Serbia became apparent during his funeral in Serbia in 1983 where large numbers of people attended while considering Ranković a Serbian "national" leader.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTECohen200198-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a> This event is believed to have possibly influenced Milošević, who attended Ranković's funeral, to recognize the popularity of Ranković's agenda.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTECohen200198-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a> This connection to the legacy of Ranković was recognized by a number of Yugoslavs who regarded Milošević's policies upon his to power in Serbia as effectively "bringing Ranković back in".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEJovi%C4%872009299-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a>During the Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution, Milošević urged Serbians and Montenegrins to "take to the streets" and utilized the slogan "Strong Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" that drew support from Serbs and Montenegrins but alienated the other Yugoslav nations.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006119-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a> To these groups, Milošević's agenda reminded them of the Serb hegemonic political affairs of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia" title="Kingdom of Yugoslavia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kingdom of Yugoslavia</a> and Ranković's policies.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006119-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a> Milošević appealed to nationalist and populist passion by speaking of Serbia's importance to the world and in a Belgrade speech on 19 November 1988, he spoke of Serbia as facing battles against both internal and external enemies.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006119-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a> In Vojvodina, a mob of pro-Milošević demonstrators that included 500 Kosovo Serbs and local Serbs demonstrated at the provincial capital, accusing the leadership in Vojvodina of supporting separatism and for being "traitors".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006350-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a> In August 1988, meetings by supporters of the Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution were held in many locations in Serbia and Montenegro, with increasingly violent nature, with calls being heard such as "Give us arms!", "We want weapons!", "Long live Serbia—death to Albanians!", and "Montenegro is Serbia!".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006351-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a> In the same month, Milošević began efforts designed to destabilize the governments in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to allow him to install his followers in those republics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006351-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a> By 1989, Milošević and his supporters controlled Central Serbia along with the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, supporters in the leadership of Montenegro, and agents of the Serbian security service were pursuing efforts to destabilize the government in Bosnia & Herzegovina.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006354-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a> The new government of Montenegro led by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momir_Bulatovi%C4%87" title="Momir Bulatović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Momir Bulatović</a> was seen by some as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_state" title="Satellite state" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">satellite</a> of Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[80]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[81]</a> In 1989, the Serbian media began to speak of "the alleged imperilment of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina", as tensions between Serbs and Bosnian Muslims and Croats increased over Serb support for Milošević.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006355-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> Efforts to spread the cult of personality of Milošević into the republic of Macedonia began in 1989 with the introduction of slogans, graffiti, and songs glorifying Milošević.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006355-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> Furthermore, Milošević proposed a law to restore land titles held by Serbs in the interwar period that effectively provided a legal basis for large numbers of Serbs to move to Kosovo and Macedonia to regain those lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006355-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> Beginning in 1989, Milošević gave support to Croatian Serbs who were vouching for the creation of an autonomous province for Croatian Serbs, which was opposed by Croatian communist authorities.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006361-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[83]</a> In the late 1980s, Milošević allowed the mobilization of Serb nationalist organizations to go unhindered by actions from the Serbian government, with Chetniks holding demonstrations, and the Serbian government embracing the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Orthodox_Church" title="Serbian Orthodox Church" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian Orthodox Church</a> and restored its legitimacy in Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006349-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[84]</a>Croatia and Slovenia denounced Milošević's actions and began to demand that Yugoslavia be made a full multi-party confederal state.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006355-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> Milošević claimed that he opposed a confederal system but also declared that a confederal system be created, with the external borders of Serbia being an "open question".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006359-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[85]</a> Tensions between the republics escalated to crisis beginning in 1988, with Slovenia accusing Serbia of pursuing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinism" title="Stalinism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stalinism</a> while Serbia accused Slovenia of betrayal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006364-86" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[86]</a> Serbs boycotted Slovenian products and Belgraders began removing their savings from the Slovenian Bank of Ljubljana.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006364-86" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[86]</a> Slovenia accused Serbia of persecuting Kosovo Albanians and declared its solidarity with the Kosovo Albanian people while Milošević in turn, accused Slovenia of being a "lackey" of Western Europe.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006364-86" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[86]</a> In response to the escalating tensions, Croatia expressed support for Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its neutrality, while Montenegro supported Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a> Slovenia reformed its constitution in 1989 that declared Slovenia's right to secession. These changes provoked accusations by the Serbian media that the changes were "destabilizing".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a>Serbia's response was a plan to hold demonstrations in Ljubljana with 30,000 to 40,000 Serbs to supposedly inform Slovenes about the situation in Kosovo, while this was suspected to be an action aimed at destabilizing the Slovenian government.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a> Croatia and Slovenia prevented the Serb protestors from crossing by train into Slovenia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a> Serbia responded by breaking political links between the two republics and 329 Serbian businesses broke ties with Slovenia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a> With these events in 1989, nationalism soared in response along with acts of intolerance, discrimination, and ethnic violence increasing.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006366-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a> In that year, officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina noted rising tensions between Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Serbs; active rumours spread of incidents between Croats and Serbs; and arguments by Croats and Serbs that Bosnian Muslims were not a real nation escalated.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006367-88" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[88]</a>With the collapse of the Yugoslav Communist Party, multiparty elections were held in Serbia in 1990, with a number of nationalist parties running on the agenda of creating a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Serbia" title="Greater Serbia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Greater Serbia</a> as Yugoslavia fell apart.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006358%E2%80%93359-89" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[89]</a>From 1990 onward, as Serbs in Croatia pushed for autonomy and began to arm themselves, the Serbian state-run newspaper Politika denounced the Croatian government of Franjo Tuđman for allegedly "trying to restore the World War II-era Ustaše regime" and for "copying Tito", and pledged that Belgrade would support the Serbs of Croatia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006359-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[85]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_People%27s_Army" title="Yugoslav People's Army" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Yugoslav People's Army</a> (JNA) began providing weapons to the Serbs in Croatia while the situation in Belgrade grew more intense as Serbs demonstrated outside of the parliament, shouting "We want arms" and "Let's go to Croatia!".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006361-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[83]</a>Milošević and other members of the Serbian leadership in the 1980s attempted to gain support amongst Serb nationalists by appealing to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism" title="Historical revisionism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">revisionism</a> of the history of Yugoslavia in World War II. To do this, the Tito-era tradition of focusing on rallying the population of Yugoslavia in remembering the total casualties of Yugoslavs in World War II at the hands of Axis forces was replaced with the Milošević government's focus on remembering the Serb casualties of World War II as victims of the Croatian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e" class="mw-redirect" title="Ustaše" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustaše</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWydra2007232-90" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[90]</a> This attempt to gain nationalist support also had the effect of increasing the radicalization of Serbian nationalism.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWydra2007232-90" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[90]</a> In the late 1980s, conspiracy theories that vilified the Roman Catholic Church began to become widespread and were supported by Serbian publishers. This was of particular significance since these were attacks on the national religion of the Croats.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamet2006349-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[84]</a> The political climate in Serbia and Serb territories fostered the rise of ultranationalism and created tense and, at times, violent confrontations between Serbs themselves, particularly between nationalist Serbs and non-nationalist Serbs. Serbs who publicly opposed the nationalist agenda were reported to have been harassed, threatened, or killed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGagnon20045-91" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[91]</a>The Serbian media during Milošević's era was known to espouse Serb nationalism[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>] and patriotism while promoting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia" title="Xenophobia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">xenophobia</a> toward the other ethnicities in Yugoslavia.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>] Ethnic Albanians were commonly characterised in the media as anti-Yugoslav counter-revolutionaries, rapists, and a threat to the Serb nation.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199455-92" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[92]</a> The Serbian state-run newspaper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politika" title="Politika" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Politika</a> had a number of xenophobic headlines such as in 1991, saying "The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shqiptar#Use_in_South_Slavic_languages" title="Shqiptar" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Šiptars</a> [Albanians] are watching and waiting".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199474-93" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[93]</a> The newspaper also attacked Croats for the election of Franjo Tuđman as president, saying that the "Croatian leadership again shames the Croatian people".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199472-94" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[94]</a> It attempted to assert that Croats and ethnic Albanians were cooperating in a campaign against the Serbian government during the 1991 protests in Belgrade against Milošević's government, denying that Serbs took part in the protest while claiming "it was the Šiptars and Croats who demonstrated".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199472-94" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[94]</a> When war erupted in Croatia, Politika promoted Serb nationalism, hostility towards Croatia, and violence, and on 2 April 1991, the newspaper's headline read "Krajina decides to join Serbia". One of the newspaper's stories was "Serbian unity—saving Krajina".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199476-95" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[95]</a> On 5 June 1991, Politika ekpres ran a piece titled "Serbs must get weapons". On 25 June 1991 and 3 July 1991, Politika began to openly promote partitioning Croatia, saying "We can't accept Croatia keeping these borders", "Krajina in the same state with Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina", and prominently quoted Jovan Marjanović of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Renewal_Movement" title="Serbian Renewal Movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian Renewal Movement</a>, who said "The [Yugoslav] Army must come into Croatia and occupy the line <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benkovac" title="Benkovac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Benkovac</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlovac" title="Karlovac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Karlovac</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakrac" title="Pakrac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pakrac</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baranya(region)" title="Baranya (region)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Baranja</a>", which would essentially have occupied almost all of Croatia and all the territories in Croatia that were claimed by nationalist promoters of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Serbia" title="Greater Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Greater Serbia</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199479-96" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[96]</a> To promote fear and anger amongst Serbs towards Croatia, on 25 June 1991, Politika reminded Serbs about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_persecution_of_Serbs" class="mw-redirect" title="World War II persecution of Serbs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">atrocities</a> by the Croatian fascist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usta%C5%A1e" class="mw-redirect" title="Ustaše" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ustaše</a> against Serbs during World War II by saying "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasenovac_concentration_camp" title="Jasenovac concentration camp" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jasenovac</a> [an Ustase concentration camp in World War II] mustn't be forgotten".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEThompson199478-97" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[97]</a> According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borisav_Jovi%C4%87" title="Borisav Jović" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Borisav Jović</a>, who was formerly a close Milošević ally, Milošević exercised media censorship and maintained strong personal influence over Serbia's state media outlets, having "personally appointed editors-in-chief of newspapers and news programs ...".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-98" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[98]</a>Serbian state media during the wars featured controversial reportage that villainized the other ethnic factions. In one such program, a Croatian Serb woman denounced the old "communist policy" in Croatia, claiming that under it "[t]he majority of Serbs would be assimilated in ten years",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-hague.bard.edu-99" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[99]</a> while another interviewee stated "Where Serbian blood was shed by Ustaša knives, there will be our boundaries."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-hague.bard.edu-99" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[99]</a> Various Serbian state television reports featured a guest speaker, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovan_Ra%C5%A1kovi%C4%87" title="Jovan Rašković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jovan Rašković</a>, who claimed that the Croat people had a "genocidal nature".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-hague.bard.edu-99" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[99]</a> These repeatedly negative media depictions of the opposing ethnic factions have been said to have been examples of Milošević's state media promoting fear-mongering and utilizing xenophobic nationalist sentiments to draw Serbs to support the wars.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-hague.bard.edu-99" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[99]</a> The director of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Television_of_Serbia" title="Radio Television of Serbia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Radio Television of Serbia</a> during Milošević's era, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%C5%A1an_Mitevi%C4%87" title="Dušan Mitević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dušan Mitević</a>, has since admitted on a PBS documentary "the things that happened at state TV, warmongering, things we can admit to now: false information, biased reporting. That went directly from Milošević to the head of TV.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-100" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[100]</a>Milošević was uninterested in maintaining Slovenia within the Yugoslav federation, as Slovenia had very few Serbs living within it and Milošević suggested a political deal with Slovenian president Kučan, Serbia would recognize the right of the self-determination of the Slovene nation to independence if Slovenia in turn recognized the right of self-determination of the Serb nation to remain united with Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004135%E2%80%93137-101" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[101]</a> Such a deal would have set a precedent for Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia to remain in one state with Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004135%E2%80%93137-101" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[101]</a>Milošević's ally in the Yugoslav federal government, Borisav Jović stated "I put it bluntly. We didn't want a war with Slovenia. Serbia had no territorial claims there. It was an ethnically-pure republic – no Serbs. We couldn't care less if they left Yugoslavia ... We would have been overstretched. With Slovenia out of the way, we could dictate terms to the Croats."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004138-102" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[102]</a>Milošević rejected the independence of Croatia in 1991, and even after the formation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), it too did not initially recognize Croatia's independence.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTESriramMartin-OrtegaHerman201070-103" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[103]</a> Plans by Milošević to carve out territory from Croatia to the local Serbs had begun by June 1990, according to the diary of Borisav Jović.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004140-104" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[104]</a> The Serbian government along with a clique of pro-Milošević members of the Yugoslav army and its general staff, secretly adopted the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAM_Plan" title="RAM Plan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">RAM or "frame" plan</a> that involved the partition of Croatia and Bosnia to give large amounts of territory to the local Serbs that would remain united with Serbia, effectively a Greater Serbia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004140%E2%80%93143-105" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[105]</a> Armaments and military equipment were placed in strategic positions throughout Croatia and Bosnia for use by the Serbs and local Serbs were trained as police and paramilitary soldiers in preparation for war.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004140-104" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[104]</a> Milošević was less interested in annexing the Serb breakaway republic of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbian_Krajina" title="Republic of Serbian Krajina" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Krajina</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArmatta2010161%E2%80%93162-106" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[106]</a> According to testimony by Krajina's former President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Babi%C4%87" title="Milan Babić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Milan Babić</a>, Milošević had abandoned plans of having "all Serbs in one state" by March 1991 in the secret <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara%C4%91or%C4%91evo_agreement" class="mw-redirect" title="Karađorđevo agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Karađorđevo agreement</a> with Croatian President Franjo Tuđman that discussed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Bosnia" class="mw-redirect" title="Partition of Bosnia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">partition of Bosnia</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArmatta2010161%E2%80%93162-106" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[106]</a> Babić attended the meeting and noted that Milošević stated that "Tuđman needs <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biha%C4%87" title="Bihać" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bihać</a>" – a city in Bosnia that was separated by Serbian Krajina from Croatian government-controlled territory in Croatia; and then added "He needs a road between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benkovac" title="Benkovac" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Benkovac</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drni%C5%A1" title="Drniš" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Drniš</a> as well" that would involve the road going through territory claimed by Krajina.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArmatta2010161%E2%80%93162-106" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[106]</a>Upon the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Macedonia" title="Republic of Macedonia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republic of Macedonia</a> seceding in 1991, the FRY government declared Macedonia an "artificial nation" and it allied with Greece against the country, even suggesting a partition of the Republic of Macedonia between the FRY and Greece.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAckermann200072-107" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[107]</a> Subsequent interviews with government officials involved in these affairs have revealed that Milošević planned to arrest the Republic of Macedonia's political leadership and replace it with politicians loyal to him.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAckermann200072-107" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[107]</a> Milošević demanded the self-determination of Serbs in the Republic of Macedonia and did not recognize the independence of the Republic of Macedonia until 1996.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAckermann200072-107" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[107]</a>Despite the bitterness towards the Macedonian nation whose locals rejected Serbian ethnicity, the FR Yugoslavia would recognise Republic of Macedonia in 1996. Four years before this milestone, however, JNA troops and remnants of Belgrade's central government had peacefully and voluntarily left Macedonia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-108" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[108]</a>Milošević denounced the declaration of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia in 1992, and said that "Bosnia and Herzegovina was illegally proclaimed as an independent state and recognized. That recognition was like when the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Emperor" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman Emperor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Roman Emperor</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula" title="Caligula" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Caligula</a> appointed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitatus" title="Incitatus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">his horse</a> as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_of_the_Roman_Republic" title="Senate of the Roman Republic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Senator</a>: they recognized a state that never existed before. The Serbs there said, 'We want to stay within Yugoslavia. We don't want to be second-class citizens.' And then the conflicts were started by Muslims, no doubt. And the Serbs, in defending themselves, were always better fighters, no doubt. And they achieved results, no doubt. But please, we were insisting on peace. The international community gave premature recognition first of Slovenia and then of Croatia and supported the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on a totally irregular basis."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-109" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[109]</a> A telephone conversation between Milošević and Bosnian Serb leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radovan_Karad%C5%BEi%C4%87" title="Radovan Karadžić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Radovan Karadžić</a> in September 1991 talking about the prospects of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was tapped by Yugoslav intelligence, which reported the transcript to Yugoslav prime minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Markovi%C4%87" title="Ante Marković" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ante Marković</a>, who released the transcript to the public to discredit Milošević. The transcript involved Milošević ordering Karadžić to "Go to Uzelac [JNA commander in northern Bosnia], he'll tell you everything. If you have any problems, telephone me", and said "As long as there is the army no one can touch us ... Don't worry about Herzegovina. Momir [Bulatović, Montenegrin leader] said to his men: 'Whoever is not ready to die in Bosnia, step forward five paces.' No one did so."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004175-110" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[110]</a> The conversation revealed that Milošević controlled the military strategy for the war in Bosnia and that Montenegro was under his control.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004175-110" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[110]</a><div class="thumb tleft" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DaytonAgreement.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DaytonAgreement.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Milošević signing the </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Accords" class="mw-redirect" title="Dayton Accords" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dayton Accords</a> on behalf of the Bosnian Serb leadership, formally ending the Bosnian War.</div></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojislav%C5%A0e%C5%A1elj" title="Vojislav Šešelj" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vojislav Šešelj</a>, leader of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Radical_Party" title="Serbian Radical Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Serbian Radical Party</a> and a Serbian paramilitary leader during the Yugoslav wars, claimed that Milošević was directly involved in supporting his paramilitaries and controlled Serb forces during the wars: "Milošević organized everything. We gathered the volunteers and he gaves us a special barracks, Bubanj Potok, all our uniforms, arms, military technology and buses. All our units were always under the command of the Krajina [Serb army] or [Bosnian] Republika Srpska Army or the JNA. Of course I don't believe he signed anything, these were verbal orders. None of our talks was taped and I never took a paper and pencil when I talked with him. His key people were the commanders. Nothing could happen on the Serbian side without Milošević's order or his knowledge."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeBor2004191-111" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[111]</a>No direct orders to commit atrocities by Milošević have ever been discovered, though little or no effort was made by Milošević to punish people deemed responsible for such atrocities, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratko_Mladi%C4%87" title="Ratko Mladić" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ratko Mladić</a> who, after being accused of allowing atrocities to occur against Croats in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vukovar" title="Vukovar" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vukovar</a>, was sent to lead the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_the_Republika_Srpska" class="mw-redirect" title="Army of the Republika Srpska" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Army of the Republika Srpska</a>, in which capacity Mladić was accused of ordering atrocities, including the murder of thousands of Bosniak men and boys in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_Massacre" class="mw-redirect" title="Srebrenica Massacre" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Srebrenica</a>. Even after the reports of Srebrenica were released, Milošević refused to accept that Mladić was responsible for the crimes he was accused of. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark" title="Wesley Clark" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wesley Clark</a>, who was a member of the US team that helped negotiate the 1995 peace agreement ending the Bosnian War, claimed in his testimony during the trial of Milošević that Milošević had prior knowledge of the Srebrenica massacre and knew of Mladić's plans.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-autogenerated6-112" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[112]</a> During the negotiations, Clark had asked Milošević: 'Mr. President, you say you have so much influence over the Bosnian Serbs, but how is it then, if you have such influence, that you allowed General Mladić to kill all those people in Srebrenica?' with Milošević answering: 'Well, General Clark ... I warned Mladić not to do this, but he didn't listen to me.'"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-autogenerated6-112" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[112]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-113" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[113]</a>...<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Trial at The Hague</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Trial of Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Trial of Slobodan Milošević</a></div>Milošević was indicted in May 1999, during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War" title="Kosovo War" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Kosovo War</a>, by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">UN's</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia</a> for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimes_against_humanity" title="Crimes against humanity" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">crimes against humanity</a> in Kosovo. Charges of violating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_or_customs_of_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Laws or customs of war" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">laws or customs of war</a>, grave breaches of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions" title="Geneva Conventions" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Geneva Conventions</a> in Croatia and Bosnia and genocide in Bosnia were added a year and a half later.The charges on which Milošević was indicted were: genocide; complicity in genocide; deportation; murder; persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds; inhumane acts/forcible transfer; extermination; imprisonment; torture; willful killing; unlawful confinement; wilfully causing great suffering; unlawful deportation or transfer; extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; cruel treatment; plunder of public or private property; attacks on civilians; destruction or wilful damage done to historic monuments and institutions dedicated to education or religion; unlawful attacks on civilian objects.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-130" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[130]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-131" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[131]</a> The ICTY indictment reads that Milošević was responsible for the forced deportation of 800,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, and the murder of hundreds of Kosovo Albanians and hundreds of non-Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-132" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[132]</a>Following Milošević's transfer, the original charges of war crimes in Kosovo were upgraded by adding charges of genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in Croatia. On 30 January 2002, Milošević accused the war crimes tribunal of an "evil and hostile attack" against him. The trial began at The Hague on 12 February 2002, with Milošević defending himself.The prosecution took two years to present its case in the first part of the trial, where they covered the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Throughout the two-year period, the trial was being closely followed by the public of the involved former Yugoslav republics as it covered various notable events from the war and included several high-profile witnesses.Milošević died before the trial could be concluded; he was therefore never found guilty of the charges brought against him.The ICTY in its ruling of the case against Radovan Karadžić stated "there was no sufficient evidence presented in this case to find that Slobodan Milosevic agreed with the common plan [to create territories ethnically cleansed of non-Serbs]."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-133" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[133]</a> Paragraph 3460, pp. 1303 reads: "With regard to the evidence presented in this case in relation to Slobodan Milošević and his membership in the JCE, the Chamber recalls that he shared and endorsed the political objective of the Accused and the Bosnian Serb leadership to preserve Yugoslavia and to prevent the separation or independence of BiH and co-operated closely with the Accused during this time. The Chamber also recalls that Milošević provided assistance in the form of personnel, provisions, and arms to the Bosnian Serbs during the conflict. Based on the evidence before the Chamber regarding the diverging interests that emerged between the Bosnian Serb and Serbian leaderships during the conflict and in particular, however, Milošević’s repeated criticism and disapproval of the policies and decisions made by the Accused and the Bosnian Serb leadership, the Chamber is not satisfied that there was sufficient evidence presented in this case to find that Slobodan Milošević agreed with the common plan."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-134" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[134]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Death</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Death of Slobodan Milošević" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Death of Slobodan Milošević</a></div><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 202px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milosevic_funeral.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milosevic_funeral.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">People paying their respects in front of the </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Yugoslav_History" class="mw-redirect" title="Museum of Yugoslav History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Museum of Yugoslav History</a>.</div></div></div>On 11 March 2006, Milošević was found dead in his prison cell in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre, located in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen" title="Scheveningen" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Scheveningen</a> section of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hague" title="The Hague" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Hague</a>, Netherlands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-135" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[135]</a>Autopsies soon established that Milošević had died of a heart attack. He had been suffering from heart problems and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension" title="Hypertension" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">high blood pressure</a>. Many suspicions were voiced to the effect that the heart attack had been caused or made possible deliberately – by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICTY" class="mw-redirect" title="ICTY" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ICTY</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-136" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[136]</a> according to sympathizers, or by himself, according to critics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-137" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[137]</a>Milošević's death occurred shortly after the Tribunal denied his request to seek specialised medical treatment at a cardiology clinic in Russia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-138" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[138]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-139" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[139]</a> The reactions to Milošević's death were mixed: supporters of the ICTY lamented what they saw as Milošević having remained unpunished, while opponents blamed the Tribunal for what had happened.As he was denied a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_funeral" title="State funeral" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">state funeral</a>, a private funeral for him was held by his friends and family in his hometown of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%C5%BEarevac" title="Požarevac" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Požarevac</a>, after tens of thousands of his supporters attended a farewell ceremony in Belgrade. The return of Milošević's body and his widow's return to Serbia were very controversial. Attendees of the funeral included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsey_Clark" title="Ramsey Clark" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramsey Clark</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Handke" title="Peter Handke" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Peter Handke</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-RamsayClark-140" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[140]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Legacy</h2>The last opinion poll taken in Serbia before Milošević's death listed him as the third most favourably rated politician in Serbia behind then-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Radical_Party" title="Serbian Radical Party" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Serbian Radical Party</a> chairman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomislav_Nikoli%C4%87" title="Tomislav Nikolić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Tomislav Nikolić</a> and then-Serbian President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Tadi%C4%87" title="Boris Tadić" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Boris Tadić</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-141" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[141]</a> In February 2007, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice" title="International Court of Justice" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">International Court of Justice</a> cleared Serbia under Milošević's rule of direct responsibility for occurrences of crime committed during the Bosnian War. The president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), however, did state that it was "'conclusively proved' that the Serbian leadership, and Milošević in particular, 'were fully aware ... that massacres were likely to occur'".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-142" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[142]</a> In 2010, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(magazine)" title="Life (magazine)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Life</a> website included Milošević in its list of "The World's Worst Dictators".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-143" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[143]</a> He remains a controversial figure in Serbia and the Balkans due to the Yugoslav wars and his abuse of power, especially during the elections in both 1997 and 2000. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_image_of_Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87" title="Public image of Slobodan Milošević" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">public image of Slobodan Milošević</a> in Serbia oscillated from a faceless bureaucrat to defender of Serbs,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87#cite_note-144" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[144]</a> while the attitude of the Western accounts toward Milošević oscillated from Milošević being demonized as the "Butcher of the Balkans" to Milošević being the "guarantor of the peace in the Balkans"</div><div>....</div><div>
</div><div></div><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB999199176608518680">https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB999199176608518680</a><div>
</div><div><div>INTERNATIONAL</div><div>Putting the Hague Court on Trial</div><div>Updated Aug. 31, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET</div><div>
</div><div>By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey. Messrs. Rivkin and Casey are partners in the law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP, practicing in its Washington, D.C., office, and served in the U.S. Department of Justice under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.</div><div>
</div><div>The case against Slobodan Milosevic continued at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague yesterday, with the former Yugoslav dictator now facing potential indictments not just for genocide in Kosovo but also in Croatia and Bosnia. Much of the world rejoices...</div><div>
</div><div>TO READ THE FULL STORY...</div></div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div><div>
</div><div>Opinion</div><div>Crimes Outside the World's Jurisdiction</div><div>
</div><div>By DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. and LEE A. CASEYJULY 22, 2003</div><div>
</div><div>A crusading Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, has been winning praise from human rights groups for trying to prosecute members of the military juntas that ruled, and terrorized, South America in the 1970's. In 1998, he tried to extradite Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator; last month he got custody of a former navy lieutenant accused of genocide and terrorism in Argentina.</div><div>
</div><div>The praise isn't surprising: prosecuting people who are apparently escaping punishment for horrible crimes seems fundamentally sound. The problem is that efforts by Judge Garzón, and others, are based on a legal doctrine that has worrisome implications. That doctrine is ''universal jurisdiction,'' under which every state is entitled to prosecute and punish the officials of every other state for ''international'' offenses. It is a principle that even its most active international practitioner, Belgium, is wisely starting to reject: the governing party plans to amend a law under which activists tried to prosecute George H. W. Bush, Gen. Tommy Franks and Prime Minister Tony Blair for human rights offenses in connection with the wars against Iraq, even though nobody involved is Belgian.</div><div>
</div><div>By contrast to those named in the Belgian cases, the man whom Judge Garzón has jailed, Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, doubtless richly deserves prosecution. Mr. Cavallo is accused of kidnapping, torturing and murdering hundreds of people during the ''dirty war'' in Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Under Argentina's amnesty laws, however, Mr. Cavallo cannot be punished; he was extradited to Spain not by Argentina, but by Mexico, where he was living. Judge Garzón is essentially ignoring Argentina's own history and desires.</div><div>
</div><div>Universal jurisdiction does have a proper place in international law. It began as a device to fight piracy and slave trading, offenses that took place on the high seas, beyond the boundaries of any individual state. In more recent years, however, universality has been asserted for an increasing number of human rights offenses, even though there is little practice (in the form of actual prosecutions that are accepted as legal by the defendant's own country) to support these claims. Without such a body of consistent and accepted practice, universal jurisdiction remains an academic aspiration rather than an established fact, and rightly so.</div><div>
</div><div>If international law really did permit each state to prosecute the leaders of all others, based on its own interpretation of international law, this would prompt a new kind of war, one fought in courtrooms around the globe. Courts, however, are poor instruments of international policy, and such a result would make normal international relations impossible. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently said, for instance, with respect to the claims brought against American officials in Belgium, that if United States officials cannot travel to Brussels without the fear of politically motivated prosecution, then the United States would take its business (i.e., NATO headquarters) elsewhere.</div></div><div></div></div>