Vucic: Thaci’s verdict will largely be an acquittal; they want to tell us that Serbian blood does not matter

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia faced “difficult political days,” adding that he expected the verdict against former KLA leader Hashim Thaci, scheduled to be delivered on September 16, to largely acquit him of crimes committed against the Serbian people.

“We face difficult political days. All those who participated in crimes against Serbs in the former Yugoslavia would always be acquitted or ostensibly punished, only for different decisions to be handed down on appeal and for those people to be acquitted,” Vucic said.

As examples, he cited the acquittal of Croatian General Ante Gotovina and others accused of crimes during Operation Storm, as well as Naser Oric.

“Those who participated in the pogrom and expulsion of 250,000 people during Operation Storm were acquitted, from Ante Gotovina to all the others. Naser Oric was also acquitted, and nobody cared that there was testimony, unequivocal testimony, that he had personally participated in the murder, the brutal murder of Slobodan Ilic,” Vucic said.

Speaking about the verdict against Hashim Thaci, Vucic said that “it does not end there,” noting that the verdict was scheduled to be delivered on September 16.

“It does not end there because, according to the information I have, they have scheduled the delivery of Hashim Thaci’s verdict for September 16. And according to the information I have, that verdict will be such that it will effectively amount to time served, while the core charges concerning all the atrocities committed against the Serbian people will largely result in an acquittal,” the Serbian President said.
According to him, such an outcome would send the message that Serbs were solely to blame for the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.

“Why? The Westerners want to tell us: you Serbs are the only ones to blame; there are no others. They want to tell us: you have to accept this because, essentially, there were no crimes against you and no one is responsible for crimes against Serbs. Serbian blood does not matter,” Vucic said.

He also spoke about the case of Elfeta Veseli, a member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina who participated in the killing of 12-year-old Slobodan Stojanovic near Zvornik, pointing out that she had recently been released from prison in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“She personally slit his throat because she could not bear his gaze; she could not bear the large, beautiful eyes of a 12-year-old boy. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, they did not write that a butcher, a bloodthirsty killer, and a monster had been released and was now walking free. Those nouns and all manner of adjectives are reserved only for Serbs,” Vucic said.

He added that, in his view, such cases demonstrated different standards in the treatment of victims.

“And that will continue. It is up to us to be sufficiently smart, strong, and wise. To preserve peace in the region and to know very well what they think of us—both those who helped them and those who continue to help them today,” Vucic said.

He stressed that Serbia should continue to grow economically and protect its people.

“We must continue to grow economically, protect our children, raise them as we can and must—in the Serbian spirit, in the spirit of our tradition and pride—and take care of our people,” the Serbian President said.

Vucic also stressed that Serbia should respect all victims while preserving its own dignity.

“We must never insult anyone, we must respect every victim and bow our heads before them, but we must not allow them, in any way, to spit on and destroy Serbia,” Vucic said.

He added that he would continue working to preserve Serbia.

“Thank you, because there is much more that we will have to endure, but we will also respond, and we will protect and preserve our plum tree, and we will protect and preserve our Serbia,” President Vucic concluded.