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Karadzic is Still a Hero to Many Serbs Karadzic's television station constantly portrays him as the successor to Serbian heroes through the ages, fighting Islam and Germans for a Greater Serbia.
By Aleksandra Scepanovic
"Karadzic led us from the beginning, he was leading us successfully throughout the war and he should be the one to lead us in the future," a Serb farmer in Pale, outside Sarajevo, said on Wednesday.
His sentiments were typical of those in Pale, the mountain village that serves as the Bosnain Serb capital, a day after Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic thereatened unspecified consequences if Karadzic failed to resign as president.
But Milosevic's stern warning has only served to reinforce Karadzic's image among his sympathisers as a fighter for the Serb nationalist cause against enemies at home and abroad. As the elderly farmer surveyed a herd of pigs for sale on the street, he expressed anger at Milosevic's order.
"The internaitonal community and Serbia want us now to live in the same animal pen with Muslims again. But, we can't do it," said the farmer. "We are not going to tolerate any more pressure from Belgrade, forcing us to live like that."
At the close of the war last autumn, Karadzic's political fortunes were sagging after reports of rampant corruption in his ruling party and battlefield losses. But Western demands for Karadzic to step down and face war crimes charges turned him into an embattled hero for many Serbs, who resent outsiders dictating who should serve as their leader.
"This international campaign for his removal was a gift," said one Western diplomat.
Karadzic's television station constantly portrays him as the successor to Serbian heroes through the ages, fighting Islam and Germans for a "Greater Serbia." In Pale's bustling outdoor market, refugees from Sarajevo had nothing but contempt for Milosevic's ruling socialist party. But there was no talk of taking to the streets to fight Belgrade.
"Karadzic is our president and always will be. You can tell that to all the communists in Belgrade," said a middle-aged woman selling cigarettes and chocolate. With or without Karadzic as their leader, most Bosnian Serbs
share his opposition to the Dayton accord which calls for re-unifying Bosnia as a loose, multi-ethnic state comprised of Muslim-Croat and Serb entities.
His ruling Serb Democratic Party (SDS), enriched by the spoils of war, is well-positioned for post-war elections, analysts say. "Even if he (Karadzic) were not allowed to be a candidate for president, I would still vote for the SDS, because I believe they are the only ones that can save us," said the farmer.
But the views of Karadzic are not uniform across the Bosnian Serb entity. In the nothwest city of Banja Luka, the former Sarajevo psychiatrist's soldiers view him as a war profiteer who sold them out. For those struggling to feed and house their families, the political intrigue surrounding Karadzic was of little interest.
"What does it matter to me? Whoever's at the top, how does it make life any better for me?" said Vojislav, passing the afternoon at the local cafe like most unemployed men in Pale. "It's just another game. We have had enough of these games for the past four years." |
PALE, Bosnia, June 26 (Reuters) - Serbia and the world want him to step aside, but Bosnian Serb chief Radovan Karadzic still enjoys support among many ordinary Serbs who admire his defiance of Western powers.
Berserkistan, May 4 · Karadzic's Wife says West Misunderstands Husband Radovan
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