Hague Tribunal showed it real face, patriarch says

BETA, TANJUG – 25/11/2012

BELGRADE — Serbian Patriarch Irinej said on Sunday that the Hague Tribunal had finally showed its true face by acquitting Croat Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač.

He added that the Tribunal also proved that it was a political court.

“With this verdict the Tribunal removed a mask from its face and finally showed that this is a political court that lacks basic legal and ethical norms and whose goals is to find those who are guilty innocent and innocent victims declare perpetrators,” the patriarch said at a memorial service to Serb victims of the 90s wars on Sunday.

According to him, the Hague Tribunal’s decision compromised the right to justice and confirmed “that it is not founded on legal norms but on interests of great powers”.

He added that thanks to the Hague Tribunal nobody was held responsible for 200,000 expelled Serbs, torched homes of Serbs, their churches and thousands of killed.

“It is obvious that the Hague Tribunal is covering up the crimes against the Serbs,” Irinej stressed, adding that “it turns out that Serbs committed crimes against themselves”.

“We ask the unjust judges, whose fault is it then,” the patriarch said.

He called on the Serbs to remain united and ask for Russia’s support.

The patriarch noted that Serbia should join the EU if the member states “accept us for who we are, with our holy land, culture, religion and language” but “if they condition us with Kosovo, we should not accept the invitation”.

“We have to know who our friends are. We want to be in Europe but not at a price of renouncing our holy land, our homes and cemeteries. If they do not want us the way we are, we will continue to live our difficult lives, just like we did 500 years ago,” Irinej added.

“The message from this holy gathering should be our determination to cooperate with everybody, especially with our Slavic brothers from whom we expect support, protection and hope,” he stressed.

Members of refugee associations, PM Ivica Dačić, First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić, parliament Speaker Nebojša Stefanović and ministers attended the memorial service.

After the memorial service, a protest march was held. Several thousands of citizens took part in it, demanding justice for Serb victims.

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