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Socialist Party of Serbia

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Socialist Party of Serbia[a] is a political party in Serbia. It is a left-wing populist and "social-democratic" party.[1][2] The Socialist Party of Serbia was set up by former Serbian Yugolsav dictator[3] Slobodan Milošević.[4] It is now led by Ivica Dačić.[5]

In power

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Under the rule of the Socialist Party of Serbia, the Yugoslav state committed genocide and other crimes against humanity against Bosniaks, Croats and Albanians across the Balkans,[6][7] with support from many left-wing "anti-imperialists",[6][7] who have huge influence in Western academia and history writing.[8][9]

An exhumed mass grave in Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where key events in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre unfolded. July 2007.
Skull of a victim of the Srebrenica massacre (July 1995), with a bullet entry point in the cranium. Exhumed mass grave outside the village of Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina. July 2007.
Commemorative stone at the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center in Bosnia.

War crimes trials

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

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2007 rulings

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Following his death, in four separate rulings, Slobodan Milošević was found to be a part of a joint criminal enterprise which used crimes to remove Croats, Bosniaks and Albanians from large parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

In 2007, in its rulings against Republic of Serbian Krajina President Milan Martić, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) concluded:

Between 1991 and 1995, Martić held positions of minister of interior, minister of defense and president of the self-proclaimed "Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina" (SAO Krajina), which was later renamed "Republic of Serbian Krajina" (RSK). He was found to have participated during this period in a joint criminal enterprise which included Slobodan Milošević, whose aim was to create a unified Serbian state through commission of a widespread and systematic campaign of crimes against non-Serbs inhabiting areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina envisaged to become parts of such a state.

In February 2007, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) cleared Serbia under Milošević's rule of direct responsibility for some of the war crimes. However, the ICJ stated that[11]

[It was] conclusively proved that the Serbian leadership, and Milošević in particular, were fully aware [...] that massacres were likely to occur.

Kosovo rulings

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In the two Kosovo rulings, the Nikola Šainović et al. and Vlastimir Đorđević cases, Milošević was found to have been "one of the crucial members" of the criminal enterprise aimed at uprooting large parts of Albanians from Kosovo.[12][13]

2016 ruling

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In its 2016 ruling regarding Radovan Karadžić, the ICTY found that "there was no sufficient evidence presented in this case to find that Slobodan Milošević agreed with the common plan [to create territories ethnically cleansed of non-Serbs]" citing "Milošević's repeated criticism and disapproval of the policies and decisions made by the Accused and the Bosnian Serb leadership", though it also noted that[14][15]

Milošević provided assistance in the form of personnel, provisions and arms to Bosnian Serbs during the conflict.

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

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2021 ruling

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In its 2021 ruling against Serbia's operatives Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatovićq, the follow-up International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals concluded:

The Trial Chamber, therefore, finds proven beyond reasonable doubt that, from at least August 1991, and at all times relevant to the crimes charged in the Indictment, a common criminal purpose existed to forcibly and permanently remove, through the commission of the crimes of persecution, murder, deportation and inhumane acts (forcible transfer), the majority of non-Serbs, principally Croats, Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croats, from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Trial Chamber finds that the common criminal purpose, as defined above, was shared by senior political, military, and police leadership in Serbia, the SAO Krajina, the SAO SBWS, and Republika Srpska, with the core members, among others and varying depending on the area and timing of the commission of the crimes, being Slobodan Milošević.
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Footnotes

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  1. Serbian Cyrillic: Социјалистичка партија Србије, romanized: Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS

References

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  1. Stojarová, Věra; Emerson, Peter (2010). Party politics in the western Balkans. London: Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-135-23584-0. OCLC 868956382. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. Thompson, Wayne C. (2013). Nordic, Central, & Southeastern Europe 2013 (13 ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-4758-0489-8. OCLC 859154159. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  3. Borrell, John (1990-08-06). "Yugoslavia The Old Demons Arise". Time. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  4. "Održan 11. Kongres Socijalističke partije Srbije, Dačić ostaje predsednik stranke". Euronews (in Serbian). 2022-12-17. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  5. 6.0 6.1
  6. 7.0 7.1
  7. "Milan Martić sentenced to 35 years for crimes against humanity and war crimes". The Hague: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. 12 June 2007.
  8. "UN clears Serbia of genocide". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 27 February 2007.
  9. "Vlastimir Đorđević Convicted for Crimes in Kosovo". ICTY. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  10. "Five Senior Serb Officials Convicted of Kosovo Crimes, One Acquitted". ICTY. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  11. Marsden, William (7 September 2016). "Why Milosevic doesn't deserve exoneration for war crimes". Ottawa Citizen.
  12. "Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić". ICTY. 24 March 2016. pp. 1238–1245, 1303.
  13. "The Prosecutor vs. Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović – Judgement" (PDF). The Hague: International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. 30 June 2021. p. 160.