NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.flammer.com/Projects/Yugoslavia1999/serb_patriot.htm

King of the Tigers
Paramilitary Leader 'Arkan':
Milsosevic's Celebrity Gangster


Zelijko Raznatovic, the notorious Serb militia leader known as “Arkan,” says he is a patriot, not a war criminal. (AP Photo)


ABCNEWS.com
April 3 — The Serb militia leader known as “Arkan” says his paramilitary group will defend their country. But he denies accusations that his feared “Tigers” — known by the insignia they wear — are already operating in Kosovo.
Arkan’s real name is Zeljko Raznatovic. Reputedly one of Serbia’s richest men, he is wanted for bank robberies in Western Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, and is believed to have amassed wealth from war profiteering.
This week, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal based in The Hague revealed it had indicted Arkan in 1997 for unspecified war crimes. Western officials have accused him of committing atrocities during the 1991 Serb rebellion in Croatia and later in Bosnia.
NATO has applauded making the indictment public, hoping it will serve as a warning to Arkan not to deploy his gang in Kosovo. Fears that he would do that were sparked by his public appearance last weekend in Belgrade, where his pop-star wife, Ceca Raznatovic, performed at an anti-NATO concert. He was seen cradling two of his children.
A ‘Serb Patriot’
For his part, Arkan vehemently denies he’s a war criminal. He prefers the term “Serb patriot.”
He says the three U.S. soldiers captured by Yugoslav forces were “clearly on a spying mission.” He’s also issued a plain threat to the United States and NATO: “If they come with ground troops they will fly back in bags.”
This week ABCNEWS’ Diane Sawyer interviewed Arkan on Good Morning America. Following is a transcript of the interview:

Sawyer: We’re going to turn now to Zeljko Raznatovic, who is the man known as Arkan, and he joins us now from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Good morning to you, sir. This is my question: We have heard that you say that in Yugoslavia, your indictment is considered funny. Is this a laughing matter?
Arkan: Yes. Very laughing matter. You are talking to me, and you’ve been bombing the civilians in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, you’ve been bombing people of Vietnam, you did genocide in Cambodia, killing innocent children by biological experiments, and you been killing people in Panama and Grenada, and you are talking to me as that I am a war criminal because I was defending my country called Yugoslavia, and you don’t know either on the map where we are. You know only that your country …
Sawyer: Well, without addressing the fact — without — I think we do know on the map where you are, sir. But without addressing those …
Arkan: OK, now you will know. You — you are going to know where we are, OK. But I have to tell you that I don’t consider myself a war criminal — not even my president, Slobodan Milosevic, is a war criminal as that expert talking before to you was telling. We are a normal human beings — we are normal people. I have, myself, have nine children, I have a beautiful wife — so we didn’t rape, we didn’t kill, we didn’t torture nobody.
Sawyer: Well, let me ask you about something then. You have said — let me ask you specifically: You have said that your paramilitary units are not operating in Kosovo right now. Will you swear on the lives of that family you mentioned that they are not?
Arkan: I don’t have the paramilitary — I don’t have. Excuse me, I don’t have paramilitary units, I am — I was, all the time, under the command of Yugoslav army. So to tell you that I am not in Kosovo, I am in Belgrade and my units — those are units of volunteers in a case of war — those units as you have civil guard in United States. So let me tell you that I am a commander of a civil guard in Yugoslavia, for example.
So to make it to you easier, so either if you come with ground troops — the United States are coming with ground troops — to Kosovo, to Yugoslavia — attacking — then I will be active and I will defend my country, my children because we are only to defend our country, nothing else. We didn’t attack United States. We didn’t Great Britain or Germany or France. We only defend our country.
Sawyer: Without letting you make a speech, excuse me, sir. Let me ask you one specific question about the three …
Arkan: Why do you want to interrupt me?
Sawyer: Let me ask you …
Arkan: Why do you like to interrupt me during I am talking? It’s not polite for you.
Sawyer: Well, I don’t know that it was polite …
Arkan: It’s impolite to interrupt me when I am talking.
Sawyer: — some of the things you’ve been accused of is — have not exactly been manners.
Arkan: You don’t let me express myself.
Sawyer: Let me ask you this, sir, about the three young men now being held. There is a trial, we are told, going to take …
Arkan: Yes, we have three captured American soldiers.
Sawyer: That’s right. And we’ve been told there is a trial going to be taking place. What is the outcome of this trial likely to be?
Arkan: If you would capture three Yugoslav soldiers in soil of United States, you will try them for a spy mission as those three scouts — American scouts — captured deep inside Yugoslav territories are going to …
Sawyer: And the punishment?
Arkan: The punishment, I don’t know. I can’t tell you — I’m not a judge, I am not president of the court — military court — we are in a war. And, of course, they come without passport, without visa, they didn’t bring humanitarian aid to the people, they bring rifles and some other things with them so probably they will be, of course — they will go up to the military court and we will see what is the punishment. But it’s not, as I heard, they are telling United States they will be shot or something like this, is stupid. They will be probably free for few days or few months, I don’t know how long this stupid war will going on.
Sawyer: All right, Mr. — Mr. Raznatovic, I’m sorry, we’re going to have to ….
Arkan: The war which NATO produced in Yugoslavia.
Sawyer: All right, sir. I am sorry, but we are out of time. Perhaps we can continue this conversation in the days ahead, and we thank you for joining us this morning.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I think I may have to vomit..this man is responsible for so many sadistic atrocities...one need only ask his muslim victims of the crimes he is responsible for...I have no clue..perhaps you just getting your kicks by portraying yourself on this forum with this attitude..but frankly I think you need therapy. just for suggesting Arkan was a patriot..he was an animal

I think I may have to vomit..this man is responsible for so many sadistic atrocities...one need only ask his muslim victims of the crimes he is responsible for...I have no clue..perhaps you just getting your kicks by portraying yourself on this forum with this attitude..but frankly I think you need therapy. just for suggesting Arkan was a patriot..he was an animal

He fought to keep Kosovo a part of Serbia. The 90% Albanians who made up Kosovo kept agitating and forming terrorist groups to get Kosovo annexed into Albania (What will Texans do when the Mexicans in Texas demand that Texas be annexed into Mexico). You fight, with all that you have, you do whatever it takes to keep your land in your nation.

Kosovo is a part of Serbia and should remain as such. Zeljko Razvatovic was a great serb war hero and a patriot. May he rest in peace, for is surely in heaven now.

I think I may have to vomit..this man is responsible for so many sadistic atrocities...one need only ask his muslim victims of the crimes he is responsible for...I have no clue..perhaps you just getting your kicks by portraying yourself on this forum with this attitude..but frankly I think you need therapy. just for suggesting Arkan was a patriot..he was an animal

He fought to keep Kosovo a part of Serbia. The 90% Albanians who made up Kosovo kept agitating and forming terrorist groups to get Kosovo annexed into Albania (What will Texans do when the Mexicans in Texas demand that Texas be annexed into Mexico). You fight, with all that you have, you do whatever it takes to keep your land in your nation.

Kosovo is a part of Serbia and should remain as such. Zeljko Razvatovic was a great serb war hero and a patriot. May he rest in peace, for is surely in heaven now.

And the rape gangs his troops were part of?...Of what possible use could he have in raping the muslim women?..Kosovo is 90% ethnic Albanian, not Serb...why should they not have the right of self-determination?... You can bet your ass that Texans would never have been organized into rape gangs, or dug mass graves for Mexican civilians.

Surely in heaven?...as I said..you need to read the stories from his muslim victims.

I think I may have to vomit..this man is responsible for so many sadistic atrocities...one need only ask his muslim victims of the crimes he is responsible for...I have no clue..perhaps you just getting your kicks by portraying yourself on this forum with this attitude..but frankly I think you need therapy. just for suggesting Arkan was a patriot..he was an animal

He fought to keep Kosovo a part of Serbia. The 90% Albanians who made up Kosovo kept agitating and forming terrorist groups to get Kosovo annexed into Albania (What will Texans do when the Mexicans in Texas demand that Texas be annexed into Mexico). You fight, with all that you have, you do whatever it takes to keep your land in your nation.

Kosovo is a part of Serbia and should remain as such. Zeljko Razvatovic was a great serb war hero and a patriot. May he rest in peace, for is surely in heaven now.

And the rape gangs his troops were part of?...Of what possible use could he have in raping the muslim women?..Kosovo is 90% ethnic Albanian, not Serb...why should they not have the right of self-determination?... You can bet your ass that Texans would never have been organized into rape gangs, or dug mass graves for Mexican civilians.

Surely in heaven?...as I said..you need to read the stories from his muslim victims.

This guy spoke like a true war criminal. Always blaming NATO and the US for Yugoslavia's ills, and trying to deflect attention away from himself.
He knew by the Kosovo crisis that Yugoslavia was falling apart, and attempts by Serbia to keep it together, especially ethnic cleansing, would only draw NATO troops in. It's not even called Yugoslavia anymore, but just Serbia and Montenegro. This guy is not only a war criminal, but in my judgement, he was immensely stupid.

And the rape gangs his troops were part of?...Of what possible use could he have in raping the muslim women?..Kosovo is 90% ethnic Albanian, not Serb...why should they not have the right of self-determination?... You can bet your ass that Texans would never have been organized into rape gangs, or dug mass graves for Mexican civilians.

Surely in heaven?...as I said..you need to read the stories from his muslim victims.

The muslim "victims" that you speak of were simply KLA terrorists who got what they had coming to them, terrorists cannot complain when they are attacked by government forces.

I admitted that Kosovo is 90% albanian. California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas are all slightly over 50% mexican now. They will ultimately get near almost total mexican. Does that mean we shoudl hand the states over to mexico? Just because people swarm into a state doesn't mean that the states become theirs. The border states have belonged to America ever since the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848 ended the Mexican American War and they gave us the states, I realize we later bought southern Arizona in the Gasden purchase of 1853. They are US states, and we will hold them at any cost.

This guy spoke like a true war criminal. Always blaming NATO and the US for Yugoslavia's ills, and trying to deflect attention away from himself.
He knew by the Kosovo crisis that Yugoslavia was falling apart, and attempts by Serbia to keep it together, especially ethnic cleansing, would only draw NATO troops in. It's not even called Yugoslavia anymore, but just Serbia and Montenegro. This guy is not only a war criminal, but in my judgement, he was immensely stupid.

And the rape gangs his troops were part of?...Of what possible use could he have in raping the muslim women?..Kosovo is 90% ethnic Albanian, not Serb...why should they not have the right of self-determination?... You can bet your ass that Texans would never have been organized into rape gangs, or dug mass graves for Mexican civilians.

Surely in heaven?...as I said..you need to read the stories from his muslim victims.

The muslim "victims" that you speak of were simply KLA terrorists who got what they had coming to them, terrorists cannot complain when they are attacked by government forces.

I admitted that Kosovo is 90% albanian. California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas are all slightly over 50% mexican now. They will ultimately get near almost total mexican. Does that mean we shoudl hand the states over to mexico? Just because people swarm into a state doesn't mean that the states become theirs. The border states have belonged to America ever since the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848 ended the Mexican American War and they gave us the states, I realize we later bought southern Arizona in the Gasden purchase of 1853. They are US states, and we will hold them at any cost.

Excuse me.simply KLA terrorists?...are we on the same wavelength here?...You have simply got to be posting this trash to elicit a response but I'll humor it..explain the rape gangs please at Serbian prisons?

Excuse me.simply KLA terrorists?...are we on the same wavelength here?...You have simply got to be posting this trash to elicit a response but I'll humor it..explain the rape gangs please at Serbian prisons?

The KLA attacked Christians, Serbs, burned churches, massacred people. I think if the Serbians committed any atrocities it was in retaliation for the KLA atrocities, that doesn't make it right though. But I think that most of the massacres were done by KLA against Serbs. It would be better if the people could get along but it is quite unlikely given their history of conflict and turmoil.

You will find in the real world that wars are more often than not, "Dirty" and are not just large chivalric duels between gentlemen.

Excuse me.simply KLA terrorists?...are we on the same wavelength here?...You have simply got to be posting this trash to elicit a response but I'll humor it..explain the rape gangs please at Serbian prisons?

The KLA attacked Christians, Serbs, burned churches, massacred people. I think if the Serbians committed any atrocities it was in retaliation for the KLA atrocities, that doesn't make it right though. But I think that most of the massacres were done by KLA against Serbs. It would be better if the people could get along but it is quite unlikely given their history of conflict and turmoil.

You will find in the real world that wars are more often than not, "Dirty" and are not just large chivalric duels between gentlemen.

Ahmmm..you really...really need to just stop this revisionist crap..just stop it..in fact I've wasted to much of my time discussing this with a person who knowingly posts just to get a rise from someone..and I fell for it...shame on me for falling for the bait.

Excuse me.simply KLA terrorists?...are we on the same wavelength here?...You have simply got to be posting this trash to elicit a response but I'll humor it..explain the rape gangs please at Serbian prisons?

The KLA attacked Christians, Serbs, burned churches, massacred people. I think if the Serbians committed any atrocities it was in retaliation for the KLA atrocities, that doesn't make it right though. But I think that most of the massacres were done by KLA against Serbs. It would be better if the people could get along but it is quite unlikely given their history of conflict and turmoil.

You will find in the real world that wars are more often than not, "Dirty" and are not just large chivalric duels between gentlemen.
In that case, Yugoslavia should've recognized it for what it was: a breakaway province that was like Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Slovenia: giving Yugoslavia a headache. Most of the people in Kosovo weren't even Serbs, so why the hell did Serbia covet it so much? There wasn't even much of value for the Serbs there.

Most of the people in Kosovo weren't even Serbs, so why the hell did Serbia covet it so much? There wasn't even much of value for the Serbs there.


It used to be nearly all Serb, but the Albanians swarmed in and basically tried to take over. The Serbians are fighting to keep their land.

Ahmmm..you really...really need to just stop this revisionist crap..just stop it..in fact I've wasted to much of my time discussing this with a person who knowingly posts just to get a rise from someone..and I fell for it...shame on me for falling for the bait.Decisive Action's a neo-nazi nut who has sexual fantasies about David Duke. He's really not worth getting worked up about. :wink:

Most of the people in Kosovo weren't even Serbs, so why the hell did Serbia covet it so much? There wasn't even much of value for the Serbs there.


It used to be nearly all Serb, but the Albanians swarmed in and basically tried to take over. The Serbians are fighting to keep their land.
So, Croatia used to be Serbian as well, until those Catholic and Orthodox bastaards swarmed in, right?
Anyhow, Kosovo was lost to the Serbs way back in 1347, when the Turks wrestled control away. If the Serbs can't accept that loss by now, then they have withdrawl so bad, that it'd make Freud return from his grave to give everyone examinations.

Decisive Action's a neo-nazi nut who has sexual fantasies about David Duke. He's really not worth getting worked up about. :wink:


You're a sick piece of sh-- who must resort to name-calling and slander. You're obviously a very sick person. I'm not going to get worked up over you, because you're just not worth it.

Anyhow, Kosovo was lost to the Serbs way back in 1347, when the Turks wrestled control away. If the Serbs can't accept that loss by now, then they have withdrawl so bad, that it'd make Freud return from his grave to give everyone examinations.


Often times things that happened hundreds of years ago cannot be put right, but what happened five and ten years ago, and is still happening, they can be stopped, they can be put right. That is what Serbia was trying to do in Kosovo, to stop from losing more land.

Most of the people in Kosovo weren't even Serbs, so why the hell did Serbia covet it so much? There wasn't even much of value for the Serbs there.


It used to be nearly all Serb, but the Albanians swarmed in and basically tried to take over. The Serbians are fighting to keep their land.
So, Croatia used to be Serbian as well, until those Catholic and Orthodox bastaards swarmed in, right?
Anyhow, Kosovo was lost to the Serbs way back in 1347, when the Turks wrestled control away. If the Serbs can't accept that loss by now, then they have withdrawl so bad, that it'd make Freud return from his grave to give everyone examinations.

Excus me I am a catholic croatian and that really offendes me. This post makes you sound exactly like a hollywood liberal. Always talking against about violance against a minortity but figures it is okay to limit the freedoms of the majority. In my opiinon if you want equal rights fine but everyone should be able to do what they say and want without being branded a heritic. Besides there is always to sides to the story.

Also Slobo was a bad man but he did not just fall out of the sky. It was year of violance towards cristans by musliums that created him. For example while the turks were in power they were beyond brutal. My Uncle Leon was in the Croatian army. He saw a dome made out of Serbian peoples heads and saw men so badely wipped they almost had no skin on their bodeys. Also when the slavic people were under the rule of Marshal Tito they complained and they got universites, farming technology and basikly everything they wanted but they still complained while everyone else was suffering. And even in the army some of them would attack their fellow soilders because they were orthedox. And the press was not neutral about this conflict either. They showed one side: the liberal side. They did not show all of the innocent people being killed and torured by our soilders, you did not see the Albians going on with their revenge killings.

The pre war population in Kosovo was 200,000 and due to our bombing tactics and Albianan revenge killings it was reduced to 40,000. Even the NYT (New York Times) even tried to justify what the Albianans did and painted them out as victems. And another thing that Muslium orphan was not even a Muslium or a orphane. The times lied to her and said they were just showing the havocs of war. Infact she was a Serbian orthadox who had parents. Even a Liberal Londn newspaper said in ordewr for their to be long term peace in the Balkens all sides must be held accountable for their war crimes. Also maybe you did not know this but also in order to fight the Serbs we gave weapons and money to known terroist organizations including Al-queda.

That is my out take. on the situation.

What is a Serbian irregular? I thought it was something to do with languages, but apparently they are a group of people.

-----------------------------------------
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Most of the people in Kosovo weren't even Serbs, so why the hell did Serbia covet it so much? There wasn't even much of value for the Serbs there.


It used to be nearly all Serb, but the Albanians swarmed in and basically tried to take over. The Serbians are fighting to keep their land.
So, Croatia used to be Serbian as well, until those Catholic and Orthodox bastaards swarmed in, right?
Anyhow, Kosovo was lost to the Serbs way back in 1347, when the Turks wrestled control away. If the Serbs can't accept that loss by now, then they have withdrawl so bad, that it'd make Freud return from his grave to give everyone examinations.

Excus me I am a catholic croatian and that really offendes me. This post makes you sound exactly like a hollywood liberal. Always talking against about violance against a minortity but figures it is okay to limit the freedoms of the majority. In my opiinon if you want equal rights fine but everyone should be able to do what they say and want without being branded a heritic. Besides there is always to sides to the story.

Also Slobo was a bad man but he did not just fall out of the sky. It was year of violance towards cristans by musliums that created him. For example while the turks were in power they were beyond brutal. My Uncle Leon was in the Croatian army. He saw a dome made out of Serbian peoples heads and saw men so badely wipped they almost had no skin on their bodeys. Also when the slavic people were under the rule of Marshal Tito they complained and they got universites, farming technology and basikly everything they wanted but they still complained while everyone else was suffering. And even in the army some of them would attack their fellow soilders because they were orthedox. And the press was not neutral about this conflict either. They showed one side: the liberal side. They did not show all of the innocent people being killed and torured by our soilders, you did not see the Albians going on with their revenge killings.

The pre war population in Kosovo was 200,000 and due to our bombing tactics and Albianan revenge killings it was reduced to 40,000. Even the NYT (New York Times) even tried to justify what the Albianans did and painted them out as victems. And another thing that Muslium orphan was not even a Muslium or a orphane. The times lied to her and said they were just showing the havocs of war. Infact she was a Serbian orthadox who had parents. Even a Liberal Londn newspaper said in ordewr for their to be long term peace in the Balkens all sides must be held accountable for their war crimes. Also maybe you did not know this but also in order to fight the Serbs we gave weapons and money to known terroist organizations including Al-queda.

That is my out take. on the situation.
I'm extremely sorry if the first part of my post offended you. I'm also a Catholic.
And I never denied that the Ottomans were brutal. However, I'm saying that Serbia needs to get over their loss of Kosovo, as it was so long ago. So far, I haven't heard any Swedes or Mongols complaining about the loss of Russia, or the Japanese loss of Korea. The Muslim violence against Serbia was awful, but the Serbian reaction was, in my opinion, far worse. They should've taken it for what it was then, and that was Yugoslavia dying. It was also happening in the Soviet Union at the time, and Czechloslovakia.

Ok I am sorry if I over reacted I am just tired of that of those croatians are dirty commie imperialst garbage.

Ok I am sorry if I over reacted I am just tired of that of those croatians are dirty commie imperialst garbage.
It's okay. I have nothing against Croations. In fact, Dubrovnik (sp?) is on my long list of places I want to see before I die.

Really that is great. I am part Croatian and I can tell you Dubrovnik is a great place. The Hotels will acomidate your every need, butiful scenery, cafe's, restaurants and Spas and not to mention their are alot of butiful women their. I have seen it myself. It is a great place to be.

Really that is great. I am part Croatian and I can tell you Dubrovnik is a great place. The Hotels will acomidate your every need, butiful scenery, cafe's, restaurants and Spas and not to mention their are alot of butiful women their. I have seen it myself. It is a great place to be.
I'm guessing that, by now, it's shed its image as a war torn city.