Democratic People’s Party (DNP) President Milan Knežević was questioned by police and stood by his previous statements and social media posts concerning the late General Ratko Mladić, reiterating that he considers Mladić a war hero rather than a criminal.
Knežević said this view was shared by what he described as the majority of the Serb people.
“If it had not been for him, Serbs would have suffered tragedies similar to those in the Independent State of Croatia, Jasenovac, Jadovno and countless other killing sites that no one wants to talk about today,” Knežević said.
He said the complaint against him alleges that his posts incited religious hatred and intolerance and glorified war criminals.
“I do not believe that I glorified Ratko Mladić, because glorification means embellishing something that was not actually that way. I did not embellish anything. I simply stated what I consider to be the truth and what I believe the majority of the Serb people think, which is that Ratko Mladić is a war hero for us,” Knežević said.
He went on to repeat his praise of Mladić and other Serb fighters who, in his words, gave their lives defending their homeland and the interests of the Serb people.
Mladić was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, with his convictions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes later upheld on appeal.
Knežević said he would not invoke his parliamentary immunity, arguing that the prosecutor’s actions were also connected to a speech he delivered in parliament explaining why his party did not attend a session called with the intention of removing Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić.
“I stated that I will not invoke immunity because the prosecution reacted, among other things, because of my speech in parliament, where I explained why we did not attend the session that had been scheduled with the intention of removing Andrija Mandić,” Knežević said.
He claimed that the summons was also connected to his refusal to provide a quorum for Mandić’s removal.
“Among other things, the prosecution wants to punish me because my fellow MPs and I refused to provide a quorum for the removal of Andrija Mandić. This is what I have been saying all along — that the prosecution is becoming a fourth branch of government and wants to influence political processes,” Knežević said.
He suggested that had the DNP participated in the parliamentary session, the latest complaint and request for questioning might not have followed.
Knežević also said he would not allow prosecutors or courts to “re-educate the Serb people” in Montenegro.
“I will not invoke immunity because I will no longer allow either the prosecution or the courts to re-educate the Serb people in Montenegro, while Adem Jashari, Osman Rastoder, Hashim Thaçi and the KLA are celebrated here and no one is held accountable,” Knežević said.
He accused his political opponents of seeking to portray Serbs as collectively responsible for the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
Knežević concluded that he was prepared to face a prison sentence over his convictions.
“I will not change them one bit, whether they strip me of immunity or not. I repeat that I will not invoke immunity, and I am prepared to stand trial if the prosecution determines that there are grounds for a criminal offense,” Knežević said.
Source: Glas Srpske
