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  Serbia's Ultra-Nationalists: 'It Is not Us but Europe that Needs to Face Reality'

Serbia's Ultra-Nationalists 'It Is not Us but Europe that Needs to Face Reality'

Part 2: 'It Was a Bloody War and Everyone Was Killing Everyone'

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What would you like to say to the chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal in The Hague when he next comes to Serbia?

Nikolic: That it would be immoral to ask Serbia to hand over further suspects.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So you will continue to celebrate General Ratko Mladic, who has been a wanted man for 13 years, as a hero?

Nikolic: That is a different question. If we were to form a government, I would want to see the charges, and if necessary, we can try him here. I know, however, that he is not in Serbia. I am not running away from the war crimes that Serbs committed, and there is no doubt that these crimes were committed. But they were not only carried out by Serbs. It was a bloody war and everyone was killing everyone.

SPIEGEL ONLNE: In the Bosnian town of Srebrenica at least 8,000 Muslims were executed by Serbs …

Nikolic: But not during liberation. These madmen who killed after that, they have to be held responsible for what they did. But the same goes for the murders of the 2,600 Serbs who died in the villages surrounding Srebrenica.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You are regarded as a Russophile. If your coalition comes to power, Serbia's economy would also be oriented towards Russia, China and India. That is reminiscent of rhetoric from your party chairman Vojislav Seselj's -- currently sitting in The Hague accused of war crimes. He says Serbs "can also feed themselves on grass."

Nikolic: I admit I like the Russians. I feel very close to these people. And we have to have an outlet if the EU decides to boycott a government that includes the Radicals for a few months. Fundamentally we would like to be a gate to the East and to the West in equal measure. And India, China or Russia are also part of the EU's future and are currently its preferred trading partners. Western investors will very quickly realize that they can trust my guarantees and can invest their capital in Serbia.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You have promised a stable government. How can you achieve that with a Socialist party that sells itself to the highest bidder? Socialist leader Ivica Dacic travelled to Moscow before the election to offer Milosevic's widow the chance to return to Serbia without having to face any charges in return for her support during the election campaign. And then after the election he did not want to rule out a coalition with the pro-European block of President Tadic.

Nikolic: Europe has behaved even more embarrassingly. The Socialists -- who during the election campaign had promised a continuation of Milosevic's policies -- were told their way into the Socialist International would be smoothed, with the help of Germany, if they teamed up with the Democratic Party of president Tadic. I am very concerned about Tadic's latest aggressive statements and fear he is already preparing our people for demonstrations, should we form the next government. Is that the stability the West is after? If we were to come to power, we will get to work and not just argue, as has happened in the past.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Yet you of all people are known for attacking and insulting your political opponents …

Nikolic: There is also plenty of swearing in the German parliament.

Interview conducted by Renate Flottau

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