War crimes tribunal will hear secrets of support for Milosevic's ethnic cleansing.
It is what Hellenes have long feared: the shattering of a conspiracy of silence that has surrounded the role of
Greek volunteers who proudly flew their flag at
Srebrenica, after participating in
Europe's worst massacre since the
Second World War, when 7,
000 men, women and children died.
Next week, as
Greece settles into the presidency of the
European Union,
Milan Milutinovic,
Serbia's recently retired president, will be brought before the war crimes tribunal at
The Hague. Greek involvement in the atrocity, as well as other secrets
Athens would prefer buried, could be revealed when the 60-year-old testifies.
No one, it is said, played such a pivotal role in the alliance between Athens and
Belgrade during the Nineties
Balkan conflicts. As
Yugoslavia's ambassador to Greece,
Milutinovic was
Slobodan Milosevic's most trusted lieutenant. His links with Greece's political, religious and business elites were allegedly crucial to Serbia's secret economic infrastructure. They allowed the country to evade
United Nations sanctions and, according to the
International Criminal Tribunal, contributed considerably towards Milosevic's war machine.
When the diplomat was promoted to
Foreign Minister in
1994, he retained his Athens post for several months when, EU diplomats say, he stashed away funds to buy villas and other prime properties in Athens and
Crete at the behest of his boss.
With Greece's admiring public, pro-Serbian church, tolerant media and governments that supported Milosevic, Athens was seen as a bolt-hole by the now disgraced president. As
Bosnian Serb ethnic cleansers torched villages, it was here Milosevic would escape to enjoy the hospitality of Greek politicians.
Marko Milosevic, his lascivious smuggler son, declared Greece 'my first home'.
'This is our best-kept secret, the subject no politician of any persuasion has ever wanted to broach,' said
Takis Michas, author of
Unholy Alliance: Greece and Milosevic's Serbia. 'In an era where everyone is saying sorry, in Greece at least no one has shown remorse for the crimes in
Bosnia when undoubtedly a significant proportion of the political establishment bear some responsibility.'
The US-published book, yet to be printed in Greek, records in shocking detail the relationship between the two
Orthodox nations, including the leaking of
Nato military intelligence under socialist leader
Andreas Papandreou.
The Greeks know their past may be catching up with them. After last month's long statement of contrition before the
Hague tribunal by the former Bosnian Serb leader,
Biljana Plavsic, many believe it is only a matter of time before others open up too.
A
Dutch documentary investigating Greek complicity in the
Serb wars was aired on local television in which a director of the semi-official
Athens News Agency, Nikolas Voulelis, admitted to widespread censorship. During the wars the Greek media was fanatically pro-Serb, portraying Yugoslav Muslims as 'infidel
Turks' bent on destroying their Orthodox brethren. 'Editorial interference was a given,' he said.
But it was not only hospitality or money that the
Greeks offered.
Spiritual succour was provided by the
Greek Orthodox church which sent priests to the front line (several clerics received bravery medals from Plavsic).
In a step repeated in no other country, Archbishop Serafeim invited the Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic to visit Athens in
1993. At a mass rally attended by prominent politicians, the indicted war criminal proclaimed: 'We have only God and the Greeks on our side.'
Last year, in a 7,000-page report that the Dutch authorities commissioned into the
1995 Srebrenica massacre, Greece was revealed to have sent shipments of light arms and ammunition to the
Bosnian Serb army between 1994 and 1995. The report describes how Greek volunteers were implored, in intercepted army telephone conversations, to raise the
Greek flag after the town fell. In one,
General Ratko Mladic asked that they record the scene on video for propaganda purposes.
Around 100 soldiers are believed to have joined the
Greek Volunteer Guard, formed at
Mladic's request.
The unit, which fought alongside
Russians and
Ukrainians, was led by Serb officers and had its own insignia - the double-headed eagle of
Byzantium. At least four of its members were awarded the
White Eagle medal of honour by Karadzic.
Although their 'heroic' exploits were widely reported in the Greek press, the volunteers have gone to ground since
the creation of the war crimes tribunal. No government or party has ever sought an inquiry into their activities.
- published: 17 Dec 2012
- views: 3360