Ratko Mladic could have been a general in the army of any of the Arab military countries. The slogans that were brandished by the former Serbian army commander and that he used to commit massacres against his nationals during the days of the former Yugoslavia including Muslims and Croats and even the Serb opponents, are the same ones still being used by the Arab military governments. The governments use these slogans to control their populaces today, and refuse to leave, in the name of these slogans. Defending the “Arab nation's” interest in the face of the external “agents” justifies oppression by all means, in addition to the use of fear as a weapon in order to spread terror among the dissidents. The external “conspiracies” are behind the campaigns being carried against the solid regime. The reason for these “conspiracies” is that this is the only regime that is capable of defending the interests of the people, and if the regime falls, then the people and the country will fall as well, God forbid! In addition to the “conspiracies,” there are also the international tribunals that were especially established to deal a blow to the tough regime and taint its image in the eyes of its people and the world, although this image is quite a spotless one! Because the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina and also Kosovo live in the heart of Europe, this has helped to end the tragedy that they were subjected to. Thus, it was hard for the scenes of the massacres against them to go by without any punishment. The explosion in Yugoslavia and the wars there could have constituted a threat against the religious and racial balance in the neighboring European countries. Of course, massacres did take place during the Bosnian war and the Western interference, represented by the United Nations, was unable to prevent them. The most prominent of these massacres was that of Srebrenica – the most hideous act in the Bosnian war, and even in Europe, since the crimes of Hitler during World War II. But the international justice did not remain silent, nor did it close the files of those massacres. On the contrary, bringing the defendants in those massacres to trial became a necessary condition for Serbia to be accepted as a member with full rights at the European Union. This is the condition that will lead Mladic to stand before the international tribunal that was established to try the criminals of the Bosnia war. The trial of Mladic was preceded by that of the gentle psychologist and delicate musician, Radovan Karadzic. In Belgrade, protests took to the streets two days ago to criticize the government of the country for allowing the arrest of Mladic and for planning to send him to The Hague for trial. Some of the protestors said that the man is old and ill and he may not live through the end of his trial. Some others thought that the arrest of Mladic constitutes an insult to Serbia's dignity because he has defended Serbia in the most difficult situations! However, this did not prevent the government of Belgrade from clearing itself from its black past and washing its hands from its former leader. Will we be able to see, even sixteen years from now, an Arab general standing before a tribunal in order to defend himself from charges of massacres against his people? And if the Serbian government has been lured by the membership of the European Union in order to eventually arrest the man that used to be considered one of Serbia's nationalistic symbols, will there be a similar motivation that might push an Arab regime some day to hand in defendants to any justice body, whether local or international? In addition to their crimes, criminals are also characterized by shying away from admitting their responsibilities and from facing the truth. Ratco Mladic's son quoted his father as saying that he knew nothing about the Srebrenica massacre, even though he was the actual military leader there! Similarly, Slobodan Milosevic and Karadzic previously denied their responsibilities. In the countries of the Arab intifadas as well, the television stations are racing to air medical conferences, musical programs, and late night parties in order to entertain the citizens. Meanwhile, canons and bombs are being heard in the cities and they are killing the innocent ones… But no one is seeing or hearing that!
