Two thirds of Serbs opposed to Hague extraditions

Two thirds of Serbs opposed to Hague extraditions
Beta - January 5, 2005

BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Only one in three Serbian citizens believe that Serbia should extradite indicted war crime suspects to the Hague Tribunal, according to the results public opinion research published in daily Danas today..

Twenty-eight per cent of respondents to the poll say that the state should not cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, even if it means new international sanctions.

Although 35 per cent believe that suspects should be extradited, a significantly lower percentage believe in the tribunal’s impartiality. Only 1.8 per cent of respondents expressed complete faith in the tribunal while 10.9 per cent said they mainly believed in the court.

Fifty-four per cent don’t believe in the court at all while 15.2 per cent “mostly” don’t believe. Another six per cent are ambivalent.

The Serbian Orthodox Church continues to be the institution most trusted by Serbs. Twenty-three per cent of respondent say they have unreserved faith in the Church while 47.8 per cent say they mainly believe in it. This gives a total of 71.2 per cent of citizens with a positive opinion of the Church. Only 6 per cent of respondents expressed complete distrust of the Church.

The army, although reeling from a series of recent scandals, remains the second-most trusted institution in Serbia, with 50.6 per cent having a positive opinion. Police lag behind, although 41.8 per cent trust them.

The Serbian Government could only muster a positive opinion from 32 per cent of respondents, with 54 per cent saying they don’t trust the Kostunica Cabinet.

The poll was conducted by the Centre for Political Research and Public Opinion of the Belgrade Social Sciences Institute for the European Movement in Serbia on a representative sample of 2,005 respondents.