SAMAC, Republika Srpska – Simo Zaric did consent to speak to VECERNJE NOVOSTI about his days at The Hague and about the court he called political. – I have nothing to hide: if, God forbid, a war should break out anew, I would do everything the same way, even if I ended up at The Hague once more – he said at the beginning of our conversation. – It was hard to endure 1.664 days in prison, particularly when you know you’re not guilty.

- I drew strength from the support of my family – wife, children, mother and sisters. They came to visit, they wrote me letters. A huge support also arrived from my fellow citizens of Samac, the whole Posavina [a region of the Sava river valley], Republika Srpska and even from the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina and ex-Yugoslavia. There were thousands of letters that I received, and I answered each one of them – Simo Zaric begins his story.

Conditions at The Hague were bearable when food and hygiene are concerned. Free time should be aplenty in prison. However…

- Each morning we got up at 7 a.m. and went to bed at 8.30 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends, the taps was at 5 p.m. We were in complete isolation twice a day while the guards were eating. The rest of the time we spent in the canteen or kitchen, as we called it. Only the detainees from the same floor can use the area. Here we played chess, dominoes, and card games, watched TV, talked about the simplest human things. We could not walk between floors – Simo describes a day in prison.

HOW TO CONQUER TIME – DURING imprisonment I’ve read more than 500 books, I’ve written thousands of pages of the diary that I kept daily and I’ve published a book “On The Hague Crucifix” – Zaric continues. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to the proceedings as well, that was held for more than two years, so that sometimes the time was scarce. Part of it we spent walking, taking part in sport… A man who knows that he should conquer time knows how to organize a prison life for himself. It is far more difficult to conquer for men who become withdrawn and develop psychological problems.

All the accused Serbs were forgotten by many of those not expected to do that. Simo Zaric wishes to emphasize they were not abandoned by everyone.

- It would be a sin to forget the support that we had from the SPC [Serbian Orthodox Church] representatives. The Church gave us moral, spiritual and human support – points out the former prisoner at The Hague. – We had priests who visited us every month and held prayers. Bishop Luka and Amfilohije Radovic came many times. Their spiritual presence meant a lot to us. When reading religious literature, in each of these books I found how one has to be kind, moral and righteous in life and all those messages are most human and most wonderful. I regret that I’ve started to be engaged in this kind of literature and personal spiritual rebirth only after my destiny had brought me to The Hague.

Zaric was spending his prison days with detainees from his floor: Momcilo Krajisnik, Dragan Obrenovic, Dragan Nikolic – Jenki, Generals Dragoljub Ojdanic and Mile Mrksic, Mario Cerkez, Milorad Krnojelac, Ranko Cesic, Milan Martic and Milan Mrdja.

- I had the opportunity to meet Mr Milosevic several times and I found him to be a very natural man and I believe that he had surprised everyone with his naturalness and spontaneity – speaks Zaric. – Destiny of a detainee at The Hague is a very strange one, here you have very brave people, people who hold their face and dignity dear. On the other hand, there are those who fall under certain pressures both from the OTP and a certain atmosphere at the court.

GOOD JUDGES UNDESIRABLE – I BELIEVE that Milosevic is defending on principle a strategic component related to the Serbian national corpus. I have an impression that Krajisnik will not succumb to any influences either and I base this belief on our talks that we held for days. Those certainly not succumbing to pressures are Martic, General Ojdanic and others who had already underwent a court procedure – Simo Zaric is categorical.

-These people have guts to speak up in the language of truth and, to make it clear, they do not defend crimes and nobody does support crimes, but these people have the need to speak up in the name of the Serbian national corpus with the purpose of preserving its identity.

A judge at The Hague who speaks up in the language of justice, morality and truth gets removed immediately. Zaric substantiates these examples:

- Judge Lindholm had gathered his strength to defend law and had the courage to defend the truth in my case, by requesting my acquittal. In the pleiad of such people there is by all means the Australian Judge Hunt. Then there is the esteemed Judge Wald, otherwise an American lady, who had acquitted brothers Kupreskic or Judge Cassese who had acquitted Papic and Zejnil Delalic. None of them is a judge at The Hague anymore. Judges who gather their strength to resist pressures and mentorship imposed on them leave very quickly. Judge Hunt said in his farewell statement that if The Hague Tribunal were to be recognized by the manner of conducting its appeal proceedings and dispensing justice, it would be a black spot in the world’s legal system. The one who ends up at The Hague will be convicted not with justice, but because he had passed through a political prism. The OTP disregards facts obvious even to a small child. There are “million” arguments to support that, but Zaric says he will stay close to the “Samac case”.

MY GREATEST VICTORY - PEOPLE who testified in our case came prepared by a secret service of the Muslims, AID, on what and how they would speak against us – maintains Zaric. – They were mainly secret witnesses and I am a disciplined man and shall not reveal their names. What’s essential is that these testimonies were rigged. And the OTP builds upon such invented statements later on and then the battle for the truth gets really difficult. Witnesses for the Prosecution do not even blush when their statements are refuted with arguments. Unlike them, witnesses for the Defence of various nationalities came to testify publicly, not hiding from anyone. In my case, 35 witnesses appeared and more than 80% were the Muslims and the Croats from Samac. They knew best what was he like and who is in fact Simo Zaric.

By the end of the conversation Simo Zaric wishes to say that his greatest victory is in enduring it all and being able, although a pensioner before all this had even started, to begin a new life. This new life, as he says, will be dedicated to family, to his native village Trnjak in the Municipality of Odzak (Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina) and his desire to bring back and breathe a new life into it. If a party appears or if one exists that will satisfy his views, perhaps he will become politically active.

The Hague Tribunal had passed long-term custodial sentences on five people from Samac. Simo was imprisoned for being a distinguished member of the community, Miroslav Tadic is imprisoned for working in the municipal commissions for exchange, and so forth. That justice doesn’t dwell at The Hague could be best seen from the fact that Amor Masovic, the President of the Commission for Exchange of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, is being proposed for the Nobel Prize, and Miroslav Tadic is sentenced to eight year’s imprisonment.

In addition to them, a native of Samac was also Alija Izetbegovic, then there was Sulejman Tihic, but the “justice of The Hague” has never reached them.

FATIMA IS – FATIMA - DRAGAN Lukac, currently executing a high office in the security of Bosnia & Herzegovina, as a witness for the Prosecution alleged there was an event when Simo Zaric renamed his wife Fatima to Jevrosima at some kind of secret religious séance during the war.

- After my wife, myself and many other witnesses had stated that this was a blatant lie, Mr Lukac said without a shred of remorse that he still maintained this to be true. Therefore I cannot believe that such a man could currently execute any office at all.