Radio B92, September 21, 2001
13:20 BELGRADE, Friday – Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica has blamed
ex-US president Bill Clinton for triggering the rise in world terrorism
that led to last week’s attacks in New York and Washington.
In an interview with Belgrade daily Politika, the Yugoslav leader
said that Clinton’s administration had exacerbated conflict between
co-existing civilisations “by playing the role of world policeman, and
by wanting to dominate almost all spheres of life”.
“These are the true deep roots and the true reasons that triggered the
birth of terrorism and its development,” he said.
“One thing that is needed is a redefinition of America’s role in a new
world in which it is the only superpower; of its role as a world policeman
who can function quite easily when he needs to bomb a country, such as
Yugoslavia, for 78 days.
“When this country is also faced with terrorism in its most fanatical
form, as happened on September 11, then things look rather different.”
He added that he hoped that the “terrorist evil and crimes committed
in New York and Washington” will prompt the US to view “terrorism
in the Balkans” in a new light.
“Terrorism has not been taken seriously unless it happened on one’s
own territory or rather, the territory of the world’s only superpower –
the USA,” he said.
“These dual criteria must be dropped. Terrorism would become much more
easy to spot than in the past, and the fight against it more efficient,
if these dual criteria were abolished.”
He added that the USA was well aware of the fact that Osama Bin Laden’s
organisation was operating in the Balkans, and had received support
from former Albanian president Sali Berisha.
The Yugoslav leader reacted cautiously to moves to form an international
anti-terrorist coalition, calling the issues sparked “very complex”.
“But what is to be feared the most is a superficial view of things,
which is a much more serious and more far-reaching problem than
terrorism itself, even if the consequences of terrorism are horrifying,
and they were horrifying in Washington and New York,” he said.
