yugoslavias implosion

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collective memory of this tragedy has been successfully manipulated
by Serbia’s elites (including the political elite), which treat Srbrencia
as a war crime, not as genocide. The Serbian public is effectively in
collective denial about the fate of Srebrenica’s Muslims. 523
MILOŠEVIĆ’S DEATH
Once Milošević’s defense strategy of underrating and discrediting
the icty failed, it seemed as if he wanted to place the burden
of responsibility for the war on the international community. Many
observers believe he tried to do this by precipitating his own death
before he could be sentenced. Based on numerous reports published
after his death, he and his closest associates “provoked cardiovascular
complications, disseminated obviously false information about malpractice,
and stirred the feelings of both progressive and reactionary
publics”; Milošević, “fearing retaliation, kept playing until he overplayed
his hand and lost the game.” 524 William Montgomery, former
American ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro, says, “I strongly
believe that for Milošević the worst alternative was a trial ending in
an unavoidable life sentence, far from home and far from [the] public
eye. His widow Mira Marković actually predicted his death at a
meeting in my Belgrade residence in 2003.” 525 Metropolitan Amfilohije
Radović begged Milošević to commit suicide. Both radical and more
moderate Serbian nationalists invoked his death in the name of
national interests.
After Milošević’s death on March 11, 2006, the media portrayed
him as a statesman; there were few reminders of the victims of his
policies. He was referred to as a hero, a man of great competence,
523 Some scholars argue, the denial of atrocities is part of the broader pattern of committing
atrocities . See, for instance, J .G . Bass, Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War
Crimes Tribunals, (Princeton, N .J ., and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2000), 302 .
524 Jurij Bogolomov, “Playing and Overplaying,” Danas, March 16,
2006 (a reprint of the story carried by Russian News).
525 William Montgomery, “My Last Recollection of Slobodan Milošević,” Danas, March 18–19, 2006 .