25 Years of ICTY and Facing the Past in Serbia and the Region
25 Years of ICTY and Facing the Past in Serbia and the Region

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the impact of the International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on the region, with the main focus put on Serbia. Although the Tribunal established the facts about crimes committed – executioners were identified, some of the key political, military and police inciters and perpetrators have been put on trial and sentenced – Serbian society is still in deep denial. The ICTY was not equipped with mechanisms that would have made Serbia (and other countries in the region as well) duty-bound to deal with its legacies. Serbian elites were not able to refrain from Milošević’s project because they were largely par tof it as well. Instead, elites are engaged in discrediting the Tribunal’s legacy and revision of history of the recent past, including the 20th century. History is perceived only from the victim’s view point which blocks a serious debate about the past. Although new avenues have been opened to Serbia – towards accession to the EU – Serbian nationalism has not been defeated yet. Without objectified political and social context andwithout explaining the role Serbian elites have played, Serbia’s aspirations will be hampering regional development. The EU in its relations with Serbia should focus on a radical change of Serbia’s value system.

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