The Persecution of Ante Gotovina (part 11)

Why did General Gotovina decide to play "Catch me if you can with the ICTY"? What would have influenced his decision to give up his life as he knew it?

Hitler - Hi Shreddy, I thought you could use some help answering this question, so I brought along a friend who could help answer your questions?

Shreddy - I hope it's not someone you met at an Ashram or a Holistic retreat. A Panda Bear in Swiss milkmaid drag was a bit too much.

Hitler - Just put down your pen and watch closely.

Shreddy - I think I just saw Jadranka Kosor do a standing back flip in stiletto heels wearing a vintage Channel suit. Have you been spiking the water with LSD again Hitler?

Hitler - No Shreddy, it's not Jadranka Kosor, it's Bogdan of the Pink Panthers

Bogdan - Bre. We heard you needed some help so we decided to show our appreciation that you can discern the difference between the actions of an individual Serb and the Serbian people.

Shreddy - Why is a white tiger crawling out of your bag? Are Sigfried and Roy in there?

Bogdan - No Sigfried and Roy are not in the bag, we did better. We had originally planned to rob the European Central Bank, but when Hitler asked us was it possible to spring Arkan from Hell, what could we do?



Arkan - This isn't hell? Where the $#%^ am I?

Shreddy - You are sitting in my study. The Pink Panthers sprung you out of hell temporarily so that you can answer my question.

Arkan - I was hoping that my Homeboyz would have sprung me out. Who are the Pink Panthers? Where are my Red Star Crew?

Bogdan - Your Red Star Crew are on the other eight layers of Hell. Since you were a very bad individual you were sent to the bottom and final layer. After your White Tigers gave the Serbian people a bad name, my Homeboyz from Niš took it upon ourselves to restore Serbia's honour. The press calls us the Pink Panthers. We have the motto "He who dares wins". We are histories most skilled band of jewel thieves.

Shreddy - Arkan, I have a very simple question and I was hoping you could provide an answer for me.

Arkan - Which language do you want the answer in? You can have your choice of English, Serbian, Croatian, Swedish, French, Russian, German,

Shreddy - The Queens English shall suffice.

Bogdan - After you answer Shreddy, we take your cat and you back to the bottom layer of Hell where you belong.

Shreddy - Why did General Gotovina flee from the ICTY?

Arkan - Ante Gotovina fled from the ICTY because he had no choice. He was laughed at by time, and tricked by life's circumstances.

Shreddy - You are quoting a Rush song.

Arkan - I like Rush. Did you know that Alex Lifeson is Serbian, and that Lifeson is a stage name. His real name is Alexander Zivojionovic, and he is from BC just like you. I could not give a better background than by quoting a Rush song.

Shreddy - How would Ante Gotovina been laughed at by time?

Arkan - Very simply the Croatians who earned a trip to the ICTY all died of natural causes before they could be indicted. Franjo Tudman died in 1999. Mate Boban died in 1997. Gojko Susak died in 1998. The ICTY had to maintain their delusional state that Croatia's actions at defending itself were as bad as the actions of my Red Star Football Club Crew. So guess what, he was the highest ranking Croat that they could think of. Also he didn't have any Slavic letters in either his given name or his surname, so it was easy for the ICTY to do the paperwork.

Shreddy - Darn good answer. Now how was general Gotovina tricked by circumstances?

Arkan - Had he turned himself in to the ICTY he would have submitted himself and the Croatian people to "Cowards Justice". He signed 174 letters to the families of Croatian soldiers that died during Operation Storm. How could he submit himself to "Cowards Justice" after 174 of his comrades gave their lives in a military operation that he was in overall command of.

Shreddy - Could you please elaborate on the term "Cowards Justice"? I think I have an idea of the context.

Arkan - The ICTY was originally set up to provide some form of authoritative mechanism to enable the world to bring Slobodan Milosevic and myself to something resembling justice.

Shreddy - Bringing you and Slobo to justice sounded like a noble goal.

Arkan - In theory it was a noble goal. Justice can take many forms; Jeffersonian Justice where the blind lady evaluates everything on its facts and merits; Victors Justice as in Nuremberg, and finally Cowards Justice as in the ICTY and the Rwanda Tribunals.

Shreddy - How is the ICTY "Cowards Justice"?

Arkan - Very simply the ICTY prepared an indictment against me in 1999. Eight years after I started my murderous rampage in Croatia. The ICTY kept the indictment sealed and secret until after my death. They are cowards that were afraid of me as an individual. They kept their mouths shut as they knew what I was capable and PREPARED to do to them had I known that they had indicted me.

Shreddy - Had you found out about the indictment when you were alive what would you have done?

Arkan - I would have gone to The Hague to the ICTY.

Shreddy - To turn yourself in?

Arkan - Don't be silly. I would have shown up at the ICTY with six of my crew and my pet kitty cat. Two of my Homeboyz would have taken out the guards at the two gates on Eisenhower Street. Another one of my crew would have had a stolen Ranger Rover packed with Ammonium Nitrate and diesel fuel. Homeboy number four would have taken out security checkpoint #1. Two of my crew, kitty cat and myself could have then calmly walked into the building where we would have taken out the desk guard and the courtroom visitor gallery guard.

Then we would simply walk through the building and watch Kitty play with the ICTY staff. When we reached the Office of the Prosecutor, we would have told Kitty that it's dinner time. Then we would have walked out of the building. Red Star number six would crash the Range Rover into the building, and the ICTY would be erased with every piece of the apparatus being small enough to be passed through a basketball hoop. I would have returned to Serbia a hero, and upon death I would have been Sainted and joined Saint Sava.

Shreddy - So was the ICTY was your proverbial "Bitch"?

Arkan - Yes they were. A band of cowards that were collectively afraid of one man. Me.

Shreddy - Had Ante Gotovina turned himself in, would he have disgraced the Croatian people?

Arkan - Of course. To submit to a body that was afraid of "One Serb" would have desecrated the memory of every Croatian that gave his life during the "War of Independence". Face it he is a nice guy. Acting alone he would have been more than capable of taking out the entire ICTY. However that is not his nature. The ICTY knew this and that is why they indicted him.

Shreddy - One on one, he could have easily kicked your ass Arkan.

Arkan - Of course he could have.

Shreddy - Then why did he get captured?

Bogdan - He allowed himself to be captured. If he wanted to remain on the lamb he would still be free. He grew tired of running. Arkan, it's time for you to go back into the Panther Sack as your day pass is up.

Arkan - Can somebody please give me an ipod loaded with my wife's tunes.

Bogdan - Sorry Arkan you can't take anything with you other than your pet cat.